SECOND CHANCES (ORIGINAL WORK)

CHAPTER SIX

Aaliyah's eyes shot open and she sat up straight. It wasn't the recurring nightmare that startled her, but a loud thud that came from outside. Slowly, she pushed the sheets off of her and moved toward the edge of the bed.

She heard the noise once again.

Aaliyah let out a shaky breath and quickly reached for the knife under her pillow before going to the living room area. She pressed her ear against the front door and could hear the noise once more. Someone—or something—was outside. She grabbed the doorknob, but hesitated to open it, wondering what awaited her on the other side.

After a few moments, Aaliyah took a deep breath and summoned enough courage to open the door. She pressed her eye to the crack at the edge and tried to peer out. When she couldn't see anything, she stuck her head out.

She let out a breath of relief.

Jason was unloading wood on the side of the house. She placed the knife down onto the console table beside the door and stepped outside onto the deck.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was breathy and unsteady, betraying the riotous emotions pulsing through her.

He smiled broadly, revealing his straight white teeth. "Good morning to you too."

"How did you know where I live?"

Jason reached inside the back of his Dodge 3500 and grabbed another two by four, placing it with the others that were stacked neatly beside the deck.

"Sam told me," he said. "Thought I'd save you the trouble of having to carry all of this home."

This was too much for her to handle. She didn't need his help and had been clear about it, yet here he was, offering it so whole heartedly. There was something scary about it. He'd gone too far.

She took a step away from the door, folding her arms around her chest. "That's generous of you, but I didn't ask for your help," she said. "I specifically told you yesterday that I'd be stopping by first thing this morning."

Jason shrugged. "It's no problem, really. I saw you struggling on your way home yesterday and didn't think you should be carrying everything, at least not by yourself."

Aaliyah stared at Jason, then lowered her gaze to the ground. "Look," she said. "I know you're just trying to help, but I don't appreciate having men I don't know around my house."

Jason placed the final plank down and pulled off his work gloves. "Do you have trust issues or something? Sorry, but this is a small town, we all know each other here, I didn't mean anything by it."

"The big deal is that I didn't ask for your help. If I wanted it, I would've asked, Jason." She swallowed hard.

Jason slammed the tailgate shut, jaw clenching and he looked at the woman with slight confusion. "Wow, okay then" he said, shaking his head before turning away. "You know, it seems like you have serious trust issues, Aaliyah. Maybe you should think about getting some therapy."

Awkward silence filled the space between them and Jason sucked in a breath, turning to face Aaliyah with apologetic eyes. She glared at him. At least her trust issues were rooted in legitimate experiences. Beyond that, she'd always hated therapy. His insinuation that she needed it, made her feel small. Flawed.

Suddenly losing all of her energy and needing the interaction to be over, Aaliyah pressed her lips into a tight, discomforted smile as she spoke. "Please leave now."

She turned, walked into the house, and slammed the door behind her. She latched the chain and a couple of minutes later, she heard his truck leave.

She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, but nothing could stop the tears and the memories from coming. Have I been so beaten down that I'm going to cry every time someone shows me kindness now? She slid down to the floor and sobbed until everything didn't hurt so damn bad.