A Terrible Mother

I stop breathing. I stop feeling.

It all comes crashing back down when I inhale.

Panic rushes through me. I fumble, my movement stiff and yet fast. I wipe my mouth, adjusting the hem of my nightgown while lifting my strap back to my shoulder.

The room feels like it’s closing in, suffocating, too bright, too loud.

My mother starts screaming. Her purse swings through the air, colliding with Vance