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her throat, the uncontrollable racing of her heart, or the agony of each
breath she took. It was like dying a slow, painful, and terrifying death,
except death did not come. She was free to be tortured endlessly by the same
scenario, each episode no less frightening.
    “And
again,” Craig said, demonstrating how to draw a long, slow breath. His grip
loosened on her jaw as she followed his directions. Abby began to feel a little
more in control of herself, though it was hard for her to keep calm. Craig
walked her through a panic attack. That was even more mortifying than his
knowing who she was.Looking down, her
embarrassment grew as she saw her bags abandoned on the sidewalk at his feet .
    “Shh.”
Craig moved his thumbs to brush away the tears which had snaked down Abby’s
cheeks. His subtle touch soothed and scared her in the same moment. It left her
in a place of awe. As he tucked wayward strands of hair from her ponytail back
behind her ears, he continued studying her eyes, looking for a sign she had
fully returned. Abby was grateful for his kindness, but felt exposed. She wanted
nothing more than to get as far away from him as possible. His understanding
would not last. She feared seeing disgust surface in his expression, as it had
in the face of every person who learned the truth of what she had caused.
    * * *

Chapter 6 ~ Pariah “Are you okay?” He was careful not to offend. “I mean, do you think you can get
to the truck?” Obviously she was not okay.
    Abby
nodded quickly. It would be hell to wait for a cab in the parking lot, everyone
would stare at her. She was better off getting back to the houseboat, lickety
split. She’d have to figure out from there what her next step would be. Craig
picked up the bags at their feet and slid an arm loosely around her waist to
help her toward the vehicle, shielding her from the onlookers’ stares. He
stowed the groceries in the back, climbed into the driver's seat and started
the engine. He was about to put it into drive when he reached over, grabbed her
seat belt, drew it across her and clasped it without ever looking at her.
Putting the transmission in gear, he then drove out of the parking lot.
     
    The
silence on the way back was deafening, interrupted only by Abby's rattled
breathing. She tried to even it out, but the more she attempted to control it,
the jerkier it became. Craig cracked a window to let some fresh air into the
truck. The noise seemed to drown out her awkward breathing. Abby felt as if she
were right back in Philadelphia, reliving it all. She knew, without hesitation,
it would not be long before the whole world knew where she was and reporters
would again be at her door.
    * * *
    “It's
normal to feel that way,” she had murmured, so soothingly. A million times
since that morning she had wished she could go back and change those words. If
she had told him how atrocious and horrible it was for him to fantasize about
such things, maybe that would have been enough to steer him off the path his
twisted mind had placed him on. Hindsight was cruel.
     
    * * *
    “Abby...
I'm sorry,” Craig said quietly.
     
    “For
what?” she responded in feigned ignorance, her voice shaky.
     
    “For
trying to force you to tell me,” he glanced her way. “I didn't realize what you
were dealing with... I kept asking so many questions. Forgive me.”
    Abby
turned to stare out the window, bracing herself for the inevitable. She tried
to hide her concern that he would never want to ask her another question. She
knew rejection all too well. But before she could set up her defenses, Craig
did ask another question. One he expected an answer to.
    “What
actually happened?”He tried to give her
privacy to answer, keeping his eyes on the road.
     
    “You
saw the article,” she countered.
    Craig
shook his head, cocking it slightly to one side. “Right. You coaxed a damaged
man into committing mass murder. Am I supposed to believe aliens had Elvis’
baby,