Chapter ­­­2. Scent

“What do you mean, what was I doing? You should watch where you drive” I replied as a reflex, more because I didn’t have anything to say than because it was the truth.

I knew it wasn’t anywhere close to the truth and the accident was more or less my fault. I hadn’t been looking when I’d crossed the street; I’d been too focused on my goal.

“Watch my driving? Watch your mouth. If I hadn’t been so careful, you wouldn’t be alive right now!” He threw back and then held out his hand to help me up, “Come on,” he said, his tone commanding.

The adrenaline was pumping in my body and I tried to get up on my own, rejecting his hand.

How could he shout at me and then expect me to gratefully accept his help?

But as soon as I leaned on my right leg, there was a lightning bolt of pain that went right up to my thigh and I let out a shout, falling back to the ground again.

“I told you to let me help you!” The guy shouted at me, “God, I’m already late and now this… Shit, your knee is bleeding and I doubt you can stand up on your own, you probably fell on this leg when you decided to kill yourself using my car.”

“Can you stop shouting at me? Please?” My voice cracked on the last word. My eyes filled with tears as pain lanced through my leg and I surveyed my pathetic predicament.

I was sprawled on the ground, bleeding, my leg busted and late for class with no way of arriving on time. Or at all for that matter.

I reached for my phone only to remember that it was dead. My life right now looked so sad, I wanted to laugh in hysterics.

I looked around me and decided on humble pie, “Can you help me up to the sidewalk; I can take it from there.” I muttered.

“You need to see a doctor, you’re bleeding.” He replied.

“It’s just a scratch, I’ll handle it. Just help me to the sidewalk and you can leave.” I said pointedly.

The guy sighed, leaned down and gave me a hand. I took his hand and tried to stand up. A stab of pain shot through me as I stood up and started walking towards the sidewalk with the help of the stranger.

His car was idling right where he’d left it when he’d screeched to a halt and as we reached the sidewalk, and I hurriedly said, “Thank you for the help. Listen? I’m sorry, I know I was wrong. I was running and I was late. I just said what I said because you made me mad. You probably saved my life”

His hands left me and I precariously stood on the sidewalk and I looked up at him for the first time.

He had beautiful eyes, grey…like the sky before a storm. He narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t believe I was apologizing for my mistake.

“Just make sure you tie your sneakers next time and look both ways before crossing the street.” He shot a telling look towards my shoes and told me off like a child and turned to go back to his car.

I looked down and saw that my laces were undone. Shit. I felt so immature right now, immature and embarrassed.

I turned away too, now annoyed at myself that I’d apologized to him. Some people just couldn’t take an apology graciously, I thought as I tried to put one foot in front of the other and make my way to the college campus.

I groaned as pain lanced through me again. I looked around for a familiar face and wished I’d had enough sense to charge my phone last night. As it was, I could call no one. I would have to make my way to the campus alone.

Class would already be over, by the time I would get there, I thought as I slowly tried to put one foot in front of the other. Maybe I should turn back and head home to ice my leg.

I let out a groan as I moved too fast and following a stab of pain, my legs started shaking…

I was fully expecting to fall down on my butt again.

I shot out a hand to catch my fall but..

Strong arms caught me just in time and I was lifted up like I weighed nothing.

“Up you go,” he said and I looked up again into the eyes of the stranger whose car had almost run over me.

Again.

How did he get back here so fast?

He turned around, facing ahead and started walking with me up in his arms, as if it was something normal he did every day. Running over random women and then picking them up in his arms as if they weighed no more than a grocery bag.

Although you wouldn’t hold a grocery bag quite so closely, I thought.

I took a deep breath, he smelled so good, his scent was all around me, a cloud of him and this was the excuse I had for not even putting up a token protest at being picked up and handled like that.

I regained my senses just as he started to deposit me in his car.

“Hey, what the..where are you..I don’t want to get in your car.” I finished as he put me down in the seat very gently and then slammed the door.

“Don’t touch that door,” He warned me as I moved to open the door and get out.

He handed me my bag pack and said, “You’re in no condition to run and I can just bring you back again.”

Following that, he gunned the engine and we sped away from the scene of the crime.