Chapter Five

Chapter Five

“Bramble! Bramble, wait!”

The voice vaguely sounded familiar to her, but Bramble couldn’t quite place it to a face in her memory. Her peaceful pace halted abruptly, blue eyes wide and searching the crowd. She had wandered into the downtown area of Starlight Shores numerous times over the past week – only during the day. She didn’t really want to risk running into any unsavory characters if it wasn’t necessary. Bramble especially didn’t want to chance another run-in with Cress’ grandson. 

This was the first time someone had attempted to speak to her in public since she had bumped into Chad. It wasn’t slicked back brown hair that filled her view, though. No, it was wild and unruly silvery blonde. 

“Oh, hi.” She gazed down calmly at the teenager before her. She had forgotten about the application she had submitted at the bookstore. 

Chance was huffing and puffing, doubled over, with paper clutched in his hand, “Y-your application.”

The papers were nearly thrown into her face. Bramble allowed the confusion to seep into her eyes. Why was he giving it back to her? He seemed to pick up on her lack of clarity and, after a few more moments of huffing, he continued.

“You don’t have any personal information on here at all,” He stated, “besides your name.”

It’s strange, she thought, that he would happen to have her application on his person at the time they just happened to run into each other, “I don’t have any other personal information.”

It was the truth.

“You don’t have a phone number?” Chance’s eyebrows rose, his eyes widened, “an address? A house phone?”

“No. I’m sorry, I don’t.”

“How did you expect my dad to inform you that you had been hired?” He asked incredulously.

“I guess I hadn’t thought of that.” She rubbed her wrist and sighed. 

“Well, I told you before I’m not here to question you. My father, he hired you though. I said you looked like you needed it. We just didn’t know how to inform you of the news.”

She remembered his generosity the first time they had met and couldn’t help but frown. Were people generally so trusting and helpful to each other? It seemed foolish.

“You don’t have to take it. If you found another job or something.” His arm brandishing the paper fell to his side.

“No, no. I’ll take it. When do you need me? What are the shifts?” He had misunderstood her.

“Oh, ok. Good. You can start today, if you want, I mean. If not then-“

“No, today is fine. Thank you.” Bramble lips curved into a small smile. It would be a distraction. Plus, she really needed the money.

“Ok, your shifts are from three to nine during the weekdays. You’ll mostly be closing with me,” Chance headed off back into the crowd with a wave of his hand, “come on. I’ll show you what you’ll be doing.”

The walk was short - the bookstore was only a block away from where the duo had bumped into each other. Bramble hadn’t taken a proper look around during her last visit and now that she had free range of the place she noted a few things. One, there were bookshelves everywhere. The shop was pretty large and, besides the one register at the front of the shop where a few lounge chairs were placed for costumers, was filled with shelving. They lined every wall and created paths and mazes throughout the back of the store. There were no marked sections and Bramble found herself wondering if the actual books themselves were just placed haphazardly. 

The second thing she noticed as she wondered around the shop was that some of the books were ancient. The further back she went the worse their condition seemed to be and the higher the dust. She hoped no one with allergies visited regularly.  

“Is this organized at all?” She called over her shoulder. 

“Um, not really. That’s actually where you come in.”

Brambled whipped around, her short hair stinging her face from the force, “What?”

“Yea, well, I don’t really have time to clean. Neither does my father. That’s why we were hiring.” Chance shrugged.

“And why do you not have time to clean?” She had the distinct feeling that he wasn’t telling her something.

“I can’t go into details, you see, but just know that I have to read. It’s mandatory.” 

“Oh, so I do the labor while you get to indulge in fairy tales and rainbows.”

“Look, it’s not what you think,” he sighed and then pointed to a door in the shape of a bookshelf. If it wasn’t brought to someone’s attention, one probably wouldn’t realize it was even there. Bramble hadn’t even noticed it that was certain, “that door is also off-limits. If you go in there without permission you will be immediately terminated – father’s words.” 

“Right.” She already regretted taking this job. They were hiding something, Chance and his father. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to get mixed up in it. She really did need the money, though. She could always disappear if anything appeared to be getting out of hand. 

