My Recluse Valentine (Hope Peak Valentine’s Day)

5. Blossom

five

Blossom

H ow is a girl supposed to concentrate on eating when that monster between his legs keeps growing larger and larger before my eyes. Needing a distraction, I decide to ask him more about himself. I don't know much. It might be nice to know a little something about the guys I'm going to let bang me five ways to Sunday.

Holding back a giggle I ask him the first thing that pops into my head. "Tell me about your family." At his sad expression I wish I could take my words back. "Or not." I add, taking a large bite of the delicious stew to keep from asking another obviously painful question.

"They died, fifteen years ago in a car accident." His face takes on a faraway look as he sets his bowl of stew on the coffee table.

"Sorry." I blurt out around the meat and vegetables in my mouth.

His vision clears as he looks at me with a sad smile, "It's okay. I want you to know about them. The accident happened the day after my eighteenth birthday. I was only weeks away from graduating high school when I freak accident took both their lives. I didn't grow up in Hope Peak. I'm from the Midwest originally. My parents were on their way home from the state basketball tournament I played in. We won. I was named most valuable player and team captain of the all-tournament team. My parents were so proud of me—each hugging me and telling me they loved me as they stood with the rest of the parents outside our locker room. I hugged them back telling them I loved them too. I wanted to ride home with them like I always did after my basketball games, but they insisted that I ride the team bus home and celebrate with my teammates—telling me they'd meet me at home, but they never did." A look of absolute anguish crosses his face, and I wish I never would have asked him about his parents until my heart tells me he needs to talk to someone about what happened.

"It was mid-March—the weather is always a little prickly that time of year—one day sunny the next an ice storm. It just so happened the day had been warm enough to melt the snow and ice off the road only to refreeze in patches causing black ice to form in spots on the roads. My parents were driving under an overpass at the exact time a semi was driving on the overpass. The semi driver hit a patch of black ice and lost control of his rig, hitting the guard rail before falling over and landing on the road below. The driver died on impact. The accident was unwitnessed, so they didn't even know my parents were crushed in their car beneath the semi's trailer until a few hours later when they were cleaning up the accident and moved the semi. When the cops came to my door I had just returned home since our coach took us all out for a celebratory meal. I went from the happiest day of my life after winning a state championship to the worst day of my life having lost my parents to such a freak accident."

I squeeze his hand not realizing that sometime during his story I had set my bowl on the coffee table and picked up his hand.

"The coroner said they died on impact never knowing what happened. I like to believe it was painless." He gives me such a sad smile my heart breaks for the boy who lost his parents and for the man in front of me baring his soul to me. "I joined the army the day after I graduated from high school and never looked back after I packed up all of our belongings and sold the only home I ever knew. For years I blamed myself for their death. If I hadn't played basketball, they'd still be alive today. Or if I played on a bad team, we never would have played in the state championship game. Or if we had lost the game would that have changed enough of the timeline that they wouldn't have been in the accident. Or maybe I would have died with them."

"Stop." Unable to stand the thought of never meeting him, I throw my arms around him. "No one can predict the butterfly effect. Besides I believe in fate. As much as it hurts fate plays a huge roll in everyone's lives. I don't know why it chose to take your parents away from you at such a young age, but I'm glad it brought us together. I only wish it hadn't hurt you so bad."

"It's okay, Blossom. Like I said it was a long time ago." He leans out of my arms, bring my hands to his lips with a kiss. "I actually feel better talking to you about it. I've never spoken to anyone about it before. You're the first. I want you to be the first of many things in my life. I know I don't know you very well but I'm already half if not all the way in love with you."

"I think I'm falling in love with you too." I bring his hands to my lips with a kiss.

"Now, since I told you about my family, why don't you tell me about yours." He shifts Milo to the other side of him as he grabs a blanket off the back of the couch tossing it over us as he pulls me into his arms.

Intent on cheering him up, I launch into the tale of my family, hoping to erase the sadness in his eyes.