It wont always be 2 chapters in one day, but I couldn't resist getting this one out there! Please review & as always, thanks for the support thus far x

CHAPTER 4

A few days had passed since her last encounter with Gemma and the local motorbike men. Cate hadn't seen much of her own house over the last few days, let alone anybody else's homes. She'd been at the Hospital working, and then asked if she could be on call the next 24 hours, which she'd agreed to and just snoozed in the staff room between emergencies. It had been a little bit busier at the hospital which she was thankful for, but she was also thankful to finally be going home. She'd just finished her day shift and it had been a stressful one. A man had been brought in after a piece of machinery at his place of work had exploded, leaving him with awful shrapnel injuries to his body, especially his face. When Cate had seen this, she'd frozen for a brief moment, although to her it had felt like an eternity. A ringing started in her ears and all background noise dimmed apart from the constant ringing. She was going to have a panic attack. Fortunately, her shoulder had been shook by Lisa and her name had been called which suddenly broke through the ringing and brought Cate back to reality. She'd been so embarrassed about it and after treating the male and sending him for surgery; she'd locked herself in a toilet cubicle for a temporary escape to calm herself down.

Cate slammed her hands down onto her steering wheel. "Fuck!" she exclaimed into the silence of her stationary car, rage had appeared within her from out of nowhere as she thought back on her almost panic attack this afternoon. She hated it, she hated the lingering anxiety and the surprise panic attacks that snuck up on her when she least expected it. It made her feel weak, she felt as if everyone around her knew what was going on and pitied her for it, or judged whether she was able to competently do her job with the ongoing issues. It was done, it had happened. And thankfully she didn't think anybody had noticed it, aside from Lisa. "What a mess." She whispered to herself before reaching down for her keys which were sat in the ignition, and she turned on the engine which came to life with a roar; however she didn't fail to notice an unusual sputter sound beneath it which soon stopped as quickly as it had begun. Cate narrowed her eyes and listened for a little longer but the sound didn't continue, so she sat back and left the car park.

It was late now and it was raining, her windscreen wipers working to rid the glass of the incessant downfall of rain. Unlike most others, she liked the rain.. Sure, driving in it could be a pain in the ass, but she liked it. It was that smell that lingered after a heavy downpour of rain, or even standing out in it, allowing you to be soaked and cleansed by the opening heavens. Perhaps it was because she'd spent so long in areas of the world where rain was a rare occurrence and it was all you prayed for when the sun licked at your skin. This rain certainly showed no signs of letting up, but she sat back and enjoyed the drive. However, the enjoyment was short winded, as that sputter sound from before returned with a vengeance. Cate sat upright, her brow furrowed as she looked out of her windscreen at the bonnet. The sputtering got worse, and she could hear that her poor car was beginning to struggle and lose its power. She pulled towards the sidewalk and almost as if she knew what was going to happen, the engine cut out completely. Cate's face was one of complete and utter annoyance. She was tired and all she wanted to do was get home to bed. She twisted the key and pulled it out of the ignition, trying to perhaps prevent any more damage by leaving the engine 'on' despite the fact it had now stopped running.

She wasn't massively far from home, and knew that she could quite easily walk or run it. But she didn't want to leave her car in this unknown area of town. It was then that she remembered a piece of paper she had stashed away in her glove compartment which she immediately reached for. Once she had it, she pushed the glove box shut and sat back in her seat, looking down at the crumpled piece of paper in her hand. Wayne had given her a list of essential numbers when she first moved to town in case she needed anything. Obviously, it included his own number, along with several others such as the local doctor's surgery and the one she was looking for, Teller-Morrow Automotive Repair. She remembered him explaining it to her, that it was the town's local garage and that they had a pick-up truck for breakdowns should she ever need one. She'd been confident that she wouldn't, as her car (which she'd acquired from her late uncle) had been gold and hadn't caused her any troubles.. Until now. Cate grabbed her phone from her back and dialled in the number, bringing it up to her ear. It rang a few times, to the point where she didn't think anybody would answer, which would be just her luck.

"Teller-Morrow Automotive" A gruff voice responded, a little breathless as if they'd had to run for the phone before they missed it.

"Hey, I've broken down on.." she dragged the N and paused as she looked out of the window for a street sign "..Woodland Drive, car won't start at all. Any chance of a pick up?" she asked, leaning back in her seat and propping her elbow up on the door as she held the phone to her ear. The windows were starting to fog up at this point and she watched as a drip of condensation ran down the glass.

"Ok hang on one sec.." she heard the phone clatter as if it had been put down on a desk and she rolled her eyes a little, sighing gently.

