Page 14 of Johnathan
“Sorry.” She pulled in a deep breath, her heart pounding painfully in her chest as the peaceful quiet of her run faded to the assault of her memories. “Is it illegal to run at this time of night?”
“It’s not illegal, but it’s also not safe.”
“I’ve got my pepper spray.”
“Pepper spray isn’t as effective as people think.”
“Awesome. Are you just here to scare me with your law enforcement stats or…”
“What are you doing?”
“Didn’t you just hear me say I’m running?”
He studied her for a minute, just standing there with his arms folded across his chest. She couldn’t help but stare at the way his biceps pulled the fabric of his uniform tight. They looked so strong. Hell, she knew they were. She’d felt so safe being held in them…
“From what?” His question startled her from her thoughts.
“Sorry?”
“Running from what?”
Abby rolled her eyes. “Notfromanything. I just couldn’t sleep.”
“Why couldn’t you sleep?” She didn’t respond, locked in a standoff with him. Finally, John broke the silence. “Please talk to me.”
“It’s not that deep,” she huffed. “It’s honestly nothing. I just had a nightmare and I can’t fall back asleep after they happen. Running turns my brain off. I just needed it to be quiet.”
He reached out, placing his hand on her arm. “Was it about…”
“Yeah. It was about that night.”
“Shit. Do they happen a lot?”
“More after it first happened. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt his knife cutting me. But it’s gotten better. When I woke up, the scar was hurting. My brain probably just picked up on that while I was asleep and flipped me into the nightmare.”
He nodded like he completely understood what she was saying.
“I’m so sorry, Abby.” The hand that was on her arm moved to cup her cheek, his thumb gently stroking her skin. “I should have been able to stop him. You’re suffering because of me.”
“You saved me, John. Don’t think for a second I’m upset with how you handled things.”
“You’re stuck with nightmares and running during the night to cope with them because I didn’t shoot that asshole. If I had, you wouldn’t be hurt. Emma wouldn’t have been hurt.”
“Stop. The only person who has any fault in any of this is Marco.”
He shook his head and ran his hand through his beard.
“Come on. I’ll drive you back to your apartment.”
“No.”
“Why are all the women in my life so goddamn stubborn?” he mumbled, making her laugh.
“You heard me. I’m not done running. I have another loop of the park and then I’m going to run up Second to Sixth Street and back to Main. I’ll be done in about an hour.”
John looked her up and down, a scowl on his face.
“How long have you already been running?”