I have until six tonight to kill time, which means one thing; Dunkin' and Barnes & Noble. I pickup my drink; a large hot black tea with almond milk and extra sugar, and a breakfast consisting of a lemon filled and strawberry frosted.
I munch on my donuts, dusting off the stray powdered sugar and crumbs from my clothes before getting back in the car. I find myself watching the Canton streets. It's been a while since I've been to my hometown. Ten years to be exact. My family moved away after I graduated high school, so I never had to come back. Seeing the places I had spent as a kid sends spikes of panic
through me. Finding a parking spot, I take several deep breaths before pulling out my phone, my husband and daughter smiling up at me from the screen. Emmett's hazel eyes complement his olive skin, dark brown hair falling in loose waves on his forehead. One dimple is paired with his lopsided smile, something our daughter inherited from him. Clementine is wrapped in his arms, dark hair curling around her shoulders. Her green eyes match mine; or more accurately my sister's, as she was the surrogate. Emmett and Clementine never fail to calm me down, even if only from a picture. Even when I'm mad at him. Or he's mad at me.
Inhaling, I'm put at ease by the smell of books lining the shelves. God, this tea is fucking good. On a rainy day, there is nothing better than books and tea. I find my way to the mystery and thriller section, losing myself in the pages of different stories for a while until I hop sections, repeating the process. I take pictures of the books I like, making sure I won't forget them when I inevitably get distracted by another. It isn't until a familiar voice from the row over catches my attention that I come back to reality. A shiver runs down my spine. Meredith. I would recognize her voice anywhere, no matter the change the years have caused. One sentence from that voice and I am 16 years old again, crouched behind a dumpster, waiting for her to leave the school parking lot so I can go home in one piece.
"Found you."
Heart plummeting, I turn around to see an arm reaching towards me. I squeeze my eyes shut waiting for pain to bloom under my eye the way it did that day. I feel a light breeze against my cheek, my eyes popping open to see the hand drawing back with a book from the shelf behind me. All of a sudden I'm embarrassingly aware that I'm in a bookstore, not on the cold hard ground of the high school parking lot. Looking into the older face of my tormenter, I see confused eyes staring back.
"God, sorry to startle you. I've been looking for this book everywhere. Guess I was just looking in the wrong section," she says, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, apologetic yet simultaneously insulting.
"N-no problem," I reply, stumbling over my words a bit.
"Hey, you look familiar. Do I know you?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm Charlotte. We went to school together."
"Huh, I don't remember you. Well, are you in town for the reunion? We'll have a chance to catch up then. I gotta head out. Some shopping I need to do; gotta get ready." Meredith side-eyed me a bit, walking past me and towards the front of the store.
"Yikes." I can feel my heart palpitating in my chest, the arrhythmic ba-thumping making my head spin. That was only terrifying. I quickly buy my two favorites and head back to the hotel.