Christine had barely slept. The events of the past night lingered in her mind, gnawing at her like an open wound. Lara went to Rose last night and she was not yet back. Christine had avoided checking her phone, not wanting to face any more arguments, especially from Lara. However, she knew that avoiding it wouldn’t make it go away. The uneasy silence in her dorm felt ominous, as if waiting for something to shatter the delicate calm.

Suddenly, her phone buzzed. Her stomach clenched as she saw Lara’s name on the screen. A barrage of texts appeared, each more frantic than the last.

Lara: “Please talk to me.” “I can’t take this anymore.” “I need you, Christine.” “I’m coming back.”

Christine groaned, dread curling in her gut. She wasn’t ready for another confrontation. She could barely keep herself together, let alone deal with whatever emotional storm Lara was bringing her way.

Before she could even respond, there was a frantic knock on her door. Christine froze. The knock turned into a pounding, followed by Lara’s voice calling out from the hallway. “Christine! Open the door!”

Christine reluctantly opened the door, bracing herself. Lara stood there, looking disheveled, her eyes wide and panicked. Without a word, Lara pushed past Christine and into the room.

“I can’t… I can’t breathe,” Lara gasped, clutching her chest. “Something’s wrong… please… help me.”

Christine’s heart raced, but not from sympathy. She had seen this before—the way Lara’s anxiety would flare up in moments of heightened emotion. This wasn’t a physical ailment; it was something far more dangerous, something that tore at Christine’s sense of responsibility.

“Lara, calm down,” Christine said, keeping her voice steady, though inside, she was anything but calm. “You’re having a panic attack. You need to sit down.”

But Lara wouldn’t listen. Her breaths were coming in short, rapid gasps, her hands shaking violently. She reached for Christine, grabbing her arm, her nails digging in slightly. “I need you, Christine. I… I can’t do this alone. I need you to hold me… please. I just need you to hug me. Make it stop.”

Christine hesitated, torn between her instinct to help and the mounting frustration of being pulled back into Lara’s toxic web. She knew that comforting Lara would only deepen the manipulative hold she had on her, but leaving her in this state felt cruel.

“Please…” Lara’s voice cracked, her eyes welling with tears. “I can’t breathe… please don’t leave me like this.”

Against her better judgment, Christine moved closer. She wrapped her arms around Lara, who immediately buried her face into Christine’s shoulder. The sobs came quickly, broken gasps escaping between breaths. Christine could feel the tension in Lara’s body, the trembling hands clutching at her desperately.

“I’m so scared, Christine,” Lara whispered, her voice muffled. “I feel like I’m dying. I just need you to help me. Don’t leave me.”

Christine’s heart sank. She hated this. Hated how every encounter with Lara was a tug-of-war between guilt and resentment, a toxic cycle that drained her emotionally. But at this moment, all she could do was hold her.

Lara’s breathing eventually slowed, the rapid gasps turning into shallow, shaky inhales. For a moment, Christine thought it was over—that maybe, just maybe, Lara would regain some composure and leave her in peace. But then Lara’s grip tightened again.

“Do you love me, Christine?” Lara asked, her voice small but demanding. “Please… just say it. Say you care about me.”

Christine’s pulse quickened, frustration boiling beneath her calm exterior. “Lara, this isn’t the time for that. You need to focus on calming down.”

“No!” Lara suddenly pulled back, her eyes wild with desperation. “I need to hear it! You can’t just reject me and leave me like this. I need to know… Do you care about me at all?”

Christine swallowed hard, her throat dry. She wanted to shout, to scream that this wasn’t fair—that Lara was twisting her emotions, using her panic as leverage. But the sight of Lara’s tear-streaked face and the palpable fear in her eyes held Christine back.

“I care about you, Lara,” Christine said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. “But this… this isn’t healthy.”

Lara shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. “Then why do you keep pushing me away? Why don’t you love me the way I love you? I’ve given everything for you, Christine. Don’t you see that?”

Christine felt trapped, suffocated by the weight of Lara’s neediness. She took a step back, creating space between them, but Lara reached out again, grabbing Christine’s wrist.

“Don’t walk away from me!” Lara’s voice was sharp now, a dangerous edge cutting through her panic. “If you leave… if you leave me like this, I swear… I’ll end it. I’ll go to the terrace and jump. You think I’m bluffing, but I’m not. I’ll do it. I can’t live like this anymore.”

Christine’s blood ran cold. The threat hung heavy in the air, pressing down on her like a crushing weight. Lara’s eyes were wide with determination, a terrifying resolve that made Christine’s heart pound.

“Lara, don’t say things like that,” Christine said, trying to keep her voice steady. “You need help, but this isn’t the way to get it.”

“I mean it, Christine!” Lara’s voice cracked with raw emotion. “If you leave, I’ll go to the terrace and jump. I’ll do it. I can’t live without you.”

Christine felt her body stiffen with fear and disbelief. She had seen Lara’s manipulative side before, but this—this was different. This was a new level of control, one that left Christine paralyzed with dread.

Tears burned in Christine’s eyes. She was angry, exhausted, and terrified all at once. She couldn’t let Lara do something so reckless, but she also couldn’t give in to her demands. She felt trapped between two impossible choices.

“I’m not leaving you, Lara,” Christine said, her voice shaking. “But you need to calm down. This isn’t the answer. Threatening to hurt yourself won’t solve anything.”

Lara’s gaze softened for a brief moment, but the desperation in her eyes remained. “Then stay with me,” she whispered. “Just stay. That’s all I ask.”

Christine felt the weight of those words settle deep into her chest. Stay. That was what Lara always wanted—to keep Christine close, to control her, to bind her with invisible chains of guilt and responsibility. But staying meant sacrificing her own peace, her own sanity.

“I can’t keep doing this, Lara,” Christine said softly, her voice barely audible. “I can’t keep living like this.”

Lara’s expression twisted into one of hurt and anger. “Then you’re going to let me die?” she hissed, her voice full of venom. “You’re going to let me go to the terrace and jump because you can’t handle how much I love you?”

Christine’s heart ached, torn between her need to protect herself and the overwhelming guilt that came with Lara’s threats. She didn’t know what to do. Every option felt like a trap, pulling her deeper into the darkness of Lara’s manipulation.

Tears blurred her vision as she tried to speak, her voice shaking with emotion. “Please, Lara… don’t do this.”

Lara stepped closer, her face inches from Christine’s. “Then stay with me,” she whispered, her voice filled with a terrifying calmness. “Stay… or I won’t be here anymore.”

Christine stood frozen, her mind racing. She was trapped, and there was no way out. No matter what she did, the consequences would be devastating.

As the night deepened, Christine realized with a sinking heart that she was stuck in a cycle she didn’t know how to break. Lara had her in a vice grip, and the suffocating weight of responsibility and fear threatened to consume her completely.