Save Me from the Dark (A John Gage 'Emergency!' love story Fanfiction)

Chapter 9

It wasn't long until Dixie reentered the room, a bundle of old fashioned clothes in hand. She placed them at the foot of the bed, with a slight knowing smile.

"So how was it with Johnny? I hear he asked if you wanted him to show you around." She said,  her gaze seemingly piercing through Scarlett and reading her emotions like a book. Scarlett swallowed hard,  anxiety filling her up. She would die if Johnny found out how she felt.

"Not to worry,  I won't let the boys know. Besides,  it's not like there still isn't a concern with the memory lapse even if the fainting itself can be explained, " Dixie placed down another gift at the foot of her bed,  a newspaper. "Hopefully this will help a bit with that. Let me know if you want to take Johnny up on his offer."

With that, she left, leaving Scarlett to change into the clothes she had left. Trying to put the mixture of emotions she felt aside for the moment,  she focused on just that, changing into the clothes left. They were different. Scarlett had seen a few hipsters or old people wear clothes like this, but to her,  they were lame.

Once fully changed,  she picked up the newspaper, almost dropping it immediately. 1976.  Exactly forty years from what she knew. No wonder everyone thought she was crazy...  Or really all the weird things she had seen since that damn cat had led her to the events that wound her in that hole.

To be honest, she hated that cat, now for the fact that she was in a year before she was even born,  as well as the fact that it lead her to feeling emotions for a man she wished she didn't.

If only she had ignored it, she could still be in her bed, with the comfort of her razor, how she longed for her razor now. A habit that in the current generation would be frowned upon and thought of as crazy.

Letting out a sigh, she covered herself in the blankets of her hospital bed, wishing everything, especially Johnny, would vanish forever. Time elapsed as she wished, noises faintly being heard by her though she cared not who or what they belonged to. She imagined Dixie or Brackett had come to check on her a few times, but it was all meaningless and lost to her.

It wasn't until she heard his voice, a voice that cut through her like butter, filling her with those dreaded feelings again, that she finally acknowledged the world outside her blankets again. Pulling them down, she was once again greeted by another one of his infuratingly attractive smiles.

"Dixie and the doc were worried, so Dixie recommended I come in and check up on you." He said,  once he was sure he had her attention. "Said you had been under those blankets since shortly after I left you, and that you weren't responding to anything. Not to state the obvious,  but is something the matter?"

Letting out another sigh, both from exhaustion as well as from once again finding herself face to face with the man who she found herself attracted to,  she looked at his eyes, fighting not to get lost in them, before replying, "I'm... Alright. Just had a lot on my mind."

"I see. Well, if you ever need to talk about anything,  I would be happy to listen. Just wish the best for you, miss Scarlett. It is part of my job after all."

"... Thank... You." She replied,  struggling slightly to say the words. She always felt so uncomfortable talking with him, and it upset her so. She had been the pinnacle of apathy,  and now she was undeniably attracted to this man,  even if she clung to her former apathy as best she could.

"Now that you are properly changed, do you mind taking a walk with me, Miss. Scarlett?" Johnny asked.