Her Legacy

XXIII. Comfortable(ish)

"To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous." Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

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Chapter XXIII – Comfortable(ish)

Mom had a seven o'clock patient, so she was gone by the time I managed to pull myself out of bed on Monday.

I nibbled on a bran bar and sipped a coffee while I quickly finished off my homework that I had seriously neglected over the weekend.

In fact, sitting at my kitchen counter with my algebra notes in front of me on a Monday morning seemed pretty normal. I was actually relieved considering the weekend that I'd had.

I didn't want anything to be weird. I didn't want anything to be difficult.

I could only imagine what awaited me at school. Cece, first up, in Spanish. I could already see her bouncing in her seat as she waited to hear everything. But thinking of Cece made me smile nostalgically for a bit.

Her father, Robert, had bragged about her to my father, Ronan. They had both claimed that their daughter was the prettiest. It made me happy to know that after everything, I was friends with someone that I would have grown up with had I been allowed to stay in Providence.

And Robert had been right. My dad had just been biased.

I packed my bag, checked that I had all my homework, and made sure my phone was set to vibrate. Shoving it in the back pocket of my jeans, I gave my appearance the once over in the mirror by the front door, before grabbing my keys.

As soon as I opened the front door, I noticed Shea's black truck parked on the curb outside my house. He was leaning against the passenger side door, waiting for me.

I stared for a moment. Shea looked ridiculously good looking today. I mean, he always looked handsome, better looking than any boy I knew back home in Bedford, but today, oh my God.

He wore a tight pair of black jeans, rolled up at the ankles, and a pair of expensive looking sneakers. His t-shirt was white and plain, but tight on the arms, hugging his bulging biceps, which were flexed as they were folded across his chest.

I think what made me notice his appearance so much this morning was his confidence. He had a renewed, confident smile on his face as he looked at me, it only widening as he saw me leave the house.

My heart fluttered. Holy shit. That boy loved me.

I felt like I was seeing with 20/20 vision today or something. There were no secrets. Shea knew me, and I certainly knew Shea. I could see him properly. I could see how he felt about me. It was written all over his face. I could see that through the macho, confident high school senior was a good, decent brother and son who cared so deeply about his family.

Shea bounced off the side of his car and came over to me. I realised I hadn't moved from the front door. He was grinning at me, the skin at his eyes crinkling adorably. I loved his brown eyes. They were so warm and comforting.

"It almost sounds like you've seen something you like, Sara," Shea said, tapping his ear.

I snapped out of my lustful trance and embarrassingly realised that he could hear my heart palpitations. Blushing, I turned away, making sure I had locked the front door, checking again twice to avoid facing him.

"Hey," Shea said softly, his arms snaking around my waist from behind as he met me at the door. "If you could hear mine, you would know that it's doing the same thing. You have noidea how you affect me," he muttered in my ear.