For Her Undamaged (GirlxGirl)

15. Book Money

"Uh, three?" She hesitates and I stand up looking at the place that I mentally numbered 3, "You're lunch today is Subway so let's go before I buy you the entire fucking menu, you want Subway too?" If I don't offer to the best friend I might get another silent treatment. Carmen joined us and I bought us 3 sandwiches, plus drinks and cookies and chips. I was starving but instead of sitting down to eat I just told them we're going to walk and eat to that book place that Beans keeps mentioning, I don't think I've been to a book place other than a library but I still didn't read.

The sign on the window said no food or drinks but I walked in anyway taking a bite from one of my cookies, they both stood on the other side of the entrance blankly starring at me, "It says no food or drinks." Carmen points out, "And I say that's a shitty rule, I know how to fucking eat without getting crumbs everywhere." I roll my eyes turning my back to them continuing to eat, I looked around in the unfamiliar place seeing books stacked beside each other in different sections, they got a Starbucks in here, a children's reading area, a place for board games, and a shit ton of books. Multiple copies of books. Are we here for more book porn?

"We're done." Bailey dusts off her hands and I notice that they're empty handed, "We quickly finished our food." She explains taking my drink from me and I couldn't react before she walked away from Carmen and me, "I'll be in the horror section, knowing her she'll be in the young adult section for the entire time we're here so have fun." I feel a pat on my back and I sigh before following where Beans went. I stood at the opening of the aisle watching the blonde glance at different books while still sipping on my drink, well it was my drink but it isn't now. It's hers.

"What book are you looking for?" I ask taking a slow step forward as she shuffles down the aisle, there are so many books. "I'm looking for a couple by Colleen Hoover, then a few by r.h. Sin and there's a book that's called punk fifty-seven that I want to read too because it's gone viral." She didn't break eye contact from the shelves, books can go viral? "Look see here's one." She hands me a pink cover book with flower petals, "It ends with us?" I glance at Beans then back at the book, "Yeah it's about this girl named Lily that recently moved to Boston and she meets a very fancy doctor called Ryan and they start to fall in love but then her old love Atlas comes back into her life and it gets really interesting." She gives a summary.

"So you already read it?" I ask and she nods not taking it back, "Yeah but I want to read it again." She goes back to shelves, time goes by and I just followed Beans around the quiet place as she described her favorite books to me and with every title, she's said to me 'Pride and Prejudice is her all-time favorite, the same book that I saw on the lunch table the first time we actually talked. It seems to be a classic written by the very late novelist Jane Austen. "Can you hold this one too? Thank you." Another book gets stacked upon the rest that I'm balancing in one hand because my other is still holding my Raspberry cheesecake cookie from Subway.

A total of 10 books that reach my should while my hand is at my waist. At least the dead trees with tattoos are pretty light altogether and not the size of those atlases'. "You look like your having fun." I see a smirk play on Carmen's face as she popped out of fucking nowhere. "The best fucking time." I give a fake smile and her smirk drops, she's definitely been in this position before, that's what she said. They talk lowly to each other while I stand there fucking awkwardly. "Come on Skylar I going to pick the ones that I really want." She held the end of my flannel sleeve tugging me towards a group of empty tables, I let my hand down seeing the books scatter everywhere somehow all face-up. That was fucking dope.

I sat in one of the seats and Carmen got in one beside me while we watch Beans choose books to buy, "Do you have a job? I couldn't help but notice your card when you paid for lunch, what was it an American Express card?" She fucking knows what it is, why is she asking? She's trying to crack me down, find out more about me probably still trying to see if I am a serial killer. "Yeah I do have a job, a good-paying one so I need a good place to put my money and savings. My family has the Centurion card from American Express." I lie, we don't actually own the card, Sage stole it from investors and made it ours.

I still want him to teach me how to do the big stuff like that. "That's like one of the highest levels of credit cards, it's impressive to see an eighteen-year-old hold one, what's your job?" Again it isn't mine I don't make 6 figures. My job? My job. "I trade." I use a broad term eating my cookie, "Oh really, that's my family's business too." She smiles tapping her book with a big ass knife dripping with blood on the cover. That isn't concerning at all, Beans chose books about romance and healing and shit while Miss. Crazy over here has a book about murder. Bad news for me right? "What do your family trade?" I ask trying to keep the conversation light.

"Oh you know, general supplies for hospitals, gloves, masks, tweezers, scissors, scalpels. You know all of the important things." She really had to end with scalpels. I think she's a serial killer. "What about you?" She asks, I glanced at Beans just to make sure that she's still close to me. "I trade goods too, not drugs, supplies too but for tech companies, wires, monitors, tracking devices, and mousepads." That's just stuff that Sage has. "I hope it isn't drugs otherwise you wouldn't be around Bailey at all." If only she knew. "I wouldn't be around her if I were trading drugs." That's the truth.  "Okay I'm done, I'm choosing these books." We both turn our heads looking at Beans' excited face as she holds up 4 books.

"Cool let's go!" Carmen gets up rushing to the cashier and I take my sweet time standing up, "Wanna see what I got?" Beans comes up to me fans the books out in her hands, two Collen Hoover books, 'She drives me crazy' by Kelly Quindlen, and 'We are okay' by Nina LaCour. 2 straight books and 2 lesbian books, a little on the nose here Beans. "Can I ask you something?" I look away from the books making eye contact with the girl in front of me. "What is it?" I hate being asked questions. "How did you know that you were lesbian?" She asks, well shit.