Habitude, page 10
Jackie walks to Faith’s classroom at the end of the day. “Still on for dinner? I’ve got about an hour’s worth of work left. Is that OK?”
“Yes and yes. An hour will work perfectly.”
“Great! I’ll pull my car up before we go and we can ride together. What do you want to eat?”
“I think some authentic Mexican food sounds delicious.”
“Mama Garcia’s it is!”
Mama Garcia’s is outside of town, between Luna Shores and Caulfield. The drive won’t even take twenty minutes.
Once the two of them finish up their work, Jackie does as she said and comes back in to help Faith carry her things. She will drop her back off at her car once they get back.
“It’s really lucky it was your left foot.”
“It is. I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving otherwise. Jonathan did offer to bring me to school this morning, but I didn’t feel it was necessary.”
“Right.”
Faith decides this is a perfect time to bring up that conversation with Tom that she thought was a red flag. Maybe Jackie and Tom already had a conversation about it and so it won’t be too much of a gut punch.
As she starts the words kind of catch in her throat. She clears it and then continues, “So, while we were at the beer garden, Tom had said somethings I wanted to make sure you knew about. I hope he would have said something to you, but if not you need to know.”
“Did something more happen with Candi?” Concern in her voice.
“No. Not at all. He was complaining about how much time you spend, well, not on him. He didn’t seem to be very supportive, and I didn’t like it.”
“He’s definitely mentioned that before. He complains about it a lot, actually.”
“Jonathan and I both said something to him, trying to set him straight. I’m not sure it made a difference.”
“It’s OK. Like I said, it’s something we’ve been dealing with for some time now.”
“OK. I’m relieved it’s something you already knew, but it still sucks.”
“It sure does. He’s really great otherwise. Honestly, as women, we want someone who wants to spend time with us, but then when it gets in the way of us doing what we need to do, it becomes an issue.”
“That’s true. Jonathan brought up something similar early on. He wanted to be sure I understood his commitment to his work and how much of his time it takes.”
“Well, if Tom can’t get over it and start being more supportive of me and complaining less there might come a point soon that I’ll have to call it quits with him.”
“Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that.”
“If it does, I’ll be fine with it.”
“Really? You guys seem so great together otherwise.”
“We can’t be all that wonderful if he can’t support me, especially when what I’m doing is going to give us a better future, and make me happier. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life. I’ve got things to accomplish that I’m not allowing anyone to hold me back from.”
“That is true. I’m here for whatever you may need.”
“It’s a good thing we’re not living together.”
“That’s true.”
Shortly after their conversation ends Jackie pulls into the parking lot. She hops out, grabbing Faith’s crutches, and hands them to her so she can get out of the car.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It sucks that you got hurt, but it sounds like Jonathan knew exactly how to make you feel better.” She gives her a grin and waggles her eyebrows for added effect.
“If I could hit you right now I would. Unfortunately, if I try I would definitely fall on my face.”
“That’s why I waited. That also would be hilarious. Here, let me get the door for you.” Jackie pulls the door open, holding it for Faith as she hobbles in.
“You’re such a smartass.”
“You wouldn’t have it any other way.” She turns on her heal, following Faith inside the dimly lit, brightly painted restaurant.
“No, no I suppose I wouldn’t.”
The server seats them at a booth. They bring water, chips, and salsa. When the waitress walks up they order guacamole and strawberry margaritas. The guac is made in front of them at the table shortly after. They begin eating that until the waitress comes back with their drinks and takes their orders.
“This was a great idea.” Faith looks down at the molcajete full of fresh guacamole.
Jackie smiles. “Thanks. I tend to have those every once in a while.”
Taking a chip full of guac, Faith says, “Yes, you most certainly do.”
“This is very good.” Jackie says once she’s finished chewing her chip full.
“It usually is. Speaking of food, have I told you how much Jonathan cooks for me?”
“Yeah, it’s like every time you’re over there, right?”
“Yeah, and not super easy meals either. The other night we had prime rib. It was so delicious.”
“Sounds like he’s got some money.” Jackie says, smiling at Faith. “But then again, working as a General Manager at Kansen Corp. I’d think he gets paid pretty well!”
