Jo wakes up completely disoriented. She has no idea where she is for a few minutes and doesn't realize yet that she slept for hours on end, well into the next morning. 

She sits up and rubs her eyes, memories of yesterday slowly coming back, helping her remember where she is and what happened. 

The sun shines through the curtains and she wonders what time it is, looking around her eyes land on a small table on the other side of the room. On top of it sits a plate with a croissant and next to it there's a glass of orange juice. 

Her stomach growls at the sight of it and she gets up to bite into the croissant. A soft moan escapes her,  chewing on it gratefully, thinking she never tasted anything this good.

She takes a sip from the fresh juice and faintly hears whistling coming from downstairs. She smiles as she enjoys her breakfast, looking around the room some more, spotting a big, soft towel on the chair next to her backpack.

She doesn't give herself time to think twice, grabs her toiletries bag, and walks out to find the bathroom. She goes inside and starts the shower, quickly undressing as the water heats up. 

The second the water hits her cheek, a sharp sting reminds her of the cut there. And as the water flows further down her body, it highlights all the other areas of her body that are damaged.

Bruises, cuts, tense muscles, her heart... She can't think of a place that doesn't hurt. 

She closes her eyes and tries to relax, pulling the braid out of her hair roughly. As she washes her hair with the shampoo she found in the corner, she tries to focus on the simple task to keep her demons at bay.

She washes her body methodically and then steps out of the shower, using the towel to dry herself off before wrapping it around her body. Before walking towards the mirror and grabbing her toothbrush and toothpaste, brushing her teeth as she wipes the fog from the mirror, staring at herself with new interest. She spits out the toothpaste and combs her fingers through her hair, braiding it quickly, while it's still wet, to make sure it stays in place today. 

Looking at herself again, she leans closer towards the mirror, noticing something different about her reflection. She can't really pinpoint it, but she seems more relaxed, happier. 

Not pretty but she never was, so that's impossible. 

Her confidence is at an all-time low, a result of being with Mark for the past five years. Even though she lost a lot of weight, she still fails to see anything beautiful about herself. 

Mark forced her to diet because she was too fat for his taste... And he made sure she never forgot how disgusted he was by the sight of her body.

She shakes her head violently to stop herself from thinking about Mark. That guy doesn't deserve a second of her time anymore. Ever again.

She puts on some make-up before walking back to the guest room, the aroma of coffee entering her nose, right before she closes the door behind her. After rummaging through her bag for a bit, she pulls out a T-shirt from the old days; her favorite Foo Fighters one. 

She also finds her red lace bra and panties, smiling as she pulls them out of the bag. The day she bought those, she imagined herself wearing them when she was free to live her life again. She regularly touched them at the back of her closet, promising herself she would be strong enough someday. 

As she puts the lingerie on and pulls the T-shirt over her head, she becomes aware of the fact that everyone she'll meet today will know about the red lace bra because the shirt is too big and leaves her entire shoulder bare. Old Jo would have been annoyed by that, but today she giggles. 

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. 

He waits for her to look up from the piece of paper before talking. 

"I thought you might enjoy exploring the area a bit today. If you use my treasure map, you will definitely find a musical treasure at the end. I wrote down my phone number at the bottom. If there's anything at all, call me or just tell people you know Jake Henderson. I'm pretty well known around here. I suggest you stay away from the bar for the afternoon because there's a group of men coming over to watch football here." 

Jo frowns, wondering why he is telling her to stay away exactly. 

He notices the confusion on her face and adds: "They are all decent guys but they drink too much when they watch football and they can get very riled up. I don't think you should be around them right now." 

Her eyes fill with emotion as she understands what he is trying to say and she nods. 

"If you do want to come 'home' use the backdoor, that way you can avoid walking past them." 

Jo places her hand on top of Jake's that's resting on the bar and squeezes it slightly. "Dankjewel!" 

He smiles as he remembers the Dutch thank you all too well and watches her walk out of the bar with a bit of a spring in her step.

