Saying Blake was freaking out would've been generous.
'Jesus… is he angry at me or something?'
His fingers dragged along the back of his head, nails lightly scraping against his scalp as if that could ground him somehow. But it really didn't.
The noise outside the gym barely registered at first, just a blur of voices overlapping each other, but then it grew louder and closer, until it snapped him back into place.
The door opened abruptly.
"Blake, are you okay?"
Mr. Dodder rushed in, breath slightly uneven, immediately closing the distance between them. His hands hovered near Blake's face, carefully tilting his head from side to side, scanning for injuries with a focus that felt almost suffocating.
"I'm okay…"
Everything aside, he would feel bad giving this man up for a heart attack.
"For today, go home. We'll handle this. Don't worry about it."
Blake nodded, even if the reassurance didn't quite stick. "Yes, thank you."
