AFTERSHOCK! ━ 911.

five.

A couple months later, Ellis was feeling like herself again. It had been a blissful few weeks, enjoying time by herself without any men; even if the sound of Ollie and Buck laughing in the living room tended to shoot straight through the wall at her heart. She had even done a great job at keeping off of her dating apps, ignoring the feminine urge to search it for any type of ego boost she could gain.

Instead of men, she had taken up walking. There was a coffee shop down the street from her apartment, one that Buck tended to visit to grab breakfast for him and Ollie, and it had become her home in her time of intended loneliness. She tended to sit at one of the tables in the corner, people watching, as she nursed her coffee until it was long past the state of being hot.

Right now, she leaned back in the comfortable chair, fingers wrapping around the warmth of her paper cup. Her eyes were slowly zeroed in on a couple ordering together, trying to break them down. The guy stood a little bit in front of her, his shoulder overlapping hers as he talked to the barista, but she didn't seem like she hated it. It didn't look like he was speaking over her, but by the way she kept a loose grip on his arm.

But maybe she was naive. Maybe she was just hoping that he was being a sweet guy when in reality, he was flirting with the barista.

There it was, again. That negativity.

Ellis stood up quickly, realizing that she needed to move to keep herself from thinking. Usually, she'd stay in the coffee shop a bit longer, making up elaborate backstories for everybody that walked through the door. The girl in the workout gear was recovering from a break-up. The guy in the suit worked in a job he actually loved, but everybody thought he hated it when they looked at him. The lady that always showed up in her pajamas had a newborn at home. It was a fun little game that kept her mind busy.

She sighed as she grabbed her phone, holding it and her keys in one hand as the other cradled her drink. A text came through her phone as she made her way towards the door, turning her hand to try and look at her screen. To her luck, she did it at the exact moment that somebody stepped through the door, causing her to slam directly in their chest.

The impact had her taking a step backwards to steady herself, her phone falling out of her hands and clattering to the floor. Ellis closed her fingers tighter around her drink to keep it from falling, however it just crumpled beneath her tense grip, coffee spilling over the sensitive skin of her hand. While it wasn't hot enough for serious burns, she yelped as the heat immediately seeped into her skin, cup falling to the floor as she immediately pressed her hand to her shirt.

"Oh, shit. I'm so sorry!"

At the apology, her head finally raised to see the person she had run into, her lips parting in surprise.

The man in front of her was tall. It was the first thing she noticed. Her head had to tilt up just to take a look at his face, which was totally worth the journey her eyes had to take. As she laid her gaze on him, she was welcomed with a sharp jawline, mussy brunette hair and deep brown eyes. Thick glasses framed his eyes, giving him a boyish look, however it fit just right. A deep blue sweater was tight against his arms and slender waist, layered over some simple jeans. He was like a prince in shining casual wear.

Realizing she needed to respond, she shook her head, still cradling her hand against her chest as he leaned down to grab her phone and crumpled coffee cup off of the floor. "Oh, uh, it's fine. I'm a doctor, I can handle it at home. I mean, I don't work in burns, but I can figure it out. I probably have some burn cream around my apartment somewhere. Got it when I got a gnarly sunburn one year. Why am I still talking? I'm so sorry. But you said that. I accept your apology." She shut her mouth with an apologetic look, pleading silently that she didn't scare him away.