The sun warms her face the second she steps outside, like it's welcoming her to her new life. She studies Jake's map and starts walking towards the X on it. 

A smile starts to form on her face as she watches all the happy people enjoying their lives. 

About halfway down to the 'treasure' route, she hears drums. Drums? Out here?

She starts walking faster towards the music, smiling wide as she finds a group of percussionists at the end of the road, surrounded by people clapping and dancing freely. They bang their drums with so much joy, that Jo can't help but smile even wider. Pure happiness invades her as she starts to dance to the beat of the drums, totally forgetting about everything else for a while.

She turns to look at the ocean in the distance and her eyes land on a handful of surfers catching waves. The ocean has always fascinated her, ever since she was little. She could look at the water for hours, as the wind pulled at her hair, turning her ginger curls into a birds nest.

She slowly starts to walk towards the beach, breathing in the fresh, salty air. 

As soon as she reaches the beach, she sits down to take her shoes and socks off, sinking her toes into the warm sand with a happy sigh. Her eyes wander over the ocean to watch the surfers absentmindedly and a relaxed feeling comes over her, one she hasn't felt in years. 

She leans back on her elbows and hums a song, embracing the serene feeling spreading through her body.

Suddenly something catches her eye; a surfer coming from the water with his board under his arm. He pulls his wet suit down to his hips and shows off an amazing chest and strong arms. Jo's cheeks flush as he moves a bit closer on his way to his towel. 

He seems tall from where she's sitting and has blonde, half-long, tousled hair. She feels very hot all of a sudden and giggles a bit to herself. He sure is easy on the eyes and bursts with confidence. 

He turns to face the ocean and pulls his wetsuit down, giving Jo a very nice view of his firm, naked behind. She coughs a little, unable to look away as her cheeks turn an even deeper red. 

He puts on some shorts and gathers his things before walking towards her. 

She tries to swallow the lump in her throat down, staring at him as if she's under a spell. 

As he comes closer, he seems to notice her staring. A crooked smile appears on his lips and right before he walks past her, he winks at her, leaving Jo all flustered and afraid to look over her shoulder. 

Jeez, I must look like a schoolgirl. Heck, I feel like one. But wow, what a handsome guy. I sure hope he lives around here, I'd love to run into him again.

She smiles to herself and looks at the ocean, as she slowly clears her mind, the movement of the waves hypnotizing her into that comfortable, tranquil state again. 

After a while, she brushes the sand off her feet, puts her socks and shoes back on, and gets up. Still feeling perfectly relaxed, she nods at the ocean as a goodbye and heads towards the boardwalk. 

She takes in everything around her with such a lively smile on her face, that people smile back at her from time to time. People she obviously doesn't know. This place might have been the right choice. It feeds her soul in so many ways, that she thanks the gods in silence.

She sees the cafe in the distance and wonders if the game is still on. As she comes closer, she hears male voices cheer from inside. She takes a step back and decides to look for the backdoor. 

She's thirsty and kinda curious about this group of football fans in the bar. As she reaches the door, she finds a tiny black cat sitting on the steps. The kitty looks up at her scared, like it's ready to run away. 

Jo stops in her tracks and speaks to it softly, "Hello kitty. Don't be scared. I am not going to hurt you." 

She slowly moves forward and holds her hand out towards the cat. The cat leans forward to sniff her fingers, only to seem shocked by its own actions and running off. 

She smiles as she watches it run away before pushing open the backdoor and walking into the kitchen. It's clear that there's a large group of men yelling at the television screens and by the sounds of it, Jake's joining in too. 

She peeks into the huge fridge and finds a bottle of water. She opens it and takes a few sips to quench her thirst, moaning softly as the cold water soothes her dry throat. As she tilts her head back down, Jake peeks through the door, asking if she's okay. She nods and smiles at him. 

He goes back to the bar, reassured that she's okay and tending to the men there, who are getting intoxicated fast.

After a few minutes, the noises die down a bit. The game must be over. 

