Song lyrics continue above— more fabulous 90s angst. "Runaway Train" - Soul Asylum
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There was a spot just at the base of the skull that throbbed as if an evil little elf took a hammer and pounded at Colleen's brain whenever she drank to excess. That elf was working overtime.
"Oh, god," she groaned, stumbling into the bathroom. She was immediately sick and instantly regretful. A look in the mirror continued her walk of shame as she stared back at her mascara smeared, tangled hair reflection. She hadn't intended everything to get so out of hand last night. She had called Hannah last minute to go out, since her mother had offered to keep Ben and give her a night off. Honestly Colleen didn't remember much after that— vague memories of dancing— to "Shoop" of all things. The taste of wine. And pain...a bruise. Colleen lifted the bottom of the oversized t-shirt she'd somehow changed into and spotted a black and blue mark on the front of her right thigh.
"Ouch," she hissed.
A shower was definitely in order. And something for the headache. She changed into a fresh pair of jeans and her Oasis t-shirt, quickly blowing her hair dry. A quick glance at the kitchen clock showed she still had four hours until her mum would bring Ben back.
Four hours to sober up. That's doable. Of course that would be easier if she had some decent food in the house. Sunday was her usual market day, to prepare for the work week ahead. That was about the last thing she felt like doing today. Making herself a piece of toast in hopes it would settle her stomach, she laid back on the sofa and turned on the television.
More news on the bridge attack. Or more accurately no news. Why they insisted on talking about the same news story over and over when there was no news was beyond her. Colleen promptly switched it back off. Robert's mother would probably call her soon, asking if she had seen the latest, even though the latest was what they had seen fifty times already. The woman called multiple times a day, sobbing over her son, expecting Colleen to cry with her. She was inevitably disappointed.
Instead of the phone ringing she expected to hear, the doorbell rang instead. She considered ignoring it. As a matter of fact she normally never answered her doorbell; she usually told Ben to be quiet in hopes whoever it was would go away. But given her current state, it was likely just Hannah checking to make sure she had made it through the night alive.
"I'm fine, Hannah, I just...oh. Sorry." Colleen made an instinctive move back inside, wondering how rude it would be to quickly close and lock the door. The man standing there had to be lost. He looked like he was on his way to somewhere important, dressed in dark gray slacks and a gray and white striped dress shirt, with a shiny black leather belt and shoes. Colleen was struck by his beautiful head of hair— thick, dark brown curls that you didn't see on many men nowadays. Tucked under his arm was a bakery bag, and in his other hand he held a tray with two cups of coffee. He wore a hopeful and expectant expression that she wasn't quite sure how to handle.
"Um, do I know you, sir? You must have the wrong flat."
He shook his head with a smile. "No, I'm certain this is the right place. I'm Sirius Black."
Colleen stifled a laugh. "Is that really your name?"
His smile faded a bit. "What's the matter with my name?"
Colleen could feel her cheeks flush. "Nothing. It's just a fitting name for you, that's all." What she was too embarrassed to say was that it was a ridiculously hot and sexy sounding name, and it fit him perfectly.
"Well, my full name is Sirius Orion Black, if that makes any difference."
Of course it is. Colleen just smiled hesitantly, wondering what in the world to say or do next. This was insanely weird and awkward.
"Um, did we meet at the club?" she asked, turning her head to one side to study him again, trying to place him. Her head suddenly started pounding again with the memory of the music, the smoky smell, and the taste of wine. Her hand flew to her mouth. "Excuse me!"
Colleen took off back to her bathroom, sick once again.
"I hope you don't mind, I let myself in," Sirius's voice called to her from the living room. "I've brought you breakfast."
What the hell is going on? Colleen brushed her teeth as her mind raced, trying to recall anything from the night before. Did she sleep with this guy? She did a quick mental check of her body for anything that felt out of the ordinary. No, surely not. Robert was the only man she'd ever slept with; she wouldn't have just jumped into a one night stand like that. So why in the world would he be standing in her flat with breakfast in hand?
She glanced in the mirror and realized what a dreadful mess she looked. At least she had showered. Hands shaking, she opened her makeup drawer and threw on some lip gloss and mascara, then a bit of blush to bring back some of the color she'd lost from being sick this morning. The band t-shirt would have to do, though it did her body no favors. She sighed and nervously left the bathroom.
Ok, I can handle this. I just have to figure out...
