Savior (Scomiche)

Afterwards

Somehow, I managed to find my way to the car in the dark. The whole walk back I was replaying what had just happened in my mind. I felt so stupid, but I rationalized it was the best thing to do. Yelling that there was a car coming at him would've made him pause, and I couldn't have had that happen. But Scott took a super hard fall. And that I felt especially bad about. His head must've been killing him.
The next day, after a restless night's sleep, I worried about Scott. I bit my fingernails, tugged at my hair, and paced throughout the apartment. I didn't even notice until Avi called attention to it.
"Hey buddy, somethin' bothering you?" He asked, looking up from his laptop.
I had just opened the fridge, looked in it, shut it, paced, then opened it again about three times in a row. Shrugging, I plopped down across from him at the round dinner table. My fingers automatically ran through my hair, proving the anxious feelings inside. "Well, I don't know, yeah."
Avi half-closed the laptop and peered over at me. "Tell me about it." His deep voice always sounded so relaxed and soothing, I couldn't help but give in.
"Well, last night, you know, like..." I sighed, not finding the words. "Well, you know I went out to dinner with that Scott guy?" He nodded. "He's so shy and quiet and kinda reminds me of a wounded animal."
"I could see that," Avi agreed, straightening piles of paperwork without taking his gaze off me.
"So afterwards, I insisted on walking him home because he wouldn't accept a ride from me and--"
"That's weird," Avi interjected.
"Mhm. But I figured that I enjoyed dinner so a walk would be nice. Maybe he'd invite me in or something. And Avi, he finally opened up a little on that walk. But you'll never guess what happened."
"What?"
"A car came. Fast. So... well, I... I kinda tackled him." Surprise passed over Avi's face so I quickly added, "But not really! I mean, I'm not big enough to do anything. He stumbled and then fell... with me on top of him... and he kind of hit his head..."
"Mitch!" Avi scolded.
"Well what would you have done?!" I defended. "Besides, I was practically saving his life. That car didn't see us until the last second. Anyway, after a super awkward moment of me laying on top of him, he got up, said he was fine, and ran off." Pink was clouding my cheeks just thinking about it. "So now, I just... I feel awful. He was obviously in pain and probably never wants to see me again. And even if he did, he doesn't have my number."
Avi shook his head in sorrow. "Sucks, man." He paused in deep thought. "You like him, don't you?"
I sighed, setting my elbow on the table and letting my head give its weight into my palm. "Too much."
Avi sighed as well and opened his laptop back up. "It always help me to go for a drive and clear my head. It's a lot of time to yourself so you can sort things out. Maybe you should try it."
I nodded. I mean, I had nothing better to do. So I stood, swiped my phone and keys off the counter, and was on my way.

The car had a mind of its own. I mean, I didn't intend to end up in Scott's area... did I? Okay. Maybe self-consciously I had driven myself there, but I didn't know why. What was I even going to do? If I saw Scott outside, it'd be pretty creepy to stop. And I didn't even know which house was his. And if he recognized my car driving around, he'd probably think I was a stalker.
Nonetheless, my car winded down the residential streets. It was a cloudy day, so barely anyone was outside. Except I saw one woman gardening and two kids on a swingset. A few dogs ran around the yards. I couldn't help but wonder if any of them were Beyoncé, Scott's dog.
But eventually, I felt a little bit too obsessed and drove away, sulking on the other side of town. I was being completely crazy. I barely knew Scott at all and it was obvious he wasn't too fond of me either. He'd rather be alone. It's not like I had fallen in love with him, but... it was a crush. Maybe it was me wanting something I couldn't have.

So I let him go. For two weeks I kept my mind off of him as much as I could. Avi helped with some distractions and I threw my time and energy into working at the florist shop. But Scott's mysterious ways were always in the back of my mind. If I began drifting there, I'd mentally smack myself. But it wasn't enough. Who was I kidding? I wanted Scott. I wanted to see him again. I wanted to fix him, and I had faith I could if he just gave me the chance. Sure, some might say it's stupid, but the way he opened up even slightly to me gave me hope.
I was willing to let that hope go.
But fate had other plans.
And after those two weeks of pushing Scott out of my mind, I saw him on the street. He really wasn't hard to recognize. I mean, first off, he was super tall. Secondly, the blonde hair. Third, besides being tall, he had a broader frame. Scott was easy to spot, and I couldn't have gotten him mixed up with anyone else. He was walking down the sidewalk, probably on his lunch break. Perfect.
Keeping calm, I sidestepped pedestrians until I was standing directly in front of him. My eyes were focused on his, my stomach was in a mess of butterflies, my fingers tangled with one another. I bit my lip until he finally said something. The first time he started the conversation.
"You just don't give up, do you?"