“It seems like it. His place is amazing and he chose everything from the flooring to the paint.”
“That’s pretty awesome.” Jackie wipes the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “I feel like we really needed this time together. It’s nice to be able to catch up outside of school.”
They get their meals and eat with little conversation. Once they finish they order another round of margaritas.
“These are really delicious too.” Faith takes a sip.
“They are. A bit heavy on the tequila, but I’ll never complain about that.” Jackie laughs.
“Agreed.” Faith smiles remembering the time they were in Mexico after high school graduation. “Thinking about it now, I can’t believe our parents let us go on that trip to Mexico.”
“We were both eighteen. My parents were not the ones we were worried about, remember?”
“Yeah, you practically got away with everything while we were growing up.” Faith was always a little jealous of Jackie’s freedom. Especially at that point.
“You were the lucky one really. My parents just didn’t care. They still don’t.” Jackie shrugs her shoulders.
“So, you’re telling me to be grateful that my parents were strict?”
“Exactly. They care about you so much! They’re also genuinely good people. I always loved being at your house when we were growing up. It was like being in a Family sitcom without the cameras and laugh tracks.”
Faith laughs at the image of her family being on TV. “Even with Hope trying to get in on everything we did?”
“She simply felt left out. I never had a little sister, so it didn’t bother me as much as it seemed to bother you.”
“That’s true. Now look at us.” Faith says laughing.
“Right!” She takes another sip of margarita, smiling she continues, “Now we teach other people’s kids and drink on week nights.”
“Are we not supposed to do that?” Faith exaggerates the question.
“I don’t think there’s any rules against it or anything. Parents might frown upon it, though. But then again some of them probably drink on week nights too.”
They both laugh way too hard at that. Their waitress brings the bill. Faith and Jackie pay for their own. The drive back to school is more relaxed. They talk about school stuff and their boyfriends.
“When was the last time we were both in a relationship at the same time?” Jackie asks.
“It’s been a while.”
“I think it might have been in high school.”
“Yeah, you were dating Jay when I was dating… What was he name? Ugh, I can’t think of it. It didn’t last long.” Faith shakes her head.
“I think it was that Greg guy, wasn’t it? Tall, dark brown hair, he drank Mountain Dew constantly.”
“Yup. That’s him!” Faith says, suddenly remembering.
“Whatever happened to him?”
“I think he went away to school and didn’t come back after.”
“It makes you think about how many people from our class alone have moved away from Luna Shores.” Jackie says.
“I believe it’s quite a few. This town is too small for some people.”
Jackie pulls in the parking lot of the school, “Home sweet home.” She says jokingly.
“Thank you for suggesting dinner. It was much needed and I really didn’t want to try to figure out something to eat tonight.”
“Of course and me either! See you tomorrow morning.”
Faith gets out using her crutches, grabs the rest of her things, and gingerly walks over to her car. When she gets in she sees that there is a text message from Jonathan asking how her day went. She responds letting him know she went to dinner with Jackie and that if he wanted he could call her when he gets out of work.
When she gets home, she parks her small crossover in the attached garage and carefully goes into the house from the service door. She sets her things down on the table in the kitchen and proceeds into the living room. Sitting down on the couch resting her armpits she notices that the front door is no longer locked.
She left through the service door this morning, since she always parks in the garage. The last time she used the front door was last night when Jonathan dropped her off. He did help her in the house, but once he left, she locked the door. Dead bolted it and everything.
Now, nothing is locked. A pit in the bottom of her stomach forms. She is frozen to the couch, unable to move. She’s trying desperately to listen for any sign that someone is in her house, but the static from adrenaline in her ears is drowning out everything.
She is hyper-focused looking for any sign of a break-in. There’s nothing that shows forced entry. It doesn’t appear that anything has been stolen or even moved for that matter.
She searches for her phone, unsure of where she put it. It isn’t in her pockets or on her body at all. Nor is it beside her on the couch. She needs to get up and go into the kitchen to see if it ended up in one of her bags or her purse, but she can’t will herself to move.
She tries to remember, the last time she used it was in her car. Shit. What if she left it in her car? She doesn’t have a landline, because who has those anymore?
