Chapter 1 : A Very Special Birthday

After finally saving the file for my last chapter, I closed my laptop and took a deep breath. I was tired and wanted to go to sleep, but I’d never hear the end of it if I ditched the birthday party my friends were throwing for ME.

The fact that they wanted to throw me a surprise party but failed to keep it a surprise was just another reason to love them, and to not spoil said surprise by not making it to said party.

I put my jacket on and practically shoved my things into my bag, waving goodbye to Gilbert, the librarian, as I finally left my kingdom of words.

I loved Gilbert. He’d been here at the library since before I even moved to the city and was always a brilliant source of information for my books. He knew where to find everything and anything, but most importantly, he never asked personal questions.

It was nice, especially since sometimes those questions were as innocent as, ‘what was typical British food?’ to ‘how fast does it take a body to decompose?’.

He never assumed that I was up to anything sketchy, though I was unsure if he knew it was because I was a writer or he just could not be bothered to worry about a possible murderer in the library.

Food for thought.

Later though. I was halfway to my car when my phone started playing dramatic funeral music and I answered the call.

“Hello, André,” I greeted smugly.

“Anais, what am I going to do with you?” My publicist André sighed heavily as I pulled out my keys and got into my car. “You were in the library again, weren’t you?”

“Well, you do pay me to produce good books, don’t you?” I smirked, and I could almost see him rolling his eyes.

“You also need a life. Need I remind you that today is your birthday? You get one freebee. Tomorrow I’ll torture you with deadlines.”

I hated that word, but he’s right. I was supposed to deliver a new book to him last month and yet, I kept stalling on the project. I had so many stories to share, but for whatever reason, this one just couldn’t reach its conclusion.

“I’m heading home now, the girls are waiting for me for a nice celebration.”

I twisted my keys in the ignition, and moments later, my Volvo was pulling out of the library parking lot as I headed back home to get ready for the night.

“Then, I’ll let you go, have fun, and send me some pictures ok?”

He didn’t wait for me to reply and ended the call, which was rather typical for André. We definitely had a strange relationship. Sometimes, he would be super friendly, and sometimes, he would draw a line between us and cut our interactions down to the bare minimum.

I guess I never allowed him to get close either, but he understood that for someone as weird as me, it was better and safer to keep it that way.

I looked at my phone to check what time it was. It was just a brief glance, but then I felt my body being jerked forward and backward. I was pulled by the belt, and the metal crunching and tires squeaking resounded in my ears.

It took me a bit to acknowledge and realize…I had just hit a car.

Someone knocked on my door but I didn’t react, still staring at the vehicle in front of me. My ears were ringing, but the knocking got stronger, enough for me to feel it, and I shakily turned my head.

At the sight of who was knocking, I knew I probably hit my head because standing there, knocking on my car door was Rob, my ex boyfriend.

Did I just rear end his car? Out of all the people on this street, in this city, I crashed into…Rob?

He waved a hand at me. Rob continued staring at me worriedly before waving again, snapping me out of it. This was no hallucination or dream, I really did just hit his car. His very fancy, probably expensive car—and we didn’t exactly break up on good terms.

I hurriedly pressed the button, my window rolling down automatically.

“Rob?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“For fuck’s sake An, you gave me the scare of a lifetime! I can’t believe you just hit me! What were you thinking?! You… An? Are you ok?”

I knew he was talking to me but his words weren’t quite registering like they should’ve been. My hands were shaking and I couldn’t function. Suddenly, my door was pulled open and Rob was crouching down next to me, taking my hands in his.

I hadn’t replied to his question. I knew it was rude but I–I couldn’t speak. My tongue was heavy in my mouth and the words wouldn’t come out.

What was wrong with me? Perhaps I really did hit my head during the chaos.

“An, it's ok. Don’t worry. It was just a scare…”

Rob’s voice started to reach me and I realized I was zoned out again. I needed to get a grip on myself.

“Miss, we need to check on you please,” I heard someone say, drawing my attention.

I realized there was a paramedic standing next to Rob. Did I faint and lose track of time?

“I’ll let the doc here examine you, ok, babe?”

Why was he talking to me like that? Our breakup was messy and it was…god, it was years since I last saw him. So, why was he treating me so kindly now?

I must’ve looked like a mess, and honestly, I felt like it too.

The paramedic unbuckled my seatbelt and checked my vitals. I knew that physically, I was alright. I mean, I was alive and nothing felt broken, but it was still a terrifying experience.

This was the first time I’d ever been in a car accident in my entire life, but my mother had died in one. Maybe that’s why I was reacting this way—why I was still shaking and practically on the verge of tears.

“Well, your vitals are stable, Ms. Crawford, even if your heartbeat’s a little fast. Can you look here for me?” the paramedic asked. He held up a little penlight and shined it in my eyes, making me wince. “It doesn’t seem like you have a concussion. That’s good. Now, can you turn your head for me? Slowly, don’t force it…”

I carefully turned my head to the side, following his finger. But as I turned my head to the right, I yelped, hissing at the sudden painful pull of my muscles.

“Ms. Crawford? Can you describe what you felt?” he asked.

“It hurt,” I replied wearily. “Like my muscles were pulling.”

“Ah. That’s called the ‘whiplash effect’ and it’s due to the sudden movement of when the car crashes and your seatbelt prevents you from being expelled from the car.” He gently pressed his fingers on the tense spot and I winced once more. Then, he removed them. “It doesn’t feel as if it’s anything more than just some pulled muscles, though. Are you able to stand?”

