Nico rode her bike through Main Street passing people in town going about their business. Nico pulled up to an old building with a big wooden sign looming over with Joe's painted on it in red block letters. The building had old worn red bricks covering the structure and large windows in front and on the buildings with a clear inside view. Joe's was the go-to restaurant that everyone in town goes to, no matter the occasion. The restaurant looked like any old diner, and the place was never empty. Nico turned off her bike and slid off her helmet before hopping off and walking inside the building. Nico opened the door and was hit with the smell of burgers coming from the kitchen. She walked towards the counter, where a girl with her long wavy black hair tied up into a high ponytail draped over her shoulder. The girl leaned on the counter, displaying a dull look across her face as she played with her end ponytail. She slowly looked up at the door locking eyes with Nico approaching her. Her dull look disappeared and was soon replaced with a massive smile that Nico matched.
"I was starting to think that you forgot about me." The girl said, leaning against the counter as her smile reduced into a smirk.
"Oh, please, how can I forget about my favorite college student," Nico said, sliding on the bar stools at the counter, folding her arms on top of the counter.
"Honey, I am the only college student that you know." The girl said, flipping her ponytail off her shoulder, revealing the name tag underneath, saying Emily was written in a script. Nico rolled her eyes and started to observe the restaurant and noticed a handful of people inside, some alone and some paired off sitting and waiting for their food or eating. As Nico scans the restaurant, she sees a couple sitting in a booth by the window. Nico couldn't make out what they were talking about, but she knew that the conversation was pleasant by looking at the girl's content expression as she looked at the guy, and Nico sighed as she watched the couple.
"What is going on," Emily said, resting her hands on her hips, pulling Nico out of her thoughts, turning her head back to Emily.
"Uh, nothing is wrong. Why do you think that something is wrong?" Nico asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Really, you are not going to tell me about what happened in your first period, and before you say anything, Nate texted me, so spill what is going on," Emily said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Just my partner that was feeling a bit sensitive, but everything is fine," Nico said, resting her chin in her hand, waving Emily off.
"Are you sure?" Emily asked.
"I'm okay, Em," Nico told Emily in a convincing tone, but Emily wasn't convinced. Emily ran a hand down her face, sighing in the process, deciding that Nico would come to her whenever she was ready.
"Fine, okay. What is the order for today?" Emily said, grabbing a notepad from her apron and the pen tucked away behind her ear.
"Just dad's usual order," Nico replied, and Emily nodded and walked towards the opening in the wall that exposed part of the kitchen. Emily leaned a little inside the space and looked inside before taking a step back, looking at the window tilting her head in confusion.
"Hey, Andy, you in there," Emily called out, and suddenly a loud crash generated in the back and a young man with curly short brown hair around her age with brown eyes and freckles scattered around his face, scrambling to the opening on the other side of the wall.
"H- Hey, Emily. Y- you called. " Andy said, studdering over his words.
"Yeah can you whip up Nico's dad's usual order, please," Emily said. Andy glanced over her shoulder, noticed Nico, smiled, and gave her a little wave before shifting his attention to Emily.
"Of course I got it, and Emily y- you look really n- nice today," Andy said with a faint blush appearing across his freckled face. Emily pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.
"Andy, the order," Emily responded to Andy.
"R- right," Andy said, rubbing the back of his neck before retreating into the kitchen, creating a big crash followed up by a reassurance that he was okay. Emily groaned and walked back to the counter, to where Nico was holding back her laughter but failing miserably.
"Not funny," Emily stated, glaring at Nico cause her to burst out into laughter.
"But it is Em," Nico said, calming down. Emily rested her elbows on the counter and supported her head with a look of concern.
"I just don't get that guy," Emily said, confused.
"Well, it's obvious that he likes you. Why don't you go on a date with him already?" Nico said
"I don't have time for dating. I am far too busy," Emily said, sitting back up and dramatically flipping her ponytail.
"Busy with what?" Nico said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I am busy making sure you and Nate are staying out of trouble," Emily said, leaning forward flicking Nico's forehead.
"Fine, you got me there, but I mean, Nate is more attracted towards it than I am," Nico said, rubbing her forehead.
"Exactly, so dating is the least of my problems, but speaking of trouble, what are we doing on Saturday," Emily said, leaning back on the counter again on the counter.
"No clue. You know how Nate is when he makes plans, " Nico responded.
"Yeah, I know it too well. I can't believe Nate managed to convince you to get out of work." Emily stated.
"You know it is not a big deal," Nico said, crossing her arms, pouting.
