Love Lies Dying Read Free Page B

upset.”
    When he was in reaching distance, Zoe looked up through her hands at him. Her face was red and tear-streaked, her eyes were puffy and her nose was running. She tried to smile, but couldn’t. She broke into another long sob and buried her face in her hands once more.
    “Sshh,” John whispered as he stood in front of her. “You’re tired. You need some rest.”
    Zoe shook her head.
    He reached out with one hand and rubbed her left arm, trying to give her some comfort. Her arm was nicely tanned, with hundreds of little blonde hairs shining in the light, and he could feel her tense muscles. The top she was wearing, with the L shaped neck, allowed him to view her neck and left shoulder, and his eyes wandered across her skin as her smell surrounded him once more.
    He continued to rub her arm. He didn’t know what else to do.
    She looked up at him and tried to say something, her mouth attempting to form words, but she couldn’t do it. All that came out was a pitiful half-cry and she threw herself at him with her arms open.
    Before John had time to react, she was hugging him hard, pulling him closer to her and wrapping her arms tightly around his body. Her face was pushed into his chest and he could feel the tears soak into his shirt as she continued to cry, harder now.
    He rubbed her back and held her tight.
    They stood in the hallway, holding each other, until she stopped crying.
    When John was sure that her crying had subsided for good, he walked her towards the sofa. She continued to hold onto him, but she let herself be guided from the hallway and across the lounge room.
    “Here,” he said as they reached the sofa. “Sit down and you’ll feel better.”
    Zoe shook her head, he could feel its movement across his chest, but as he pulled her away, she let go of him and flopped into the sofa.
    “Can I get you anything? Another coffee or something?” he asked.
    “A glass of water, maybe?” Zoe whispered. Her bottom lip was curled over and pouting and her large eyes looked up at him. She wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hands.
    “No problem,” he said.
    John turned away and headed to the kitchen. On his way there, his eyes focussed on the gun still lying in the hallway.
    Why would she have that? he wondered. And why threaten me with it?
    He filled a glass with water and brought it back to her.
    Zoe was sitting cross-legged on the sofa once more, and she was placing the escaped strands of her hair back in her ponytail. She had regained some composure in the short time he had been gone and her face was no longer so red or tear-marked.
    She smiled as she took the glass of water from him. “Thanks.”
    “No trouble. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
    She took two huge gulps of water and then placed the glass on the table by the sofa.
    “You must think I’m an idiot,” she said. Her eyes fell to her hands. She was fumbling with the cuffs of her jeans.
    He sat down in the chair next to the sofa.
    “Why do you say that?”
    She looked at him and tried to smile, but she looked sad. Different emotions broke across her face like waves on a beach. Too many for John to read at once.
    He smiled at her and reached out and rubbed her knee.
    “I don’t think you’re an idiot,” he said. “I would never think that.”
    Zoe touched his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Thank you,” she whispered. Her face almost broke into tears again, but she restrained herself and took a deep breath. She ran her fingers through her hair once more to check it was all still in the ponytail and then she closed her eyes.
    John watched as she sat there, in a yoga-like position, breathing deeply.
    After a short while, she opened her eyes and smiled at him.
    “I’m better now,” she said.
    “Good,” he replied.
    “And I’m sorry.”
    “Sorry for what?”
    “I pulled a gun on you!” she whispered. “What must you think of me?”
    John’s eyes darted back to the hallway. Just inside the door he could