Page 44 of Johnathan

“No arguing. This way I can check on you tonight and I don’t have to worry about the time it would take to get you help if your symptoms end up being worse than they are right now.”

Her muscles still felt weak, her head was battling through dizziness, and her stomach teetered precariously on the edge of nausea.

John turned off the engine, clicked the latch release for her seat belt and his, then got out of the truck and walked to her side. Abby wanted so badly to get out on her own, but her body still felt like it wasn’t able to listen to the requests coming from her brain.

“Do you want me to carry you in?”

“No. Hold my hand? I feel weak.”

“You can hold my hand any time you want to.” John held out his hand and she gripped it, sliding down from his truck onto his driveway. As soon as her feet hit the pavement, her knees buckled and she braced for the pain of landing face down on the ground. But that pain never came.

Instead, she was wrapped in warm arms and steadied against a solid wall of muscles. His chest rose and fell rapidly while he held on to her.

“I-I’m okay.”

“Sweetheart, you are not okay. But I’m going to make sure that you are from here on out.” He pressed a kiss into her hair and the soft, kind gesture made her throat burn with emotion. “I’m going to make the executive decision to carry you in now, okay?”

“Okay.”

Her arms were too weak to wrap around his neck, but her head settled on his shoulder. Abby let her eyes drift shut, the warmth radiating off John lulling her almost immediately to sleep. She wanted to see what his home looked like, but her eyelids weren’t cooperating.

The rhythmic steps of his walking stopped after a moment and she felt him lower her down to something soft. A bed. And then his hands were on her ankles, gently undoing the clasp to her shoes.

She needed him to point her in the direction of the bathroom. There was this desperate need simmering under her skin to get cleaned up, but even just the idea of washing her face was overwhelming.

“Abby?”

“Hmm?”

“Are you okay to sleep like this? Do you need anything?”

She answered with a groan. Pushing herself up as she opened her eyes, she tried to smile at John, who was now at the edge of the bed facing her, staring with worry written all over his face.

“I need a shower,” she pressed up from the bed, wobbled to the sink in the attached bathroom and held on as the world around her spun. John’s hand landed on the small of her back, steadying her.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. It’s not safe right now. There will be time for that in the morning.”

“I can’t…I can’t be in this dress. Can I wear…do you have…” She clawed at the zipper, but her limbs still felt heavy and disconnected from her brain.

“Come sit over here.” John’s warm hands glided over her to the bed and she sat, her shaky legs finally giving out.

“Thank you, John,” her voice wobbled as he pulled the zipper down on her dress. “For not making me call Sam. For saving me, again. For everything.”

“I’m glad I was there tonight.” There was a tightness in his voice as he took a step back. “I’m just going to run and grab some clothes for you. Is that okay? I have a shirt and some sweatpants you can sleep in.”

Her heart fluttered. She wanted to say so many things in that moment, but all that manifested was a small nod. As John left the room, Abby sank back against the pillows.

“I’m going to help you out of the dress, Abby. Is that okay?”

“Mmm.”

“I know you’re tired, but I need you to tell me it’s okay to help you get undressed. Can you open your eyes for one minute?”

The cozy comfort of the bed was calling to her, but she heard the pain in John's voice. Using every last bit of energy she had, Abby opened her eyes.

“It’s okay, John. Please help me.”

She let her eyes flutter closed as his hands worked to take her dress off. A small curse hit her ears as a soft shirt that smelled like her safe place was being tugged over her body. Before she slipped into complete darkness, she felt a gentle kiss being pressed into her forehead.

---