Fight Left In Me ✔

{2} Heal

Nothing wrong with a beautiful bra strap. It's not like I am walking around naked. And it mixes the old with the new, like I would want my life to be; the old girl I used to be but living in the now.

She puts on skinny jeans and socks before sliding her feet into her army boots. How she missed these boots. She almost lived in them for years. But... 

Jo stops herself from thinking negatively. You can wear them whenever you want now! He's not here to tell you no.

She picks up the empty plate and glass and goes downstairs, lured by the whistling and the smell of coffee. After putting the dishes on the counter in the kitchen, she looks into the bar, and finds Jake whistling in there. 

He makes his way over to the coffee machine with two mugs and winks at her, pours the coffee and invites her to sit down at the bar. "You look a lot better than yesterday." 

Jo looks at him with a hint of a smile on her lips, a bit surprised at how straight forward he is again. She takes a sip of her coffee with her eyes closed before thanking him. "Thank you so much for everything. Is there anything I can do to pay you back for your kindness?"

"Tell me how you got that scar and who or what you're running from", he says while looking her straight in the eye.

Jo looks down and turns pale in a second, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she tries to stay calm.

"I am not asking for your life's story or a detailed report. Just give me the bare facts." 

She nods slowly and takes another sip of her coffee to gather some courage, staring at the cup while she softly speaks. "The scar was given to me by my ex. He is also the one I'm running from." 

Jake swears the second he hears how she got the scar, and slowly drinks from his own coffee, hoping the black fluid will prevent his anger from rising. 

After a moment of silence, he states: "You can stay here for as long as you need or want. And I can use some help around here if you want to pay me back for it." 

He looks up at her, as she carefully does the same. "You should be proud of yourself, girl. For walking away. I can tell by the look in your eyes how hard that must have been but you did it."

Jake lifts his hand and moves it towards the scar on her cheek, making Jo jump back in her seat, unable to stop the reflex from kicking in. His eyes widen and he mumbles a soft apology. 

Jo takes a shaky breath. "I'm sorry... I know you didn't... I mean... It's not personal... It's... I don't know..." 

She sighs, unable to come up with the right words to explain. 

Jake gets up and gives her a sad smile. He walks to the other side of the bar and plugs his phone into the sound system behind it, taps the screen a few times, and 'Best of you' by the 'Foo Fighters' sounds through the bar. He leans back and watches her from a safe distance, studying her body language. 

Jo looks at him and graces him with a small smile, softly singing along to the song. She still feels just as safe around Jake as she did when she first laid eyes on him. Such an unfamiliar, strange feeling but nevertheless exactly what she needs right now. 

Still humming to the music, she takes in his features and wonders why he's so kind to her. Is it because of the woman he loved? He doesn't seem like the kind of man that opens up easily or likes to share his personal space. 

He walks around the bar and hands her a piece of paper. 

She raises her eyebrows slightly before looking at it. He drew a map from the bar to a cross with some music notes drawn next to it. At the bottom of the map is a row of numbers scribbled down.