I got back in my car and tore away from the base as fast as I could, my heart hammering and my chest tight with panic. Once I hit the highway, I pushed the accelerator harder, desperate to put distance between myself and the place that had just ripped my world apart. But no matter how fast I drove, my thoughts were relentless, my emotions uncontrollable. My breathing was shallow and ragged, my vision swimming, and I knew I couldn’t go on like this.
The first rest stop I saw, I slammed the car into the parking space and bolted out, leaning against the hood as the tears came without warning. I couldn’t stop them. I tried to ground myself, to breathe, to make sense of anything, but it was useless. The ache in my chest was unbearable, the shame and self-loathing crushing me. I felt like an i*