Faith takes a deep breath. She tries to calm herself. She can feel her heart pounding harder in her chest. What is the best thing she can do right now?
She decides the answer to that is, anything but sit here. As quietly as she can, she grabs her crutches. Trying to stand and not make noise is proving difficult. Her crutches are creaky. She takes another deep breath. Then slowly and as quietly as possible makes her way into the kitchen. There are no other noises in the house, no sign that anyone has been here, but she can feel it.
She senses her privacy, her sanctuary, has been invaded. She can’t tell if this person is still in the house, but she doesn’t want to take any chances.
She grabs her things and slowly makes her way back out to her car. She gets in and locks the doors. She doesn’t start the car until the garage door is opening.
Putting her car in reverse, she practically floors it out of the driveway. Glancing in her rearview mirror, she sees Jonathan, and slams on the brakes, bringing her crossover to an abrupt stop.
Jonathan comes running up to her window. “Is everything OK? What’s going on?” Concern on his face.
Frantically, she says, “There was someone in my house.”
“What do you mean?”
“I got inside and saw the front door unlocked. I know damn well I locked it last night. I didn’t go out that way at all today, and I’m absolutely positive I locked it after you left last night.”
“OK. It’s alright.” He rubs her arm through the car window opening. “Why don’t you get out of the car, and I will take a look inside. We can figure this out together.”
“OK.” She is reluctant to go back into the house, but having Jonathan here is making the prospect of it more realistic. She’s going to have to go back in there at some point.
Faith puts the car in park, turns it off, and steps out, holding Jonathan’s hand. He immediately embraces her and says, “It’s OK, you’re safe. I’m here. Now, did you hear anyone when you were inside?”
Jonathan hands her the crutches from her back seat as she says, “No, I didn’t hear anything. I think I was a bit too freaked out to concentrate even though I was trying.”
“That’s understandable.” He pats her arm gently.
They walk back through the garage and into her kitchen. He points to the door. “You stay near the door. I’m going to go look through the house.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t call the police?”
He peeks into the living room and then continues down the hall. “It would be kind of hard for them to do much. It doesn’t appear like anything has really been moved. Did you notice anything?”
“No, but I only saw the kitchen and living room. Nothing was moved in those two rooms.”
Jonathan goes into her bedroom, then her bathroom. He isn’t finding anyone or anything out of place. He checks her office. Nothing is out of place in there either. He walks back in to the kitchen and down the stairs to her basement, turning on lights as he goes. He doesn’t find anything except storage and cobwebs down there.
He starts back up the stairs. “I’m not seeing anything, Faith Are you absolutely certain someone was in here?”
“I am certain.” The tone of her voice very serious. “I could feel the energy had somehow shifted in the house if that makes sense.”
“How does it feel now?”
“It feels better. It might only be because you’re here, though.”
“That could be. I tend to have that effect.” He smiles at her, emerging from the stairs.
“Thank you for looking, Jonathan.” She tries to put on a smile for him, but she knows it falls flat.
“You’re welcome, Faith. I can stay here tonight with you if you’d like? I’ll have to grab a change of clothes for tomorrow from my place.”
“I think I would like that.”
“OK. Did you want to come with me?”
“Yes. I’d rather not be alone right now.”
“OK.” Jonathan walks over to the front door, locking the handle and deadbolt.
He then pulls her car back into the garage. Faith closes the overhead door once he’s out, and they go to his car.
Jonathan doesn’t take long to gather his things. Faith sits in the kitchen while he’s upstairs. She didn’t want to try to manage all those stairs.
On the way back to her house, she has nearly forgotten what had happened in the first place until her house comes into view. All the anxiety and worry floods back instantly. She takes a deep breath and exhales.
“Are you doing OK? Would you rather sleep at my house? You can grab your things, and I’ll drive back. I’ll carry you up the stairs.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “Thank you, Jonathan. I feel like I need to stay here. This is my home, my sanctum. I can’t allow someone to chase me out of it. I can’t allow them to steal my peace.”
“OK.”
With that, Jonathan pulls into the driveway. He helps her out of the car and grabs his bag. They go inside through the front door. Sitting on the couch, Faith watches Jonathan lock it once again. She can’t shake the feeling that someone was in here, even though nothing seems to have been touched.
