Me before you

chapter 8

The bell above the jewellery store door chimed as Sana pushed it open. She had to awkwardly hold it with her shoulder to wheel Y/n through.

Inside, the air was thick and musty and smelled like window cleaner, but the wooden shelves and glass cabinets were stocked with fine chains of silver and gold, ornate charms, glinting gemstones all the colours of the rainbow set into a dozen different metals. Sana pushed Y/n into room, their usual sound of rumbling wheels and clicking heels muffled by the carpet. She breathed in.

“So,” Sana asked, squinting around the shelves. “What exactly are we looking for?”

Beneath the mess of black hair, she saw Y/n’s shoulders half-shrug. “Something good.” She frowned. “You can let go and look round if you want, I’ll power this monster by myself.”

“If you insist,” Sana let go of the wheelchair handles, folding her arms over the chest of her blouse and taking a few steps closer to one of the display cases. “What do you think your mother would want?”

“An apology, probably,” Y/n muttered, so low under her breath Sana almost didn’t hear. “Or a different daughter.”

Sana knew she wasn’t supposed to have heard, so she bit her lip instead of saying something. The words burrowed into her chest anyway, twisting painfully. She knew that feeling. She’d been there her whole life. She frowned. Thoughts about her parents kept popping up lately. They were like land mines, buried everywhere. She pushed the latest away before it could explode.

Y/n pressed one of the wheelchair buttons, going over to peer through the glass of another cabinet. The chair made a mechanical whirring noise as it moved. Sana glanced at her, watching the slight furrow between her brows. The air suddenly felt too thick. She should change the subject. Lighten the mood. Today was supposed to be a cause for celebration after all, Y/n asking to do things again.

Sana cleared her throat. “You must know something. Or are you really so bad at paying attention?”

“No, I’m just terrible at presents.” Y/n admitted honestly. “I’m pretty sure my last girlfriend dumped me cause I got her a box of Nerds for Valentines Day.”

Sana made an incredulous noise in the back of her throat. “I try to be understanding, Y/n, I really do, but I don’t blame her.”

She made a mental note that Y/n had said girlfriend instead of boyfriend. She’d suspected, but she made a point of remembering anyway, to avoid any awkward mishaps in the future.

“Nerds are a great gift!” Y/n protested. Almost enthusiastic. It spurred Sana’s plan on. Almost. “They’re cute, they’re fun. They were her second favorite candy…”

“Not even her favorite?” Sana raised her eyebrows, glancing over a rack of cheap birthstone key chains. “You monster.”

“Her favorite was, like, Swedish!” Y/n muttered defensively. “It was really hard to find.”

“Okay,” Sana muttered, faux-unimpressed. She nearly had to fight a smile at the louder, enthused tone of voice the woman had used. Every day she seemed to say another word like that, instead of the frustrating low monotone she seemed to exclusively use when Sana had first started.

She brushed her fingers absently over the glass of one case and tried to see past her own reflection. The connotations in the way Y/n had said last girlfriend, as if there just couldn’t be any more were stuck in her head. Her eyes narrowed at the thought. Dear god. Why did every one of their conversations leave her wanting to change the subject?

“What about a bracelet?” Sana suggested. “You could get one those Pandora ones with the charms. Perhaps your father could buy her a charm to go on it. That way you’d be involving everyone.”