"But it is Nic, you having the day off it is once in a blue moon," Emily said
"You know I still have to talk to my boss right," Nico said, leaning forward, pulling out a straw from the holder, beginning to play with it.
"Yeah, but your boss is super chill, so I doubt that he would give you a hard time about it. "Emily said, and Nico sighed and nodded meekly. Emily was beginning to feel that whatever Nico was going through was more serious than she thought. Emily opened her mouth to talk, but Andy strolled out of the kitchen with a bag in his hand standing beside Emily.
"Here you go, Nico. " Andy said, passing her the bag of food.
"Thanks, Andy," Nico said, grabbing the bag pulling out her wallet.
"No problem, oh, I also made your usual and put it in the bag as well, on the house," Andy said.
"Awe, thanks, Andy, you're the best. If you don't marry him, Emily, then I will," Nico said, handing Emily the money before sliding off the stool.
"I-it's no problem at all," Andy said, blushing and rubbing the back of his neck, causing Nico to giggle at Andy's awkwardness, but it was adorable to Nico.
"Okay, well, I am off to the hospital to give these to my dad. See you, guys. " Nico announced as she proceeded to head towards the exit.
"See ya Saturday and stay out of trouble 'til then," Emily called out, glancing up at Nico as she counted the money in her hand before placing it in the register.
"No promises," Nico said, waving them off before walking out the door.
Nico hopped on her bike, looking back one last time, watching the pair at the counter. Emily was talking, and Andy's elbows were propped up on the counter, and he was resting his chin on his hands, looking at Emily in awe as she spoke, like he was on cloud nine. Nico shook her head at the display she was watching, feeling a little bad for Andy. Nico could never understand why Andy wouldn't just move on because he would only get heartbroken at the end, but Nico would not question his feelings. She had no right to because she never had a boyfriend or even a crush. Nico sighed, slipped her helmet on, started her bike, and proceeded to the hospital.
Nico walked into the hospital looking at the chaos that Nico's Dad called work. Nico took another step inside only to jump back when a nurse rushed past her pushing a wheelchair with a pregnant woman in it screaming in pain. Nico watched them run through a pair of doors that opened automatically until she could see them anymore. Nico looked above the doorway staring at the big clock and realized that she didn't have time to stand around. Nico tore her eyes away from the clock and started to head toward the nurse's station to look for her dad. As Nico walked through the hospital, her face twisted into an uncomfortable look because she's never been fond of hospitals ever since she was a kid, but it was not like she could avoid them; her dad was the head nurse there. Nico walked up to the main desk at the nurse station and stared at the nurse talking on the phone. Nico stood there and waited for the nurse to finish whatever conversation she was talking about to ask her to page her dad here, but the woman continued to speak o the phone ignoring Nico. The lady conversation didn't seem necessary because all the nurse talked was about how attractive the doctors were and how she was single and was ready to mingle. Nico couldn't care less; in all fairness, she did think about just looking for her dad on her own, but if she did that, she would be late for work, which Nico didn't want. So she decided to suck it up and deal with this nurse to get to her dad.
"Excuse me," Nico called out to the lady politely, and the nurse finally looked up and noticed her, but it wasn't long because she rolled her eyes, continuing to talk on the phone. Nico huffed and called out to the nurse again, and this time the nurse looked up at her, annoyed.
"Yeah, I am going to call you later. Yea, some brat just walked in, yea, apparently, we're a daycare, yea let me take care of it, ha bye," the nurse said, and Nico felt her eye twitch, wondering who this lady is and how she can be so rude. Then, as she hung up the phone, she rolled her eyes once more before addressing Nico, who was now annoyed.
"What do you want, kid?" The nurse asked rudely.
"Well, what I want is for you to change the attitude, lady," Nico spat back, matching her attitude.
"You better watch your tone, kid. I'm an adult," The nurse said.
"Really, because I don't see it," Nico stated. The nurse paused, beginning to glare at a smirking Nico.
"You know what," The nurse barked.
"What," Nico responded with the same aggression. The nurse shot up from her chair, and before she could answer, a deep voice interrupted them.
"What is going on over here?" The voice boomed cause the nurse to jump and Nico to slightly wince. The nurse snapped her head toward where the voice came from, and her eyes widened in panic, and she started to fix herself up. Nico watched this lady trying to make herself more attractive and failed to do it in her eyes. Instead, he stood in between both ladies switching his gaze from the nurse to Nico as they both stood there.
"So nobody is not going to tell me anything?" He said, huffing in annoyance.
"Greyson, I was helping this young lady out. You know that I love helping people," The nurse said, batting her eyelashes at him, trying to get in Nico's dad's favor. He looked over at Nico and waited for an answer from her.
