Page 5 of Hero Mine

The shouting. The terror. The pain.

Plus, Mrs. Fuller didn’t truly understand what she was asking Joy to do. How could she? Finding a casserole dish and returning it shouldn’t be difficult, but it was. Was maybe even impossible. But Joy had no way of explaining that.

Not without everyone realizing how bad things had really become for her.

Turning away, she grabbed a couple empty glasses at the next table and stacked them on her tray, desperate for something to occupy her shaking hands. As she pivoted, a customer bumped into her, sending the glasses crashing to the floor.

The noise was deafening. Too loud. Too sharp. In an instant, Joy was back in her living room, fists pounding against her, pain exploding along her ribs, her face.

Over and over.

She was helpless.

She couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move.

Let’s see what that smile would look like without your teeth.

No. She couldn’t. She couldn’t go through this again. Wouldn’t survive. Wouldn’t?—

“Joy.”

The deep voice cut through the fog, pulling her back. Bear crouched at her side, his brown eyes steady and grounding. He reached for the broken shards, his movements unhurried.

“It’s okay,” he said quietly, his voice like a lifeline. “Just a couple of glasses. Nothing that can’t be cleaned up.”

Joy blinked, her breath hitching as reality settled around her again. No Kozak brothers. No one punching her. The bustling restaurant came into focus. The hum of voices. The smell of fried food. The weight of Bear’s gaze.

She nodded stiffly, crouching to help him gather the pieces. Her cheeks burned with humiliation. She couldn’t even handle a broken glass without falling apart.

“You okay?” Bear asked, his voice low enough that only she could hear.

Joy nodded again, not trusting her voice. She hated that he was here, witnessing her weakness along with everyone else.

Hated how she was terrified that if he walked away right now, the darkness would swallow her whole. She couldn’t even figure out how to make her body work. All she could do was stare at the floor.

He seemed to know what was happening. “How about we just put the pieces on your tray. One shard at a time. Okay? Can you pick up one piece?”

One piece. She could pick up one piece.

She did, and then her body remembered how to work again. Between the two of them, they had the biggest fragments picked up in no time. She’d get the rest of it with a broom.

She stood, becoming aware of how quiet the room was. Once again, everyone was looking at her.

Would this be the time Joy completely lost it in public?

“Thanks,” she murmured as he stood too, thankful that as everyone saw Bear behaving normally, regular conversation picked back up.

He offered her a small smile. “Anytime.”

He returned to his seat at the counter, but Joy could feel his eyes on her as she walked to the back room. She pushed through the swinging door and leaned against the cool wall, her breaths coming fast and shallow.

“Get it together,” she muttered under her breath. But the words felt hollow. The truth was, she didn’t recognize herself anymore. The bubbly, fearless woman she’d always been was gone, replaced by someone who jumped at shadows and couldn’t sleep in her own house.

Even here, in the safety of the restaurant she spent so many hours in each week, she couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. It was ridiculous. Paranoia, pure and simple. But sometimes it felt so real, like a shadow in the corner of her eye or a figure just out of reach.

And it was getting worse, rather than better.

She shook her head, desperate to shake off the thought. She couldn’t afford to spiral more—not here, not with everyone watching. She refused to give them the spectacle they were probably waiting for, even if she’d already given them a small preview just minutes ago.