Taking Chances by Amanda Lukacs

too. One was a red phone booth another was a squeaky royal guard and the last was a plush replica of the underground sign. Taking the bag with her purchases in it Jenna left the store so she could go get her picture.
     
    Noticing again the man behind her after she picked up her picture wrapped in brown paper she started to panic. She felt the all too familiar fog rolling over her mind. She headed in the direction of the hotel. The man followed her for the first block. Just to prove to herself that she was being silly she went the wrong way around a block. All the sudden there were too many people, the city was too loud and everything was just too much for her to handle. The man had followed her around the block and all the way to the hotel. Just outside the hotel she tripped. Tyler was inside in the lobby and saw her trip. He ran out to her and got to her a few seconds after the security guard did. When the security guard reached for her to help her up she screamed.
     
    “NOOOO!” Cringing away she sobbed.
     
    “Jenna, baby what’s wrong? What happened?” Tyler knelt down by her and helped her up.
     
    Sobbing Jenna grabbed onto him. “Tyler this man, he has been following me. He has been behind me for over an hour! I was having such a good time. I was actually able to walk around by myself I was so happy. Then I saw him. Oh god Ty I need to go to the room. ” He held her close and felt her shiver. He gathered her dropped packages and nodded to the man before guiding Jenna back to their suite.
     
    When they got back to the suite Tyler sat her down on the plush couch. He put her bags and package on the chair. He went to the bar and got her a drink of water. Sitting next to her he gave her the drink and let her relax a little.
     
    “Princess the man was following you. But he didn’t mean you any harm. His name is Nathan. Nathan is my head of security for the hotel. When mom and Sara got back and told me you were off on your own I panicked.” Pushing her hair back so he could see her face he continued.
     
    “I couldn’t take the chance that you would have an anxiety attack in not only a strange city but a strange country. I sent him to watch you to make sure you came to no harm.” He saw her reaction to his confession and stopped.
     
    Jumping up off the couch Jenna paced back and forth.
     
    “How dare you do that? I told you that I have to do things at my own pace! I have to be able to do things when I feel I am able to. Did you really think that having some stranger follow me would make me secure? Damn it Tyler you have to trust that I know myself enough to know what I can handle!” She was almost vibrating with anger.
     
    “I love that you want to keep me safe, I am over the moon that you didn’t come running and try to tag along or drag me back to the hotel. But, don’t you know that if something were really wrong I would call you or come running to you?” She stared out the window with her back to him her arms were crossed across her chest.
     
    Turning to look at him he saw that she was really ma d. “Damn it Ty you promised!”
     
    She marched over to the other side of the room. “I know myself. Yes I have been alone in the city before and had a full on panic attack. Yes it scared the hell out of me. But I managed. I called Aunt Emma and she talked me down enough so I could get home.”
     
    She turned to look at him. “I have had anxiety since I was six years old. That’s twenty years of learning what it does to me and how to best deal with it. Rule number one for me is to surround myself with people who I can trust, who believe in me and let me be who I am . That means making my mistakes and learning from them. “Jenna walked over to him and fiddled with his tie.
     
    “Today was a test for me. It was a huge deal. Not only was I living one of my dreams by walking around a beautiful city in a different country but I was actually feeling confident with myself that I could try to do