(Elaine's POV)

"That's disgusting!" Nevada exclaimed, wrinkling her nose.

"It was just beer," Marcus replied, nonchalantly.

They were having a discussion on a story Marcus had just finished telling. I honestly can't even remember what the story was about. My mind was too focused on where the heck Tinus could possibly be. He wasn't answering my calls or texts and he hadn't talked to me at all today. I was worried. Was he mad? Was he just super busy? Was he with someone else? Someone more important to him than me? My mind continued to come up with horrible ideas of where he could be as Nevada and Marcus exchanged thoughts on how gross beer smelled. I wasn't even paying enough attention to figure out which of them thought beer was nasty and which thought it surely tasted better than it smelled.

I knew neither had ever had any beer before, but the two of them like to argue over the dumbest, most meaningless things.

I was wondering if I should go out and look for Tinus, or if I should just wait here. Then I heard the front door swing open, and I was off my chair and out of the kitchen faster than lighting. Sure enough, it was Martinus, talking into his cell phone with a big grin on his face. He winked at me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder in a hug. He then guided me towards the kitchen as he finished up his phone call with an, "Okay! I'll talk to you later, then. Goodbye!"

Tinus deposited his phone into his pocket and turned his smile to me.

"Hey, Elaine!" He greeted. Then he seemed to catch onto my displeasure. "What's wrong?"

"You've been out all day, and I tried calling and texting you to see if you were going to come here or not. You never answered me once!" I told him, I could feel the anger trickling into my words.

Martinus looked confused and reached back down for his phone, stepping away from me and frowning at the screen. The beer conversation had died down by now and Nevada and Marcus simply watched us.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get your messages-" Martinus started to say, but he stopped short. I could tell he just realized how many times I had tried to get ahold of him as he stared at the notifications on his screen. "Oh,"

"Martinus, you worried me!" I exclaimed.

"I told you, I'm sorry." He replied, wrapping his arm around me again. "I've been busy all day with some important things."

I pulled away from him.

"Nothing is more important than me knowing that you're safe! I heard that some pedestrians were run over by a drunk driver this evening. For all I knew at that point, you could have been one of those pedestrians!"

Martinus looked shocked. I heard Marcus mumble something under his breath and Nevada instantly turned and punched his side with a glare. I had no idea what he had said, but it appeared that Martinus agreed.

"I think you're overreacting, Elaine," Tinus said in a tone I've never heard him speak with before.

"Excuse me?!"

"You're making a big deal out of nothing!"

"I was afraid!" I called out.

There was silence for a moment as I stood and watched Martinus, who had turned his back on me. Nevada looked at us both for a moment before she grabbed Marcus' sleeve and pulled him out of the room.

"I was concerned, Martinus, because I know how horrible things can just randomly happen to the ones we love, and I really didn't have a clue as to where you have been all day." I tried to explain myself to him, but it turned out harder than I expected. I guess I was just so frustrated that I didn't know how to arrange my words.

"I can take care of myself, Elaine," Martinus said.

"I know that but-"

"Do you?"

"You don't have to be angry about it!" I exclaimed.

I tried to approach him and rest my hand on his shoulder, but he quickly turned around and pushed me away. It wasn't hard, and it didn't hurt, but as soon as he did it I could see the regret flash on his face. He tried to apologize, but we both knew he'd crossed the line.

"Elaine, I'm sorry-"

"Stay away from me!" I demanded, turning and heading for the door as fast as I could.

"Elaine, wait!"

I stomped through the living room and right to the front door. Nevada and Marcus both gave me a concerned look.

"Elaine?" Nevada asked.

"I'm going for a walk!" I replied as fast as I could, slamming the door behind me.

I stepped into the cool evening air and onto the light colored sidewalk. I could hear Martinus come outside as well, but the last thing I wanted to do was deal with him. So I sprinted off down the sidewalk towards the city.

I felt the fresh breeze ruffle my hair as I shook my head, trying to clear my mind and just enjoy myself. That was hard to do until I lifted my eyes and saw the stark, gray city's silhouette against the bright blue sky. It was quite the picture. 

I just wandered for a while, letting my feet guide me towards the outside of the small city. Once I was inside the 'wall' of the city, created by the towering buildings of businesses and hotels, I sunk my hands into my pockets and let my eyes take in the cars rushing by on the street and the quickly fading evening sky. By then I had passed through the part of the city I knew best. 

I honestly didn't even notice I was lost until I looked down at the deep shadows that fell onto the sidewalk around my sneakers. At that moment, I saw how dark it was and realized I was completely alone in this big, dark city. 

Suddenly I felt very wrong inside like I shouldn't be here because it had just become very dangerous. I came to figure out that the horrible gut feeling was right because I heard two sets of footsteps that echoed among the shadowy sidewalks behind me.

I whipped my head around and felt my heart slam against the walls of my chest as I spotted two men. They were following me through the dark alleyway. I felt my rising panic flood through my veins as I started to book it down the sidewalk.

"Hey, baby, don't run!" I heard one of them call from behind me.

