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As if she hadn't been through enough already, Lamees found Gunner's mother waiting for her outside the door.

Lamees lowered her eyes as she wiped the last of her tears away and followed the guard down the hall. She could hear his mother's footsteps close behind her and Lamees didn't want to deal with her anymore so she picked up her pace and was almost running outside the facility.

It was only when they were both out on the street, that his mother called out to her. She didn't stop.

"Hey! I didn't catch your name."

"Yes, you did!" She responded loudly, throwing her a quick glance over her shoulder as she paused. "Your son called my name several times."

Lamees was exhausted and this woman seemed to be getting on her last nerve which is perhaps why her small outburst froze Gunner's mother to her spot as she stared at Lamees with surprise in her eyes.

When she didn't respond, Lamees continued, "You probably didn't care enough to catch my name, only that I could be used as bait to get...to get him out." She choked on her words and the tears started to fall once again.

She turned away and ran then, embarrassed beyond words.

She hated that woman. That vile woman who couldn't possibly understand what she was going through and was still insensitive enough to actually suggest that idea out loud. Why did so many people have it out for Muslims? For the ones who haven't done anything even remotely wrong? It wasn't fair. None of this was fair. Her whole situation wasn't fair.

She was the victim here and she was made to feel like the criminal.

Lamees slowed down and clung to her aching sides. Her whole body was shaking. From hurt or anger or exhaustion, she wasn't sure. She stopped completely, bending over and grabbing onto her knees for support. She couldn't breathe properly. Her chest pulsed with a searing pain that made her wince.

At the back of her mind, she could only think of one thing. Nobody cared. She was all alone.

She opened her mouth to get some air in but nothing was happening. It felt like her body was falling apart on the inside, like it had forgotten how to function properly.

Her vision became blurry around the edges and she was certain she was going to fall eventually.

Nobody cared.

She felt a firm hand on her shoulder, jolting her to her senses but she didn't have the strength to look back at the person who was telling her to breathe.

"Take a deep breath," came a voice with a gentle firmness to it. "You can do it. Come on."

She did as she was told and closed her eyes, concentrating on only her breathing.

"Breathe in, now breathe out," the voice kept repeating from behind her, the hand still present on her shoulder. "Breathe in, and now out."

It was a few minutes later that Lamees summoned up enough strength to stand up properly and turned around to thank the person who'd unexpectedly been there to help her.

Gunner's mother nodded sheepishly at her, finally pulling her hand away from Lamees.

Her mouth hung open but she didn't know what to say or where to even start from.

Gunner's mother cleared her throat. "I'm a therapist so that's how I... um, does that happen often to you? The breathing problem?"

Lamees stayed silent for a few seconds before responding. "Few times. No-not a lot."

The woman that was standing in front of her now, who'd just helped her out seemed like a different person than the one she had encountered in the visiting room with Gunner. She no longer had the hatred in her eyes or that judgmental sneer on her face. In fact, she seemed to be actually concerned about her well being, as she stood there, chewing on her bottom lip, probably wondering what to say to her.

"And do your parents know about this? That this happens to you sometimes?"

Lamees crossed her arms across her chest defensively. "I don't think that's any of your business," she said in a low tone but as firmly as she could. She did not want to discuss how much her parents knew about her, certainly not with her.

"My bad," the woman responded, shrugging, not genuinely looking sorry that she had asked.

Lamees turned to walk away when Gunner's mother stopped her with a question. "Have you eaten?"

When Lamees frowned at her, wondering what she was getting at, the woman merely pointed back towards a cafe. "I haven't either so I was thinking we could grab lunch together. My treat."

She started to protest but Gunner's mother raised a hand up to silence her. "Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot here and I behaved and said things that I shouldn't have. I'm sorry about that, I'm not like that at all. You might've come to believe me as a racist but I'm not. And I want you to give me another chance to prove that I'm not."

They stood like that for a while, Lamees thinking it over. What did she have to lose anyway?

"No more talk about... that, what went on in there. With Gunner."

There was a small smile on the woman's face as she regarded the stammering Lamees. She nodded, understanding what she meant. "Deal."