Ally didn't expect the reaction she received when she returned home. It had been a huge mistake but somehow she had convinced herself that it wasn't that bad what she did. It wasn't something that hadn't been done before. It just seemed that living in a small town made everything worse when it came to the gossip mill.
Ally could barely get to work without at least three or four scowls and evil glares. The scowls were from those older then her who were old fashioned. They were ashamed of what she had done and would talk in the privacy of their own homes about how the younger generation was an embarrassment and specifically how it was expected considering the family life she grew up in. Those that gave her evil glares were his friends. She was the enemy and every person who had ever gone to school with Trevor, had played sports with him, and all his coworkers, became his best friends and thus were protective of him. Ally was just the dumb red head who had put everyone to shame.
February was turning into a cold and damp month and Ally of course had not thought to wear gloves and a hat this particular morning. Her boots were stylish but not at all practical. She hated living in Redwoods for so many reasons and the fact that it was cold and dark and miserable was only one of her reasons to hate this place.
"Watch it!"
Ally felt him grab her shoulder before hearing his words. She had been in a long drawn out daydream, or nightmare of sorts and didn't even realize she had almost walked right into oncoming traffic. His touch was forceful yet gentle, if that was even possible. She spun around and looked up at the man who had probably saved her life.
"You seriously almost got run over. I bet you're a poet or singer right?"
Ally looked confused. Her heart was racing and it wasn't until she took a breath that she realized she had indeed been holding her breath. She tried to put together a coherent sentence but all she got out was half words.
The tall man smiled and pulled his hand from her shoulder. He was taller then Ally but considering she was only five feet tall that wasn't much of a feat. He was dressed in a black leather jacket and black jeans with black gloves. Had the wind not been blowing in an eastward direction she would have smelled his musky cologne. As it was she was just standing there, still, trying to piece together a sentence.
"I'm not a poet or singer. I'm just distracted. Thanks."
And with that she spun around and walked down the street, parallel to the stream of cars that almost killed her.
"Hey!"
She knew he was calling out to her but she was ignoring him. She had to. She knew that other then her best friend Nancy no one in town liked her. She didn't know him and so had quickly made two assumptions -- either he was new and the moment he found out what she had done he would hate her too, or he was playing a cruel joke on her. No one was nice to Ally Fitzgerald.
"Jesus woman." Aeron grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. Before she had a chance to respond he blurted out his thoughts.
"I'm sorry if I scared you. I was just trying to make small talk. I was trying to flirt with you ever since you walked past the window of the diner. I was eating my breakfast minding my own business and you distracted me."
The glare she gave him would have scared off any man but Aeron just stood his ground. She was a curiosity and he wanted to know more.
"I'm sorry. I'm just trying to get to work without getting killed. If I'm late I'll probably be fired. I'm not having a very good day and it's only eight in the morning. Thank you for saving me."
"I'm Aeron, Aeron Sullivan. I'm in town for a conference. Well actually the conference is in Beaverbrook but my lovely company forgot to book me a hotel room so this was the closest."
"Oh."
"Anyways I'll let you get to work."
"O.k. Bye."
And with that Ally bite her lip and smiled before walking down the street. She wasn't going to admit to him that she was going the wrong way. She'd just cross the street, carefully this time, at the next block and continue on her way. She'd be late and get another discipline report. It wasn't anything new.
Aeron watched her walk down the street. He had his work cut out for him. There was no doubt about it. He walked back into the café and finished his breakfast. The toast was soggy and the eggs cold but he had only one thing on his mind, Ally.
He finished his breakfast and then made his way to her workplace. The building was rundown and definitely not on the right side of town. He enjoyed the hot blast of dry heated air as he stepped into the foyer. There was a simple wooden desk with a very young looking secretary. As a skilled journalist, he filed all this into simple and easy categories in his brain.
"Ally Fitzgerald works here right?"