"What is going on?" Greyson said, turning to Nico.
"I was looking for you," Nico said, looking at her dad.
"And what did I do to have my daughter grace me with her presence ." He said, rubbing his chin.
"Your daughter?" The nurse asked.
"Yes, my daughter," Greyson said. The nurse snapped her neck toward Nico in shock, and the teenage girl, looked back at the nurse feeling a smirk form on her lips, as she watched the nurse break out into a cold sweat as she realized her mistake.
"So what's up, honey," Greyson said, and Nico lifted the bag at him.
"Dinner, remember, I said that I was going to bring it to you," She said, reaching inside the bag, pulling his dinner out of the bag before giving it to him.
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, it was hectic a little today, but I am glad you came. I was starving. What would I do without you?" Her dad happily said, taking the dinner from her.
"You probably would end up a cranky mess," Nico replied to her dad crossing her arms. Her dad patted Nico's head, turned towards the nurse, and noticed that the nurse was white as her uniform.
"Ms. Stacey, are you alright," He asks, concerned. She looked at Nico's dad and back at Nico before staring at her lap and nodding her head.
"Well, my job here is done. I gotta go before I get in trouble for being late," Nico said, turning on her heels and started walking towards the exit.
"Okay, be careful and text me when you get home after work. Love you," Greyson called out.
"Will do. Love you too," Nico turned back to her dad, replying to him before turning back to the exit walking out until she was out of her dad's view.
Working at the bookstore was a job that Nico could never complain about. It was a cozy building that all the introverts go to, and there was never a problem, which Nico liked so much. Sure, sometimes, customers gave her a hard time, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. The store was busy a little today, but it was nothing Nico couldn't handle. After the last customer left, Nico sighed and reached under the counter, grabbed the spray bottle and towel, and cleaned the counter.
"Hey Nico," Nico hear her boss call out.
"Yes, Mr. Davis," Nico said, turning to where his voice came from. Mr.Davis pokes his head out from behind one of the bookshelf, adjusting his circular blacked-rimmed glasses on his face.
Mr. Davis was a short older man in his sixties. His hair was grey and receding who ran and owned the shop; he was a very reasonable boss and always looked out for Nico, knowing the girl ever since she was little. Nico moved here when she was in the fifth grade, and she stumbled across the book store and met Mr. Davis when she wanted to check out a book that no five-year-old could read. She would always show up every week with a new book to read, and Mr. Davis would always give her a book that would challenge her and that she would enjoy. That has been going on for years until one day she came to him asking for a job, and he gave it to her without hesitation since she knew the book store just as he did, and she and Mr. Davis have been closer than ever.
"Can you do me a favor and grab that box next to the counter and bring it to the back?" Mr. Davis asked. Nico walked to the box on the ground in front of the counter. She picked it up and placed it on top of the counter with a heavy thud. Nico opened the box, looked inside, and tilted her head in confusion.
"Books?" Nico questioned. Mr. Davis walked out from behind the bookcase and walked up to Nico, adjusting his glasses again before looking inside the box.
"These books have been here for a while, and it is time to recycle the worn and damaged ones." Mr. Davis said.
"Aw, that's a shame," Nico said. The old man fell silent, pulled his glasses off, and started to clean them.
"Well, if you want, you are more than welcome to take a book that catches your interest." Mr. Davis said, placing his glasses back on his face give the teenage girl a small smile.
"Really, are you sure, Mr. Davis?" Nico asked Mr. Davis, and he shrugged his shoulders.
"Yea, why not? It is better to have a home for some of them than throwing it in the bin," Mr.Davis said.
"Thank you so much," Nico happily said.
"No problem. Feel free to look after you bring it in the back," Mr. Davis said, walking back to the bookshelf.
"Okay," Nico said, beaming at the old man.
"Thank you, and when you are finished with that, you can clock out and be finished for the day," Mr. Davis said before disappearing back into the bookshelves.
