CHAPTER NINE

Samantha placed her hands on John's chest and, with as much power as she could muster, pushed him away from her.

"Stop it, John." she said, shaking her head. "I've got to go."

Samantha headed for the door again, only to be once again stopped, but only by John's voice this time.

"Don't go." he practically pleaded. He walked to her and placed his hands on either side of her face. "Why won't you let me help you?"

"I don't need help, John." Samantha insisted. "Just let me leave."

"Yah know, you ain't fooling me, Sam." John said. "I know you're scared. I know you're afraid of him. Why else would you be running away?"

"I'm not running away." Samantha insisted, pushing his hands away from her. "I just...I need a fresh start, John. If I stay here..."

"If you stay here, you'll beat him." John said. "If you run away and hide, you're never gonna get away from him. You're always gonna be looking over you're shoulder, wondering if he's gonna come after you. I can see it, Sam, so don't give me all that shit about not being scared, because I see right through you. You're frightened and you think that running away is gonna make everything all better." John said, reaching his hand up and brushing the hair from her face. "If you stay with me, you won't need to be frightened anymore. I'll protect you, with my life if I have to. I'll never let him hurt you ever again. You can trust me, Sam."

Samantha just stood there and just starred up at John for a few minutes, before sighing.

"He's dangerous, John. He won't hesistate to come after you either..."

"You know my saying..." John smiled down at her. "You want some, come get some."

Samantha just laughed lightly. John always seemed to have the ability to do that. He could turn the most serious things into a joke. She looked up into his deep blue eyes and smiled softly.

"Alright." she whispered, moving closer to him. "But you do know that I'm passing on an opportunity to go and live in California to stay here with you?" she smiled.

"California?" John asked in confusion.

"Yeah, Andrew's going and he..."

"Andrew?" John questionned, frowning slightly. "I thought he was the one that did that whole set up thing?"

"Well, he was, but he ended up saving me in the end." Samantha said.

John sighed. "Well, I guess if you've forgiven him, I can too. But that doesn't mean I like him..."

"I don't expect you to." Samantha smiled.

John smiled back at her, before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a hug. Samantha suddenly whinned in pain and John immediately let her go. "I'm sorry. You aiight?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Samantha said, placing her hand over her ribs. "Just a couple of fractured ribs, nothing too serious."

"Did he do that to you?" John asked.

Samantha just nodded a little and looked down at the ground.

"I'm gonna fing kill him for what he's done to you, I swear." John growled.

"No, John, please don't." Samantha begged. "Please, just leave it. It's over now."

John just sighed deeply. "You can't just let him get away with what he's done to you..."

"John!" Samantha said firmly. "Leave it. For me?"

John smiled gently and wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. "That's a cheap trick, you know I'd do anything for you."

Samantha laughed and placed her hands on either side of his face. She leaned up on her tip-toes and laid a soft kiss on his lips. She pulled back slightly and stood normally again.

"So..." Samantha smirked. "Where exactly am I going to sleep tonight?"

John smirked, leaning down and kissing her lustfully. "Well, I do only have the one bed, so I suppose you'll have to sleep with me."

"I suppose I could manage that." Samantha smiled, guiding his lips back to hers. She ran her hands down his arms and slid them into his. Not breaking their kiss, Samantha started to walk, pulling John along with her, leading him off towards his bedroom.

Well, there's chapter nine. Sorry it's only short. Hope y'all enjoyed anyway. R&R guys!