She wraps her arms around herself. “I’m so glad I found you, Jonathan. You make me feel so safe. I don’t know what I would do right now if you weren’t here.” Jonathan sits beside her putting his arms around her. She lays her head on his chest as he places his hand on her head gently stroking her hair.
“Can you promise me something?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Promise to call me if this ever happens again. I will always be right here to protect you and keep you safe. I’ll leave work if I have to. You are my priority.”
“I promise.”
Faith looks down at her hands. She lied; she can imagine how differently things would be right now without him. They would be worse. Her anxiety would be through the roof, and she would probably have called her dad to double check on things. She would be sleeping alone tonight, scared.
Jonathan notices her looking down, deep in thought. “Hey, it’s OK. Everything is alright. I’m here, and I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.” He kisses her on the top of her head.
“I know. Thank you, Jonathan.”
“You’re welcome, Faith.” He gives her a squeeze. Jonathan is thankful she was too scared to question him, too worried to realize he wasn’t at work and that he hadn’t text her back.
Later that night, laying in her bed next to her, he replays the evening. He hadn’t wanted to go into her house, but when she didn’t reply to his text and he saw she wasn’t home, he couldn’t stop himself. He tried to make the excuse that he was worried about her, but it wasn’t entirely that. He hadn’t meant to scare her, but he was grateful he was there to make sure everything was OK and make her feel safe again. How had he forgotten to lock the door behind him?
Chapter 17
Plenitude
Noun; the quality or state of being full, completeness
The end of the school year came quickly. Faith is happy about that since her students are getting antsy for summer, and truth be told she is too. She was hoping that working at the café would afford her and Jonathan more time to spend together.
Faith thought of the potential break-in only occasionally in the last few weeks. Jonathan made her feel so safe and has reassured her that he will be there if she needs him and any worry she had has subsided.
The weekends are still when they get to spend the most time together. It’s been fine for now, but Faith has been wanting more. She doesn’t want to put pressure on him, and she is trying to be understanding and accepting of his schedule.
Luckily for her, Jonathan wants more too, and little does she know he has something in the works.
“Yes and yes. An hour will work perfectly.”
“Great! I’ll pull my car up before we go and we can ride together. What do you want to eat?”
“I think some authentic Mexican food sounds delicious.”
“Mama Garcia’s it is!”
Mama Garcia’s is outside of town, between Luna Shores and Caulfield. The drive won’t even take twenty minutes.
Once the two of them finish up their work, Jackie does as she said and comes back in to help Faith carry her things. She will drop her back off at her car once they get back.
“It’s really lucky it was your left foot.”
“It is. I wouldn’t feel comfortable driving otherwise. Jonathan did offer to bring me to school this morning, but I didn’t feel it was necessary.”
“Right.”
Faith decides this is a perfect time to bring up that conversation with Tom that she thought was a red flag. Maybe Jackie and Tom already had a conversation about it and so it won’t be too much of a gut punch.
As she starts the words kind of catch in her throat. She clears it and then continues, “So, while we were at the beer garden, Tom had said somethings I wanted to make sure you knew about. I hope he would have said something to you, but if not you need to know.”
“Did something more happen with Candi?” Concern in her voice.
“No. Not at all. He was complaining about how much time you spend, well, not on him. He didn’t seem to be very supportive, and I didn’t like it.”
“He’s definitely mentioned that before. He complains about it a lot, actually.”
“Jonathan and I both said something to him, trying to set him straight. I’m not sure it made a difference.”
“It’s OK. Like I said, it’s something we’ve been dealing with for some time now.”
“OK. I’m relieved it’s something you already knew, but it still sucks.”
“It sure does. He’s really great otherwise. Honestly, as women, we want someone who wants to spend time with us, but then when it gets in the way of us doing what we need to do, it becomes an issue.”
“That’s true. Jonathan brought up something similar early on. He wanted to be sure I understood his commitment to his work and how much of his time it takes.”
“Well, if Tom can’t get over it and start being more supportive of me and complaining less there might come a point soon that I’ll have to call it quits with him.”
“Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that.”
“If it does, I’ll be fine with it.”
