Around eight o'clock the next morning, John awoke to the slamming of a car door. Immediately alert, John stood up and moved beside the large bay window and remaining hidden from view, looked out on the street. John watched as a tall young man made his way up the driveway, and paused in front of the doorway looking at his surroundings cautiously. Then, the young man ducked down, lifted up the side of the welcome mat, and grabbed a shiny metal object, which could only be a key.
Alarmed, John moved from his place at the window and crept toward the hallway, making sure his gun was in place. Within seconds, John heard the sound of a key in the lock, and watched as the door swung open. Keeping himself out of view, John waited as the man quietly shut the door and began to move up the hallway.
"Freeze." John shouted as he whipped out his gun and aimed it at the stranger before him. "Who are you?"
Startled, the younger man stopped and gave John a confused stare. "Who am I? Who the hell are you? And why are you in my living room?"
Slowly it clicked in to place. The roommate. John withdrew his gun and placed it back in to his holster. "You must be Rob."
"That still doesn't explain who you are or why you are in my house."
John opened his mouth to explain but closed it as Natalie walked into the living room looking annoyed and disheveled, clad in her pajamas. "What the hell is going on here?"
"Red, do you know this man?" Rob asked turning his attention to Natalie. "Because he just pulled a gun on me."
"John!" Natalie exclaimed shooting him a murderous look. Natalie sighed. "I'm sorry Rob, this is Lieutenant John McBain from the Llanview police department."
Recognition flashed in Rob's eyes, and once again John found himself waiting for angry words on Natalie's behalf, but like before nothing came. "Your Red's cop friend, the one that saved her life." Rob walked over to John and offered him his hand. "It's great to meet you."
Although surprised that he was receiving such a warm reception, John shook the other mans hand, concluding that Natalie had also kept Rob in the dark regarding what had happened between them.
"Sorry about that. I saw you take the key from under the mat."
Rob smiled in understanding. "Oh that. I was in such a rush I left my house key here last night. But why are you here?" Rob turned to look at Natalie, his face concerned. "Is everything okay Red?"
Natalie shook her head. "We have a little bit of a situation."
"That sounds serious. I haven't had a chance to eat yet, how about you fill me in over breakfast? John would you like to join us?" Rob asked, ushering Natalie toward the kitchen.
Ignoring the look Natalie shot him, John smiled. "That sounds great."
"My train leaves in a few hours so I am going to go get ready and finish packing." Natalie stood up from the table once they had finished eating. "Please refrain from pulling a gun on anymore of my friends." She said frostily, glaring at John, obviously still upset that he hadn't left yet.
Once Natalie was out of earshot, John turned his attention back to Rob. "So how long have you known Natalie?" John asked suspiciously, the cop in him needing to make sure this Rob guy wasn't suspect, and part of him needing confirmation that there wasn't anything going on between them.
Oblivious to John's accusatory tone, Rob grinned. "Since we were kids." Letting out a small chuckle, he continued. "We were in the same class in first grade, and on the second or third day, a bunch of us boys were playing soccer at recess. So, Natalie came up to us and asked if she could play. Naturally this was a big offence to us boys, who at the time hated girls, so I stepped forward and told her so." Once again Rob let out a small laugh. "I stupidly said something along the lines of, 'We don't play with girls,' And if that wasn't bad enough I added, 'Go back where you belong, playing stupid dollies with the other girls.'"
John smiled; he could only imagine Natalie's reaction to that. "What did she do?"
Rob smiled sheepishly. "Tackled me to the ground and started to beat the shit out of me."
John burst out laughing, finding it easy to picture a younger Natalie. "That doesn't surprise me." John remarked.
"Yeah, we both ended up spending every recess and lunch hour in the office for a month, but we became friends. Actually stayed pretty close up until graduation, even dated for awhile."
"What happened?" John's voice came off cool, but deep down the earlier feelings of jealously were starting to resurface.
Rob's eyes narrowed. "Seth."
Although he hadn't been around to actually meet Seth, John hated the guy, having heard stories about how he had hurt Natalie.
"Natalie and I remained best friends up until senior year, then we started dating. It was the first serious relationship for either of us, but things were going great. Then graduation came, and I got a scholarship to University of Michigan. Seth used this to his advantage, prying on Natalie's insecurities."
Rob paused and looked at John. "Although Natalie always appeared to be strong and independent, deep down there was this little girl inside of her, which was terrified of being abandoned. Seth used this fear, and managed to convince her that was what I was going to do. So, she broke up with me, and the two of them eventually headed off to Llanview. Seth and I had never gotten along, so I guess it was out of spite. You never know with that guy."
"What guy?" Natalie's voice came out of nowhere, startling both men.
"I was just telling John how we met." Rob replied quickly, not wanting Natalie to know they had been discussing Seth.
Natalie broke out into a wide grin. " Oh, the time when a girl kicked your ass on the playground?"
Rob laughed. "You were always getting me into trouble Red."
"I was not." Natalie protested. "You're the one that got us arrested."
Unable to help himself John watched jealously as the two of them continued to bicker back and forth. For what seemed like the zillionth time, John found himself regretting everything that had happened and everything that he had caused.
"Aren't you going back to Llanview John?" Rob's voice startled John out of his thoughts.
He nodded.
Robs eyes narrowed in confusion. "So why doesn't Natalie just go back with you? Saves her time and money. Plus, ."
Natalie offered Rob a fake smile, once again grateful he wasn't able to read her as well as he once could. "I had thought about asking John, but he promised his mother he'd visit her while he was in the area."
"But didn't you live with his mother for awhile? I'm sure she'd want to see you too Red." Rob persisted, still oblivious to Natalie's discomfort and Johns growing amusement.
"Yeah Natalie, I'm sure my mom would love that." John said, earning a murderous glare from Natalie.
"I wouldn't want to intrude. Plus, I don't mind the train."
"But Red, is it safe? You said it yourself, someone may be targeting you. What if that someone follows you on the train?"
"I'll be fine Rob." Natalie replied trying not to let her frustrations show. "John, tell him I'll be fine."
Johns face turned serious. "Actually, I agree with Rob on this."
Natalie sighed as she found herself out of excuses. "Fine," she snapped angrily. "Let me get my stuff." Fixing John with one last steely glance, she made her way back toward her bedroom.
One Natalie had left the room, Rob turned back to John. "I really hope you can get over your commitment issues."
Confused, John shot the man a questioning look. "Commitment issues?"
Rob nodded. "Natalie explained to me that you guys had dated for awhile, but it didn't work out because of the loss of your fiancé. Natalie is an amazing woman, and I can tell you still care for her. For both your sakes, I hope you can work through those problems."
Suddenly it all made sense. This was the story Natalie had told people about their break-up, which explained why most residents of Llanview had been shooting him looks of pity for the past three months.
John nodded uncomfortably, unsure how to respond. But, Ron continued speaking oblivious to John's discomfort.
"You know I was surprised to hear Red had gotten involved with a cop, she's always had a problem with authority."
John couldn't help but smile as she flashed back to all of the messes she had managed to get herself in despite
Upon reaching her room Natalie shut and locked her bedroom door, then leaned against the wooden frame, needing a few seconds to compose herself.
Although Natalie had known that she was bound to run into John once she was back in Llanview, she had taken comfort in the knowledge that it would be in passing, and never more then a few minutes of polite conversation. But, seeing him after all these months was a lot harder then she had expected.
Natalie realized now, that despite everything John had done she wasn't over him, but also knew he had caused her too much loss for her to forgive him.
'I can't go through that pain again.' Natalie thought to herself as she subconsciously put her hand on her stomach.