Juniper was already breathing in frightened little gasps when I saw Tabitha snatch the inhaler from her hand.
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Chapter 21 / 25
Chapter 21 - Juniper’s First Attack AloneAt fifteen, Juniper experienced an asthma episode at school without me.
She handled it with the adults and her established medical plan.
By the time I arrived, she was stable and annoyed.
“Daddy, stop looking like that.”
“What?”
“Like the world ended.”
I sat.
“You scared me.”
“I was scared too.”
“But you did everything right.”
“Yes.”
Pride and fear mixed.
Then she said:
“I thought about Aunt Tabitha.”
My chest tightened.
“How?”
“I remembered when I didn’t know if I was allowed to ask for my medicine.”
I waited.
“This time I knew I was.”
That broke me.
Not because past vanished.
Because she had reclaimed agency.
She continued:
“I told the teacher immediately.”
“Good.”
“And I wasn’t embarrassed.”
“Good.”
Then:
“You don’t have to follow me to college.”
“I absolutely do.”
She laughed.
May you like
“No.”
We both knew she was right.
Related Stories
Chapter 22 - Orson’s Final LessonDad died when Juniper was seventeen.
Chapter 23 - The Trust MeetingAt eighteen, Juniper attended her first formal trust meeting.
Chapter 24 - Juniper LeavesCollege.
Chapter 25 - Breathe With DaddyTwenty years after the night everything broke, Juniper became Dr. Juniper Mercer.
