Sierra Nolan was invisible. Not actually invisible but it certainly felt that way. People never reached out to her first, even her own family members.
It all started when she was very young. Her mother dropped her off at preschool one day and didn't pick her up. The school had to call her and as soon as she saw Sierra she was immediately apologetic and promised it wouldn't happen again.
After it happened another three times, she started writing 'pick up Sierra from preschool' on the calendar and that seemed to help. All her life her mother wrote things like that on her calendar or in her phone as technology advanced.
The same thing happened with her friends at school. They would be happy to see her on the playground but whenever they said they would ask their parents about having her over after school they always forgot.
Over time Sierra began picking up tricks on getting people to remember her better. Once she got a phone, she realized people she exchanged numbers with had no idea who she was when she tried contacting them unless they had a photo saved along with her contact. She got into the habit of making sure people had one of those for her.
She didn't know why she was so forgettable. People didn't have a problem remembering her when they saw her but it was like she ceased to exist the moment she was out of their sight.
That made it difficult to get close to anyone because they never contacted her first. Even her parents and siblings still had to write down reminders to call and they usually forgot to do that so she got into the habit of calling them first. Video calls worked much better than voice calls only.
Sierra knew there was something weird about her—no one else seemed to have this problem—but anytime she brought it up people brushed her off. They said it was all in her head or that everyone felt invisible sometimes.
They didn't get it! She actually was invisible!
Any time she applied for a job she didn't get it unless they hired her on the spot in person because they forgot she existed and couldn't call her back. She had a degree in accounting and hadn't been able to use it because she never got second interviews anywhere she applied.
To her great dismay, she was stuck working as a waitress because nowhere else was willing to hire her on the spot. It had been two years since she graduated and that was the best she could do.
Her family kept telling her she would get hired by an accounting firm eventually but they didn't understand her plight. She was convinced the universe was out to get her.
It didn't help that Sierra was a serious klutz and had a ridiculous amount of bad luck. Had she unknowingly shattered a ton of mirrors as a child or what? In the past week alone, she had nearly slipped on some water at work, twisted her ankle, and gotten her purse stolen.
At least that strangely prepared guy had been there for two out of three. She was especially grateful he got her purse back. The last thing she needed was wasting time replacing her driver's license and all of her credit cards. She had a bunch of unused gift cards and a punch card at her favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant that was only one punch away from $10 off her order in there too.
She didn't manage to catch his name…but she did run into him another three times in the following week, which was totally random. L.A. was a big place. What were the odds?
He kept helping her too! The first time was preventing her from falling into an open manhole. The second involved avoiding a hanging flowerpot outside of a restaurant on the sidewalk. The third was at the park with his little sister again when he caught a football that was about to nail her in the face.
Sierra was glad to avoid accidents each time but was starting to get a bit creeped out wondering if this guy was stalking her. She got her answer a few days later when she was walking by a rack of weights in her apartment complex's fitness center.
The rack collapsed and heavy disc weights began rolling toward her, ready to crush her feet, when she was whisked out of the way just in time. She looked up to see who had saved her and saw that guy again.
His dark brown hair was plastered to his sweaty forehead, his glasses were slipping off his nose, and he was wearing basketball shorts and a gray t-shirt. He was obviously in the middle of a workout, which meant he had to live here. Only residents had access to this building.
Running into him as often as she did made more sense now knowing they were neighbors. Most of the places she had seen him were fairly close to their complex.
"You're kind of a walking disaster, aren't you?" the man asked with furrowed brows. "I've never met anyone this accident prone, including my overly adventurous little sister. One of these days you're going to get yourself killed."
Sierra scowled. Her siblings said as much whenever she got a completely random injury, like the time she dislocated her shoulder giving someone a high-five. But hearing it from a stranger that didn't even know her wasn't pleasant.
"Thanks for the save but clearly I'm fine."
He shrugged and let go of her. "Suit yourself. Have a nice rest of your day, Danger Magnet."
The man walked away and she felt unaccountably disgruntled. He wasn't wrong…and she didn't know his name so he probably didn't know hers either but it was still annoying being addressed as Danger Magnet by a relative stranger.