It was only then that I realized the paramedic was a middle aged man. He was looking at me worriedly, and his voice was kind. It helped a bit and I nodded, stepping out of my car and taking his offered hand.

I didn’t feel like I was going to faint, but I let the paramedic do his job, and he continued with his tests.

“Do you feel dizzy? Nauseous?”

“No no, I’m fine, just shaken.”

He nodded. “That’s good. Can you take another look around for me?”

I turned my head, taking a look at the chaos I inadvertently caused. There was an ambulance and two police cars helping block out the crash site, forcing traffic to go around us.

Rob was leaning against his fancy looking Ferrari, staring at me as I turned my attention back to the paramedic.

“It’s not as bad as the first time, there’s just a bit of pain,” I noted.

“Great,” the paramedic smiled. “You’re doing great. You’re very lucky. No one was injured too badly during the crash. Do you feel the need to go to the hospital?”

“No,” I answered. “I’m alright. If I’m not injured too badly, then I’d like to just head home, if that’s alright.”

“You’re all clear, Ms. Crawford,” he replied. “But please head to the hospital if you feel any changes in your health or if any of your symptoms get worse.”

I thanked the paramedic as he leaned down and picked up his supply bag before making his way back to the ambulance.

As soon as I was no longer being checked for injuries, the police swooped in without hesitation. A police woman quickly approached me, practically appearing out of nowhere.

“Miss, we need to take your statement for–”

“Wait, officer!”

I looked at Rob as he quickly walked over to us. The police woman obviously recognized him since she practically had stars in her eyes when he looked at her.

“I’m not pressing charges, don’t worry. She’s someone I know so I know this was just an accident. We’ll exchange insurance information and take care of everything, alright?”

He smiled, making the officer practically swoon.

“Of course, sir. Thank you. You are very lucky Miss,” she said, the words having an almost dreamy quality to them.

I wanted to roll my eyes at the whole situation but refrained. I couldn’t lie—I was relieved in some capacity it was Rob I crashed into and not a stranger.

My birthday had already gone all sorts of wrong, and I’d rather not add legal charges on top of it.

Now that no one was getting arrested and we were cleared by the medics, the police were quick to leave. Even our cars weren’t as badly damaged as I thought they were.

We were lucky, so damn lucky, and I couldn’t help but shakily sigh in relief. Still, the situation wasn’t over quite yet. I squared my shoulders, finally meeting Rob’s gaze.

He stood in front of me with a boyish grin that almost made me grimace. I knew he was about to say something that would make me want to slap him. He always knew how to get under my skin.

“For a moment there, I thought you had passed out with how you were acting! I’m glad you’re okay though, An… I never expected to see you again, especially like this.” He paused and then winked. “It must be fate, huh?”

Ok, that wasn’t exactly what I was expecting to hear. The words were softer and warmer than I thought they’d be. It was…refreshing, and good to hear that we were moving on from our past.

Still, he was right. I didn’t expect to see him again, but fate or not, I would really like to end this conversation and just move on with my day, leaving us in the past, where we belonged.

“I didn’t plan this, if that is what you’re trying to get at,” I noted firmly, my head still slightly pounding.

He chuckled and nodded. “Oh, I know. I really am happy to see you, though. Sorry for the scare.”

I frowned at his words. “Why are you apologizing for my mistake? I’m the one who should say sorry.”

At that he smirked. “Well then, apology accepted.”

I sighed. Did he seriously just do that? Oh, who was I kidding? This was Rob. Of course he did. He could never be serious about anything for more than a few minutes.

“Thank you for not pressing charges,” I continued, ignoring his gesture. “Here. This is a copy of my insurance company. I’ll call them tomorrow so they’ll know to expect a call. Do you need anything else? I actually need to get going. I’m running late.”

It was a bit rude of me, trying to escape the conversation so quickly and I knew Rob might not like it, but there was nothing else for us to talk about if he wasn’t going to press charges.

I could see his smile twitch as he tried to hide how my words upset him, but he didn’t say a single thing about what he was feeling, despite that. Typical Rob.

“Just remember that you owe me one, okay? I’ll collect it sometime, maybe for a coffee or something,” he noted.

A coffee didn’t sound that bad, but I knew it wasn’t entirely harmless either. Doing anything with him could be dangerous, mostly for myself and my emotions.

“Honey, can we go now?”

A woman’s voice came from his car and I peered behind him to see a girl leaning out of the side of his Ferrari to call him. She was gorgeous. I didn’t know how I didn’t notice her before, but the sight of her was a relief.

Rob rolled his eyes at being called, however, speaking before I could really ponder why he had such a reaction.

“I will be there in a minute. Get back in,” he stated, and she did as she was told.

“Honey?” I chuckled, smiling.

It seemed like Rob found someone else. I was happy for him, even if I was a little jealous. After our breakup, I hadn’t been able to find anything that would count as an actual relationship instead of a quick hookup, and as much as I hated to admit it, it was starting to take its affect on me mentally.

“Well, don’t let me keep you. I have to head out too,” I began.

Rob sighed, looking at me almost as if he was in pain, but I didn’t understand why. He moved on…right?

“I mean it, An. I’d like to get a coffee or something with you. Catch up and what not. I’m going to be around all month, ok? So, just…give it some thought.”

I nodded, coffee felt a bit less threatening now that I knew he was seeing someone else. Rob gave me a simple, honest smile, much realer than that fake one from before. It suited him and I watched as he turned around and got back into his car, driving away.

There was definitely something different with him, and I never expected to agree, but maybe we owed each other that cup of coffee.

Maybe.