Veil of Deception

The phone slipping from my hand and clattering to the floor. The walls feel like they’re closing in on me, suffocating me.

“Adam...” His name escapes my lips, barely a whisper, as the tears start to blur my vision.

Before I know it, I’m running—bolting out of the room, my legs moving faster than my mind can keep up with. My breath comes in ragged gasps as I race down the stairs, nearly stumbling over the steps in my haste.

Tears are streaming down my face, hot and relentless, but I don’t stop to wipe them away. My heart is pounding in my chest, a wild, uncontrollable beat that matches the storm of emotions tearing through me.

The thought hammers in my mind with every step I take, each one heavier than the last. It doesn’t feel real.

I burst through the front door, the cold night air hitting me like a slap, sharp and unrelenting. The wind whips against my tear-streaked face, stinging my skin, but I barely feel it. My chest is heaving, panic clawing at my throat, but I force myself forward, stumbling blindly into the street.

I can't breathe. The world is spinning, my thoughts scattered, broken. My mind keeps looping the same question—Why?

My hands shake as I clutch at my chest, trying to calm the storm inside me, but it’s useless. The panic attack tightens its grip, crushing my lungs, making every breath a struggle. My vision blurs, the tears mixing with the rain that’s beginning to fall, cold and merciless.

I step off the sidewalk, my legs unsteady beneath me. The sounds of the city around me fade into the background, distant echoes as I move forward into the busy road, not even aware of the cars speeding by.

Why? The question pounds in my head, over and over.

Suddenly, a blinding white flash. Headlights. A deafening screech of tires.

I freeze.

Everything happens in a blur. There’s no time to react. The impact hits me like a wave, knocking the breath from my body. Pain explodes through me, and before I can even register what’s happening, I’m on the ground.

My blood warm as it seeps into the cracks of the road. The world tilts, spinning wildly, and my body feels heavy, like I’m sinking into the earth itself.

I want to move, to scream, to cry out—but I can’t. My limbs won’t listen.

It’s just a dream, I tell myself, my mind grasping at anything to make sense of the chaos, the pain. This isn’t real. It can’t be real.

But the pain says otherwise. It’s sharp and relentless, wrapping around me like chains I can’t break free from. My vision dims, darkness creeping in at the edges. I can feel my heartbeat slowing, each pulse weaker than the last.

Everything will be okay, I think, but the words feel hollow, like a lie I’m desperately trying to believe. The darkness grows, swallowing me whole, pulling me under.

As the world fades to black, I let go. There’s nothing left to hold on to.