Page 4 of Home for the Hockey-Days

I slam on the brakes, but the car in front gets bigger and bigger as my car careens toward it.

Fuck.

I’m not stopping.

“Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.” I try to turn the car so it doesn’t hit the vehicle stopped at the light but it’s too late.

There’s a crunch of metal and an explosion of glass, and the airbag deploys. My body swings forward then slams back against the driver’s seat, knocking the wind out of my body.

“Row? Rowan? Are you okay?”

I groan. I’m fine, nothing hurts, at least I don’t think it hurts. The same can’t be said for my car, unfortunately.

A quick check out the window tells me both cars have seen better days. Motherfucker.

“I’m fine, but I gotta go deal with this. Just a fender bender, no drama.” I hang up before pinching the bridge of my nose, because this isalldrama. The car in front of me is a piece of shit, the paint is splotchy, there’s patches of rust, and I’m not even sure how it’s still considered road-worthy. Hopefully the person driving it isn’t a dick, and the insurance company will figure it out.

The man who gets out of the car isn’t what I expected. I dunno, I guess I thought he’d be older. Instead, he’s young, kinda hot, and a freakin’ giant. And from the scowl creasing up his face, he’s very,verypissed.

He stops at the back of his car and observes the damage, shaking his head. He’s muttering something to himself. I think I’m glad I can’t hear whatever it is.

I unbuckle my seatbelt, get out of the car, and smooth down the front of my shirt. “Are you hurt?”

His brown eyes bore into me as I search his face, his broad chest, then his face again. His jaw is strong and covered with a dusting of dark hair, his nose has a bend in the middle, and his eyebrow has a scar through it.

I can’t stop staring, and it’s not because I’m searching for injury.

“I’m fine.” He grunts at me. “You?”

Why isn’t he yelling at me? I just crashed into his car. One look at his vehicle and even I can tell it’s not good.

We’re both standing in the middle of the road, people are trying to drive around us but from the frequency of the honks we’re getting, we need to move our cars pretty damn quick.

I nod. “I think I’m okay.” I gesture at the back of his car.I’m not a professional, but I think it’s a goner. “I’m so sorry about your car. I tried to stop but... the ice.”

His face doesn’t soften, he’s still staring at the bumper hanging off the back of his vehicle and the pile of glass fragments on the ground.

“I... I’m not sure what to do after an accident, do you know?” I’m not making the assumption he’s been in a long line of fender benders, but this is my first ever accident. I’m clueless.

He nods at me. “We should move out of the way, and exchange information.” He snaps a picture of my license plate. It’s smart, on the off chance I flee the scene he’s got a picture of my vehicle. Then he snaps a picture of my face.

“Hey!”

He shrugs. “Just in case you run.” He points across the road to Casey’s gas station. “Over there.”

He gets in his jalopy and drives, so I follow. When we’re parked up safely, he gets back out of the car, pulling a coat from the back seat and shivering as he slips it over his huge frame.

He grabs a notebook out of a backpack on the floor of the back seat and hands it to me with a pen. “Name, address, vehicle registration number. And I’ll call the cops.”

My stomach tightens as my core temp drops another few degrees. “Th-the cops?” I absently scrawl down my details and hand him back the notebook.

His face is stern as he taps his screen. “And we need to file a written report within seventy two hours of the accident if there’s any injury, or damage of over fifteen hundred bucks. You should report it to your insurance company.”

He jerks his chin at the phone in my hand before he stares at the damage, and the blood drains from my body. Fifteen hundred dollars? It can’t be that much. “You think there’s that much damage?”

He’s already listening to a ringing sound on his phone. Wanting to get ahead of whatever is cooking on the other end of his call, I dial my insurance company to report the accident.

I stare at his mouth as he talks to whoever is on the call as I answer the insurance operator’s questions on my line, telling them everything that happened.

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