Hayley
A week had gone by since the weird incident involving me scaring that guy. I mean, my appearance is dishevelled at the best of times, but I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm some kind of monster! I can't stop thinking about what happened, and I know it shouldn't be a big deal, he could have just been on some sort of drug or something - yet I can't shake the feeling that he was genuinely afraid. The shock in his eyes was so clear, it was almost as if their sky blue colour had darkened - drastically - signalling the approach of a storm. He must have been really affected by what I said - which to me was just a throw-away comment...
I arrive at Crossroads at 9am to begin my shift and greet Grace as I enter the staff room. The staff room was the smallest room in the shop, consisting only of an old leather sofa, an armchair and a flickering lampshade. It was situated at the very back of the building, hidden from view of the customers. Upon arrival, I was asked to immediately go to the finance office, where Josephine and Dan were slaves to their computers.
"Hayley, honey, do you mind making a run to get us some coffee? The machine's broken and we can't afford to get a new one just yet." Josephine sighed, clearly exhausted.
"Throw a couple bagels in there, will ya?" Dan remarked with a cheeky grin, trying to make light of the tiring situation he was in.
"Sure thing, I'll be back in a bit." I responded with a reassuring smile.
I left the store and made my way to the nearest Starbucks. As I entered, the smell of freshly ground coffee beans and sweet pastries swirled around in my nostrils, leading me to feel a small grumble from my stomach. I ordered what everyone wanted (I also may or may not have ordered a croissant for myself), only then realising the struggle I'd have trying to bring all the stuff back.
As I waited for my order I glanced around the shop, noticing the pictures of (what I presumed to be) Italian cobbled streets and smiling caffeine addicts decorating the wall...
"Ow! Oh my god."
I turned around and saw a distressed young mother with a push chair, who had managed to spill her coffee all over her pastel green cardigan, whilst still trying to keep the push chair upright. My gaze then shifted to meet a pair of crystal blue eyes. It was him - the boy from Crossroads. The boy from Crossroads that deliberately bumped into this woman, making her life even harder than it already seemed to be.
Memories of the previous embarrassing incident flooded into my mind as his gaze locked onto mine. Instinct took over and I rushed over to the woman with some napkins -
"Order for Hayley."
Crap. I hurried to get the order as I noticed him walking away, or rushing away, should I say. I wanted to catch up to with him and confront him. I had to find out what I did that was so terrifying.
I burst through the door with immense struggle, as I was trying to balance the large quantity of snacks and beverages in my arms.
Scanning the street, I found I became lost in the crowd, any image of the boy would have been a simple blur.
With a sense of loss I made my way into Millennium Park. I could easily make up an excuse for being late back to work, because I wanted to take the long way back. I felt defeated. Then, rounding a corner I saw a familiar face sat on one of the carved wooden benches. All the things I had planned to say couldn't get to my mouth, as if they had been erased like words on paper.
"Um...hi. Can I sit here?" I noticed my voice quiver slightly, and I immediately felt embarrassed. He - once again - looked up, startled. There was a long pause, with his eyes scanning the area around me before answering.
"I guess..."
"Thanks." I took my seat on the bench, leaving considerable distance between the two of us (I didn't want to frighten him more than I already have, who knows what he's going through) Unsure of what to do next, I decided not to beat around the bush and came straight out with what I wanted to say.
"Are you ok? I mean - it's just that - well, I don't know. I saw you in the bookshop that I work at and you ran off when I tried to speak to you, and just now you spilled coffee all over that young mother and left without apologising and I don't know what it is about me that's so horrifying or why you were so scared or even why you were so rude just now but I - "
"Sorry."
"What?" I stopped in my tracks, only then realising how much I had rambled on and on to him. His voice was deep and had a cool tone to it, the kind of voice that ensured every word portrayed a specific emotion.
"I said I'm sorry. I wasn't scared, just... surprised. You wouldn't understand why."
His eyes sort of glazed over then, despite the soft look on his face. I felt as if I needed to lighten things up a bit, as I wanted to show him I wasn't - in fact - some sort of monster.
"I work in a bookshop. I've read thousands of stories and managed to understand all of them. I'm sure your story will be just as good." I remarked, with a smirk that was born from a bizarre mixture of comfort, humour and sarcasm, earning a small smile from him in return.
His eyes finally looked up to meet my own as he spoke once more
"I'm Ethan."
"And I'm Hayley."
It felt as if a large weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
A / N
I loved writing this part because we finally get some interaction between Ethan and Hayley! For me as a writer it feels as if everything is beginning to fall into place. If you enjoyed this part, please consider voting on it or commenting on the parts you enjoyed, so I can keep creating what you as readers want to read! I may consider doing a q&a if this book ever hits 500 reads, so please share the story with your friends/ followers!!
Amber <3
