Dude, 131 with John if, and when you have the time! I’ve been wondering about that scenario forever. I can’t believe that was even a prompt!
I definitely went overboard with this and I apologize in advance!
Also, if you’re an emotional person like me THIS is the song I listened to/thought about while writing this.
The woman who sat in front of him, unconscious, was troubleand he knew it. He contemplated what to do with her, but everything just seemedwrong.
This deputy—the woman that had caused so much trouble in solittle time had gotten into his head. He had spent his life doing what otherswanted him to do. Putting himself first was a luxury he could rarely afford nowand, god, did he miss it. He missedbeing carefree and selfish and somehow this deputy made him realize just how much he missed it. His life wasnever his and that was the problem.
The deputy stirred in her chair and immediately startedyanking on her restraints. Waking up in a strange place was never fun. Shelooked around frantically until her gaze settled on John. She relaxed a bit butwas still on alert.
“John…what's going on? What have you done?” she asked,looking down at her wrists. “Please let me go.” If anyone else had beenpleading with him, he would have laughed, but hearing her like this made hisheart break.
“I’m doing this to protect you,” he said sincerely, hopingshe believed him.
“Protect me? People are out there dying because of your family. I don’t need protecting…thepeople out there do. Let me go.” Her anger has bubbled over now and she yankedharder against her restraints, rubbing her wrists raw.
“Stop deputy. You’re hurting yourself.”
“Then take these stupid handcuffs off me,” she hissed.
“Promise you won’t try to run. I just…want to talk to you.”He moved closer to her and she stared at him then nodded. He removed thehandcuffs and she winced, rubbing her wrists. “Let me see.” He took her hands,which she willingly gave to him, and looked them over. He looked into her eyesas he kissed each one.
“What’s going on?” she asked looking at him on his kneesbefore her. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, his eyes filledwith tears. “John, what is it?”
No one else knew about them, not even Joseph. She had beenhis guiding light in all of this darkness. When he had first contacted her, shetried to kill him then she saw how much help he needed. She saw that he was apuppet in all this. The abuse he endured hadn't stopped when he left fostercare.
“I never wanted this,” he gasped. “I never wanted any ofthis!” She knew about his life before this. She knew he had been a lawyer andother darker things that he had fell into. Why couldn’t he have met herthen…before all this happened?
“Then why…”
“Because I was alone. I told you.” The drugs and sex hadmasked his loneliness and his sadness. Joseph finding him again had been thelight at the end of the tunnel but…he never thought it would lead to this.
“John…I would love to help you but what could I possibly do?Part of me thinks you're too far gone. You need your family, your brothers…”
He stood and turned his back to her. “We could run away…justyou and me. No one else has to know.”
“You can't be serious. Your brothers would catch on. Whatwould your followers do?”
“TO HELL WITH THEM!” he shouted and she flinched. “I wouldleave all this behind for you. Dammit, deputy, I’ve fallen in love with you.I’m sure this isn’t what Joseph meant when he said I must love you but here weare.”
“How would this ever work, John?” Her voice cracked and hecould tell she was just as emotional as him.
“Let’s run awaytogether,” he repeated. “Maybe this what I’ve been missing. I thought forthe longest that Joseph would be the one to lead me to salvation but this wholetime its been you.”
“How…”
He kneeled in front of her again and took her face into hishands. “You don’t have to answer right now. Just…stay with me. I’ll take careof you.”
“You’re going to keep me in your bunker?”
“It’s the only place you’ll be safe.” He could see the gearsworking in her head. She was afraid. She was unsure. She bit her lip (somethinghe had come to find endearing) and closed her eyes.
“Okay,” she whispered. “I don't know how the hell this isever going to work but…okay.”
He smiled and real smile, not one of his condescending,arrogant smiles, but a genuine smile.
Weeks later, what Joseph had prophesied had happened and Johnsat in silence wondering if his brother had survived. The deputy was curled upsleeping and he looked at her lovingly. If she would have said no, if she hadturned him down, he would have lost her—his saving grace. He let his tears fallthen—tears that he held in for months, years.
“John,” her voice came to him softly and he turned to lookat her, his eyes full of tears. She held her arms out to him and he curled upinto her arms like a lost child and cried. She let him cry. “We'll get throughthis…together.”
“Together,” he sobbed.
“The running away may have to be put on hold though,” shesaid and he could hear the smile in her voice.
“What are we going to do?” he asked as if she had all theanswers.
“Live,” she responded. He would live. They would live. Whatever he was doing before wasn’t living. Hisnew life started now and though it was starting in a bunker, he couldn’t behappier. His new life would be his and his alone and he had someone to share itwith.
She still held him well into the night…or day, he didn’tknow anymore. She felt him shift and pulled back to look at him. “I have aproposition for you.”
“Hmm, what’s that?”
“Run away with me.” She giggled and he hid his face againsther stomach and laughed.
“Where could we possibly go?” he asked. She didn’t respond rightaway so he looked at her and she had her eyes closed. “What are you doing, mydear?”
“Running away with you. We're in Hawaii.” She nudged him.“Close your eyes.”
“Yes ma'am.”
“Can you feel the sand between your toes?” she asked.
“Sure can. I can also see you in a really tiny bikini…OW!”He grabbed rubbed his leg where she kicked him.
“The sun feels great doesn't it?”
“It does,” he said. His eyes weren’t closed anymore. He wastoo busy staring at her and falling in love even more. She was so pure, souncorrupted…even after all that happened. “You are absolutely beautiful.”
She opened one eye and looked at him. “You’re supposed tohave your eyes closed.”
“Maybe we don’t need to run away,” he said.
“Why not?”
“Well, all I have to do is look into your eyes and I'd getlost in them. They always take me far away from here. It’s one of the reasons Ilove you.” He kissed her and she rubbed his cheeks with her thumbs.
“You can stop with all your smooth moves…you already haveme,” she joked.
“I know but I’m trying to keep you.”
“I’m obviously not going anywhere, John.”
“I can never be too sure, deputy.” He sat up and ran a handthrough his hair, messing it up. She told him she loved seeing him disheveledand a little less worried about his appearance.
“I can’t believe you still call me deputy.”
“What would you have me call you?”
“I don’t know. Can I call you Johnny?”
He made a face. “Ugh, please don’t.” He stood up and madehis way to the bathroom. “When I get back we're running away again but I get topick where we go this time.”
She smiled brightly and moved down into the bed a littlemore. “Can't wait.”
I was tagged by @spooky-satoris, thanks for tagging me!
I'm gonna tag: @gerbildine, @hanaboku, @hollywoodcassiecage, @blssmd, @lillyfur, @totally-not-a-psychopath, @mikleohno, @cheetothecat, @akatsukigadaisuki, @cipherwheeldecoder if you guys want to do it!