Jake peeks through the door again. "Do you mind helping me out?" 

"Not at all. What can I do?" 

Jake asks her to get the chicken wings from the fridge and fry them for him while he drafts more beer for the guys at the bar. 

Jo nods and immediately walks towards the fridge to open it. There's a huge tray of chicken wings in it, covered in cling film. She can barely lift it but manages to drag it towards the fryer. 

She pre-heats the oil and opens a drawer to find some tongs, opening some cupboards next, trying to find some bowls or plates to put the wings on. As she searches, a small hatch in the wall slides open and Jake leans down to look through it from his end. 

"Ah, just realized the tray might be too heavy for you but I see you managed. Bowls are on this end, in the cupboard below the hatch." 

He winks at her, before turning back to the guys, who are demanding more beer.

Jo sings softly as she fries all the chicken wings perfectly. She never loved cooking, Mark was never satisfied with what she prepared for him. But she's enjoying it this time, feeling confident that this meal will be loved. Because these men are hungry and boozed up. She can't go wrong here. 

She smiles as she slides the first bowls through the hatch, immediately rewarded with a loud cheer from the men on the other side. 

She fries the rest of them and gets a second round of cheers as she pushes them to the other side of the wall. She walks back towards the fryer and turns it off, grabbing the tray and tongs to rinse them under the tap, finding the dishwasher, and placing them in there.

Her feet move closer to the door between the bar and the kitchen, she opens it slightly, and spies on the guys present. Quite a large group of men is devouring the chicken wings she made and she can't help but smile. 

"These are the best wings I ever had, Jake. Did you use a new recipe?" 

Jake shakes his head and replies: "No, but I bet they were fried with love this time." 

The guy looks up at him a bit confused and Jake mumbles: "Never mind." 

Jo closes the door with a huge smile on her face and sits down on one of the chairs. Going into the bar with all those rowdy guys feels too scary right now. But knowing they like her chicken wings is making her feel rather good about herself. 

This has turned out to be a very good day so far. A day she thought she would never have again. 

She smiles thinking back on everything that happened since she arrived in the States when a bottle of beer slides across the table and into her vision. She catches it, reads the label, and smiles even wider; 'Grolsch'. Her favorite Dutch brand. Looking up to thank Jake, she sees the door to the bar swing, signaling he walked through it to serve his guests again.

She opens the bottle and takes the first sip with her eyes closed. I don't know what I did to deserve all of this. But I am sure as hell not going to doubt it. I'm going to enjoy every second of it, for as long as I have it.

She quietly enjoys her beer, hearing Jake persuade the guys to go home. 

"Guys come on, go home. Dinner guests are coming in soon and I need this place cleaned from your mess before that. Go bother your wives and girlfriends and come back for the next game." 

Eventually, it gets quiet on the other side of the door and Jake walks into the kitchen. He sits down across from Jo with a smile and nods at the beer in front of her. "So how does that beer taste?" 

Jo smiles, "Better than it ever did at home." 

Jake seems a bit taken aback for a second but he recovers fast and smiles. "Good, good. How has your day been so far?" 

She tells him all about it with a twinkle in her eyes and a blush on her cheeks. She even tells him about the surfer, leaving one naked detail out of her story. "I know you want me to stop thanking you, but thank you! I don't remember ever feeling this happy and calm. I'm starting to think I was meant to end up here." 

She looks Jake in his eyes, wondering if it's sadness she sees in them but he clears his throat and quickly gets up. "I better start cleaning."

Jo blinks, wondering if she saw it correctly or that she was just imagining things. She gets up quickly to help Jake out, grabbing all the bowls full of chicken bones from the bar and sliding them through the hatch to the other side. 

Jake fills a bucket of water, adds some all-purpose cleaner to it, tossing two cleaning cloths in the liquid. He turns up the radio and an old 'Aerosmith song' fills the air. 

Jo starts cleaning and clearing the tables as she sings along: "Don't get mad get even!" 

