Beauty

Chapter 4

'Dammit, Michael' he chastised himself. He loved her already. He didn't know if it was the way her golden eyes matched her hair or the softness of her voice when she had apologized or maybe even the way she seemed to really not know to whom this property belonged but there was something there. 

   He hadn't wanted to be so rude to her, but it was a defense mechanism. Michael was not about to let another woman hurt him. He was still struggling to climb out of the pit of despair Lisa had left him in.
    

   But there was electricity in the air between them. He could feel it. And when he had placed his hand on her back, a gesture he did out of habit, he could feel his breath quicken and a burning sensation in his chest. He hoped she hadn't noticed. 
    

   Now he was standing in his living room staring blankly down at the phone in his hands. She was standing behind him waiting for something... for him to turn around and hand it to her. 'If I turn around, she'll see my face. She'll call me a freak... They all think I'm a freak.' At this thought, he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. 

   He knew he would have to turn around eventually. 'At least,' he thought to himself, 'I'll get to see her beauty, one last time.'

   He smiled to himself but it was filled with lonely sorrow. 'Keep your head down' he coached himself. So with eyes locked on the floor, he turned to face Callie. "Here you go." he said. He peered up as he handed her the phone before he cast his eyes back down. Then he shoved his quivering hands in his pocket and kept his eyes trained on the floor.