"Hey, Juice!" she heard the voice call in the distance. "You think you can take the truck down to Woodland Drive? Got some chick, needs a hand." Her brow raised and she couldn't help but let out a quick laugh. Some chick, huh? Pleasant. She didn't hear much else apart from background noise until the phone got picked up again.

"We'll have someone there in thirty." He answered.

"Thanks a lot, bye." Cate bid her farewell and hung up the call, chucking her phone back into her bag. Now, all she had to do was wait.

Cate must have dozed off, for a tapping on the window next to her head made her shot up in her seat with a quick gasp. Suddenly, she remembered where she was and what she was waiting for. There was a figure at her window, waving in at her, but in the darkness and through the condensation on her window she couldn't make out who it was. Cate cleared her throat and reached for the window, rolling the handle so that it opened up. She noticed it wasn't raining anymore when nothing came in through the window.
"I'm assuming you're the pick up?" she asked, lowering her head slightly to get a better look out of the window. Whoever it was leant down at the side of her car so that their face was now visible and she instantly tensed, her stomach leaping. He looked almost as surprised as she did and for a moment she wondered if they were pulling the exact same faces. There was a moment of silence before he gave her a kind smile. It was him. The mystery biker.

"That'll be me." he answered, nodding his head as if his words weren't enough and she needed the extra confirmation.

"Hi.. I mean, thanks." She stammered and sat upright in her seat, suddenly feeling very awkward. But why? She'd never met this man before, there was no reason to be awkward, but she couldn't shake the feeling. "Let me just.." she gestured at the window and he got her message, removing his hands as to allow her to do the window back up. Once it was closed, it was as if she had suddenly created a protective barrier. Cate turned to her passenger seat and collected her backpack. "Shit.." she cursed under her breath. "Shit, shit, shit." She added, wanting nothing more than to give herself a once over in the mirror, but she didn't, she couldn't. Without anymore delay, she opened the car door and swivelled to get out.

"Can you pop the hood?" he asked quickly, almost as if he had forgotten to ask her before and had just remembered. Cate didn't look at him yet, and nodded her head. She stretched over to the passenger foot well, pretty ungracefully too, and pulled the lever. Her scrub top had lifted a little, she knew that from the cold breeze that swept across her waist, but she quickly sat up and tugged it down, giving him a sideways glance. He'd been looking, she noticed before he had the chance to quickly look away. He pointed at the hood, opened his mouth to say something but just nodded his head and then walked towards it, out of her sight. She pulled an annoyed face at herself, to nobody in particular, before climbing out of the car, leaving the door ajar in case she needed to try the engine.

Cate pulled one strap of her backpack over her left shoulder and then crossed her arms, watching him from her position, but all she could really see was his right arm as it reached into the engine and its compartments. Muscles rippled beneath his slightly tanned skin, which were adorned with black and grey tattoos.

"So, what happened?" his voice broke her out of her silent observations and she shrugged her shoulders, even though he couldn't see her.

"I don't know. It sputtered when I left the hospital but it stopped so I assumed it was ok. And then it just sputtered really badly and just.. died." She explained.

"It's a nice ride, but it's old as hell." He laughed and she watched as he straightened and peered around the propped up bonnet at her. "I can't fix it here." He told her, wiping his oily hands over his dark jeans. Cate nodded slowly, she hadn't expected anything more. With the sound it had made, she knew it would be a garage job, and probably a pricey one at that.

"It's fine, I expected that." She told him with a wave of her hand before bringing it back to cross around her other arm. He smiled that wide smile and closed the hood of her car before walking to the side nearest her to shut the driver side door.

"Where do you live? I'll drop you home on the way back to the shop." He told her confidently, still smiling.

Cate suddenly panicked and she shook her head, returning his smile although she felt hers was slightly more forced than his was. "Oh no, it's fine.. I don't live far, I can walk." She assured him.

"Are you kiddin' me?" he seemed shocked at her request, shaking his head, but that smile still remained. Did he ever stop smiling? "I'm not gonna let you walk home. Get in." he gestured with his thumb towards the pickup truck. "I'll just get your car hooked up, won't be long." He added before she could even muster a response or refuse his offer. Cate sighed and watched as he began to hook various parts to her car. She turned on her heel and made her way to the passenger side of the truck, pulling open the door with an audible creak, and climbed up into it.

She wasn't waiting long before she heard the other door open. She looked over and watched as he got in. She noticed the lightning bolt tattoos on his head either side of his Mohawk, as he dipped his head to reach into a compartment where he retrieved a clipboard. She was staring at his tattooed arms again, only this time she noticed what looked like a grim reaper on his arm.

