Breath Caught Novels & Stories

My breath caught. And I knew. This wasn’t something we could stop halfway. It had already begun.

It wasn't that I was bad in math- I usually pulled atleaat C- but it didn't come naturally to me, if you know what I mean. Anyway, I was working on my math when the phone rang. The only phone we had was located in the kitchen, and I had to run downstairs to grab the receiver. I was breathing so loudly that I couldn't make the voice too well, though it sounded like Emma. I immediately smiled to myself.

I stood there with my hands on the railing and I looked at the ocean and I breathed. It was the first real breath I'd taken in months. Not the shallow, controlled breathing of a woman navigating corporate wars and family secrets and dangerous men. Not the held breath of someone waiting for the next crisis. A real breath. Deep. Filling my lungs completely. Expanding my ribs. Reaching the bottom of my chest where I'd been holding tension since the night Julian grabbed me in that study.

The couple who had been standing at the side, calmly watching the so-called brotherly reunion, suddenly dropped their elegant composure and rushed over in a panic. My biological mother, Catherine Lynch, reached out with trembling fingers to check if I was breathing. She took a long moment before finally letting out a shaky sigh of relief. "He's still breathing. Call an ambulance now!" The second I heard that, I snapped my eyes open and grabbed her wrist. "No need. It's just low blood sugar. I'll be fine."

My breath caught. And the world tilted on its axis.

His breath was unstable, and every inhale hurt. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. He froze immediately as his heart skipped. Fear gripped him like a claw, and he took a step back, the chain around his legs rattling loudly. He stared at the door, his breath quick and small as the footsteps grew louder. He held his breath and then, the lock opened.

"Think about it, Kita! It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to marry a man like Mr. Cole! What's a little apology in comparison?" My breathing became erratic again. It would painfully stop all the jagged in my throat. Once again, I had to take deep breaths. It felt as if something was taking over me. Something I wasn't familiar with at all! I moved from in front of him, trying to calm my breathing. '

It was like it would hurl out of my chest. Suddenly I felt a large hand on my mouth, a soft cloth was pressed to my nose, I saw this things in movies, it happens when someone is about to be kidnapped. I knew I will be unconcious if I inhale, so I didn't, I held on to my breath and refused to inhale. The person kept pressing the cloth tighter, I tried to push the person away, but the person was too strong. I gave up and inhaled, that was how I was gone. *****

My breath caught painfully in my chest. She heard me. She heard everything.

Breathing. But no longer broken