When Lights Collide Chapter 4

“Danny”

As the name left Cara’s lips, it felt as if time had suddenly stopped.

When Cara closed her eyes, she could see him, now stopped on her window sill, though, not as he was here in this moment, but as a youth and as a young man progressing through his life to this point.

It was as though a movie was playing on the inside of her eyelids, and as swiftly as it had started, it stopped.

A brick wall was now all that Cara could see as a chill washed over her and through her bones, making her gasp out loud.

Cara opened her eyes, “Oh! I’m so sor-”

“I am NOT who you think I am” was all the stranger said as he exited the window.

Cara stood, and for a moment was so surprised by their exchange that she could not move.

As her mind began to come back into reality, she could hear a chanting.. ‘front door ~ go, front door ~ go, front door ~ go…’

The words finally gained traction in Cara’s mind, and she said aloud, “Front Door?”…but it was more of a question.  

Suddenly it was as though someone had turned on all of the lights, so bright did everything feel as she tuned back in...

“OH!  Front door!”  

Cara turned swiftly and ran the short distance of the house to the front door…. she unlocked the deadbolt and swung open the door, stepped out, and immediately felt as though she’d hit another wall.  

She ran smack into the stranger from her office window sill, he was now standing on her front step.

“Oh! Damn!” Cara said as she felt herself begin to tip backward into the house, unable to get her feet to cooperate...

“Really?!” Daniel snapped as he reached out and grabbed hold of the front of Cara’s housecoat, the only thing he could reach, to keep her from falling.

“No!” Cara yelled as she was still tipping backward, suddenly she stopped and was stood upright by the stranger now staring at her and looking frustrated…  

When he was certain that she was properly upright and no longer in danger of tipping over, Daniel released Cara’s housecoat…..but not before Cara slapped his hand, hard.

“Really?!” Daniel snapped again.

Cara, now frustrated from the evening’s events, snapped back at the stranger “Is that the only word you know?”

Daniel leveled his gaze at Cara, noting the soft blue of her eyes and snapped “Do you really want to find out?”

Inhaling sharply, Cara quickly considered her options….  and replied with the only icebreaker she had “Listen Danny, I-”

“My name is not Danny!” Daniel shouted while standing a little too close to Cara’s face, she winced, his voice hurting her ears.

Cara instinctively reached up and stuck her fingers in her ears….which caused Daniel to feel like crap and question her maturity all in the same flash of thought.

As he raised his eyebrows and looked her in the eye, he said, “I wasn’t that loud.” almost apologetically.

Cara stood, looking at the stranger, debating between kicking him in the nads or inviting him in. 

After all, he had no idea how sensitive her hearing was. 

Though, she did know that her Guardians said he needed help, and admittedly she was losing interest fast, but if he was going to continue to yell, Cara had no desire to further ruin a wonderful day with an earache as well as a migraine.

Cara continued to stare at the stranger, saying nothing while she tried to summon her Guardians for guidance. “please, do I kick him or help him…?”

Nothing, no words, not even a tap on the shoulder, not a blink of a light in her mind's eye, nothing, Cara sighed and rolled her eyes.

Daniel decided he’d had enough, “later” he muttered as he turned to leave.

“No, please, wait D–” she had started to say when the stranger turned at her and snarled through gritted teeth…

“Do NOT call me Danny!”

Cara jumped back, feeling as though she had been pushed, and insulted.

“That’s it!” she thought to herself…and she let him have it…

“I don’t know, nor do I care, who you are, I oughtta be calling the police on your ass for being in my house, breaking in through a window, and taking a peep show while I was in the tub!” 

Cara paused for a breath, intent on snapping at him some more, but she was cut off as the stranger now stepped into her personal space, his nose touching hers as he barely whispered..

“Oh, but you do care, if you didn’t you would not have chased me through your house, and we would not be standing here looking so intimate now…’ The stranger grinned.

Cara had enough and thought she was being swift when she raised her hand to slap him, but the stranger brushed her hand away before she got to mid-swing….

They stood, just glaring daggers at each other. 

Cara, fuming now, was certain that she could smell the smoke of her anger rolling from her…. 

The stranger grinned, but not in amusement of the turn of events of this evening.

When suddenly, they both stood stalk upright and in unison asked, “do you smell smoke?”

Tune in next Friday for the next round of Friday Night Fiction to find out who rescues who from the smoke!

To keep reading, CLICK HERE for chapter 5!