Page 6 of Shattered

I reach out and touch his forearm, trying my best to calm him down.“Don’t worry about it.Seriously, Samuel, it was merely an accident.”

My touch seems to do the trick.He instantly relaxes.“Okay, Sara,” he says as he looks at the ground.“I have to go now…I have to fix the sink in the men’s room.”He walks away, his eyes still fixated on the ground.

I’m on break a little while later when Karen comes into the back of the store.“Sorry, Sara, but something came up and I can’t give you a ride home after all.Your gram can come pick you up, though, right?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.Thanks anyway.”I don’t want to bring her out in this weather, but it looks like I have no other choice.

Samuel walks in on the end of our conversation and must notice my slight distress at the news.

“I can give you a ride home,” he offers as he looks at me across the room.He’s standing there with a hopeless expression on his face, no doubt still recovering from his small episode earlier.

“No, it’s okay.I wouldn’t want to put you out.But thank you, I appreciate it.”

“I really don’t mind at all.Didn’t you say you lived kind of close to here?It’s no big deal.”

I quickly think about this.I’m not one hundred percent sure about it, but at the same time I’m concerned about making my gram drive in this weather to pick me up.

In the end, her safety wins out over my quick reservation.

“Okay, but only if you are sure.”He nods.

We exchange a small smile before I pass him on my way back out to the sales floor.

It’s finally time to leave.I follow Samuel out to his truck, ignoring the whispers of my co-workers.

Strapping in, I give him my address as he makes a right out of the parking lot.There is an uncomfortable silence between us.Am I simply nervous because I’ve only interacted with him at work?Or is there something else brewing inside?An unnerving instinct trying to warn me of something?

Pushing my erratic thoughts aside, I stare out the window.

He manages to scare me when he speaks, silence otherwise surrounding us.“I’m so happy you’ve finally agreed to be with me.”

The rain hitting the windshield muffles what he says.He didn’t say what I thought he did, did he?

“Excuse me?” I say, praying the next words out of his mouth are something which won’t freak me out.

“I’ve waited a long time for this, Sara,” he declares as he turns his head to look at me. “The first time I saw you, I knew we had a special connection.”A far-off look invades his pupils, driving home how far off-kilter he’s becoming.

My reality is certainly not the same as his.

Frantically thinking of something to say, I start to shift in my seat, nervousness taking over with each pass of the road.

“Samuel,” I start cautiously, “I need you to pull over and let me out, please.I’ll call for another ride home.”

His hands grip the steering wheel so tight his knuckles lose all color.“Why do you want to leave me already?”

How do I even respond to such a question?Because you’re freaking me the fuck outis probably not the right thing to say right now, although it’s the honest-to-God truth.

“Why, Sara?” he shouts, pounding his fist against the leather wheel.I physically jump, moving closer to my door.This is going from bad to worse.Fast.

“I need to go home.Please.Please, just take me home,” I beg.

Without missing a beat, he answers me and the chills wrap around my spine and squeeze.I almost lose my lunch all over the front seat.

“Iamtaking you home,” he declares.“Ourhome.”

My heart plummets.

My breathing becomes erratic.

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