You're a Ghost, So Why Can I See You?

I continued walking away from Subway until I got to the little highway. It wasn’t a big highway, just a little one that ran through town. Cars zoomed by going above the speed limit by at least 10 mph. One couldn’t help but wonder where the fucking cops were!

I braced myself and looked left and right, ready to make a run for it. I’d done this a ton of times before. After a hard day of work and yelling from Mr. Platt, I’d sometimes run over to the Ice Cream Place and relax.

Three tiny cars flew by and I decided to go for it. There wasn’t another car coming for a ways.

I swiftly ran across the hard pavement and made it to the center concrete separation thingy. The lanes in front of me weren’t nearly as empty as the one behind me. No, unlike the other one, these two lanes were ridiculously filled with large semi-trucks, SUVs, and other unnamable vehicles. All I know is that they were fast, big, and BIG!

I took in a deep breath, preparing my mind to make the quick run and building the courage, then took off when I thought it was a good opening.

I’m such an idiot.

I looked at the first lane in front of me, but never looked at the second one. As soon as I crossed the first lane, I had to stop abruptly as a huge semi-truck flew by. A large red pickup truck honked at me as they sped by, following by several others.

Soon everyone was honking and I couldn’t move! I was stuck on the yellow dashed line with cars shooting by making my mind spin. I turned around to maybe see if I could make it back the way I came, but my foot got tangled and I stumbled backwards into the second lane.

A large black semi-truck yelled his horn at me and his tires squealed as he slammed on his brakes. I shut my eyes and prepared myself for the impact that would quickly end my life.

The next thing I knew, I was being slammed into the ground with a heavy object on top of me.

My eyes flew open and I saw a very familiar face looking down at me with his brown eyes wide open in fear and concern. I was safe. He had pushed me out of the way of the truck and tackled me to the ground. Of course my head throbbed a little bit from the impact, but at least I was alive.

“Are you okay?!” Ian asked bewildered. His honey blond hair was disheveled and his mouth was opened slightly. He was breathing hard and I could smell his amazing scent… My heart was pounding wildly.

“Ian?” I gasped, surprised, and tried to get up. “What-What just happened?”

He pushed himself off of me and sat on his knees next to me. “No, don’t get up. You might have a concussion.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Peyton, you almost got hit by that semi! What were you thinking?!”

I shook my head, ignoring his advice, and sat up. Instantly my mind went hazy and Ian grabbed my shoulder to steady me.

“You need to go to a hospital,” he said. He stood up, but I didn’t.

“No,” I said finally. I looked up at him as the fogginess disappeared and smiled slightly as the realization came over me. Ian was here. He saved my life. Ian had just saved my life, risking his own. What an idiot.

I stood up angrily and pointed my finger at him. “What did you do that for?!” I yelled at him. He probably deserved a thanks, but it wasn’t like I asked him to save me. “You could have gotten yourself killed! No one would miss me if I died, but you, I’m sure there are tons of people who would miss you!” I threw my hands up in the air. “God! What were you thinking?!”

Ian had his hands stuffed in his pockets with a very confused look on his face. “What?” he asked. “You’re mad at me because I saved your life?”

My hands dropped down to my sides and I blinked. What could I say to that? I was mad, but also…not. I was mad because he, Ian, could have gotten hurt. I wasn’t mad because he didn’t get hurt and just because he was here… I’m so confused. Maybe I hit my head a little too hard.

“Never mind,” I said sighing. “I’m sorry, and uh, thanks.” I walked forward a few steps and extended my hand for a handshake. “Thank you very much.”

Ian took his hands out of his pockets but didn’t shake my hand. Instead, he smiled, taking my breath away, and nodded slightly. “So, what were you doing running across like that?”

I bit my lip and turned away, now facing the Ice Cream Place. “I was going here…”

I expected a laugh or something along the lines of “You could have died because you had a craving for ice cream” but it never came. I turned my head slowly and saw Ian staring straight at me. There was no mockery on his face. I couldn’t explain the look on his face.

“May I join you?” he asked suddenly.

My heart jumped. “Uh, yeah, of course,” I replied surprised.

Ian and I walked into the Ice Cream Place, him politely opening the door for me which caused me to blush, and headed towards the counter.

“Um, hey,” he said. “I really need to go to the restroom. Can you order for me?”

How could I say no? The guy is completely gorgeous, smart, polite, and just saved my freaking life.

“Sure,” I said.

Ian took out his wallet and produced a five dollar bill. “I’m paying for you too.”

I shook my head and waved my hand back and forth. “No no no. If anyone is paying, I’m doing it. You just saved my life. I need to repay you somehow.”

Ian frowned. “Repay me? Why would you need to repay me? I pushed you out of the way of that semi because I wanted to. You don’t owe me anything.” He took held out the five. “Please let me pay. I want to.”

I stared into his warm brown eyes, debating whether I should or not. My heart was beating like there was no tomorrow and my breathing was fast and raspy. His smile made me melt and his voice made me want to sleep. This feeling was so unlike anything I’d ever felt before, but I loved it. I felt giddy and nervous…

“Fine,” I said quickly, taking the bill from his hand. He shouldn’t be paying. “What do you want?”

He grinned. “Surprise me.”

My eyebrows rose and I smirked. “Don’t be surprised if you have something disgusting like grapefruit then. It’ll be your fault.”

Ian winked at me. “I trust you.”

My heart fluttered at that comment. No one had ever said that to me. No one had ever said anything even close to that to me before. That one little tiny sentence made me go from never having a crush on anyone, to a huge one.