Winona walked into her job at the bookstore downtown with sunglasses on her face and a loose long sleeve shirt. Most people questioned her attire for a scorching hot day in the middle of the summer but her coworkers knew no other Winona. Her wonky attire had become a part of her personality at this point.
Once she was behind the main counter she threw her bag onto the floor, clicking away at the computer until she found herself on the inventory screen. She was distracted today, constantly tugging on her hair or her shirt.
Ashton stood behind the counter with her, only a few feet away from her facing the other computer. He fidgeted where he stood, eyes trailing over to her.
"Winona."
She looked over to him.
He mocked squinted and shielded his face from the blinding lightbulbs. "It's so bright in here...do you have another pair of sunglasses you can spare?"
A small smile played on her lips before she locked it away, facing back to the screen. "You think you're funny."
"And you think the three dimly lit lightbulbs in here have the same wattage as the sun."
Her mouth formed into a tight line, eager to drop the subject. She found a single customer roaming the aisles and decided to hurry after the older man, offering her guidance for whatever he needed.
Ashton tapped his fingers on the counter as he studied her. She was truly an enigma to him at times, but he had known her long enough to know that right now, she was hiding something.
When she finally came back he said "Hey, do you know where we keep Where the Red Fern Grows? I can't remember."
She pursed her lips in thought before nodding in one swift motion. "Yeah, follow me."
He remained quiet as he followed a few feet behind her as she led him to the far back corner of the store, her delicate fingers running over the spines of old books until she landed on the one he had requested, pulling it out and handing it to him triumphantly. She went to step past him but he stopped her, placing the book back onto the shelf.
She frowned. "I must admit Ashton, this is one of your more elaborate schemes."
He reached for her glasses and slid them off her, eyes widening at the sight. She had a black and purple ring surrounding her left eye, and a faint yellow bruise beneath her right one. Ashton's eyes trailed down to her neck where the starts of bruises could just barely be seen past her collared shirt.
"Winona..." he breathed, trailing off as his face contorted in pure concern about her safety.
She snatched her glasses from him and folded them onto her shirt. "You're an asshole."
He allowed the insult to roll off him. "Who's doing this to you?" His eyes flickered down to her arms. "This is why you wear sweatshirts in summer? I thought you were just weird."
"Thanks for flattering me."
She stepped past him to go back to the front desk but his fingers latched onto her wrist, begging her to stay. She froze at his touch.
"Winona," he tried again. "Please let me help you with this."
Her heart was pounding inside of her chest, unable to focus on his words past the feeling of his hand holding her in place. Making her stay. He noticed her rigid stature and let go, the cloudiness in her eyes draining a little. She looked at him, loosely rubbing her wrist, and Ashton saw a vulnerable side to her he had never seen before, one that was begging for help. She quickly covered it up.
