Broken Beginnings

Chapter 10

Hey everyone, I am so so so SORRY it's taken me so long to update!! But I have a lot to upload now, a treat for you all who enjoy reading about Gracie and Galen:) Hope you enjoy! Please comment or vote and let me know what you're thinking:) 

Chloe

Galen helped me trudge my clothing and blankets through the garage and into the house. “The sheets on the bed in the garage are fresh.” He stated, taking the porch steps two at a time despite the armload of clothing he carried. “Don’t hesitate to use them.”

I felt my throat swell at his kindness. “Thank you again, Galen.”                                        

“You don’t have to thank me, Chloe.” He sounded gruff and I felt my face heat. “I want you to find comfort here.”

“I’m sure I will.” I sighed. “I’ll go out tomorrow and look for a job.”

“You should probably give it a day.”

“Why?” I frowned, following him into the house. 

“Well, tomorrow’s Sunday. You aren’t going to catch a manager wanting to look at a resume on Sunday. Best wait until Monday.”

“All right then.” Silly small towns.

“You can spend the day looking on Monday while I’m working. We’ll go into town bright and early.”

“Sounds good.”

“What type of work are you looking for?”

“Anything really,” I sighed. “Anything but a bar. I don’t really want to work in a bar.”

“Good, because I don’t want to drive you to one.” He stated bluntly and I nibbled my lip, feeling uncertain. “The hours you would be working would be completely opposite to mine.”

“That’s why I wanted to buy a car.” I murmured, following him into a laundry room linked to the kitchen. “So you wouldn’t be inconvenienced by me.”

He turned to look at me and his eyes were stern. “I don’t want you working in a bar because I don’t think I could handle the all the rowdy bunches hitting on you all damn night.” 

I felt my heart flip and my stomach warm at his words. They really shouldn’t have affected me. It was wrong. They meant nothing, but the fact that he didn’t want to think about men hitting on me every night made me feel giddy. There had to be a reason he didn’t want men flirting with me – and in the back of my mind – in the distant recesses of my heart, I hoped it was because he felt something toward me. And that was insane. We only just met the day before – there was no way he could feel anything for me, much less the feelings my mind desired from him. He offered me sanctuary, and as a living being with an X chromosome, well, it was just natural that I would concoct visions of a romantic ending. I shook the thought from my mind with a sigh. I was being ridiculous. Romance simply was not in the cards for me. And it was definitely not in the cards for me with someone like Galen. He deserved a woman who knew the ropes of the life he wanted. He didn’t deserve someone like me. Being with someone like me – someone so obviously damaged could only be considered punishment. It wouldn’t be fair or right. And I couldn’t do that to him.

I looked at the washing machine. “Thanks for showing me the room. It’ll probably take me all night.”

He nodded tightly. “You’d better get started.”

“Probably,” I dropped the blankets and sheets to the floor, instantly separating them into appropriate loads. He was still standing by the door, leaning against the frame after I made a pile. It was clear he was watching me and I couldn’t help my body’s reaction to the heat of his gaze. It affected me. He affected me. “What are you doing tonight?”