Breathless (5 page)

Lainey nodded, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I will. I just don’t want him asking too many questions about me.”

“You can’t start a friendship with secrets, Lainey. It won’t help either of you.”

“I’m very grateful Peter shared some of his clothing with me,” Jon said, sitting up.

“He’s a great guy like that.” Lainey took the plate from his lap and set it on the end table. “Well, I guess he is."

He seemed to notice her sarcasm. “What happened to your dad? You said Peter is your step-dad.”

Lainey handed him his medication with a glass of water. She waited until he swallowed it and gave the cup back. “Wow, starting out with the hard questions. Umm… he left when I was six. Just packed up and was gone. I haven’t heard from or seen him since. My mom married Peter when I was eight and they had Rachel not long after that.”

“Sounds difficult.”

“It’s not bad. Peter is a nice guy, but… he’s not my dad. He understands, though it probably hurts his feelings. He tries hard.” Lainey ran a hand through her hair. “What about your family?”

“My family isn’t complicated. It’s just me and my dad. I’m adopted; don’t know anything about my birth parents and I’m okay with it.” Jon adjusted his position on the couch.

“You don’t wonder about your birth parents?”

“Not really. I can’t remember them.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry your dad couldn’t be a man and take care of his daughter.”

Lainey rubbed at a nonexistent spot on her clothing. Eventually she put her hands on her knees and stood. “Anyway, are you ready to try moving around today? I thought you might wanna go to the store and get some shoes since Peter’s feet are smaller than yours.”

Jon nodded, sliding his legs over the edge of the couch and resting his bare feet on the rug. He stood unsteadily. Starting towards the kitchen, he stumbled. Lainey quickly wrapped her arm around his waist.

“You really aren’t good at this,” she teased.

“Sorry, I don’t have a lot of practice.”

“At walking?”

“Not really.” Jon gave her a grin and she assumed he had a bizarre sense of humor.

Lainey cleared her throat as she removed her arm. “How does the wound feel?”

“It’s sore, but better than yesterday.”

“Good. So, I guess I will show you to the shower. Sorry, but it’s upstairs. Think you can manage?”

Jon nodded and Lainey led the way. It was slow moving. She put her arm around him again as she helped him climb the stairs. Her skin tingled where she touched him. He stubbed his toes against the wood twice, and he mumbled something too low for her to hear as he smacked them again. She bit down on her lip to keep from smiling. The two emerged in the bathroom after a few minutes. Lainey demonstrated how to work the shower and handed Jon the pile of clothes Peter had left for him to wear. She ducked out of the bathroom, heading to her bedroom to calm her breathing and refocus before she remembered his naked body and imagined him showering.

Once Jon had showered and went back downstairs, Lainey slipped on her shoes to walk to the local Wal-Mart. It was slow since Jon didn’t move very fast. He tripped twice, but managed to stay on his feet. Lainey couldn’t help but laugh at his expense. 

“Sorry,” she said. “I hope I’m not hurting your feelings.”

“No, not a bit. This is just harder than I remember.” 

Lainey wasn’t exactly sure what he was referring to, but let it slide. “I’ve never met anyone like you.” 

He laughed. “You won’t figure me out.” 

“I’m gonna try though. You go around rescuing strange girls from drowning far from shore and then… you need saving yourself. How – why – I –”

“I can’t tell you. Not yet.”

Lainey rolled her eyes, continuing towards the store. It was a longer walk than the pharmacy, but Lainey didn’t drive. She knew how to, but she didn’t like it. She’d much rather walk. Jon kept up, but barely. Guilt made an appearance, and she pushed it back down. Jon wasn’t badly injured; his fever was gone and the antibiotics were working. Wal-Mart wasn’t very busy in the afternoon, and Lainey was grateful. She wasn’t fond of places with lots of people. She walked towards the clothing aisle where Jon picked up a shirt with a big bird on it.

“People really wear fowl on their clothing?” he asked.

“Yes.” She laughed, setting it down. “Some people have no sense of style.”

“Ah, so I’m trusting you’ll help me pick out some clothes? I know nothing about fashion.” Jon picked up a pair of red skinny jeans and held them against himself.

Lainey grabbed them from his hand and put them back on the shelf. “You definitely need help.”

It didn’t take long for her to pick out a few outfits. After Jon went into the changing room, arms laden with clothes, Lainey’s phone buzzed in her pocket.

Hanging out with the mysterious man of the sea?

It was from Rachel. Lainey sighed and answered yes. She added that they’d be home soon and would bring some Oreos. Her sister texted back it was supposed to rain, and she wanted to watch a movie. Lainey agreed, mentally adding popcorn to her list.

“What are you doing?” Jon asked, emerging from the changing room with the pile of clothing.

“I’m just texting Rachel. Did the clothes fit?”

He nodded. “What is texting?”

Lainey’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, right?”

Jon cleared his throat and adjusted the bundle in his arms. “How are we going to pay for this? I don’t have any money.”

“I’m not surprised, Mysterious Man of the Sea. You had absolutely nothing when I found you. I have some money from my waitressing days, so don’t worry about it. It’s my small gift for saving my life.”

Jon gave her a strange look. “What did you call me?”

“Sorry! It’s what Rachel nicknamed you, though I might have mentioned it first.”

“I like it.”

Lainey turned towards the grocery section and swore she heard him mutter; “
More than you know
.” She waited for him to follow. Jon helped her pick out some junk food before they headed to the shoe department. They chose some flip-flops for him to wear. Jon kept up a steady stream of questions about the things he saw as they checked-out and headed back into the sunshine.