“I guess I’ll get to work.” She finished lamely. Chance nodded before he grabbed a book off the pile beside the register. He plopped down in the lounge chair she had first met him in and began to read. 

Bramble noted that Chance looked awfully bored. Actually, now that she thought about it, Chance always looked bored. She certain it was the only expression, besides that momentary lapse from exhaustion outside, that she had seen the teenager wear. Weren’t teens supposed to be rebellious and moody? 

Sighing, Bramble turned to the back of the store. Those thoughts would get her nowhere. She figured she had better start her job.

That was how her weekly afternoons were spent from then on out. She had started with the dust. Isle after isle, bookshelf after bookshelf, Bramble found herself sweeping up and wiping down the thick layers of dirt. She sneezed so often Chance had given up on saying ‘bless you’.  

During her time there she took note of Chance. He still wore the same bored expression every day. He also seemed to be reading a new book daily, sometimes two. Some had hard cover and others were soft. Some looked like manuscripts and were even handwritten. The only thing that seemed to stop him from his routine was costumers. He would greet them, never smiling, and locate the volume they had requested. He did so meticulously, even in the mess. There were a few times, however, that she noticed him whisper to a costumer. The costumer was always different and they bared no resemblance. The only thing that set them apart from the average operation was the drop in vocal volume as they discussed something. Occasionally, when such a transaction was going on, Bramble would notice Chance glance back at her. He never held her gaze for long.

The doorbell chimed happily on one such afternoon. Bramble was still working on the dust and dirt, though she was all the way to the back and safely out of sight of both Chance and the costumer. She would have paid them no attention if, after only a few exchanged words, their voices did not turn to whispers. Curiosity over took Bramble and, as silently as she could, she slowly made her way to a book shelf that was located near the middle of the store. Turned sideways, so the wood hid her from the conversing men, she pushed her back against it softly. She still couldn’t make out what they said and, unfortunately, the costumer was hidden from view by another randomly placed shelf.  Bramble leaned forward, as far as she could on the tip of her toes, until another blonde head popped into view. 

It was Cress’ grandson. 

 

Bramble’s heart stopped as he practically flung herself against the shelf. What was he doing here? Why was he whispering to Chance? What business could they possibly have together that they felt the need to whisper about it in her presence? She felt a familiar heat rise into her cheeks as her hands clinched at her side. 

She watched out of the corner of her eye as Chance said something to the man before wondering off in the opposite direction. Through the door she was not allowed to enter. She bit her bottom lip as the seconds ticked by. It felt like years. Eventually Cress’ grandson seemed to grow restless. He began to pace around the lobby, picking up objects and setting them down again. Bramble hoped he would stay far, far away from her. 

He didn’t. It only took a minute for the lobby to lose interest for the young man. Having nowhere else to explore, he headed in her direction. Bramble’s stomach dropped but she quickly came up with a plan. She knew the layout of the store better than he did. She had spent the last week doing nothing more than cleaning it. Darting quietly to a bookshelf that separated the room in half, she followed him silently up and down the rows of books. She stayed low, below his eye-level, so he wouldn’t see her through the gaps in the shelves that separated them. As they approached the end of the stop Bramble crouched. Reaching into her boot she extracted the knife she had stolen from the very man she was about to use it on. He rounded the corner only to be pummeled in the chest by the force of Bramble’s whole being. He crashed against the bookshelf that lined the wall, dust spurting out around them and books clattering to the ground. She held the knife firmly to his throat as a growl escaped hers.

“What business do you have here?”

A grin spread across his face but Bramble cut it short by applying more pressure to the knife. She had never wanted to hurt, let alone kill, anyone after gaining her freedom. There were exceptions and this was one of them. He was one of them. Before he could answer, Chance’s voice floated to them.

“Hey, Bramble, have you seen a customer wandering around?”

Her eyes narrow dangerous as she raised her lips to this stranger’s ear. 

“Don’t whisper a word about me. When you are done here, never come back,” She released the knife from his throat, “and don’t think I won’t kill you in front of a witness.”