Page 10 of Fractured

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think we’d exchanged names.” And I couldn’t exactly tell him I already knew his.

“About that…” He took a hesitant step closer. Chocolate brown eyes. Beautiful eyes the color of the most decadent chocolate stared down at me, twinkling as he smiled. “Harper may or may not have mentioned her best friend before. And I may or may not have used some of my time in this week’s session to figure out your identity.” Was that why Harper had acted coy about him? Because he’d inquired about me first?

Flushing with a weird sense of pleasure at making such an impression he’d work to find out my name, I touched my cheek to feel the heat building in my face.

“And such a pretty blush.” He slid the wine in his bag and brought his hand up to my face, gently dragging his knuckles from my temple to jaw. Goosebumps erupted down my arms that had nothing to do with the sudden chill in the air.

Sticking my hand out, I said, “Nice to meet you. And you are?”

“Atticus,” he said lightly, stepping back and breaking the intensity of the moment. “I know this is random, but would you like to grab a drink with me sometime?” He looked to the sky and the dark gray storm clouds quickly rolling over head.

This was the internal battle I always fought. Say yes and insert myself into his life, or no and save myself the heartache that was sure to come? No, I wanted this too much. I’d only been in his presence a handful of minutes, and I already knew we clicked in a way I hadn’t with anyone else before.

“I—” couldn’t bring myself to say yes.

“The rain is about to start, and I don’t think I can let you go into the store until I get a yes.” His grin was confident with just enough sex appeal that it was obvious he didn’t lack for female company.

“Fine, you know what? I’d love to grab a drink with you sometime.” The happiness that arced through me was new. He must have felt the same connection, because his grin overtook the entire bottom half of his face.

The first few drops of water splashed against the tip of my nose and my forehead. We had only a few seconds to a minute at most before the heavens opened up over us. The pressure had been building all day until the clouds were so pregnant, they were ready to burst.

“And that’s my cue to go. I would be an awful date if I actually let you stand in the rain just to talk to me a few more minutes. Although I am tempted,” he said under his breath. Pulling out his phone, he took my number and sent me a text. “I’ll call you soon, Lilith. Now get inside before the rain hits.”

He walked backward deeper into the parking lot, as if to make sure I made it inside okay. As more, bigger drops of water hit my arms, I jogged inside. I didn’t mind getting wet, and honestly, if I wouldn’t seem crazy to the general population, I would stand under the sheets of constantly falling rain. It was something I’d done as a kid. The repetitive feeling on my skin was almost therapeutic, like it provided a reset from whatever had happened that day.

But grocery stores were cold, and I didn’t want to walk down the aisles passing random strangers with a thin wet T-shirt when I was freezing. That was a sight I would always save the public from.

I grabbed a handbasket as soon as I was inside and headed toward the freezer aisle. In case I continued to be lazy, I picked up a few different frozen options for the week. Then some yogurt, a few packages of ramen, and a small bag of powdered donuts.

Wow. My basket was the work of a starving college student. Anyone passing me by would probably feel some type of sympathy for me, a grown woman with no healthy inclinations. I almost cared enough to put back the donuts, but they won out in the end.

Barely ten minutes had passed when I approached the pharmacy, only to see the metal link fence pulled down over the counters.

“Shit,” I cursed.

“Problem?” A man wearing a grocery shirt stopped next to me. I looked down at his nametag. ‘Pete’ was written in black block letters with ‘Manager’ scrawled underneath.

“No, I thought the pharmacy was open until seven.” Glancing back, there was one lone employee barely visible through the shelves, so I missed them by minutes.

“Six. New hours. Not enough traffic to keep it open later. Don’t tell anyone I said this, but the bigger chains of pharmacies are open until eight or nine through the week if you need the later hours.” He leaned close, as if he could get in trouble for sharing this valuable information.

“That’s okay. I didn’t realize the new hours, and I’m not in any hurry. Thanks for your help.” I shifted my basket from my right to left arm.

He shrugged and kept walking, while I stood there for a second. I came to this pharmacy every month for my birth control pills. And the employee in the back was someone I’d never seen before. Granted, I could only see the back of his head, but it was mostly women in this pharmacy.

He turned around and paused when he saw me staring. Smiling, I rushed down the next aisle to avoid being labeled the neighborhood stalker.

That was the last thing I needed to add to my list of worries.

Four

Sins of the mother… Is a sin still a sin if you were born that way? - August 24th

For once,I remembered to take my lunch during studio time. Not only that, I needed a change of scenery. I’d been stuck in the solo piece all morning, and my brain felt overworked. So a trip out to grab some food was the perfect break. Randolf’s studio was smack in the middle of the old industrial center, which meant rent was cheap but the restaurant options were nonexistent.

I drove to the next town over. It was more inland, so hardly any tourists there, but it did have a small college. Which meant just enough bustle that there were some cute shops along Main Street and a gorgeous park to gather my thoughts and eat lunch in peace.

Opting for something easy, I picked up a club sandwich with chips and a soda. I’d just left the shop on my way across the street when my phone rang.

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