“Really? You guys seem so great together otherwise.”
“We can’t be all that wonderful if he can’t support me, especially when what I’m doing is going to give us a better future, and make me happier. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life. I’ve got things to accomplish that I’m not allowing anyone to hold me back from.”
“That is true. I’m here for whatever you may need.”
“It’s a good thing we’re not living together.”
“That’s true.”
Shortly after their conversation ends Jackie pulls into the parking lot. She hops out, grabbing Faith’s crutches, and hands them to her so she can get out of the car.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. It sucks that you got hurt, but it sounds like Jonathan knew exactly how to make you feel better.” She gives her a grin and waggles her eyebrows for added effect.
“If I could hit you right now I would. Unfortunately, if I try I would definitely fall on my face.”
“That’s why I waited. That also would be hilarious. Here, let me get the door for you.” Jackie pulls the door open, holding it for Faith as she hobbles in.
“You’re such a smartass.”
“You wouldn’t have it any other way.” She turns on her heal, following Faith inside the dimly lit, brightly painted restaurant.
“No, no I suppose I wouldn’t.”
The server seats them at a booth. They bring water, chips, and salsa. When the waitress walks up they order guacamole and strawberry margaritas. The guac is made in front of them at the table shortly after. They begin eating that until the waitress comes back with their drinks and takes their orders.
“This was a great idea.” Faith looks down at the molcajete full of fresh guacamole.
Jackie smiles. “Thanks. I tend to have those every once in a while.”
Taking a chip full of guac, Faith says, “Yes, you most certainly do.”
“This is very good.” Jackie says once she’s finished chewing her chip full.
“It usually is. Speaking of food, have I told you how much Jonathan cooks for me?”
“Yeah, it’s like every time you’re over there, right?”
“Yeah, and not super easy meals either. The other night we had prime rib. It was so delicious.”
“Sounds like he’s got some money.” Jackie says, smiling at Faith. “But then again, working as a General Manager at Kansen Corp. I’d think he gets paid pretty well!”
“It seems like it. His place is amazing and he chose everything from the flooring to the paint.”
“That’s pretty awesome.” Jackie wipes the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “I feel like we really needed this time together. It’s nice to be able to catch up outside of school.”
They get their meals and eat with little conversation. Once they finish they order another round of margaritas.
“These are really delicious too.” Faith takes a sip.
“They are. A bit heavy on the tequila, but I’ll never complain about that.” Jackie laughs.
“Agreed.” Faith smiles remembering the time they were in Mexico after high school graduation. “Thinking about it now, I can’t believe our parents let us go on that trip to Mexico.”
“We were both eighteen. My parents were not the ones we were worried about, remember?”
“Yeah, you practically got away with everything while we were growing up.” Faith was always a little jealous of Jackie’s freedom. Especially at that point.
“You were the lucky one really. My parents just didn’t care. They still don’t.” Jackie shrugs her shoulders.
“So, you’re telling me to be grateful that my parents were strict?”
“Exactly. They care about you so much! They’re also genuinely good people. I always loved being at your house when we were growing up. It was like being in a Family sitcom without the cameras and laugh tracks.”
Faith laughs at the image of her family being on TV. “Even with Hope trying to get in on everything we did?”
“She simply felt left out. I never had a little sister, so it didn’t bother me as much as it seemed to bother you.”
“That’s true. Now look at us.” Faith says laughing.
“Right!” She takes another sip of margarita, smiling she continues, “Now we teach other people’s kids and drink on week nights.”
“Are we not supposed to do that?” Faith exaggerates the question.
“I don’t think there’s any rules against it or anything. Parents might frown upon it, though. But then again some of them probably drink on week nights too.”
They both laugh way too hard at that. Their waitress brings the bill. Faith and Jackie pay for their own. The drive back to school is more relaxed. They talk about school stuff and their boyfriends.
“When was the last time we were both in a relationship at the same time?” Jackie asks.
“It’s been a while.”
“I think it might have been in high school.”
“Yeah, you were dating Jay when I was dating… What was he name? Ugh, I can’t think of it. It didn’t last long.” Faith shakes her head.