Colleen stopped short when she reached her kitchen. The man had opened her box of washing powder and was smelling it. There was a certifiably insane man in her flat right now and she was alone with him. Her eyes flickered to the knife drawer, trying to gauge how many seconds it would take if she were to need one.
"Oh, hello, love. Would you mind if I borrowed some of this? I forgot it at the market yesterday. I'll owe you some next time I see you."
"Uh, sure, no problem." Colleen caught herself twirling at her hair nervously then stopped, self-conscious. She hated that she'd never grown out of that habit.
Wait a minute— next time he sees me? What is this guy even thinking?
"Thanks." Sirius flashed her a smile that seemed to light up his whole face. He was truly, wickedly handsome. Colleen was so confused as to why he would be standing here in her flat.
"Now for breakfast," he continued. "I hope you like coffee?"
"I love it," she replied, gratefully accepting the cup he handed her.
"And we have deli ham and cheese, some croissants and jam. Not too heavy, and some protein to settle the stomach after last night, right?"
Colleen nodded wordlessly, though the sight of food as he spread it out on her table made her a bit queasy again. So he was from last night.
Sirius must have picked up on her sudden queasiness because he reached into his shirt pocket and handed her a small glass bottle. "For the stomach, love. Will fix you right up."
"What is it?" She removed the stopper and smelled. Peppermint and something else. It smelled fresh and natural, but she was still wary. It was all too weird, and now he wanted her to trust some strange substance he just handed her.
"Just a little pep up. Will help with the headache too. It's safe, I promise." That grin again. She felt her nerves standing up a bit as he gazed at her. It was a look of appraisal and adoration and a bit of calculation. Colleen really wondered what she had done last night that was worthy of all this attention. She lifted the bottle to her lips hesitantly.
"That's a girl. You'll feel better in under a minute. Trust me."
She gave a small laugh. "Why do I feel like you say 'trust me' to women a lot?"
"Probably because I do. But you can still trust me."
"Oh, I'm sure." She laughed again. Whatever he gave her settled quickly in her stomach, and sure enough, that hellacious knot of tension released from the back of her neck. She was suddenly starving.
"That is a miracle in a bottle, Sirius Orion Black. Where can I buy it?" Colleen assembled a croissant for herself and took a big bite, closing her eyes blissfully. He had sprung for the good stuff and spared no expense.
"I'm afraid it's a trade secret. I'll have to procure it for you, love."
Colleen sipped her coffee and watched him start on his own breakfast across the table from her. She tried to guess how old he was. 40? A little less? His face and hands had some lines, but his eyes were light gray and very bright. She could see a couple tattoos peeking out of his striped collar and was curious to see what they were, but too shy to ask. He had a full mustache and a carefully shaven goatee — his overall look somehow one of refinement but also raffishness. It was definitely a look you didn't come across often. Combined with his name he almost seemed like he'd walked out of the pages of a book instead of off the streets of London. Part of her wondered if this was some drunken dream.
"Sirius, I..."
"I do love how you say my name, angel. I shall never tire of hearing it." He leaned back and propped his feet up casually in a vacant chair as if he were right at home.
Colleen sighed. "Ok, I have to know what is going on here. This is all a little strange, don't you think?"
Sirius winked at her over his cup of coffee. "I suppose I should level with you, love. I did promise Hannah I wouldn't be 'weird.'"
"So Hannah put you up to this?" Colleen felt angry, embarrassed, and disappointed all in one instant. This was some kind of joke, though what she'd done to deserve it, she had no clue.
Sirius reached across the table for her hand and took it loosely in his own, running his thumb gently back and forth. Colleen felt a jolt that seemed to shoot straight through to her heart.
Get control of yourself, Colleen.
"I saw you were upset last night, talking to Hannah," Sirius began. "And some gent was creeping up on you. Hannah was worried about you going home with him, so I helped her get you in the car— you took a bit of a tumble— I'm guessing you may have a bruise or two. Almost got hit by a car, but I took care of that, too."
"Took care of it how?"
"Um, just got you out of the way. It was nothing." Sirius looked like he almost said something else but changed his mind. "To be honest, it's not been the best few months for me. Well, years." His expression was sober now, his light gray eyes looking into hers like they were pleading with her to understand something. She was a bit uncomfortable under their intensity.
"When I saw you," he continued slowly, "I of course thought you were breathtakingly beautiful."
