Labyrinth 2: The Queen of Dreams

Chapter 9: The Front

Sarah

Sarah dropped the pile of dusty of old books on the ground, nearly dropping it all on Trevor's foot. "Whoa, are you okay Sarah? You're not the clumsy type," he said while crouching down to help her pick them up. "Oh yeah, I'm just exhausted today," she mumbled. She could feel him glancing at her every five seconds so she tried really hard not to make eye contact with him. Trevor was nice as far as she knew but she doubted he would be able to handle her rants about how a dream she had 7 to 8 years ago was haunting her till this day and seemed more real than her current reality.

"Okay...um so... Sarah...I..." he stammered while scratching his messy fluff of light brown hair. Sarah knew where this was going and quickly got up with the pile of books she gathered. "Trevor", she said with the most serious expression and tone she could come up with. He looked up at her, furrowed his brows and sighed before getting up with his own stack of books. "I'll go work the front, I think Mr. Pearson said something about categorizing donated books in a box somewhere here", he murmured while looking at the ground.

He placed the stack of books on the table and walked off to the front of the store. Sarah was relieved he got the hint. She had a talk with him a few weeks ago but he would still keep trying to ask her out on dates every now and then. She would feel guilty for turning him down so often, and sometimes even considered saying yes but she also knew the last thing she needed was a boyfriend, even someone as nice as Trevor. She could barely keep up with her handful of friends in college. It was a miracle they even bothered to contact her every now and then. How could she expect herself to have any sort of healthy relationship with anyone when her mental and emotional state was unstable? Plus healthy relationships required trust, communication and vulnerability, she couldn't possibly offer that to anyone.

Leaving her apartment and talking to people was exhausting, being vulnerable was out of the question because of her minds partial unwillingness to let go of that stupid crazy dream. She wouldn't wish the burden of being with her on anyone. With a sigh she started to look around the room for the box of donated books.

Sarah was glad Trevor volunteered to take the front. She hated dealing with the snobby new aged costumers who hung out inside the store. She would rather stay in the back and be surrounded by dusty second hand books. Mr. Pearson, her boss would occasionally make her work the front, claiming her "pretty face" would attract more customers. Old men were the absolute worse.

After a thorough search, Sarah couldn't find the box. "Dammit Trevor" , she whispered under her breath. She hoped this wasn't his way of getting back at her. She tried to look for the box again for another few minutes but nothing turned up. Just stacks of never ending books. She groaned and made her way out of the back room. She hated going to the front. If Mr. Pearson saw her ,he would make her switch places with Trevor.

As she got closer, she could hear the sounds of multiple voices clustered together along with the sounds of footsteps, ringing phones and a little bit of clattering. It was going to be a really busy day, just what she needed. She reached the entrance that connected the front of the store to the back. Trevor's back was turned towards her and it looked like he was handling a customer. Sarah thought about asking later and doing another search for the box but she knew if she didn't do it now Mr.Pearson would make her stay over night to get it finished. She rubbed her temples with her fingers and dragged her feet towards Trevor. She was about to tap his shoulder until she noticed the customer he was serving and her body refused to move.

The man's head was tilted to the side as he was scribbling something on a paper. He was wearing a stylish fitted black sweater over a dark blue collar shirt that outlined his lean upper body. His sharp angular features were highlighted by his pale skin and short blonde hair which was was slicked back into a side part.

It couldn't be , she told herself over and over again but at the same time she knew it was. She wanted to run but her legs felt heavy, weak and slow like she took root to the floor. Bursts of emotions and thoughts rushed through her brain. Fear. Anger. Frustration? Sadness? Regret?And happiness? Happiness!? What? Her eyes began to sting and her nose started to burn. "Sarah?" she heard Trevor's voice somewhere between the cloud of noises in the room. But she couldn't respond or look at him, her eyes refused to register anything but the strange man standing a few feet away from her. As if she called his name , the man looked up from his scribbling and mismatched eyes met hers.

Thank you _yolove and LovelyAmberLight!!!!!!!!! The names you guys chose were great!