I pushed through the branches of a large pine tree. Its needles scratched my forearm and a small amount of blood welled up onto my skin. In this instance, I didn't care. I just needed to get away. Away from it all. Away from him. I glanced behind me just to see a shadowy figure still following. I took a deep breath and continued to run. My legs screamed in protest but there was nothing I could do. I had to continue.

I didn't know where I would go after I lost him. I figured I could call my sister and stay with her for a little bit. I knew she would disapprove but it would only be for a little. Just long enough for me to find my own apartment.

In my haste, I must have missed a step. I felt my body plummet towards the ground. My hands flew in front of me to break my fall. I heard a soft cracking noise. Pain radiated through my hand. I landed on hard concrete, not the soft mossy floor of the rest of the park. I tried to pick myself up but my hand screamed in pain. There was no way I could continue. He was going to find me. I felt tears building in my eyes. I sniffed and wiped my eyes. I would not let him see me cry.

I felt a hand on my arm. I knew this was it, he had me. I took a deep breath and tried to hold in my tears.

"Are you alright?" a soft voice asked. It was definitely masculine but it wasn't him.

"Please don't hurt me," I whimpered.

"Why would I do that?" the man asked. I looked up to find a pair of chocolate brown eyes staring into mine. They were much softer than his. The man's hands went to help me up. I was hesitant to accept his help. Against my best judgment, I let him lift me onto my feet. He was an inch or two taller than me but he wasn't using this to his advantage.

"Do you need a ride somewhere?" he asked while cradling my hand. "I should probably take you to a hospital. You landed pretty hard onto your hand." I felt my eyes go wide.

"No, please don't. I just need to go. Anywhere but there." I remembered that he was following me. I furiously looked around the park. I saw nothing but park benches and the moonlight shadows of trees. I breathed a sigh of relief. I think I had lost him.

"I can take you back to my place if you would like. I have a first aid kit at home so I can try to fix your hand." I nodded my reply.

"Can you walk?" he asked. I nodded again. He lifted his eyebrows in disbelief. I took a step forward to show him I was fine. He gave a slight nod.

"My car is over here." He took off down the path towards what I assumed what the entrance to the park. I followed half a step behind, just in case he was lying and would try to hurt me. I wanted to be able to take off if I needed. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure I was following. My feet crunched against the fallen leaves.

His car was around a bend in the path. It was a red Jeep and the only one in the parking lot. I loved Jeeps. It maybe me smile slightly. He turned to face me as he opened the passenger side to for me. My smile instantly dropped. What if he was lying? What if he wanted to take me to the hospital? He would find me for sure if I went to the hospital.

As if he read my mind, the man said, "you can trust me. I won't take you to the hospital unless you ask me to." I wasn't totally sure I trusted him but I could fight my way away if he decided to lie. I used my uninjured hand to pull myself into the car. My foot slipped on the morning dew lining the step into the car. I felt a hand on my hip. It just barely brushed my skin where my shirt had come up. My cheeks turned a fiery shade of red. I pushed myself up into the seat and buckled myself in. The man smiled slightly and closed my door. I tried to calm myself as he walked around the car and pulled himself into his seat.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" he asked with concern shining in his eyes.

"I'm sure," I said and sighed. "Kat by the way."

"Jordan," he said. His lips pulled up into a smile. But it wasn't a full smile. One side was pulled up more than the other in an attractive way.

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out only to find a message from Him.

"I'll find you. You can't run forever." I felt a chill through my spine. I shivered slightly. I'd have to get a new phone. I knew he'd try to track me if I didn't. Jordan glanced over and asked me if I was cold. I guess he had seen me shiver.

"No, I'm fine. I'm actually a little hot if anything." I knew it was a chilly autumn night so this gave me the perfect excuse to roll down my window and ditch my phone. I rolled my window down and held my arm out. My phone was in my hand and I loosened my grip on it. It fell to the ground and shattered as we drive by. Luckily Jordan hadn't noticed it.

I glanced at him as he drove. He was wearing a grey beanie with a little quiff of his dark brown hair sticking out the front. He had a little stubble on his face and neck. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt and jeans. He had a black leather jacket across his lap.

His eyes flickered towards me. I shifted my gaze back out the window. I watched as we drove through the streets of Santa Barbara. We pulled up in front of an apartment building. Jordan shut off the engine and looked over at me.

"You ready?" he asked. I nodded and popped my door open. He did the same and jogged around the front of the car. He waited for me and then started walking towards the front entrance.

"Do you mind if I check my mail before we go up?" he asked as he pulled out his keys. I shook my head and paused near his mailbox. He struggled to get the box to open. I placed my hand on his. He looked up at me as I held my hand open. He furrowed his brow but placed the keys into my open palm. I inserted the keys and open his mailbox for him.

"Thanks," he said shyly. He took out his mail, closed the box, and locked it. We headed towards the elevator. The doors opened and we stepped inside. Jordan poked the button for floor nine. The elevator shook as it started up.

The doors opened with a ding on floor nine. Jordan walked down the hall to room 923. He opened the door and led me inside.

"Make yourself at home. I'm going to go get the first aid kit," Jordan said as he headed down the hall. After all this, I had forgotten about my hand. The pain had dulled so I figured it wasn't broken.

Jordan came back only moments later with a large red box in his hand.

"Alright, let's get started. Can you wiggle your fingers for me?" I wiggled my fingers like he asked. "Ok that means it's probably not broken but I'll wrap it just in case." He set to work on my hand, never lifting his gaze to look at me.

"Thank you." I whispered. He shifted his gaze from my hand to my eyes. He gave a slight nod.

"You don't talk much do you?" I shook my head in response. His expression was unreadable. I figured it didn't mean much. After all, he was probably going to make me leave after he wrapped my hand. I wouldn't blame him though. Once He found me, no one would be safe until I was his again.

Once Jordan was done wrapping my hand, he brought me over to the kitchen sink. He placed my other arm under the faucet and rinsed the dried blood off my arm. I cringed. The water stung as it went into my cut.

"Sorry. I know it hurts but you don't want an infection," he said noticing my discomfort. His eyes were soft as he talked. He led me back over to the couch and placed a bandage over my cut.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. I was a little hungry now that I thought about it. I nodded. "Well I don't cook much. How about Cheerios and OJ?" I let out a little laugh at that. He smiled slightly.

"I love Cheerios," I said smiling.

"Cheerios it is then." He went into the kitchen and reached into his fridge. There wasn't much in there other than milk, orange juice, ketchup, mustard, and a couple sodas. He pulled out the orange juice and the milk.

"I can do it," I said. My voice was more confident now that I was more comfortable.

"But it's not polite to let your guests cook their own meal. Not that I'm actually cooking but you get the idea."

"Fine," I said as I plopped myself down onto a bar stool. He placed a bowl of Cheerios, a glass of milk, and a spoon in front of me.

"Bon appétit," he said as a smile made its way onto his face. Jordan turned around and began to fix himself a bowl of cereal. I quickly ate my cereal. I cleaned my dishes and put them back into the cabinet. Jordan must have heard me putting my dishes back. He turned towards me and motioned for me to join him. He was sitting on his couch, watching TV with his cereal.

"Would you like to watch a movie?" he asked as I sat myself down on the other end of his couch.

"Ok."

"Is there something that you want to watch? Any specific?" he said as he went into Netflix.

"Anything is fine," I said simply. He put on a movie that I didn't recognize. It ended up being pretty funny but I could feel my body willing me to sleep. I glanced up at the clock on the coffee table. It was already ten o'clock. My body was exceedingly tired after my extreme workout today. I could feel myself slowly drifting to sleep as the night went on.