Short Stories

Old Flames and New Boundaries: When Past Crush Move Next Door

It was a fine afternoon, and I was at home after completing my project the previous day. Now, I have a few days of freedom ahead of me. I sat in my garden, sipping my coffee and the delightful weather. Out of nowhere, a loud crash shattered the silence, and a car smashed through my fence. Startled, I quickly rose to my feet, realizing the potential danger if I had been in that part of the garden. I accidentally knocked my coffee mug off the table and quickly went outside to look into the chaos. I was frustrated to find that someone had damaged my trash can, leaving a mess on my front porch and breaking my garden fence.

I stormed out of my garden, my heart pounding with anger and adrenaline, and saw a man stepping out of the car that had just crashed through my fence.

"Are you out of your mind?" I yelled, pointing at the broken fence and the scattered trash. "Look what you've done to my garden!"

The man looked a bit dazed but quickly regained his composure. "I'm so sorry," he stammered, "I lost control of the car. It was an accident."

"An accident?" I scoffed, hands on my hips. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? I could have been sitting right there!"

He ran a hand through his hair, visibly frustrated. "I know, okay? I already said I'm sorry. What do you want me to do about it?"

"How about you start by cleaning up this mess?" I shot back. "And you'll be paying for the repairs, obviously."

His eyes narrowed. "Fine, I'll cover the damages, but you don't have to be so rude about it."

"Rude?" I echoed, my voice rising. "You crashed a car through my fence! How am I supposed to react, with a smile and a wave?"

He threw up his hands. "Look, I don't need this. Just send me the bill for the repairs and let's be done with it."

"Oh, believe me, I will," I snapped, turning on my heel. "And you'd better pray I don't charge you extra for emotional distress."

As I walked away, I heard him mutter something under his breath. "Unbelievable," I turned back and yelled at him. "Yeah, unbelievable. How could anyone be that pathetic at driving?"

I was so angry that I didn't notice my boyfriend's car. When he came out, I yelled at the man who had ruined my garden. Luke immediately went up to me and asked what was going on, so I told him the whole thing. I assumed Luke was going to fight the man, but instead, he looked at him and dipped his head. The man removed his cap and walked forward to shake hands with my boyfriend. I was taken aback. Because my home spoiler is my college crush. He was the captain of a football team. His name is Dane Woods. I can't believe after eight years I still feel butterflies in my stomach. When Luke turned back, I had to put my falsely angry face on display.

I stood back and when Luke came back to me, I raised my hands and asked. "What the hell was that?"

Luke responded. "What do you mean?"

I clenched my jaw. "I thought you were going to fight for me because he spoiled my..."

Luke cut me off. "Come on, love, it was a mistake, and also, moving is a hell of a job so I think you need to cut him a slack."

I pointed my thumb to the next door. "He moved here?"

Luke nodded and placed his arm around my shoulders as we walked inside. I couldn't believe Dane would now be living so near me. We never spoke in college since I was the glasses, braces, and nerdy type of girl. He doesn't even remember me, so why on earth am I getting tingly thinking he's next door doing God knows what? Almost the entire night, I twisted and turned, wanting to rush out of my house and barge into his to see if he still had those tattoos on his shoulders and chest.