The One

🔨 Chapter 6

🔨 Matt POV

"Fuckin' God damn it!!" I hit the steering wheel hard with my hand multiple times.

My last words to Prim echo repeatedly in my head, "I was left here alone to fend for myself! YOU left me! My love life might be fucked up right now, BUT YOU ARE AS MUCH TO BLAME FOR THAT AS I AM!"

Then her quiet response back, "You are right, Matt. I'm sorry. I have no say. It won't happen again."

I feel the anger turn back into pain as the tears slip down my cheeks. I shake my head and whimper, "Why? What did I ever do to deserve this?"

She's back for one day and it was the best damn day and the worst damn day I've had in recent memory. I close my eyes and lean my head back onto the headrest. I take a shuttered breath. The feel of her skin was the best feeling I've had since touching her five years ago. I chuckle at how pathetic I am. I would trade every experience with every single girl over the last five years to touch Prim on the waist like I did tonight.

Is it concerning that I would willingly give up every interaction I've ever had for one sweet moment with her? Pretty damn concerning. I'm so fucked. If I was sane I would question how a girl could have a hold on me like that. But it isn't just 'some girl'. It's my Prim. My best friend, my girlfriend, my love. I'm still so fucking ruined for this girl.

And all this after I saw her for one day. One God damn day! I hit the steering wheel a couple more times. I need to get this all out before I go into the house. I can't wake my parents up.

I rage and cry for a while longer before finally tiring enough to get up and walk to the house. At least we are doing the quick cosmetic treatment on her house now. I think I could almost get the work done in a week, maybe a few days more than that. She just needs to pick out molding, light fixtures, cabinet doors, and paint color. She might let me pick it all out. Then I'd barely have to see her. I'll have the guys do the work quickly. 

Oh, and I should order a load of gravel for the driveway. That would help sell the house. And we should refinish the floors first so we can get rid of the dust before painting. I start making a mental list of the work to be done. If I focus on work, I might be able to keep from losing my shit again.

---

The next morning I break the news to Hank. He's not happy. "Did you put her up to this?!"

I frown at him, "No, I told her yesterday morning that it was going to be my first managing job. Then last night I just told her 'change of plans, Hank will manage it'. She wanted to know why, and I was honest but I didn't whine about it. I told her you'd give me something else. She decided on the spot to go back to Marcia's plan. She's just going to sell the place anyway. She was worried about not being able to let it go after fixing the entire house like she wants it." 

Hank is pacing back and forth and I don't understand why he's so upset about this. He clears up my confusion quickly, "I hired on two more guys because I thought we had the workload for it. They've been asking about a job and I called them last night. They were pretty happy to get the work."

I'm frowning now, "You hired guys before you even got the contract? We haven't even offered her a bid yet."

Hank looks guilty. He scratches at his greying hair, "I know, I know. My sister has been begging me to hire her stepsons to work for me. I thought we had the work. I jumped the gun. Shit, how're we going to fix this?"

I've already figured out the solution, he just needs to get there. I watch him as he thinks about it. His head comes up. Bingo. "What if you managed the Martin job? Would she be amenable to going with the full renovation, do you think?" Exactly what I was thinking.