3 : 0 0 A M

Prologue

The crunching glass under my worn dark green off-brand converse was anything but pleasing as the shattered shards reminded me of the shattered memories this place held. I looked around cobwebs and dirt littered the long-deserted coffee shop, the busted windows and graffiti showed how the place truly aged over the few years the building had been out of business.

My fingertips glided against the warped wood that had once been a front desk where the register still sat with only a penny to its name. I looked up where the once L.E.D. menu lit up with choices of sprinkled doughnuts, jellied buns, and tart coffee was served at my boring 6 hours at least shifts. I could still smell the faint bitter stale air while I waisted my time dancing around the empty café my playlist blaring on the overhead speakers.

I walked to the booth that held so many memories, it had seen it's fair share of heartbreak and rebounds but only had it seen a few memorable moments. My hands traced the old stitching and patches of other booths leather, the old thing held up but by the look of the deep cuts and slashes where it's stuffing was bleeding out its time was long over. My hand ran over the tabletop cracks littered the resin coating as I hummed some distant tune.

At the young and stupid age of 19 I worked here as many hours as I could, I lived with my dad he was a real piece of shit beating me and other horrible things. I at the time truly only lived for my sister she was an accountant in New York, she was able to get out before Dad got as bad as he did. He had been a sober man for 14 years vowed it when he married our stepmom but when she died I guess so did his vow, my sister, Ellie, had gotten out of the house a year after Dad started drinking again told me she couldn't deal with dad when he was like this so she left at first just out on the border of Atlanta then to a whole new state.

Understandably I was upset but I could also understand her side I wouldn't want to be around him either but I had to, I felt in a way obligated to be there for him as he had done me for years. So I stayed and I won't pretend that it was destiny or part of God's plan as I'm not particularly religious but I'm in a way glad that I did. I wouldn't have been able to experience all the fun adventures I had gone on.

I bit my tongue reminiscing about my long ever-changing shift from the early mornings to the very late evenings, though it became a regular occurrence for me to have the hours 10 pm to 3 am it was never set in stone. The first day I had gotten there I met who I would soon gladly call the mother i never had, Ellie. She threw me off at first her name belonging to that of my sister but looking and acting nothing like her. My sister was uptight, analytical, and a major drama queen, though in looks she was what some call gorgeous and to others, she looked like she belonged in children's books when they talked about their teacher or principal.

Ever since she had gotten her accountant job you would always find her in a white button-up with a tie and a pullover, for pants usually she just wore a knee-length pencil skirt and black or red fake leather heels. she kept her hair up and in height, she towered over me granted most people did due to only being 5'3. My sister was tan but we were both white as hell but my best friend had creamy chocolaty brown skin, she was also more my height about 5'5, she had long dyed pink hair that she tied into two buns.

She had a more easy-going complexion wearing a size too big sweater and pregnancy pants or mom jeans, and even though they threatened to fire her cause of her clothes she never listened, and eventually they grew tired and stopped pressing, now only asking her to at least wear her name tag to distinguish her as a worker. She complied and even started to wear doughnut sweaters to make her more obvious to customers, she was protective and uplifting calm sweet and an amazing listener.

She was never mean or snappy even to those who deserved it, which upset me cause some people would take advantage of her kindness more often than not I knocked those people on their ass but I made it clear to her that I can't keep punching everyone's teeth out.

I smiled only 4 years had gone by but it felt like a century ago, she was relatively the same yet now she was a fighter and I couldn't be any happier to call her my family. When I met her and told her how her and my sister, in fact, shared a name her only response was a shrug and a simple phrase, my lips formed the exact words she had told me all those years ago

"it's a small world"