The cafe looks clean and smells fresh in no time. Jake looks at her with pride in his eyes, "Damn girl, you know how to roll up your sleeves. I even have time to eat something before the dinner rush starts." 

He walks into the kitchen, holding the door open, letting Jo walk in after him. He fills two bowls with a fluid from a pan in the fridge and heats them up in the microwave, grabbing two spoons from a drawer. Once the food is heated, he places the bowls on the table and invites her to sit down. He hands her a spoon and he quickly starts eating. 

Jo takes in the aroma of the vegetable soup and her stomach grumbles in response. She eats it in silence, comfortable in Jake's presence. 

Jake lifts his head from the bowl as he hears the first guests come in and quickly slurps the last bit of soup down. He gets up, passes her, and messes up her hair with his hand. He lets out a soft laugh, as he walks into the bar. 

Jo sits there, lost in thought as she realizes that his gesture didn't scare her at all. Not even a little bit. 

She finishes her soup and starts collecting dirty dishes to fill the dishwasher with. 

Suddenly the backdoor swings open and a huge pan floats in, held by two strong, dark-skinned arms. The pan lowers onto the stove and a friendly face appears from behind it. He stares at Jo in shock and looks around as if he is checking to see if he's in the right place. 

Suddenly a huge smile appears on his face when he realizes who she is. "You must be Jo. I am Ronnell. I take care of dinner around here. I didn't see you last night. Jake said you were sleeping. You are from Holland right?" 

He says all these things without taking a breath and then smiles wide at her. He spreads his arms and walks up to her, suddenly pulling her into a tight bear hug. 

Too shocked to react, she stands there, arms dangling down as she looks over his shoulder. 

Jake comes in and he immediately turns pale when he sees what's going on.

It takes her a second to react as she watches Jake freeze on the spot. 

He looks at her with a worried look, not sure what to do. 

Jo snaps out of her shocked state and wraps her arms around Ronnell, as an insecure smile forms on her lips. There's no way you can feel threatened by a hug like this. 

This man is totally unaware of her history and is completely himself. Like a ray of sunshine in a huge body, wearing a wide smile and dreadlocks. 

Behind him, Jake has started breathing again, running his fingers through his hair. He starts to speak, in an apologizing tone. "Well, I guess I'm too late to warn you about this tank of friendliness. I'm sorry. There's not a mean bone in his body, I swear. But I get it if you need a minute to yourself."

Jake keeps looking Jo over as Ronnell lets go of her and steps back, looking back at Jake all confused. 

She still stands there, frozen on the spot, but with a tiny smile on her lips. His eyebrows raise slightly as she speaks. "Nice to meet you Ronnell. I think I will step outside for a bit to breathe in some fresh air." 

She walks towards Jake and whispers in his ear: "I am fine". 

She walks out through the backdoor, sits down on the steps, and takes a deep breath. She notices movement from the corner of her eye and turns her head to take a better look. 

The tiny black cat comes out of the shadows to skip towards her and sits down in front of her, gracing her with a little meow. Jo meows back and the kitten tilts it's head, making Jo giggle a little. The sound sadly spooks the kitty and it runs off again.

She takes a few more breaths before walking back into the kitchen. Ronnell is busy cooking with a concentrated look on his face, so she decides to sit down and watch him work in silence. He is making some kind of pasta with fresh ingredients, chopping everything up so fast that he looks like a magician. 

She gets up after a while, pushes the door to the bar open a little, and looks inside. Jake is charming the first dinner guests, serving them baskets of bread, telling them all about today's special. 

She decides to walk in and take her place at the end of the bar quietly and out of the way, to observe the people coming in and settling down at the tables. 

Jake is completely in his element, the perfect host, and he seems to know everyone personally, asking them questions as he gets them seated. 

Jo watches him work with a smile and enjoys the sound of people laughing and talking, the light and cheerful atmosphere embracing her like a loving hug. 

And then it suddenly hits her...

This place already feels more like home than her own home ever did.

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