She saw him before he saw her. He stood beside the bicycle rack with several others boys from their grade and a girl who’d done her best to make Lainey’s years of high school hell.

“Oh shit.” Lainey turned away, but it was too late.

“Hey, Lain!” Oliver called.

Jon’s eyes narrowed as Oliver jogged over to them. He stopped a few feet from her, snapping his fingers at his sides. Lainey smiled a little as Jon took a possessive step closer to her.

“Hey, how are you? I heard about the accident on your birthday.” Oliver looked Jon up and down once before turning back to Lainey. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah, I almost drowned, but I’m doing
dandy
!” Lainey crossed her arms over her chest, which was hard with the bags in her hands. “What do you want, Ollie?”

“Who’s your new friend?” Oliver turned his gaze to Jon again. “I haven’t seen you around.”

“I just got here. My name is Jonathan, but everyone calls me Jon.”

He shook Oliver’s hand, squeezing tight and causing Oliver to wince before he pulled his hand back.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you. What brings you to our pathetic town?”

“The ocean currents at this time of year.”

Lainey covered her smile with her hand, but quickly returned to her objective. Get away from Oliver and go home.

“What do you want?”

Oliver shifted, sticking a hand in his pocket. He rubbed one of his eyes and avoided looking directly at her. “I wanted to apologize for what happened. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Well, you did.”

“Lainey, I –”

“You brought up Becca on my birthday, when you and I hadn’t spoken since she disappeared.”

Oliver groaned, running his fingers through his hair. Jon took another step closer to Lainey.

“I was just trying to be friendly. You pushed all of us away after Becca went missing. No one even knows what happened. You’re the only witness – the only person who knows what happened that day.”

“And I sure as hell am not going to tell you. It’s my nightmare and my pain, not yours.” Lainey shouted, clenching her fists.

“She was my friend too!”

Lainey ran her hands over her face. “Then why am I the only one to mourn her death?”

Oliver threw his hands up. “You’re the only one who can’t let her go! She wouldn’t have wanted you to suffer like this. Becca would have wanted you to move on.”

Thunder rumbled, and raindrops began to fall. Tears formed in Lainey’s eyes and streamed down her cheeks without her consent. “We don’t know what Becca would have wanted. We’ll never know.”

“She would have wanted you to be happy.” Oliver grabbed her wrist as she tried to turn away.

“Don’t touch her.” Jon’s voice was low and even as he stepped in front of Lainey.

Oliver released her, taking a step back.

“It was nice meeting you.” Jon turned around. The twinkle in his eyes and the lines beside his mouth kept Lainey distracted as he gently turned her around.

Lainey tried to hold in her sobs as Oliver walked away. Her eyes didn’t leave Jon’s. His warm hand touched her cheek, and she desperately wanted to press her hand to his, to hold it there longer. Jon waited for a moment.

“Are you okay?”

Lainey shook her head.

“Let’s get you home. I believe you promised Rachel an afternoon of cookies and movies.”

Lainey wanted to thank him as he walked beside her, but the words wouldn’t form on her tongue or in her heart. He didn’t have to stand up for her. He didn’t have to stop Ollie’s stupid argument. But he had. This was becoming a debt she had no idea how to repay.

Two blocks from her house, it started to pour. The cold, sharp raindrops stung Lainey’s skin. She motioned to Jon and they ran the rest of the way back. He stopped her at the bottom of the stairs. Raindrops stuck in his eye lashes. His white t-shirt clung to his defined stomach and Lainey had to look away.

“Will you be okay?” Jon asked.

“I’m fine.” She attempted to smile, but it fell.

“I don’t believe you one bit. You’re not a great liar.”

“I can’t talk about it now. I’m sorry, Jon.”

He seemed to understand. “I won’t make you say anything you don’t want to.”

Lainey didn’t get a chance to respond before he slowly started up the wooden stairs. In her haste, she’d forgotten about his injury. Rachel met them at the top of the stairs. She held two of the biggest towels in the house.

“Nice day for a walk,” she teased. “You guys look wonderful. I do hope the popcorn and the Oreos didn’t get wet.”

Jon grinned at Rachel. “Your sister is very smart and she tied the bags closed before it started to rain too hard. Hopefully it helped.”

Lainey came up the stairs behind Jon, not saying a word to Rachel. She wrapped a towel around Lainey’s shoulders and moved her towards the bathroom.

Lainey changed quickly. She walked into the living room and gasped softly. Rachel was down on her knees, cleaning blood from Jon’s feet, and he was wincing. The bags from Wal-Mart were on the floor in the kitchen, with the new shoes for Jon still inside. She’d never given him a chance to put them on before Oliver annoyed her and they walked home. Lainey couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Jon smiled, and she swore her heart skipped a beat or two. “It’s not too bad. Just a few cuts. My stomach doesn’t feel too sore either.” 

“Jon, I’m so sorry.” Lainey stepped back into the kitchen. She moved towards the sink, watching the rain pour down out the small window. She braced her arms against the rim of the counter. Her breaths were deep, but uneven. She heard him enter the kitchen a few minutes later as she tried to brush the tears from her face. “Sorry. I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine,” he said, stepping closer to the counter. “I can tell you’re not. I could tell the first time I met you, when you were drowning and had stopped fighting against the current. I could tell you needed help.”

Lainey slowly turned around. “Is that why you saved me?”