“I thought you were cheating on me,” he admitted, the words bitter in his mouth. “I thought you wanted out. I thought I was losing you to someone else.”
Emma made a sound that was half laugh, half sob. “I was losing myself. And I didn’t know how to tell you.”
She walked slowly to the table and picked up the notebook. Her hands were trembling as she turned to the next page, where she’d apparently been writing before he came home. She slid it across the table to him.
At the top, she’d written, “Things I’m scared to say out loud… but maybe can write.”
Below it was a list of everything she’d been holding inside. Every fear, every moment of panic, and every time she’d wanted to reach for him, but convinced herself he’d think she was too much.
“Can this be our bridge?” Daniel asked quietly, touching the edge of the notebook. “On days when you can’t say it out loud and I don’t know the right words, can we write it instead?”
Emma nodded, tears streaming down her face. “I’d like that.”
It didn’t fix everything overnight.
Daniel didn’t magically transform into someone who understood emotions and knew exactly what to say during a panic attack. Emma didn’t magically stop having anxiety that made her doubt everything, including his love for her.
But they took the notebook to therapy together. They learned new words that Daniel had never heard before: panic attack, reassurance, triggers, grounding techniques, and anxiety disorder.
Some days were harder than others.
Read more on the next page 👇👇👇
