Page 18 of Hunted

Chapter 9

Abigail

Abigailwokeinacold sweat, sitting upright in her bed with a jolt. She’d had a nightmare of the attack, and the details still lingered in her mind. She needed to get out for a while. Had to. Left in this house to heal, she was only dwelling on her thoughts. She was doing plenty of physical healing but not as much mental healing.

Dominic was nowhere to be found. A fresh pot of coffee sat on the maker, probably in consideration of her. He was so nice.

He had left a note on the fridge.

Abigail,

Hated to leave in a hurry, but had to go get some work done.

Last night was fantastic. I hope you had a great time too.

Stay out of trouble while I’m away!

—Dominic

It made her feel guilty for leaving because his instructions—the healer’s instructions—were so clear… bedrest for a week and then only light exercise. But the pain was genuinely better. She guessed that most of her internal injuries had healed, even if the pain in her arm remained.

For five solid minutes, she sat at the kitchen table in quiet deliberation, admiring the natural morning light as it shot against the mahogany cupboards and shined on the glasses, teacups, and plates inside them.

Then she remembered the look on Christian’s face and images of the destroyed classroom.

And that was enough to motivate her. She was done sitting here, feeling like she was dwindling away. She needed to move. It would just be a stroll around the block, she told herself.

After about five minutes of walking, it hit her how badly hurt she really was, even now. Her pain medication had been reduced at the guidance of the healer, so even if she was better, she felt so much worse.

The morning sun burned hot against her skin. She had become very sweaty in a short amount of time.

It was hot—unbearably hot.

That was about when she arrived at the park, after about twenty minutes of walking. She’d walked much longer than she intended, but her legs had been cooped up so long they didn’t know when to stop moving.

She found a bench under a tree, which offered some nice shade. The metal was uncomfortable, but surprisingly cool. It jutted into her awkwardly, but she still found it refreshing. She decided she’d take a second to rest here. After that, she’d probably head home. It was a good walk, but she didn’t want to upset Dominic.

Around the playground, many children gathered to play, enjoying the day off of school. Five children were playing tag and running through the sandpit, another half dozen played on and around the swing set, and four more were running around and clambering across the jungle gym.

But what stuck out to her were the three gathered at a picnic table.

“I think it’s four-thirds?”

Across the way, she caught Gavin, Isolde, and a slightly older girl she didn’t recognize diligently studying together. She had met them yesterday. Gavin was five, and Isolde was six, which was about the age of the kids she worked with. She noticed that it was pretty advanced math for their age.

That’s when Isolde noticed her and waved her over.

“Miss Abby!”

She was in pain and had only just sat down, but she tried to play it off as she approached them. A slight breeze had developed, which made the heat a bit more bearable. The wind was hot but refreshing.

Abigail greeted them and took a seat at the picnic table. “What are you working on?”

“Hi, Miss Abby!” Isolde welcomed her. “This is my big sister Samara. She’s ten!”

“How do you do?” Abigail smiled warmly.

“She’s learning fractions with us,” Gavin informed her.

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