The Madame Mechanic

Chapter Four

I clambered into the yellow recovery lorry at 3.50 a.m. There was a breakdown on the motorway and of course, being one of the biggest garages in the area, I was called out to assist in moving the vehicles. This was the 11th night in a row, I wasn't available last night but Chris took the job on his own. It was the bad winter weather taking its toll on a lot of drivers that had us kept on our toes.

Simon came along with me. He was the quiet one out of the garage family and on nights like these I appreciated it. The crash was fatal which meant I was probably going to see another lifeless body. They could be quite damaging to us mentally and I was glad we had eachother to confide in.

A large Scania lorry had collided head on with a silver Vauxhall Corsa. The two young passengers of the car were killed instantly. It sent chills down my body to know how easily life can be snatched away from you.

The journey was a long distance away and we arrived back at the garage around 8 in the morning. I sighed with annoyance as there was a familiar car parked outside the door.

I was famished and fatigued which is never a good combination. I passed no further remarks on the car and went straight inside and dragged my feet up the stairs to the loft above the garage where there was a modern kitchen and living space for us to chill out in.

I went over to the almost empty American fridge freezer, pulled out a cold beer along with a left over sandwich from earlier that day and began to eat it. Simon hadn't followed me up which I found strange. After eating, I curled myself up into a ball on the torn and tattered, cream leather sofa and let my heavy eyes slide shut.

I stretched out, yawning and rubbing my eyes. I snuggled up next to something very comforting. I had no idea what it was and why it was on the sofa in the garage. Then I realised I wasn't on a sofa or in the garage. I was in a bed. I sat up violently in the bed, which I quickly realised was my own and whipped my head around to spot a man beside me. He groaned and looked over at me anxiously with sleepy eyes.

He looked oddly familiar and for a good while I couldn't pin point who it was until I concluded that it was in fact the handsome man I had slept with a few weeks ago. Sebastian.

"What the hell, why am I here? How did I get here? Why are you in my house and how come we are in bed together?!" I blurted out all at once.

"Chill babe."

"Babe!"

"Gabriella. Please calm down."

Surprisingly I did calm down. When the shock of seeing him next to me settled I was fine, which was incredibly odd since he was practically a stranger to me. I flopped back down onto the feather pillow underneath me and let out a heavy sigh.

"Care to explain?" I prompted.

"Well, eh, see, I, eh, I went to your garage last night to see you and you weren't there so I waited and then you came back and pretty much stormed inside and this guy came over called Simon and I explained why I was there and he told me that he could bet on his car you were upstairs with a beer and sandwich and would be asleep when we went in. He then told me that he usually brought you home and tucked you in but since I needed a bed and wanted to see you I could do his job for him and yeah, that's it really."

"So Si just let you take me? He let a stranger take me home?"

"Well I kind of told him that I was a gay friend of yours from summer camp and we met up every year."

"I really need to talk to those boys. I have never even been to a summer camp!"

A key started to move in the locked front door downstairs. A chirpy whistle followed as the door was closed behind the only man I let whistle around me. Of course that was Chris. He walked through the hallway to the kitchen and flicked on the electric kettle as usual.

"HONEY! I'M HOOOME!" His voice sang out from the kitchen and soon I could hear him begin stepping up the wooden stairs of my home.

Sebastian's face was beyond curious. I think he was slightly fuming that there was another man under the same roof calling me honey. I gave him a stern look making sure he wouldn't say anything, pointed at his clothes on the floor and then to the door of my en suite indicating for him to get moving. Thankfully he didn't argue.

"Chris. This is not your home and I ain't yo honey." I chuckled as he entered my bedroom.

"But you wanna be." He smirked, settling himself beside me on the king sized bed by lying on his side with his head proped up by his elbow.

"Good morning to you too."

"Lazy bones its afternoon now."

"Recovery was laborious last night, what can I say?"

"Fatal?"

"Yeah."

"You know I'm here if you need to talk."

"I hate them, it brings it all back."

"I know El." He sighed and started drawing comforting circles on the bottom of my abdomen where my top had rolled up.

"Did you bring food?"

"I have sausage for now and creampie is for dessert?"

"Ha. Ha. Hilarious. I'm serious."

"Yeah I did but I left it downstairs for you because I know you hate crumbs in your bed. Unfortunately my boss will probably kill me if I miss work any longer so I can't stay to join but I'll catch up with you later?"

"How thoughtful. They are just right. Dossing is all you do. Seriously thanks though. Yeah I'll be there in about an hour or so." I smiled

"Alright, bye babe." He stood and kissed my forehead before leaving the room with his whistling fading out as he left my house.

The en suite door opened and a pissed off Sebastian stepped out.

"Are you with him?"

"What?"

"Are you fucking him?"

"Seb calm down."

"Sebastian wait." I called after him as he stormed out the bedroom door. Why did I care what he thought? I suppose I didn't like the thought of being incorrectly labelled a cheater. Part of me feared he would chase after Chris and attack him with questions or worse, his fist. I got up to run after him and tripped on my duvet. I fell painfully on the wooden floor below me. I screeched out in pain as a throb swarmed around my ankle.

I heard no footsteps on the stairs anymore but I hadn't heard the door or a car either. He must have took my car here last night because Chris never said anything about a Ferrari parked outside my door. I pushed myself over the floor and reached for my phone. I cursed myself for being so stupid and began typing in Chris' phone number.

"You clutz."

I lifted my head up to see Sebastian leaning in the pine doorway. His muscles flexed above the rolled up sleeves of the pale pink shirt he wore. I stubbornly attempted once more to get up but I failed miserably.

"Would you like some help Gabriella?"