"Hey" He clicked his fingers in front of her and her gaze shot back to his face.

"Huh?" she quickly asked and was a little bewildered and confused as to what had just happened. Had she zoned out? Was he asking her something?

"I asked if you could fill this out.. if that's okay." He passed her the clipboard and a pen. His kind smile had now turned into a grin. Clearly he'd noticed her staring and it had gone to his head. Men. She took the clipboard and rested it on her lap, pen in hand. It was then he turned on the engine to the truck. "So, where we headin'?" he asked, and she'd already began filling out the paperwork.

"Sandy Creek Road." she answered, briefly looking over at him and she watched as both of his eyebrows raised. He knew the street. So maybe Gemma did have something to do with all of these bikers.

"Okie dokie" he muttered and pulled away from the sidewalk, beginning their journey. Had he actually just said okie dokie? She smiled at the thought as she looked back down at the paperwork, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing.

Minutes of silence ensued, and she noticed that he was tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. Was he nervous? It was then she noticed that she was doing the same thing, only she was tapping a pen against the clipboard.
"I wasn't staring before; I was just looking at your tattoos." She broke the silence, looking out of the windscreen at the road ahead of them. "They're pretty cool, but the grim reaper is a little on the morbid side.." she spoke, in a little bit of a teasing manner. She cast a glance in his direction to see him smiling, followed by a little laugh.

"Yeah.. I suppose it is." He agreed with a firm nod if his head. If only she knew that there was more to the tattoo than what met the eye. It was quiet again, but not for much longer. "So you're a nurse?"

Cate laughed and leant back against the seat, deciding to get comfortable for the short remainder of their drive. "Actually, I'm a doctor, but potato, potata. We all do the same thing." She answered with a shrug of her shoulders, her hands fiddling with the edge of her scrub top.

"What's your speciality?" he asked. He was inquisitive, that much was for sure. But he wasn't being nosey; he was just passing the time. She didn't mind it, he seemed nice enough.

"Trauma. I work in the emergency department, but I've got an extensive history in trauma." She replied. It felt nice to talk about herself, to have someone seem interested in her life rather than listening to rumours and judging her based on that. People at work had heard about her army life, and didn't bother to get to know her based on that, for they felt like it was enough information to know about her, like they knew her already.

"Don't we all.." he commented and she laughed out loud before quietening down. He was right, most people had traumatic histories. Apart from all those lucky human beings who'd had an easy life compared to her.

"What about you? What do you do?" she turned the spotlight on to him now.

"Me? Mechanic by day, motorcycle enthusiast by night." He joked through his grin. She knew the second bit alright; she'd obviously seen him on his motorbike just a few days before.

"Yeah, I saw you a few days ago. Cool bike." She noted and immediately felt awkward. Did he remember seeing her? Staring at him like a deer in headlights. She felt like kicking herself, since when did she become a teenage girl again? She knew how to talk to men; she was 28 years old and quite capable of holding a conversation. So why, now, did she feel like such a girl. Fortunately, she noticed he'd turned onto her street and before she'd let him respond to her comment, she sat upright in her seat, pointing at her house. "That's me." He pulled over to the sidewalk and put the truck into neutral. "Thanks for the lift.. And here's the paperwork." She told him, handing over the clipboard before gathering her back and jacket from the ground, suddenly in a rush to leave.

"Oh, you're welcome…" he paused to look at her documentation. She'd realised that he hadn't once asked for her name, she'd been waiting for him to ask. "Hecate?" he asked, eyes lifting from her paperwork to her face, his brow arched but a smile appeared on his lips. "Like that witchy goddess?" he questioned and she gave a dramatic roll of her eyes. This was exactly why few people knew her real name; they'd make a joke about her being named after the goddess.

"You can call me Cate." She smiled and opened the door, jumping out onto the ground which she immediately came to regret as the impact sent a small twinge through her knee. She hid it though, and walked around the car to step up onto the sidewalk outside of her house. She didn't even give him a look, just wanting to get inside and scream into a pillow at how stupid she felt. She heard a window rolling down behind her.

"My name's Juice!" she stopped in her tracks and turned slightly to look over at him, practically hanging out of the window of his truck, that goofy grin which had first drawn her in, currently present on his attractive face. She laughed then. He had a name just as strange as hers was and if anything it made her feel a little better.

"Goodnight, Juice." She called back and finished her walk to her front door, heading in and closing it behind her. Leaving Juice in his tow truck, staring after her. Cate leant her back against the front door and smiled. What a relatively nice end to a very shitty day. all