Walking Away

Endlessly

Raven

She stepped towards me and I tried to find words. "D-d-don't." I really need to find a 'deal with conflict' class somewhere.

With a smile, she walked right up to me, handing me my purse. I think I'd left it on the floor when I was helping her pick the audio books up. Some part of my brain noticed Johnathan moving, stepping forward.

Slowly, I took it from her, holding it close to my chest as she smiled at me. Her eyes caught on something downstairs, and I turned slightly to see what it was.

"Don't!" I heard, and then she reached out, shoving me hard as she walked past.

I stumbled down a couple stairs before starting to fall. Then someone pulled me back, and I fell against them instead.

I closed my eyes, trying to process what happened. Johnathan's grip on my arm didn't loosen as he steadied me, pulling me away from the stairs. He was breathing fast, as if he had been running for miles.

I pulled back, trying to see his expression. "Johnathan?" Had he known she would push me?

He didn't seem to hear me. "I need to check on Ali." And then he went down the stairs, two at a time.

I took a deep breath before following, going down carefully. I saw Johnathan, already coming out of the childrens section. I didn't see his mother anywhere. That's probably for the best.

Johnathan paced back and forth, panicking. "She isn't here."

"What?" I think I'm still processing.

"Ali! I can't...I don't...she's not..." He kept cutting himself off, spinning around.

Suddenly a brown haired streak in purple ran into me. "Raven!"

I knelt down to hug Ali, watching as Johnathan's eyes closed in relief. "Hi! Where have you been?"

"Right here. But I went to the bathroom just now." Ali told me. She turned to her brother. "Can I go back in?"

Somehow, Johnathan looked calm and relaxed as he nodded. "Sure kiddo, I'm going to head outside for a minute. Can you stay in that area?"

Ali nodded, beaming as she ran back in to the other kids. I watched Johnathan carefully. He seemed calm, but if you looked closer you could see the careful way he turned, the difference in his smile.

He didn't look at me as he spun towards the door, moving quickly. I had to almost jog to keep up.

He started pacing once we were outside, going in circles that eventually stopped as he just leaned against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting with his head down on his knees.

I moved to sit next to him. That's when I realized he was shaking, his breathing uneven.

"Hey. Hey, look at me. Johnathan, talk to me." I put a hand on his arm, concern building when he flinched. "Johnathan."

I put one arm around him, pulling him closer and leaning my head on his shoulder. He didn't stop me, so I figured it wasn't hurting the situation.

I could feel his heartbeat, going fast. I waited until it had slowed down before speaking again. "Johnathan?"

Johnathan shook his head, taking a few deep breaths. Then he sat up, pulling away. He stood up, unsteadily at first but quickly regaining his composure. He turned, holding out a hand to help me out. His eyes were blank as he held a polite smile. It was like he'd flipped a switch.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry if I hurt your arm." He apologized.

I brushed off my jeans. "You didn't hurt me. You saved me."