Virgil's POV

As soon as I was safe in my room, I'd had one of the worst panic attacks of my life. It took me over an hour to calm down, and, by the time I had, my mind and body were completely numb.

I missed him—Roman. I couldn't do this without him, but I would only hurt Roman more by seeing him now. Out of options, I tried something I'd never done before: summoning another trait. "Patton?" My voice was barely a whisper, so I was sure he hadn't heard me. "Pa—Patton? Are—Are—Are..." I stopped myself to keep from stuttering more. I took a deep breath and tried again. "Patt, can you come here, please?"

He rose up from the floor and looked around. "Virge, you've never summoned me before. What's wrong?"

If I hadn't cried myself dry already, my tears would have started again. "I need a hug, Patt," I whispered.

Patton's POV

"I need a hug, Patt."

I froze, seeing the look in his eyes. Virgil never accepted hugs and even fewer times asked for them. He looked so broken.

I sat down in front of him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders tight. He leaned into me and sighed. "What happened, kiddo?" I asked.

His head on my shoulder, he explained, "I broke up with Roman."

I put my hand in his hair, running my fingers over his head. "Why?" I asked carefully. "What happened?"

"I didn't want to hurt him anymore." He pulled out of our hug and leaned against the headboard. "I keep having these panic attacks, and I can see how much pain I'm causing him."

"I'm sure that's not true! I've seen the way he looks at you and how much he loves you."

He looked into my eyes. "You know what I used to be, Patt. You know I'm not good for anyone." He squeezed his eyes shut, leaning his head back as he whispered, "But, I miss him already."

Roman's POV

The thoughts going through my head were a jumble of panic and heartbreak. Virgil has broken up with me, and my dream—my nightmare—from months ago had come true. What if the dream I had the other night comes true, too? I knew there was no scientific way that could be true, but we didn't live in a scientific plane. Thomas's mind worked in strange ways.

I couldn't let Virgil kill himself or even try to. I bit my nail as I thought, There are no castles in the Mind, except for maybe...

"Fuck."

The Imagination—my imagination—was the only place. If Virgil went there and died despite my efforts, it could tear Thomas apart from the inside.