Page 105 of Collision
By the time my alarm clock goes off, I have been awake for severalhours already. I turn it off and stare at the ceiling and just keep touching my lips, which still taste of him. I take a deep breath and go start a shower.
The water has been running for a while already, but it’s still ice cold. I’m shaking like a newly hatched chick.
“Mom!” I shout, hoping she’s still at home.
No response. I get out of the shower, teeth chattering. I wrap myself in a towel before scurrying downstairs.
In the kitchen, I find a note on the refrigerator:The water heater’s broken. I’ve already called the repairman and he’s coming this afternoon. Be home by five o’clock.
“Damn it!” I curse, crumpling the note in my fist. I throw it in the garbage and go back upstairs to get dressed.
I open my closet and stand in front of it contemplatively. I am about to grab my usual clothes, which Tiffany would call dull, but suddenly I change my mind. I look at myself in the mirror and, for some strange reason, I want to feel more attractive today. I decide to wear a fitted coffee-colored skirt that ends just above my knees and perfectly cradles my backside. I forgo my usual shapeless sweater for a blouse that I leave a little open at the neck, and on my feet, I have my ever-present Converse.
I get into Thomas’s car and, since I am early, I decide to meet him at his dorm to return the keys. As I’m walking toward the building, two hands land on my shoulders and squeeze.
“Hey, Nessy. How’re things?” Matt falls into step beside me, and we walk together.
“Hi, Matt. They suck, how about you?”
“Great, as always.” He smiles smugly. “What happened to you?”
“The water heater is out at home. I couldn’t take a hot shower. Mom is at work, and I’m here with no car and no hot water,” I explain, getting angrier as I do.
“Ah, good ol’ Murphy’s Law,” he replies calmly, pulling a little packet of mints out of his jacket pocket.
I think for a second. “Whose law?”
“You know: ‘anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.’”
He throws a mint into the air and catches it in his mouth.
“Oh, yeah. Murphy’s Law.”
“Thomas really didn’t want to leave the bar last night. I couldn’t do anything about it. Did he cause any problems?” he asks, concerned.
“Don’t worry about it, he didn’t bother me,” I reassure him.
“I shouldn’t have taken him there when he was in that condition.”
I put a hand on his chest to stop him.
“Wait, was he already drunk when you guys got there?”
“He’d already had some shots of Jack, yeah.”
“Does he do that a lot?” I frown at him.
“What, drink?”
I nod, clutching my books more tightly to my chest.
“We’re guys, Nessy. You know how it is.”
“Yes, Matt, you are guys, but you also have brains in your heads, I hope. Having a few beers to celebrate is one thing, but getting wasted every time you get the chance doesn’t seem wise,” I admonish him in a tone that brooks no argument. He looks away from me with a hint of shame on his face, and I immediately feel bad for putting him on blast like that. “Sorry, I’m not mad at you, I just don’t like seeing him like that,” I explain quietly.
Matt rubs the back of his neck. “Listen, how about I make it up to you with a shower at my place?”
I raise an eyebrow, confused. “What?”