Colleen felt a heat rise through her.
"And when I saw the pain you seemed to be in, I wanted to help somehow. And I guess part of me was looking for someone who might not be in the best spot right now, like me."
It was incredibly honest, if also a bit scary. She had to give him credit for transparency.
"So I asked Hannah for your address."
"Why not my phone number?"
"Well, she gave me that too. But tell me, love, do you think this conversation would have played out well over the phone?"
"I'm not sure it's playing out well in person," replied Colleen. She gave him a small smile. She didn't want to brush Sirius off entirely, but he had to know how crazy this all sounded. "But I appreciate the breakfast. And your miracle 'potion' or whatever it was."
He smiled back. God, the way his smile lit up his eyes. "Can I see you again?"
Colleen hesitated. "I'm a mother, Sirius."
He blinked a couple times, but nodded. "All right then, so getting out of the house may be a bit tough. But no matter, I'll come to you. Like I did today."
Colleen shook her head. "You can't just meet my son like that. He just lost his dad— I can't introduce him to some random stranger all of a sudden."
"Yes, I'm sorry. Hannah did tell me about your husband. I should have offered my apologies first — that was rude of me."
Colleen startled. "What did Hannah tell you?"
"Just that he passed away recently. Was he ill?"
This was the last thing she wanted to talk about. "Bridge attack," she replied curtly.
Sirius seemed to whiten a little. "Wow, that was recent. If I need to wait, I will. As long as it takes." He sat back in his chair and nodded with resolve, folding his hands across his lap.
Colleen just stared at him in disbelief. He knew nothing about her, and yet he was willing to wait? For what exactly? She wanted to ask what he saw in her, how he knew she was worth it. Why in the world would anyone willingly insert themselves into such a mess? But she was almost afraid of the answers. Afraid of further confirming that he was crazy. She hoped he wasn't. She hoped he was...something. It was hard to know what she wanted, but Colleen knew she at least wanted him to stick around for a bit.
"Ben will be home in a few hours, and I need to get to the supermarket," she told him, polishing off the last of the delicious sandwich.
"I'll come with you."
"You want to go to the market with me?"
Sirius shrugged. "Of course. We'll pick out some things for dinner this week. I'm trying to learn how to cook. I actually find it...relaxing. Therapeutic. It's a good way to channel excess energy."
Colleen liked how open he was, how his words just rattled off honestly in an almost a stream-of-consciousness fashion. But the fact remained that cooking her dinner meant cooking for Ben, and it all just seemed too new and odd.
"Do you have any cookbooks?" he continued. He stood and started walking around her flat, exploring. She could see the energy he was talking about; his eyes flickered about, his hands brushing against random things to take them in physically, not just with his eyes. His steps, his twist and turns, they all had a flourish to them like he approached movement as a dance and not a simple walk.
"Yes, several cookbooks. Um, Sirius?"
"Yes, love?" He turned around and focused his eyes on her, still so hopeful, with cookbook in hand. It really was overwhelming. But not enough to run away. In fact if he did, she felt she might actually miss him. Already. How??
"I meant what I said about Ben. He's been through so much these past couple weeks. I don't know if this is the best thing for him."
Sirius nodded. "I understand. How old is he?"
"3. Almost 4."
"How about you just tell him I'm a friend that's here to help? It's the truth, right? I'll cook, clean. Do you go to work?"
Colleen nodded. "Yes. I'm a paralegal."
Sirius grinned. "Beauty and brains. I'm sure you're busy then and could use the extra pair of hands."
"What about you? What do you do?"
He opened his mouth then closed it quickly. He didn't have a smooth answer this time. Finally a red flag.
"Family fortune," he finally answered. "I'm pretty set."
Oh god, he's rich too. Not lazy. Filthy rich. This is insane.
"But it's not a big deal," Sirius added, clearly seeing her hesitation. "I'm the last Black in my direct family. No weird family pressure or anything like that. And I won't be lying around all day. I have this organization...that I volunteer for. They need me to help out here and there."
"Oh, that's nice." Colleen wanted to ask more questions, but again something nagged at her and told her to be afraid of the answers. She decided enough had been revealed for now. She just wasn't quite ready for it to end.
"You ready for the supermarket then?" she asked.
Sirius offered her his arm. "Yes, my lady. It will be a grand adventure."
Colleen laughed and shook her head. "You're a bit scary, Sirius Orion Black."