“I think it was that Greg guy, wasn’t it? Tall, dark brown hair, he drank Mountain Dew constantly.”
“Yup. That’s him!” Faith says, suddenly remembering.
“Whatever happened to him?”
“I think he went away to school and didn’t come back after.”
“It makes you think about how many people from our class alone have moved away from Luna Shores.” Jackie says.
“I believe it’s quite a few. This town is too small for some people.”
Jackie pulls in the parking lot of the school, “Home sweet home.” She says jokingly.
“Thank you for suggesting dinner. It was much needed and I really didn’t want to try to figure out something to eat tonight.”
“Of course and me either! See you tomorrow morning.”
Faith gets out using her crutches, grabs the rest of her things, and gingerly walks over to her car. When she gets in she sees that there is a text message from Jonathan asking how her day went. She responds letting him know she went to dinner with Jackie and that if he wanted he could call her when he gets out of work.
When she gets home, she parks her small crossover in the attached garage and carefully goes into the house from the service door. She sets her things down on the table in the kitchen and proceeds into the living room. Sitting down on the couch resting her armpits she notices that the front door is no longer locked.
She left through the service door this morning, since she always parks in the garage. The last time she used the front door was last night when Jonathan dropped her off. He did help her in the house, but once he left, she locked the door. Dead bolted it and everything.
Now, nothing is locked. A pit in the bottom of her stomach forms. She is frozen to the couch, unable to move. She’s trying desperately to listen for any sign that someone is in her house, but the static from adrenaline in her ears is drowning out everything.
She is hyper-focused looking for any sign of a break-in. There’s nothing that shows forced entry. It doesn’t appear that anything has been stolen or even moved for that matter.
She searches for her phone, unsure of where she put it. It isn’t in her pockets or on her body at all. Nor is it beside her on the couch. She needs to get up and go into the kitchen to see if it ended up in one of her bags or her purse, but she can’t will herself to move.
She tries to remember, the last time she used it was in her car. Shit. What if she left it in her car? She doesn’t have a landline, because who has those anymore?
Faith takes a deep breath. She tries to calm herself. She can feel her heart pounding harder in her chest. What is the best thing she can do right now?
She decides the answer to that is, anything but sit here. As quietly as she can, she grabs her crutches. Trying to stand and not make noise is proving difficult. Her crutches are creaky. She takes another deep breath. Then slowly and as quietly as possible makes her way into the kitchen. There are no other noises in the house, no sign that anyone has been here, but she can feel it.
She senses her privacy, her sanctuary, has been invaded. She can’t tell if this person is still in the house, but she doesn’t want to take any chances.
She grabs her things and slowly makes her way back out to her car. She gets in and locks the doors. She doesn’t start the car until the garage door is opening.
Putting her car in reverse, she practically floors it out of the driveway. Glancing in her rearview mirror, she sees Jonathan, and slams on the brakes, bringing her crossover to an abrupt stop.
Jonathan comes running up to her window. “Is everything OK? What’s going on?” Concern on his face.
Frantically, she says, “There was someone in my house.”
“What do you mean?”
“I got inside and saw the front door unlocked. I know damn well I locked it last night. I didn’t go out that way at all today, and I’m absolutely positive I locked it after you left last night.”
“OK. It’s alright.” He rubs her arm through the car window opening. “Why don’t you get out of the car, and I will take a look inside. We can figure this out together.”
“OK.” She is reluctant to go back into the house, but having Jonathan here is making the prospect of it more realistic. She’s going to have to go back in there at some point.
Faith puts the car in park, turns it off, and steps out, holding Jonathan’s hand. He immediately embraces her and says, “It’s OK, you’re safe. I’m here. Now, did you hear anyone when you were inside?”
Jonathan hands her the crutches from her back seat as she says, “No, I didn’t hear anything. I think I was a bit too freaked out to concentrate even though I was trying.”
“That’s understandable.” He pats her arm gently.
They walk back through the garage and into her kitchen. He points to the door. “You stay near the door. I’m going to go look through the house.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t call the police?”
He peeks into the living room and then continues down the hall. “It would be kind of hard for them to do much. It doesn’t appear like anything has really been moved. Did you notice anything?”
