Abominations (American Horror AU 3)

Chapter 19

"Chase? Can you please restock the bookshelves? We open up shop in another half hour."

"Ok, Julie."

Due to his deformity, Chase could not pick up the cardboard box with two hands like a normal person—instead, he kicked over the box, making it slide over the old, hardwood flooring of the occult shop. He tried to pick up a few books, and was able to put them into the upper shelves with no problem. However, as he progressed over the next fifteen minutes, he started dropping an increasing amount of books per lean down to the open cardboard casing. He tried to grab five books and hold them in his arm, but once they collapsed, a heavier one hit his foot and he winced, picking it up and angrily tossing it with frustration on the floor before collapsing to an Indian-style seating on the wooden floor.

He could feel his gray eyes welling with tears of sadness and hopelessness as he buried his face in his gloved hands, the light knit of the material absorbing his generously wet tears as he cried. He sobbed for a few moments until he glanced over a book title in the box. He sighed, reaching for it out of curiosity, and saw it clear as day—Gypsy Magic. Gypsy...the very word brought one person to Chase's mind; the witch from the swamp, Misty. She had become a very good friend to he and his sister, but to Chase, she was like a breath of fresh air; someone unique, someone special, as Julie had called him many times to boost his self-esteem. She was kind and heartfelt, healing up his chin when he fell on the frozen marsh the day his sister used her cryokinesis to solidify it. She was headstrong, able to effectively defend herself or others in a time of need. She was hospitable, which stemmed from her own loneliness, trusting of those she opened her home in the swamp to. Chase also loved the way her curling fair hair fell around her face, and how the feathers hung like ornaments near her ears. He adored how her blue eyes sparkled at him and his sister with friendliness. He admired the way she danced to Fleetwood Mac, spinning repeatedly and in a carefree manner as her signature shawl spun gracefully in sync with her movements. Misty was amazing in everyway, close to perfection…just a—

"Chase?"

Julie's voice broke Chase out of his daydream of Misty. He looked back quickly, still sitting on the floor with the book in his hands. Julie drew closer, the sound of her white crinoline-styled skirt swaying around her long legs as her booted feet touched the floor lightly with her walking.

"Are you alright?" she asked, leaning down to pick a few books he had dropped before collapsing into a brief episode of sadness. She placed them in the bookshelf and looked down at Chase, whose facial expression was blank, but his eyes smiled.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Thinking," he replied softly.

"Of?" she asked.

"Well…" He trailed off, bringing his knees up to him like a child. "What do you do when you like someone?"

"Huh? Someone special?" Julie asked.

"Yeah, like a girl. What do girls like?" he asked, his gray eyes curious and full of hope.

"Well, it depends," Julie replied, crouching down to meet him at eye level as she put in the remainder of the books needed for the job. "Who is the girl on your mind?"

"She's…f-f-f…" He had trouble saying the word, "fascinating. Blonde…very pretty."

"Eleonora?" Julie's inquiry sounded shocked.

"No, no, no" Chase replied. "I mean…uh…"

"Misty?" she asked, completing her twin brother's sentence.

"Yes! Her!" he smiled, his pearly whites radiating like a thousand suns on his handsome face. "I really like her. I want her to know, and I…I…" His mood seemed to morph from optimistic to hopeless, "I don't think she'll like me."