Running From Him (ManxMan) ✔️

Chapter 38: Baked Potato Chips and Coconut Water

🏃Clark’s POV🏃

I let Ethan wrap me up in another one of his fierce hugs, his hands pressing down onto a couple of the love bruises he left from previous times. I never complained and never expressed that it occasionally hurt. Ethan wanted to do so much more, but at this moment all he could do was remind me how much he loved me.

So I let him have his too strong hugs and cuddles on the couch in front of the TV. If it helped him manage then I wouldn’t stop him. He then let go, gave me a soft smile and made his way out of our condo. Not without reminding me to lock the door. He had been especially diligent about that as of late.

Because of Santiago’s insisting, I shared some of the danger that Kevin posed with Ethan. I tried not to approach the fact that Kevin had touched me sexually and focused on the fact that he knew men that could hurt us.

Ethan was scared, terrified really, but his focus had been on me and only me. It was crazy how much my safety meant to him. He had wanted to go out and do something, but he was just about as powerless as me. So, he agreed to stay home as much as he could while still going to work and lay low until everything was solved on the authorities’ end.

That meant more time spent with his delicious cooking, deep and fun conversations, and binge watching of all of our favourite reality TV shows. Ethan held me as his top priority and I honestly felt special because of it.

I turned the two locks, pressing my hand against the door and even trying the doorknob to be sure.

Ethan usually left for work later in the morning and came back in the evening and Santiago had school until 3 o’clock on most days. This left a few hours where I was by myself at home. It was usually the most boring part of my day because I was reminded of the fact that I wasn’t working.

I found myself on my phone for hours, reading wattpad books that I had previously abandoned and any interesting game that I could find. I even got a few interior design games because I couldn’t help myself.

After a few hours had passed, I had a sudden craving for some snacks.

Something crunchy, maybe chips. No- I want baked chips. And a drink . . . Coconut Water!

I was sitting up before I finished my train of thought and grabbing my wallet. While I got ready to leave my apartment, I rationalized why it was alright to leave.

Kevin was probably held up with Meaghan at T Interior Decorators. He didn’t know that I wasn’t really sick and he probably was relaxing somewhere far from the nearby grocery store.

With those excuses planted firmly in my mind, I headed out of the house. My mind was set on a convenience store only a couple of blocks away from my building.

~~~~~

It was a small place that Ethan and I frequented whenever we were in a pinch for some random item and didn’t want to walk an extra five minutes to the nearest No Frills. They had more of the common everyday items and a couple of gems, but for a convenience store, a good amount of variety.

I was hoping that variety would include baked potato chips and a good brand of coconut water.

The overhead bell jingled, alerting whoever was on shift that I had entered the store. A young girl looked up from her phone, slipping the device into her pocket and giving me a soft smile. I nodded towards her, continuing further into the store.

I was in the chip aisle in no time at all, scanning the selection for anything that said: “baked”. There was nothing. I walked back to the front and up to the cashier. She smiled again.