Page 52 of Run to Me

“Never again,” I promise. “You’ll be the first person I call at any sign of trouble.”

With another sigh, he tugs me against his broad chest. I’ve been against a lot of men’s chests recently. So much hugging. “Be good, baby girl,” he says with a kiss to the top of my head. “Mega good.”

I shove him away, smiling at his retreating back as he walks down the driveway.

Back inside, Pam joins me on the couch again, and we sit in comfortable silence for several minutes as the events of the past few days play through my mind. Marzan, the mugging, Jensen, my friends’ reactions and concern. I’ve never felt such a wide range of emotions in such a short span of time. At the moment, I’m mostly feeling anger. And as I’ve discovered, I cry when I’m angry.

Pam grasps one of my hands between hers. “Do you want to talk about it?”

I swipe under my eyes and face her, opening myself up to her sympathetic gaze. “Is it weird that I’m not too messed up over the mugging?”

Her features soften even more. “Yet.”

“Maybe never. The incident isn’t what I’m losing sleep over.”

“Then tell me what is.” A full sob racks my body, and she folds me into her embrace. “Let it out, sweet girl. Let it all out.”

“I didn’t last twenty-four hours on my own,” I cry. “The world didn’t even bother to chew before spitting me back out. My boss groped me. A stranger attacked me. I just want to be cherished for once in my life. To be treated like a human being with feelings and not like some useless object.”

She wipes the tears from my cheeks. “So many people cherish you, and I’m proud to be one of them. Whatever you’re looking for, whatever you think is missing from your life, look no further than the friends you have. They would do anything for you because they value you and want to support you. Let them.”

“I’ve relied on them for too long.”

“People rely on each other, Maisy. You spent half your life fending for yourself, feeling like you had no one to depend on, yet you still became one of the most reliable people I know. So don’t be afraid to embrace the help your friends offer. You deserve it.”

“Do I?”

“You’re more deserving than most. Not out of pity, but out of respect and gratitude for being such a good friend to everyone else.”

I sniffle and wipe my nose on my black cardigan sleeve before noticing the box of tissues on the end table. “Thanks,” I say, wiping my sleeve on my shorts, spreading the snot around. “You always make me feel better.”

She squeezes my knee. “Any time. Now please go talk to the man outside before he wears a hole in the pavement.”

I follow her gaze to the windows in the breakfast nook. Through the open blinds, we watch Jensen pace back and forth in the driveway with one hand in his pocket and the other stuffed in his wavy locks.

“Ugh,” I groan, sinking back into the couch. I’ve been here for thirty minutes, and he already found me.

“Embrace it,” she says as a reminder. “He’s worried about you. We all are.”

When I step onto the porch, Jensen’s no longer pacing. With hands planted on the hood of his Jeep and his back to me, he hangs his head low. Rain clouds fill the sky above, threatening to wash away my defenses as I approach on bare feet. I’m already exposed in a tank top and denim shorts—no makeup and my hair in a bun—so I wrap my cardigan tighter around my body as a shield.

“How did you know I was here?”

My voice startles him. He spins around, and his stiff posture relaxes as he looks me over, like seeing me in Walford brings him peace. Slouching against the Jeep, he crosses his arms and regains his composure.

“Small town. News travels fast.”

I stop several feet away from him, a safe distance. “What are you doing here, Jensen?”

“I had to see you. Make sure you’re okay.”

“You saw me two days ago.”

With a tired sigh, he says, “Maisy. Just let me care.”

“Why do you care?”

His penetrating gaze detects all the cracks of my surface, touching every raw thought and feeling I’ve ever had about him, no matter how deep I buried them. “You know the answer to that,” he says.