Barely There

Chapter 15 - Broken Clock

After a long process of getting herself together, she sat behind the driver seat for what seemed like the hundredth time and set her destination. The deceitful storm began its seemingly peaceful retreat as Leda drove out into the middle of the battleground before bombarding the car with the thuds and bangs of mother nature's weaponry. With her hyperawareness, the rustle of fabric and soft groaning alerted Leda of Clementine's potential distress. Frantically, Leda toyed with the car radio and searched for the infamous song before remembering her removal of the small token from the car beforehand. 

Sighing, she sang. 

"Oh my darling, oh my darling," her voice quivered substantially under the anxiety and she cringed at the tone. Clementine relaxed slightly before jolting as the wind roared around the car again. "Oh my darling Clementine." 

Her weak voice cracked towards the final lyrics but she pushed aside the doubt, the fear, and the uncertainty as she focused on her trivial yet significant goal. 

"You were...found and loved forever...oh my darling Clementine."

The silence won.

. 

The car rolled down the clean street, the vibrant and detailed buildings coming into view as the rain slowed to a drizzle. Leda drove by the extravagant houses slowly , looking at the gold numeral plates carefully. Glancing at the beauty of the house under the moonlight, she parked by the curb and confirmed the location on the mobile device. 

The exterior of the house was a light tan but looked brown under the shadow of the night and was topped with dark grey tiles lining the entire roof. Rich groups of plants and flowers protected the exterior of the soft victorian building against the harsh winds. Leda's eyes shined with the light that seeped out of the first floor windows and she shuddered slightly as she took in the beautiful design of the lavish house. She left the car warily, intimidated by the perfection of the structure. Pulling the sleeping child against her body, she walked towards the wondrous building and rang the golden doorbell.

He opened the door after a couple of seconds clad in black trousers and a white shirt tailored perfectly to his muscular body. The sleeves of the dress shirt were rolled up just below his elbows and the top of his shirt was unbuttoned slightly. His dark under eyes stood out on his marble face as the messy brown curls framed his exhausted eyes. She gasped at the picturesque image and seemed to forget her existence for a mere second as he stood tragically in front of her. Reality shook her back to existence. 

She found herself speaking without control as her body went into autodrive. "She fell asleep right before I drove here." 

His dark eyes penetrated through her, breaking down all of her defenses as she felt herself pull apart at the seams, flowing out into the street. She shivered.

"Here I'll take her."

Leaning close to her, he grabbed the child securely against himself, a hint of a smile on his effervescent face as he looked at Clementine. She smelled the addictive cologne and peppermint. Always a hint of peppermint. Self-conscious in front of his perfect form she stepped back before opening her mouth to speak. He beat her to the finish line, his voice coarser than usual.

"Come in. I can make a killer hot chocolate."

Her heart pranced around in the cage and she struggled to stabilize herself. "I should go, it's getting late."

"In the middle of a storm?"

"Wait what?" Glancing behind her, she took in the unexpected scene. Barbarous rain pounded against her car as the wind harassed surrounding shrubbery. Dazed, she turned back to him. "When did it start to rain?"