She scuffed the floor on her way over to him. She wore a black long sleeve outfit that seemed too large for her and when she wrapped her arms around him; her arms were hard and small.
“I didn’t want to wake you so I stayed down here,” John said shutting the laptop slowly.
She kissed him on the cheek and moved from the island to the fridge. “You found the cookies I see.” She said noticing the empty plate and glass with a mild smirk.
John smiled shyly. “You didn’t want any did you?”
She raised an eyebrow. “I don’t eat that stuff remember?” She opened the refrigerator door and started to rummage through it.
“Right, right. Sorry, I forgot… long hours…” He took a deep breath, rubbing his eyes more, and then letting his hands fall down on the table. “What are you doing up anyways?”
She pulled out a juice box and lifted herself on to the island. “Storm woke me up.” She poked the straw through the box and started to sip.
John smirked, “Well try as it might this town can’t keep me out.”
She looked outside, the hail had lessened, but the pelting noise was still loud enough to be heard. “So who is it this time?” she said with the straw hanging off the side of her lip. She poked the laptop.
“Now, now,” John said with sly tone. “You know I can’t tell you that.”
She rolled her eyes, “I know, I know, the whole ‘less you know the safer you’ll be’ deal.”
“Exactly.” John picked up his laptop and headed over to the living room couch. Sitting down he set the laptop down on his favorite coffee table. He didn’t open it though as his companion sat down next to him and promptly laid her head on his lap.
“Here, lift your head up.” He slid a pillow under her head and laid his head on the back of the couch, giving his eyes a rest.
“Will you have to go to work tomorrow?” she asked quietly.
John started running his fingers through her darkening auburn hair. “Partially, it’s mostly research until Tuesday. I’m going to visit Marcus at the store though. Do you need anything?”
There was a moment of silence before she responded, “I’ll get you a list before you leave.”
He nodded and set his head back again, continuing to slowly run his fingers through her hair.
******
When he woke up there was a growing pain in his neck. Groaning, he tried moving it around and was rewarded with sharp pains. He took a deep breath and eased into turning his neck. The muscle still struggled, but didn’t hurt nearly as much.
“You’re awake, finally,” a familiar voice said to him from behind. Those same bony arms wrapped around his neck.
“What time is it?” John asked after a yawn.
“A bit past eleven.” She gave him a quick kiss and walked back into the kitchen. He followed suit, searching through the cabinets for a heating pad.
“Did you get that list ready?” he asked pulling a pad out and tossing it in the microwave.
She handed him a slip of paper and a cup of coffee. He took the paper but passed on the coffee. “Sorry, not today,” he said while placing the heating pad on his neck. “I need to be alert; being hopped up on caffeine isn’t going to help me.”
“But you barely got any sleep.” She grumbled.
John looked at the clock again as he went for the door. “Six hours is plenty,”She gave him a look and he sighed. “I’ll be back soon and I’ll take a nap then, ok?”
She nodded and waved, “Be careful.”
“Always am!” he called as the door shut.
He started to walk off, stuffing the list in his pocket. He stopped then, realizing he was missing something. John backtracked to the house and was about to turn the knob when the door opened and an arm extended holding his wallet and his camera.
He smiled, taking both and giving her a kiss. She smiled, “What would you do without me?”
John smirked and set off again, waving behind him.
******
The storm had given up and now only a dense fog remained in the air. John needed to remind himself of the lay of the land, so he passed on using his car. The bridge wasn’t too far from the house and getting from there to the shopping district was only a matter of minutes thankfully. He could use the exercise anyways.
With his hands planted firmly in his pockets he crossed the bridge without a single car passing by. He did his best to not let it faze him, but there was a sense of strangeness that he couldn’t shake. Where was everyone? The town was usually so busy it would take you a good twenty minutes to cross the bridge.
He took a moment to pause and admire the lake below him. He took the camera out of its bag and aimed it at the lake. For whatever reason he couldn’t get it to focus on the lake.