Chapter 1. Numb

1641 Words
Jodie pressed herself more firmly against the edge of the washing machine, like most things they had it was years past needing replaced and it made grating sounds when she put much in, but she knew from experience that if she timed it right, and found the right place then… there it is…  she had hated having to hunt round the flat for dirty clothes Kevin had discarded, she had hated that no matter how many times she had pleaded with him to even just drop them in front of the machine, he never listened. She hadn’t felt much of anything for the last year except from these brief moments when she got home before him, and she was alone.   The front door of their small, one bedroom flat flew open. “Told you I could open it with my ass! You stick these in the fridge, and I’ll get the tv on.” It was Kevin. He shouldn’t be home yet, she hadn’t had enough time, she should have had more time! But he was home, and he’d just sent one of his layabout friends heading right through to her! “Hey” Mark, a fine example of Kevin’s group, he had floated from job to job and sofa to sofa since dropping out of school. They had met a couple years earlier at the same Christmas party she’d met Kevin. Kevin had been so sweet and funny then… she’d never liked Mark though; he gave her the creeps. Kevin shouted through “Oh, hey Joe! Go and make us some food would you, starving!” as Mark got on with his task of shoving beer into the fridge, helping himself to a long swig straight from the milk bottle as he did. Jodie silently looked at him, disgusted. “Got to line it for later, don’t I?” said Mark, staring back at her as he slowly rubbed his stomach. “Joe! Food! What we got?” shouted Kevin from the sofa, still working at getting the tv set up. Jodie stormed through. “My name is Jodie, not Joe, I am not one of your guy friends! And why are you home so early, you don’t finish work for another half hour?” “Yeah, well the football’s on tonight and we didn’t want to miss anything, so I called in sick. We got any food? I spent what I had left on the drinks and it’s going to be a long one.” “Wait, you didn’t go in at all?!” “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” “But…” “I said it’s fine. Do we have any food?” “You could have at least warned me you were bringing someone over.” Jodie said quietly. “what does it matter?! It’s not like you were kicking about naked.” “I wouldn’t have minded.” interjected Mark, as he blatantly eyed Jodie up and down from his leaning post in the kitchen doorway before taking another long gulp of milk. Jodie realised she had started to shake from a mixture of disgust at Mark and anger at Kevin, but there was no point in saying anything, she had tried so many times. Kevin would never understand why she was upset and would always leap to defend anything Mark did as ‘having a laugh’, while Mark would just seem to quietly enjoy the show. Why did he have to be so creepy? And why did Kevin have to be friends with him? Just as she felt she would have to either scream or burst into tears Kevin chimed back in. “Joe… Babe… sooo, do we have anything to eat?” “…..” It was pointless. All of it was pointless. Jodie’s emotions, the anger and the disgust slipped away into the pit deep down inside her to join all the others she’d denied and she simply said “I’ll go out and get you something”, picked up her bag and left to the sound of Kevin and Mark already back to chatting and laughing.   As Jodie started walking, she regretted not having taken her jacket, but she didn’t want to go back yet. The local shop was just five minutes away but despite the cold she kept on walking when she got there, deciding instead on the extra thirty-minute walk uptown. She needed… well, she wasn’t entirely sure what she needed right at that moment, but she knew she wasn’t going to find it in the local shop, so she walked. By the time she reached the centre she’d decided she was probably just overreacting and bought what she would need to make some cheesy nachos with all the extras and spicy beef fajitas for the guys, along with an assortment of crisps and dip. After all, she loved him, and she didn’t want to spend the evening fighting, and Kevin had been working so much overtime the last few months so they could start saving a deposit to buy their own flat. He was just tired. He needed a break and a treat. The moment Jodie emerged, with shopping bags in both hands, it suddenly darkened and started to rain so she ducked into her favourite coffee shop, a tiny place filled with books and comfy chairs. It always felt welcoming and safe, and although the books were more there for decoration, the owners didn’t mind you helping yourself to one and settling into a quiet corner to read if it wasn’t too busy. Today she needed to get home with the shopping though, so avoided looking at the shelves filled with multitude worlds she’d previously spent countless hours in to avoid temptation. “Just a small hot chocolate please.” she said to the barista, handing over her card, as she started to idly look over the muffins proudly presented behind the glass. They were always so fluffy and tasty here, maybe she could treat herself a little as well… “I’m sorry, it’s been declined.” “What? Oh… but there should be…” Jodie’s mind was racing. She didn’t get paid for another week, she’d spent more than she really should have on the dinner and snacks for tonight - she would normally just pick up whatever was on sale but Kevin loved Mexican food, the first meal he had cooked her was fajitas… She hadn’t spent that much... there should still be about forty pound left. “Could you try it again please?” she asked hesitantly. “Sure…  sorry, it’s still not going through… do you have any cash? It’s just two twenty-five” said the barista, giving Jodie a pitiful but sympathetic smile. “Um. Give me a moment” Jodie was flustered, she still had the two shopping bags in hand as she tried to find the purse hidden somewhere in her handbag. “Sorry, just a sec, I know it’s here somewhere”. She propped one of the shopping bags on the edge of the counter as she continued her search. Success! Jodie felt relieved, finding her purse after what had only been a few moments but had, under the judging gazes of the queue behind her, felt like an hour. She opened her purse and what relief she had felt the instant before disappeared as she realised it may as well have been empty, there were a few small coins, but they certainly would not be enough. She was so embarrassed. “Please, allow me.” Came a firm, but kind voice as an arm appeared past Jodie’s shoulder, passed a crisp fifty-pound note to the barista and then retreated. “Keep the change.” Jodie cautiously looked round. The arm’s owner was tall, he must have been well over six foot, lean and impeccably dressed in a deep black suit with a flare of red coming from his shirt beneath, and beneath that, she could only imagine. She looked up at his face, and if she was impressed by what she had seen before, she was stunned now. A handsome, clean shaven face smiled back down at her, the smile was just the slightest turn on otherwise firm, but beautiful lips, but it shouted sincerity. His face was framed by long, slightly wavy hair and his eyes… she couldn’t look away, simultaneously feeling like they were holding her in place while she was also melting into the depths of their dark beauty… “Your salsa” Even his voice was beautiful. Deep and steady. “Your salsa…” she parroted, locked in the overwhelming embrace of this tall, stranger’s eyes and voice. “It’s about to fall” “Yes…” She knew that would be her answer to anything that voice said. “…What?” Jodie snapped out of his hypnotic gaze just in time to turn back around and see a jar of cool salsa slip free from the shopping bag she had perched on the edge of the counter. She tried to catch it but all she succeeded in doing was send the contents of her open handbag flying, to join it as it hit the floor and shattered. Suddenly the feelings of embarrassment she’d momentarily forgotten hit her again like a punch to the stomach. She scrambled to gather the now salsa covered former contents of her bag and shards of glass, and realised that yet again she was being saved from her utter humiliation by this stranger, who despite his fine suit was down on one knee helping to pick up the contents of her bag. She found herself staring at him again, but his face changed, the smile was replaced by a look of calm concentration. He placed the items he had been holding into her bag and reached out, taking her left hand with one of his and gently opening it with his other. “You’ll need to get that looked at” he said, as he removed a large piece of the broken jar from her grip. She hadn’t even realised what she had picked up or noticed the pain as it sliced into her palm and fingers. Now he was just kneeling there, holding her hand as blood slowly dripped to the floor. She couldn’t take it any longer, the ecstasy of that simple touch. She couldn’t remember ever feeling like this. Jodie quickly stood up, grabbed her bags and fled the coffee shop, leaving the embarrassment and the mesmerising stranger behind.   
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