bulldozed by Ella Montgomery as she rounds
the corner. She’s shorter than I am by at least a few inches, but her hands are
positioned perfectly to push her arms out in response to my surprise
appearance, launching the mug out of my grip. Hot coffee splatters over the
wall, the mug shattering spectacularly into a hundred pieces as it hits the
floor.
“What
the . . .?” The shrill pitch of her words falls off as she focuses on me.
Quickly glancing over my frame and back to my face and hair, her eyes narrow
during her perusal. Ella’s body stiffens, face flushing an angry red. “I
suggest you watch where you’re going,” she says with pure venom.
“I’m
sorry,” I whisper, “I didn’t see you.”
“Let
me put this in simple terms; terms you will understand. Stay away from me, and
stay away from Colin. Do you understand?”
I
can’t move, nor can I respond. The venom has reached her eyes and they bulge
like the reptile she is.
“Are
you dull?” she snaps her fingers in front of my face. “I’ll repeat it, so your
simple mind can make sense of simple speech. Stay away from Colin.” Her small
frame rises until she's inches away from my face. I stumble back a step as the
hair at the nape of my neck bristles. “You have no business being here and you
certainly don’t have any with him. I don’t know you and I have no desire to. If
it were up to me you wouldn’t be here, so don’t apologize. Clean up your damn
mess and get back to work.” She spins on her short heels and walks to a door on
the opposite side of the building.
I
look around quickly, noticing there are a few people staring in my direction.
One of them is Molly, who rushes over. “I told you she’s a crazy bitch.”
Laughing,
I’m grateful for her help as we clean up the mess together.
“I
had no idea you were being so literal. Does Ms. Bitchy treat everyone like
that?”
“For
the most part, yes; you got an extra dose because you’re going to travel with
Colin so much over the next few months. She’s probably boiling with jealousy.”
I
try to giggle, but it sounds off. “She doesn’t have anything to worry about
there.” I’m beginning to pick up the pieces of the fractured mug, loosely
placing the shards in my left hand.
“Be
careful, Charlie, those pieces are really sharp. Let me get the broom to sweep
them up.” I watch Molly distractedly, listening to the nearing voices of Evan
and Colin as they round the corner to the break room. Forgetting about the
broken glass I unconsciously drop it against my thigh, clasping my fingers
around the contents and turning quickly so Colin doesn’t see me. “Ahh,” I gasp
and wince as the shards slice through the pad of my palm. Oh, shit.
I
walk over to the sink to rinse away the dripping blood. Turning on the water, I
grimace from the sting when the stream hits the open wound. The room blurs in
and out of focus as if it’s reflected in a fun-house mirror at the sight of the
diluted blood flowing down the drain. Closing my eyes, I let the water wash over
my hand, trying to forget the burn, and that Colin is just outside of the room.
I lean heavily onto the counter to hold my weight; I don’t do blood well. Sweat
dews on my forehead and I fear the faint that’s slowly coming on.
“Charlie?”
Colin’s tone is anxious, growing louder as he nears me. “What happened?” I feel
the draw, the electricity vibrating between us. His breath is hot against my
ear as he hovers over my shoulder, looking at the sink and my injury. Flipping
my hand over, the only sound in the room is his sharp intake of breath. I
squeeze my eyes shut so I don’t see the blood, but it’s too late; the room
sways behind my closed eyes as if I’m on a raft riding large swells in the
middle of the ocean.
He
grabs a clean towel from a drawer, wrapping it tightly around my hand. “Can you
walk?” I snap my eyes open, immediately regretting it when Colin’s beautiful
face zooms into focus and then
the corner. She’s shorter than I am by at least a few inches, but her hands are
positioned perfectly to push her arms out in response to my surprise
appearance, launching the mug out of my grip. Hot coffee splatters over the
wall, the mug shattering spectacularly into a hundred pieces as it hits the
floor.
“What
the . . .?” The shrill pitch of her words falls off as she focuses on me.
Quickly glancing over my frame and back to my face and hair, her eyes narrow
during her perusal. Ella’s body stiffens, face flushing an angry red. “I
suggest you watch where you’re going,” she says with pure venom.
“I’m
sorry,” I whisper, “I didn’t see you.”
“Let
me put this in simple terms; terms you will understand. Stay away from me, and
stay away from Colin. Do you understand?”
I
can’t move, nor can I respond. The venom has reached her eyes and they bulge
like the reptile she is.
“Are
you dull?” she snaps her fingers in front of my face. “I’ll repeat it, so your
simple mind can make sense of simple speech. Stay away from Colin.” Her small
frame rises until she's inches away from my face. I stumble back a step as the
hair at the nape of my neck bristles. “You have no business being here and you
certainly don’t have any with him. I don’t know you and I have no desire to. If
it were up to me you wouldn’t be here, so don’t apologize. Clean up your damn
mess and get back to work.” She spins on her short heels and walks to a door on
the opposite side of the building.
I
look around quickly, noticing there are a few people staring in my direction.
One of them is Molly, who rushes over. “I told you she’s a crazy bitch.”
Laughing,
I’m grateful for her help as we clean up the mess together.
“I
had no idea you were being so literal. Does Ms. Bitchy treat everyone like
that?”
“For
the most part, yes; you got an extra dose because you’re going to travel with
Colin so much over the next few months. She’s probably boiling with jealousy.”
I
try to giggle, but it sounds off. “She doesn’t have anything to worry about
there.” I’m beginning to pick up the pieces of the fractured mug, loosely
placing the shards in my left hand.
“Be
careful, Charlie, those pieces are really sharp. Let me get the broom to sweep
them up.” I watch Molly distractedly, listening to the nearing voices of Evan
and Colin as they round the corner to the break room. Forgetting about the
broken glass I unconsciously drop it against my thigh, clasping my fingers
around the contents and turning quickly so Colin doesn’t see me. “Ahh,” I gasp
and wince as the shards slice through the pad of my palm. Oh, shit.
I
walk over to the sink to rinse away the dripping blood. Turning on the water, I
grimace from the sting when the stream hits the open wound. The room blurs in
and out of focus as if it’s reflected in a fun-house mirror at the sight of the
diluted blood flowing down the drain. Closing my eyes, I let the water wash over
my hand, trying to forget the burn, and that Colin is just outside of the room.
I lean heavily onto the counter to hold my weight; I don’t do blood well. Sweat
dews on my forehead and I fear the faint that’s slowly coming on.
“Charlie?”
Colin’s tone is anxious, growing louder as he nears me. “What happened?” I feel
the draw, the electricity vibrating between us. His breath is hot against my
ear as he hovers over my shoulder, looking at the sink and my injury. Flipping
my hand over, the only sound in the room is his sharp intake of breath. I
squeeze my eyes shut so I don’t see the blood, but it’s too late; the room
sways behind my closed eyes as if I’m on a raft riding large swells in the
middle of the ocean.
He
grabs a clean towel from a drawer, wrapping it tightly around my hand. “Can you
walk?” I snap my eyes open, immediately regretting it when Colin’s beautiful
face zooms into focus and then
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