Page 9 of All of Him
Penny bothered me once daily, almost like clockwork. I thought about using headphones, but every fucking song somehow reminded me of Garrett or Ireland, propelling me into a state I didn’t want to be in at work. Music didn’t go well with my depression.
I was feeling slightly better—butonlyslightly. The exercise regimen lessened my depression, and I was starting to take out some frustration on the house. Still, I needed a contractor. The place was a wreck, though I couldn’t help but see the potential in it. The problem was that I didn’t want to have to talk to anyone aboutwhyI wanted to revamp it. I was afraid of the verbal deluge that could occur when asked.
I walked out to the parking garage on my third Friday, grateful that August was just about done. The cooler temperatures would be better for running, and summer was depressing. The heat would soak in, bringing my mind back to the night of the accident. The blanket of humidity had covered me that night in a way that made me feel like I was the one being suffocated in the dark, crushed by a car.
A soft breeze blew by as I entered the garage, jostling me from the flashback. I suddenly forgot how I’d gotten there, the entire two-block walk an empty spot in my memory.
I shrugged my shoulders, trying to literally shake it off as I got into my truck and turned the key in the ignition. The engine sputtered, and my heart sank. I tried again, but not even a whisper emerged from under the hood.
5
Amanda
MY MEETING WITH CLAUDEhad put me in a great mood. I’d wanted his job for a few months, and while I didn’t have seniority, I had what would be required of me. From what I had been told, I was the best—and most sarcastic—candidate. I didn’t have it in the bag, but he had confidence in me, and that lifted my spirits to uncharacteristic levels.
I walked to my car, trying to convince myself that everything was good. It sounded like the job opportunity was going to pan out, September was around the corner, and I was going dress shopping for Teel and Delia’s wedding over the weekend. The stars were aligning, and I needed to focus on that.
I entered the cool, dark parking garage to find Noah leaning against the tailgate of an old truck. His arms were crossed, his head tilted back in defeat. As I got closer, he turned to me, a look of annoyance all over his face.
“You okay?” I asked hesitantly.
I tried not to have the same weird reaction with him from a few days earlier. The smell of his body wash had smacked me in the face as I leaned in to help him with something at his desk. My reaction equated to that of a teenage girl meeting the lead member of a prominent boy band, though I hopefully hid it well. Knowing myself and how awkward I could be, he had likely been alarmed.
“Battery died,” Noah mumbled, barely loud enough for me to hear.
I approached the tan pickup and looked at it as if I knew how to fix it. While I helped my dad out occasionally with his contracting work, I had no knowledge about cars. It was way out of my league.
“You can probably call…”
“The auto shop down the street?” he cut me off, obviously frustrated. “Yeah. I did. And every other one within ten miles. This old thing needs a special part. They can get it in tomorrow afternoon.”
“Shit,” I replied, still looking at the truck as if I could do something. Really, I was avoiding looking at the way his unkempt brown waves fell
into his eyes. It had driven me crazy more than once at that point. And the progress I’d made in trying to get him to open up to me? Nonexistent.
“The attendant said that I can leave the car all weekend. I’m just trying to get my rideshare app to work.”
I finally looked at Noah, who bit his lip and shook his head to himself. It was almost as if he regretted admitting what he was doing, regretted admitting to me that he needed a ride. He didn’t seem like the type of guy to want to be in a car with someone new for a half hour. Conversation wasn’t something he engaged in around the office, and I could only assume that he was the same way outside of work.
“You said you live a half hour away, right?” I started anyway.Stop, Amanda! Stop!“That’s, like, a forty-dollar ride fee. Let me give you a lift home, and you can just grab a cab back here tomorrow for the truck.”
“Uh…” Noah froze, unable to speak or move.
He had the classic deer-in-headlights look, and I couldn’t blame him. His new female coworker had just offered to drive him to his house a half hour away. Most of me was just trying to be nice, but internally, I wanted to see that property Delia had talked about. And spend time in a car with the mysterious Noah Murphy.
Fuck.
“Just trying to save you some cash,” I partially lied.
Noah bit his lip again, and I looked down at my feet to gather myself.
“I really don’t mind.”
“Okay,” he finally said, pushing himself off the tailgate lightly.
There wasn’t exactly a spring in his step to get in a car with me, but I couldn’t blame him. He was in an unfortunate situation that was quickly turning awkward.
Noah slid into the passenger side of my Honda and scooted the seat back. I was on the tall side for a girl, so I hadn’t really noticed that he was at least six foot, if not more. The seat clicked into place, and he put his backpack on his lap, gazing out the passenger’s side window.
