The sound of metal upon metal screeched into Lucy's ears as her car jolted to a stop, pushing her forward into the steering wheel. She hit the brakes fruitlessly, her face draining of colour as she glanced in the rear view mirror.
"Mavis," she whispered, her head dropping to the steering wheel, "I cannot catch a damned break, can I?"
Part of her didn't want to get out of the car. It was just another thing to add to her rotten week. The other part knew it was responsible and honest to get out and see how bad the damage was, then track down the owner to make arrangements to fix it.
Her heart dropped to her knees as she got out of her blue, older Honda Civic and took her first look at the other car. Of course it would be a newer model Porsche. It was metallic silver in colour, far nicer than anything she would ever be able to afford.
"Maybe it won't be that bad," she lamented, "We're in a parking lot. I was barely moving. I can't have hit it that hard."
She swallowed at the blatant lie she told herself. She had been moving faster than she should have been. She had been in a hurry to get out of there...to leave her day behind her...and therefore did not check her surroundings thoroughly before hitting the gas. There would be damage...and it would not be minimal.
Slowly, she made her way to the back of the vehicle. With all the dents in her old beater, her car appeared to be none-the-worse-for-wear. The Porsche's bumper, however, had been dented in. Gouged scratches gnarled the pristine paint job.
She shut her eyes, her shoulders drooping as she took a long cleansing breath.
"Boy, that sucks."
Lucy jumped, whirling around frantically to see who had joined her.
He was a nice looking man. His hair was pink, waving wildly in the slight wind. His eyes were dark with specks of green dancing inside them. He wore dress pants, the top two buttons of his shirt undone. A businessman, if she had to guess.
"Ugh," Lucy sighed, bending to examine the dent, "I really did a number to it, didn't I?"
The man nodded, crouching down beside her to survey the damage, "Afraid so. The whole bumper will need to be replaced."
Lucy stood up, "Well, I guess I need to find the owner."
The man laughed slightly, gesturing to the myriad of buildings around them, "Good luck with that! Hundreds of people use this parking lot. It could be anyone."
"I guess I'll wait then," Lucy hummed forlornly, "The perfect end to a shitty, shitty week."
"Shitty week?" the stranger repeated. He gestured to the nearby rock wall, "I know about those. Want a friendly ear? The owner of the car might be awhile...I can wait with you for a bit if that's okay?"
She regarded him, trying to read his expression. He looked sincere enough, but she didn't make a habit of talking to strangers...for obvious reasons.
"I don't even know you."
The curves of his mouth turned upward, once again reiterating to Lucy what a handsome man he was. In any other situation, she might have been tempted to flirt.
"Let's just say I've had my fair share of bad days lately too," he said softly, "Aaand I've hit someone's car before. I think you'll find that I'm a great listener...and you look like you could use a friend."
Lucy wasn't sure what it was about him that made her trust him, but she found herself nodding, following him over to sit on the ledge of the rock wall. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. He watched her carefully as she struggled with recent events internally.
