Page 75 of Killing Me Softly

Aaron’s breath hitched, but he held it.

“Good. Now exhale. Slowly, let it go.”

Aaron let out a long, shaking breath, his muscles still taut with residual tension.

“Again. In for four—one, two, three, four. Hold… And out, slow, controlled.” Kenny stroked slow circles against the inside of Aaron’s wrist, guiding him gently.

Aaron’s fingers twitched before finally loosening. The lines of strain across his face eased, little by little, though the lingering tension clung to his limbs.

“That’s it. You’re doing good. You’re here.” Kenny squeezed his hand. “With me. In this room.”

Aaron’s breath was still uneven, his eyes glassy, distant. Kenny needed to ground him fully.

“I want you to feel the sofa beneath you. Feel the fabric under your fingers. Feel my hand in yours.”

Aaron flexed his fingers weakly.

“Listen to the sounds in the room. The clock ticking. Jack breathing. The hum of the lamp.”

Aaron’s gaze flickered toward the light, blinking as if reorienting himself.

Kenny held his face, smoothing his thumbs over Aaron’s cheekbones. “Look at me.”

Aaron’s gaze locked onto Kenny’s. Still hazy but no longer trapped in the past and a long breath shuddered out of him. The past was receding.

Kenny exhaled. “That’s it. You’re back.”

Aaron’s breath steadied, lashes fluttering. For a moment, he just stared up at Kenny, blinking as though adjusting to the light. His pupils were dilated, but clarity returned to them, the glassy haze of hypnosis fading into sharp awareness. His body no longer shook. But his expression—God, his expression—was wrecked. Haunted.

Kenny traced circles with his fingers over Aaron’s cheekbones. “You with me, baby?”

Aaron swallowed hard. Nodded.

Jack let out a quiet breath from behind them. “Jesus.”

Aaron licked his lips, his voice hoarse. “That… that was real, wasn’t it?”

Kenny didn’t look away. He couldn’t. “Yeah. It was real.”

The weight of that truth settled between them like a storm cloud about to break.

“That’s her, isn’t it?Child A?”

“It would appear so.” Kenny exhaled wearily.

Aaron sat up, leaned around Kenny to the folder on the table and picked up the CCTV image of the cleaner heading into Kenny’s mother’s room. “It’s her.” He rubbed a hand over his forehead. “The face. I recognise the face.”

“Guess we now have it confirmed who.” Kenny peered up at Jack. “And we know why.” He turned back to Aaron. “Now we need to find where she is.”

“Did you think it was her already?” Aaron asked.

“I had suspicions, yes. I’ve been trying to locate her.”

Aaron’s phone rang on the coffee table, the screen lighting up with the nameTaylor.

Kenny picked it up in utter irritation. Accepted the call. “What thefuckdo you want?”

“Well, hello, Dr Lyons.”A smooth, cold female voice purred through the line.“So lovely to hear your voice again.”

---