Chapter One

Cliff sat at the bar in the dimly lit restaurant, nursing his rum and coke. He wondered if his blind date would be cute. Several minutes passed by. After checking the clock on his phone for the third time, he decided to go through his email.

He finished cleaning out his inbox and spam folder. Checking the time again, he discovered his date was more than thirty minutes late. "Well this is a new low, stood up on a blind date." he noted quietly to himself. He dropped some money on the bar after quickly draining his glass.

Cliff made his way back through the crowded restaurant, out to his car. Tossing his phone in the passenger seat, he started up his sedan. He backed out of the parking spot, swerving sharply to the side, in a hurry to put this waste of a night behind him. He heard and felt a large thump behind his car.

"Great! You gotta be kidding me!" He checked his mirrors, expecting to see another driver's vehicle rammed into his. But there was no one there. "What the hell?" Cliff knew he hit something, he was sure of it. He opened his car door, quickly climbing out. His blood ran cold. There was a pair of bare legs laid out on the asphalt behind his car.

"Oh God! Oh God!" He ran to the back of his car, discovering a young woman lying on the ground by his car's bumper. She had a bloody gash on her forehead. She wasn't moving. "This can't be happening! Where did YOU come from?"

He dove back in his car to retrieve his phone. When you're panicking, it's surprisingly hard to dial a phone number; even if it's only three digits long. After his third try, he finally managed to dial 911 successfully. He heard the emergency operator on the other end.

"Please, you have to send an ambulance. I hit someone with my car. She needs help. I swear I only had two drinks! She just came out of nowhere. I didn't see her! What do I do? She's bleeding. Do I put pressure on the wound or something?"

"Calm down sir, the ambulance is on its way."

"I'm at Fifth and Main, in the parking structure."

"Yes sir, we have your location. We've tracked your phone's GPS. Where is the blood coming from?"

"She has a gash, on her forehead. I think she's unconscious. I don't feel so good. I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Sir, the paramedics will be there in less than a minute." She heard wretching noises through her headset. "Sir?"

Cliff's phone fell from his hand as he emptied his stomach's contents onto the side of his car. It landed on the hard concrete with a loud crunch. As he wiped his mouth on his sleeve, he heard a siren in the distance getting closer and closer. "Oh thank God!"


* * *


Cliff sat in the waiting area at the hospital, waiting for an update on the status of his victim. Jesus, he thought, I have a victim. This is so messed up. He felt like the other people sharing the waiting room with him were staring at him. They somehow knew he was a bad man.

A nurse tapped him on the shoulder. "Sir, the woman you came in with is awake. She's still a little weak, but you can see her for a few minutes if you'd like."

Cliff followed the nurse to a room at the end of a long hallway. His knees suddenly felt weak as he stepped inside the room. His victim was lying in the bed in one of those plain hospital gowns, with a tube sticking out of her arm. There was a thick white bandage wrapped around her forehead.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Oh right, hi. I uh... I rode here in the ambulance with you. I'm the one who," he hesitated. No matter how many times he went through it in his head, there was no good way to say it. "I found you behind my car at the restaurant. I think I hit you. No, I did. I definitely hit you with my car. Sorry about that. I'm really sorry!"

"At the restaurant? I was there, there for a date. And I was late. I wasn't watching where I was going. I think this was my fault. My head's a little foggy, but I remember being in a hurry."

"No, that's kind of you, but I should've paid attention when I was backing out. I could've killed you. Thank God you're alright. I was so scared. What's your name? I should know the name of the person I almost killed."

"Kayla."

"Kayla? Kayla Bennett!?"

"Have we met before?" she asked curiously.

Cliff dropped into a chair heavily, slumping forward. He buried his face in his hands, hoping to hide his shame. "I ran over my blind date." He repeated it again, slower, letting the words sink in.

"You're Cliff Jackson, the guy Pam set me up with?"

"I guess I made one hell of a first impression."

Kayla felt sorry for him. He looked pitiful slumped over in the chair, like he might actually start crying. She leaned forward in the bed, sitting up a little. Her head felt heavier than she remembered. "Hey, it's not so bad. I've been on worse dates." She started to feel dizzy and had to lay back down.

"Worse than this!?"

"Come here." She held up her hand. "Come on, I won't bite."

Cliff walked over to the bed, taking her small hand into his. "I'm really, really sorry about this. I'll pay the hospital bill. It's the least I can do. This is so embarrassing."

"Look, it was a silly accident. We can try again in a couple of days."

"Again? Really? You want to go on a date with me, after THIS?"

"Sure I do, no one has EVER swept me off my feet like that on the first date before." She smiled weakly.

Cliff laughed nervously, then began to laugh harder. "Sorry, I'm a little out of my depth right now."

"I'm a little tired. I should probably get some sleep. Leave me your number, and I'll call you. I won't be late next time, and hopefully you won't run me over again."

"No. No, I won't." He took a business card out of his wallet, setting it beside the bed. "Sorry again." He turned, before leaving the room. "Hey, do we have to tell Pam about this? You know how she is."

"I won't if you don't."

"Deal."