Less than Perfect

10. Strange New him? {part two}

Chapter Ten

Strange New him?

Part Two

As Skye descended the staircase, she took in the fresh smell of hot pancakes and sausage and couldn't believe it. She wouldn't have thought that Johnny would really make a nice breakfast after how violently things ended the night before. In her mind, he had to be trying for something, for some sort of reward for taking care of her for once.

She ventured into the dining room first, eyes scanning for Johnny or the evidence of his cooking. On the table, two plates framed with two glasses and silverware rested across from each other, inviting company. She tilted her head to look into the kitchen from where she stood, eyeing the slight frame of Johnny beyond the arch of a new room. She carefully made her way around the dining room, gulping down any last little bit of fear that was coming up.

Peering around the archway into the kitchen, she planted her dainty hands on the frame and watched Johnny as he shuffled around, flipping pancakes and sausage. "Johnny?" She said, all too quietly.

He turned around for a moment and gave a quick wave of his full hand, before turning back around to the food. "Good to see you clean Skylar," he chimed, surprisingly happy. "The last time I saw you—well, you didn't look too good." He could sense the fear that she was trying to compress and he enjoyed it, smiling to himself with satisfaction.

She didn't know what to say at first, she only stared blank-faced at his back, her body shaking a little; but she eventually found her voice again, moving herself upright. "What's with the food? I didn't know you cooked breakfast." She countered, her clear voice quietly timid.

"I just thought that it would be a nice change for me to make you something. Besides, after how badly things went last night, I figured it would be good to start over." At that, he turned around with a full platter of pancakes and sausage in his hands.

Start over? He has never wanted to start over, she thought in disbelief, stepping back, Did I miss something? As much as he had made it clear what he said, she didn't know how to believe it. Could he really want to "start over"? It wouldn't be the perfect kind of starting over, more like the forgive and forget kind, but even that felt incredulous.

"Oh," She sighed, averting her gaze, "starting over is good." She said, trying to hide her disbelief.

Johnny grinned and raised the platter as he stepped forward. "Shall we?" He asked, tipping his head in the direction of the dining room.

Skye bowed her head and tugged on her arm, as if she could hide herself from him. "Sure," she mumbled as she turned around and walked over to the closest chair. Johnny was beside her in a moment's time, scooping a couple pancakes off of the platter along with some sausage. As much as the glorious smell of the pancakes enveloped her, she didn't feel any urge to touch the food; her stomach was still fighting the twisting and unnerving sensation it always felt around Johnny.

As he sat down in the chair across from her, he grinned at her and set the platter down before him, those large and aggressive arms reaching and flexing, releasing the fear Skye had bundled up inside of her. She knew she was perfectly safe from his rage for a little while with the big enough distance between them both, but she still couldn't help but remember those strong arms mercilessly tugging on her and shoving her around abruptly.

Once he finished scooping a couple pancakes onto his plate, he looked at her carefully, examining her expression as she stared back at him. He noticed that she wasn't eating and it struck a funny chord in his mind. "Skye, what's wrong? Why are you not eating?" He asked her, pleading gently with his eyes.