“No, but I only saw the kitchen and living room. Nothing was moved in those two rooms.”
Jonathan goes into her bedroom, then her bathroom. He isn’t finding anyone or anything out of place. He checks her office. Nothing is out of place in there either. He walks back in to the kitchen and down the stairs to her basement, turning on lights as he goes. He doesn’t find anything except storage and cobwebs down there.
He starts back up the stairs. “I’m not seeing anything, Faith Are you absolutely certain someone was in here?”
“I am certain.” The tone of her voice very serious. “I could feel the energy had somehow shifted in the house if that makes sense.”
“How does it feel now?”
“It feels better. It might only be because you’re here, though.”
“That could be. I tend to have that effect.” He smiles at her, emerging from the stairs.
“Thank you for looking, Jonathan.” She tries to put on a smile for him, but she knows it falls flat.
“You’re welcome, Faith. I can stay here tonight with you if you’d like? I’ll have to grab a change of clothes for tomorrow from my place.”
“I think I would like that.”
“OK. Did you want to come with me?”
“Yes. I’d rather not be alone right now.”
“OK.” Jonathan walks over to the front door, locking the handle and deadbolt.
He then pulls her car back into the garage. Faith closes the overhead door once he’s out, and they go to his car.
Jonathan doesn’t take long to gather his things. Faith sits in the kitchen while he’s upstairs. She didn’t want to try to manage all those stairs.
On the way back to her house, she has nearly forgotten what had happened in the first place until her house comes into view. All the anxiety and worry floods back instantly. She takes a deep breath and exhales.
“Are you doing OK? Would you rather sleep at my house? You can grab your things, and I’ll drive back. I’ll carry you up the stairs.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “Thank you, Jonathan. I feel like I need to stay here. This is my home, my sanctum. I can’t allow someone to chase me out of it. I can’t allow them to steal my peace.”
“OK.”
With that, Jonathan pulls into the driveway. He helps her out of the car and grabs his bag. They go inside through the front door. Sitting on the couch, Faith watches Jonathan lock it once again. She can’t shake the feeling that someone was in here, even though nothing seems to have been touched.
She wraps her arms around herself. “I’m so glad I found you, Jonathan. You make me feel so safe. I don’t know what I would do right now if you weren’t here.” Jonathan sits beside her putting his arms around her. She lays her head on his chest as he places his hand on her head gently stroking her hair.
“Can you promise me something?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Promise to call me if this ever happens again. I will always be right here to protect you and keep you safe. I’ll leave work if I have to. You are my priority.”
“I promise.”
Faith looks down at her hands. She lied; she can imagine how differently things would be right now without him. They would be worse. Her anxiety would be through the roof, and she would probably have called her dad to double check on things. She would be sleeping alone tonight, scared.
Jonathan notices her looking down, deep in thought. “Hey, it’s OK. Everything is alright. I’m here, and I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you.” He kisses her on the top of her head.
“I know. Thank you, Jonathan.”
“You’re welcome, Faith.” He gives her a squeeze. Jonathan is thankful she was too scared to question him, too worried to realize he wasn’t at work and that he hadn’t text her back.
Later that night, laying in her bed next to her, he replays the evening. He hadn’t wanted to go into her house, but when she didn’t reply to his text and he saw she wasn’t home, he couldn’t stop himself. He tried to make the excuse that he was worried about her, but it wasn’t entirely that. He hadn’t meant to scare her, but he was grateful he was there to make sure everything was OK and make her feel safe again. How had he forgotten to lock the door behind him?
Chapter 17
Plenitude
Noun; the quality or state of being full, completeness
The end of the school year came quickly. Faith is happy about that since her students are getting antsy for summer, and truth be told she is too. She was hoping that working at the café would afford her and Jonathan more time to spend together.
Faith thought of the potential break-in only occasionally in the last few weeks. Jonathan made her feel so safe and has reassured her that he will be there if she needs him and any worry she had has subsided.
The weekends are still when they get to spend the most time together. It’s been fine for now, but Faith has been wanting more. She doesn’t want to put pressure on him, and she is trying to be understanding and accepting of his schedule.
Luckily for her, Jonathan wants more too, and little does she know he has something in the works.