I wrapped my arms around myself as a shiver danced up my spine. The man's voice was utterly creepy and sounded odd like he could be high. Or drunk. Or both.

I tried to ignore him and keep my running pace as I searched my mind for what you were supposed to do in a situation like this. I slapped all four of my pockets with my hands and it suddenly dawned on me that I had left my cell phone back at the house. Just great. Now I was really in trouble, and couldn't call for help.

Lord, help me.

I had never felt this scared or this alone in my whole life. I swallowed hard and shook my head at myself in disappointment as I felt the hot tear burn my eyes. I was so hard on Martinus this evening because I was afraid he would go and get himself into trouble like this, and here I was, dumb enough to go out into the unknown city at night.

My vision got blurry, but I kept running for fear of my life. I heard the men pick up their pace and I could sense that they were gaining on me, fast. The only thing I could do was push myself to run faster and pray even harder.

Then I did the stupidest thing I could've. I tripped over my own freaking shoe. I tumbled to the ground, feeling the rough pavement on my skin. I tried to get up, but one of the men grabbed me by the shoulder. I screamed as loud as I could and kicked in his general direction, hearing a sound somewhere between a cry and a growl. 

I took that as my cue and pushed myself to my feet, tearing down the sidewalk once more. My ankle was throbbing and my heart was racing, but I pushed my legs as hard as I could.

(Martinus' POV)

"Worried" didn't even come close to describing what I felt. It was dark, past 10:00, and I hadn't seen Elaine since she had bolted off earlier.

I was worried sick and to the point of almost calling the police about it. I'd been searching for hours and nothing had come of it, except scolding myself endlessly. I'm such a moron. She could be in danger, and it's all my fault.

(Elaine's POV)

I finally reached a part of the city I recognized as safe. I sank down to the ground and felt myself begin to tremble as the adrenaline faded. Salty tears streamed down my face, I could taste them on my lips. I just sat there, my face buried in my tired legs as I cried and thought and silently thanked God I was still alive. 

Then I heard a soft, comforting voice by my side. 

"Elaine?" 

I lifted my eyes and saw the only thing in the whole world that could make me happy at that moment: Martinus. He quickly got down on his knees beside me. 

"Martinus!" I cried out, surging forward into his open arms. 

He pulled me close into a soft, warm embrace. He rested his chin on my head as I buried my face into his chest. I felt so safe in his arms. We didn't speak for awhile, we just sat together on the curb. 

Finally, he gently asked, "What happened? You're not hurt are you?"

"I-I wandered off into town."

"I see that,"

"But I went down an alleyway and got lost and th-there were these guys-two of them-and they tried to jump me. . ." Tears flooded into my eyes again as I tried to relay the story.

"It's okay, you're safe now," he told me in a hushed tone, hugging me tighter. "You don't have to cry, I'm here."

But I did cry. And cry and cry, not the cute kind of crying either. The blubbering, hard-to-breathe, hot-tears-dripping-onto-my-shirt cry.

"I'm so sorry, Elaine," Martinus said, I could hear the knot in his throat. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you, it wasn't right."

He pulled away from me and looked into my eyes, wiping my tears away with his fingers. 

"I promise I'll never hurt you, Elaine. Never again." Martinus said, shaking his head for emphasis. 

I sniffed and lowered my face, feeling the smile cross my lips. 

"I'm sorry, too," I told him. 

He lifted my chin and smiled at me.

"Don't be," 

I watched him lean closer me and I felt his arms wrap around my shaking body once more. I kept my gaze on his strong, sweet brown eyes. They were so gorgeous and gentle and warm. 

I let my eyes gingerly fall closed as I felt his lips gently caress my own in a soft, loving kiss. He rested them there for a moment before he slowly pulled away. We met eyes and I felt myself tearing up again, the stress of the night still looming over me. But before I could cry, he dove forward for another, more passionate kiss to keep my spirits up. 

I felt my heart race as he pulled me closer this time. He really did know how to cheer me up. 

When we finished, I watched as he stood to his feet. He reached his hand down to help me up. I took his hand carefully and tried to lift myself to stand. When I put my weight on my sore ankle, I felt the pain shoot up all the way to my knee. 

"Ouch!" I winced, almost collapsing back to the ground. 

But he caught me in time

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern written all over his face. 

I nodded, "I forgot that I hurt my ankle earlier," I admitted. 

"I'm sorry," he told me, his sympathy overflowing into the words. 

I began to shrug it off, trying to figure out how I could possibly get all the way home with my painful ankle. But I didn't even have to think, because at that moment Tinus leaned down and scooped me up into his arms, the same way a groom would his new bride. I gasped and threw my arms around his neck.

"Are you going to carry me home?" I asked, surprised.

"You bet I am!" He said with a wink. 

I'm so lucky to have this adorable dork as my guy. I laughed a little and relaxed a bit, knowing I would be home soon and be able to rest. I was safe and alive, in my favorite person's arms. What more could I ask for?

Well, personally, I think a million dollars would be nice, too, but who am I to complain?

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