Kill My Time-LH

*Chapter Twenty*

Rhiannon was pacing in her small apartment busying herself with trivial tasks. There were a few dishes scattered throughout the living room and kitchen that she swore she'd get to later. That was last week and her old ice cream bowls still sat untouched.

She gathered the almost forgotten dishes and put them into the dishwasher. She thanked whatever higher power there was in the world that she didn't have to wash them by hand. She was too antsy to steadily hold dishes that were slippery with soap and water.

Something was nagging at the back of her mind and she just couldn't place it. It had been about a week since she'd seen Luke at the office he was doing his rounds at. Her eye was almost back to normal and she promised Luke he wouldn't be seeing her in the office again for anything eye related.

Rhiannon's music was turned up loud in her noise cancelling headphones to distract her from her anxiety. It was late and she didn't want to disturb her neighbors more than usual. She could feel the bass thumping in her chest making her nerves shoot up more than usual. Rhiannon fluffed the decorative pillows on her green couch and threw her body into them with a sigh. The thumping in her headphones became faster and so did her heartbeat. With her eyes trained on the white ceiling, she tried to steady her breathing. After ten minutes of breathing exercises with no success, she makes her way over to the door to take a jog.

Normally, Rhiannon isn't the type to run, but it's the only thing that calms her overactive brain. The crisp air nips at her nose as she exits the building. Her eyes closed as she took a cleansing breath. It probably wasn't smart for her to be out by herself this late at night, but she'd go insane by herself in her apartment.

She jogged along her normal route past her coffee shop and around the park. She decided she needed a second lap so she could fall asleep easier. When she approached the coffee shop again, she saw two familiar figures across the street at the bar Luke worked sometimes.

Dylan had Luke pushed up against the wall of the bar in the alleyway. Luke didn't seem to be fighting back, but Rhiannon couldn't see that well in the dark. She shut off her music and pulled her headphones away from her ears so she could try to hear what Dylan was saying.

Rhiannon shuffled closer to the bar so she could hear better. Luke had a bloody nose and what looked like a black eye forming. Dylan, who was a few inches shorter than Luke, had his shoulders pressed against the wall. His face was inches from Luke's. She could see the sneer on his lips, teeth clenched. Luke's hands were in fists, but it looked like Dylan had been untouched from where Rhiannon was standing.

"Stay away from her, Blondie. You have no idea what's coming to you if you don't," Dylan threatened.

He let go of Luke and got one last punch into his stomach. Luke quickly toppled over from the pain. Dylan turned back to look at Luke gasping for air, "I mean it Hemmings, stay away from Rhiannon."
Dylan turned the corner away from the bar and away from Luke. Rhiannon rushed over from out of the shadows. She squatted down in front of Luke on the sidewalk. Startled by the body in front of him, Luke turns his head up in the direction of Rhiannon's worried eyes.

"Luke. What happened? Why was Dylan here? Are you okay?," Rhiannon mumbled quickly. She took his chin in her hand to inspect the damage of Dylan's punches.

Ignoring her questions, Luke asked a question of his own, "What are you doing here Rhiannon? It's two in the morning."

"I um, I run when I'm anxious and can't sleep. I always go by jitters because I can stop there if I feel like I'm in danger. But then on my second lap, I saw you and Dylan. I needed to make sure you were okay," she said.

Rhiannon's thumb brushed over the newly formed bruise under Luke's eye. He flinched from the contact while his eyes met hers.

"I'm fine, but you need to promise me you won't be out this late again. Especially with creeps like him running around."