Nico grabbed the box, lifted it with a slight huff, and headed to the back room. She took small caution steps because she had no idea where she was going. After making her way to the backroom, Nico raised her foot, pressing her foot on the door, and she gave it a light kick before putting more force on the door kicking the door open. Nico stepped inside with her view still obscured, waving her foot around to get a feel of where she was going. Even the detailed steps she took didn't help because Nico's foot got caught onto another large box, and she lost her footing and fell over, causing the box in her arms to fall out, hitting the ground alongside her with a loud thud, and all the books inside the box came out sprawling out on the floor. Nico pushed herself off the ground sitting on her heels, rubbing her wrist, wincing in pain, looking back at the box she tripped over. Nico crawled over toward the box, opening it, seeing that it was just more books. Nico sighed, holding her wrist, looking down at it, noticing that it was red, and she pushed the pain away, leaning over, and started picking up the books that were lying on the ground and putting them back into the box. As she was putting the book away, Nico noticed a book that was off to the side that stood out. Nico tilted her head, reached for the book, picked it up, and examined it. The book's cover had a dark brown leather texture worn out and had a long black string holding the book close. Nico unraveled the string holding the book together, slowly opening it and hearing the book crackle open with dust falling off it. Nico coughed at the dust she inhaled, and she held back another cough and started to flip through the pages. Each page was filled with writing, and some of the pages had some sketches that covered the whole pages and with notes written in red, looking a bit messy. The more she looked through it, the more her curiosity rose because she wanted to know where this book came from and who wrote it, but her thoughts were interrupted when she heard her boss calling for her with worried laced in his voice.
"Hey, you okay in there, Nico." Mr. Davis said on the other side of the door.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay. I just tripped over a box," Nico said.
"Okay, well, I'll be in the front closing the register," Mr. Davis said.
"Okay, I'll be out in a second," Nico said and heard Mr. Davis walking away. Nico closed the book back up and wrapped the string back around the book, throwing the remaining books that were laid out in the ground back in the box before scrambling to her feel hissing in pain when she leaned onto her bruised wrist. Nico rubbed her wrist and started walking towards the door and grabbing her bag and her helmet hanging on the hooks next to the door throwing the bag over her shoulder before grabbing hold of the door, pulling it open, rushing out of the backroom. Mr. Davis counted the money from today's sales at the counter, and he noticed Nico walking out of the back room with a book tucked under her arm and her helmet in her unbruised hand.
"You injured your wrist?" Mr. Davis said, placing the money down.
"Yeah, I landed on it, funny, but it will be fine. I just have to ice it," Nico said.
"I suggest you ask your dad to take a look at it because it is looking a bit swollen," Mr. Davis said.
"I would if he was home," Nico grumbled.
"He is working another double?" Mr. Davis said.
"Yeah, someone called out, so they asked him to fill in for them," Nico said, walking up to the counter. Mr. Davis hummed and picked the money back up and started to count again. Nico watched Mr. Davis for a bit before letting out a sigh and started to make her way to the front door.
"I see you found a book," Mr. Davis said, stopping Nico in her tracks. She turned back to the old man walking back to the counter showing the book to him with a big smile on her face.
"Sure did, but can I ask you where you found this book," Nico asked. Mr. Davis stopped counting the money again, looking up at the girl then back at the book, before he shrugged his shoulders and with back to counting money.
"Don't know, kiddo, I've had this shop for years, and throughout the years, a lot of people donate a lot of books, and if I remember everyone who donated a book, we would be here all day," Mr. Davis said.
"I see. Can I ask you something else?" Nico asked Mr. Davis.
"Is it more about this book because I know nothing about it?" Mr. Davis asked in a slightly cold tone, and Nico looked at him with an odd look, and she only shook her head no.
"Do you think I can get this Saturday off, please?" Nico asked, and Mr. Davis stopped counting and thought for a moment. Nico looked around awkwardly, waiting for his answer, taking longer than usual.
"Yea, I don't see why not. You work really hard, so I think you deserve the day off," Mr. Davis said, shrugging his shoulders and resume counting his money. Nico let out the breath she did know she was holding in.
"Thank you," Nico said.
"No problem. Do you have anything else you want to ask me?" Mr. Davis said, finishing up counting his money, putting it back in the draw, and writing down what he counted.
"No, sir," Nico said, and she watched Mr. Davis reach underneath the counter, grabbing a metal box, placing it on the counter, opening it up, putting the money inside.
"Okay, well, I am going to close everything up," Mr. Davis said, closing the box and tucking it underneath his arm, walking around the counter, and leading Nico towards the front door holding it open. Nico stepped outside and turned back around to face Mr. Davis.
"I'll see you next week, Mr. Davis," Nico said.
"See you, Nico, and enjoy the rest of your week and make sure you get that wrist checked," Mr. Davis said.
"I will. Thanks," Nico said before proceeding to her towards her bike.
She opened the book one more time and flipped through a couple of pages, trying to find out who this book belonged to. Nico skims a couple of pages and couldn't find any clues to who this belongs to, but she did know one thing this book had a story to tell. Nico walked up to her bike and looked at the book one last time before sliding it into her bag. Before getting on her bike and starting to head home, the closer she was to her house, the more excited she was about reading this book, but little did she know that this book contained dark secrets that should never have been discovered.