Apricity #Wattys2016

Chapter Seven: Claudia

So here I was sitting on the couch in front of this man who was absolutely gorgeous in my pink cotton cupcake pajamas and morning hair. He had sun kissed skin that looked as if he just stepped of the sandy beaches of Cali and onto my front porch. his hair was a warm chocolate brown and his eyes were muddy pits speckled with gold and framed with lashes that put mine to shame.

I was completely insecure twiddling my fingers and staring at the ground so as not to make eye contact with the man who crashed into my car, well at least that is what I was told after thinking we were the one who crashed into him. My mom was perched on the opposite end of the couch trying to make conversation over her cup off coffee.

"Look up! Say something! You're making a fool of yourself Claudia at least try and talk to the man. Look up!"

A small voice barely audible over my heartbeat pounding in my ears screamed at me I tried to shake it away and glared at my shoes waiting for laser beams or something to shoot out of my eyes and light them on fire. I mentally slapped myself, this needed to stop I was being stupid.

I peeked at the man through my bangs.

Sure enough he was staring right at me. I forced a small smile but it turned out to be more of an awkward grimace

"Idiot."

A masculine hand stuck out held underneath my nose so quickly I flinched backwards until I was fully looking at him. I realized he was waiting for me to shake his hand. I gulped and slid my hand in his. It disappeared in his huge hand and was squeezed firmly before it was dropped and I let it hang limply on my side.

"My name is Shane." He said revealing a bleach white crooked smile that he somehow managed to pull off breaking the silence the weighed down the room.

"Claudia." I choked out mentally slapping myself at how nervous I sounded.

I shouldn't be nervous I should be furious I should be burning a hole in this mans forehead because I should me glaring at him! Yet here I am swooning over the man who put my friend in an concussion that no one even knew if he was going to wake up from or not!

"I'm going to let you two talk."

Finally. "Wait what!? No!" I cried in my head mentally slapping myself for my first thought. My mom left the room leaving me completely alone with a stranger. Nice going mom i'd have to remember to thank her for that later.

"Why are you here?" I blurted out before I could snap my mouth shut.

"I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to apologize about that night my car stalled and veered to the side it wasn't in anyway my intention to hit you. Is there any way or anything I can do to help?" He asked but I really didn't want to talk to him. So I simply answered.

"Nope." He looked down at his shoes making his hair fall slightly into his eyes.

"Claudia?" My head snapped back in his direction and he was already looking at me his gray eyes filled with sorrow. All I could think of was how did he know my name?

"You told it to him like 5 minutes ago idiot." A pesky voice said somewhere in my head.

"Shuttup." I answered back rolling my eyes. I sighed I was talking to myself it was final I knew this would happen sooner or later. Send me away to the marshmallow room.

"Crap!" He 's still waiting for an answer. I glanced up from my shoes peeking at his concerned face through my bangs.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered earning another mental slap. I needed help.

"I am so sorry." He spoke with so much emotion sadness leaked from his voice and he was staring intently into my eyes. I looked at the ground fidgeting with my hands.

"You should go." I said not looking up. He sighed dramatically and slowly stood to his feet as if I were going to stop him. I scold myself at the idea of jumping into his arms and accepting his apologies

"I guess ill see you around?" He said making me jump with a start from my stupid fantasy. Wait did he just say see you around? Like a casual friend would say to someone they're going to see the next day?

"What?" I asked this time looking at him with a concerned face and a slightly furrowed brow.

"I just moved I only live a few streets down.

NO! I wanted to scream but I just simply said Oh but not before wanting the strangle the side of me that was trying not to smile. What was wrong with me I'm not about to get all lovey dovey with him.

"Oh." He ran his hands through his hair a few times giving it a messed up tousled look I tried not to stare and directed my gaze to something else, to anything else.

"Bye Claudia." He said and walked towards the front door I followed to let him out.

"Bye Shane." I nodded and shut the door.

Wow! Had that really just happened? I asked myself.

I plopped down face first over the back of the couch and grunted into a pillow slowly rolling myself over the rest of the way onto the couch.

"How did that go?" My mom said from nearby making me yelp and fall completely off the couch.

"Ow." When did she even get down here I hadn't heard her come down the stairs. Unless-.

"You were eavesdropping! Weren't you?"

She pretended to looked shocked but then smirked.

"Yep and I did it shamelessly. I know this isn't the best time but he was quite the looker if I do say so myself."

I moaned sitting up from the floor and launching a pillow from the couch at her which she caught with ease and threw it back at me. With my "slower than death reflexes" as everyone calls it she managed to nail me in the face shocking me from my balance and ending me back on the ground where I started.

"Good thing the carpet and rug is cushioned or I might just have gotten a fractured tailbone." I snapped sarcastically and pulled back to my feet trudging to go back to my room and sleep the rest of the day away. Or maybe I could hibernate for a few years until all this is forgotten. My mom laughed at my snarky remark but I didn't respond I still wasn't very fond of her after she invited the man that crashed into our car that night into the house to talk to me without my permission and without no earlier than a half an hour warning.

I had gotten half way down the hall to my room when black splotched invaded my eye sight and dizziness washed over me making me nauseous. I tried to take one step forward and everything went black. I collapsed with a thud.