three
I t had been one of those days from hell, where everything seemed to be working against her.
Maddy had been rushing to get to work, having slept in for the first time in forever, exhausted by the load of projects in her editing job.
She had decided to walk a small distance until she could get into a cab since the subway would be absolutely packed at that time of day, and she had not been in the mood to be shoved around and pushed to the limits of her barely there sanity so early in the morning.
Making her way down the busy street, loud honks and abstract pieces of conversation floated towards her from the commuters milling around her.
The absurd levels of tiredness must have made her somewhat unfocused, her attention severely compromised, because next thing she knew, she was bumping into a man’s chest so hard that she was flung right off the edge of the pavement, the curb making her trip and stumble into ongoing traffic, her ankle almost turning.
She’d never felt more disoriented and out of place, the buzz of voices around her getting louder and louder.
She’d barely had time to realize what was happening when a pair of strong arms came around her and a familiar face filled her vision.
A frantic honking sound reached her ears and they both turned to see a car gunning towards them, no sign of stopping in sight.
It was as if time had slowed down, or maybe it was just her perception of it.
She’d never felt more torn between freezing in place and letting terror hold her captive, and desperately trying to spring into action.
Instinctively, she tried to push the man off her and onto the safety of the sidewalk but his arms wouldn’t budge. Instead, he tightened his embrace even further, turning her towards the warmth of his chest, cupping her head protectively and averting her eyes from what was about to happen.
Her breathing turned shallow and she could feel the loud thumping of the man’s heart against her ear, so fast that it matched her own. She braced for the impact but when she raised her head and looked into the man’s eyes, the spark of recognition was so sudden that she gasped out loud.
“Nate?” she whispered.
And then darkness enveloped her.