No Exit by Taylor Adams 2

couldn’t possibly handle any more trauma — but then
something came back to her. Surfacing from her memories;
her mother’s warm voice in her ear: It’s okay, Darby. You’re
fine. It was just a nightmare.
All you have to do is—
“Inhale,” she told the girl. “Count to five. Exhale.”
THWUMP. The Garfield clock exploded off the wall,
showering them with plastic bits. Darby brushed away debris
from Jay’s hair, touching her cheek, keeping her voice level:
“Just inhale. Count to five. Exhale. Can you do that for me?”
Jay took a breath. Held it. Let it go.
“See? It’s easy.”
She nodded.
“Again.”
She took another. Let it go.
“Just like that.” Darby smiled. “Just keep breathing, and
we’ll—”
“Daaaaarby.” Ashley kicked the table and it honked on the
floor, scraping a few inches. Broken glass teeth sprinkled from
the window. He huffed as he pushed. “You could’ve been my
girlfriend.”
Darby rose to her knees, dizzy with gasoline fumes,
pushing aside tipped Styrofoam cups, and aimed Lars’s black
handgun over the counter. Aligning the green-painted sights,
her finger on the trigger.
“I’m not normally like this,” Ashley howled outside.
“Don’t you understand, Darbs? I wasn’t going to kill you. I
don’t even … I mean, I don’t even drink or smoke—”
Jay winced. “He’s … he’s going to get inside.”
“Yeah.” Darby closed her right eye, aiming the Beretta.
“I’m counting on it.”