i opened the tiny door to Opal's Books and took my apron off the side hook on the wall. the store smelled of new books and dank cardboard. a new shipment. Great. Ruby the store owner was ripping open boxes and filling the empty shelves with book requests from a piece of paper on a clipboard.
"hey charlotte!' she called from behind another box.
"Hey ruby!" i called back rushing over to one of the boxes to try and help her. she smiled and handed me the clipboard. i started placing books in alphabetical order. As ruby told me thanked me and told me to lock up when i was done. only a few people came in to get their book orders which I hadn’t unboxed yet and had to go searching for. they left happily with their books and the money in the cash register. As I was bending over a box and filling as fast as i could I thought I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye. I ignored it. A sudden smell rushed up behind me. something put a hand on my shoulder. the shadow of the bookshelf covered his face as I turned around. I was so startled I started to scream. the man, looking no older than a teenager clamped a huge hard hand over my mouth. I didnt stop.
"Charlotte! It’s me!" Jason said laughing.
"What the hell!" I screamed at him putting my hand on his chest and pushing him away from me. I turned around and started to get over my hyperventilation. I turned back to him my hand on my chest still trying to calm my now over beating heart. He was still in the same spot his perfect lips pursed holding back a laugh. he was so cute I couldn’t even be mad at him! I smiled a little and he let out his laugh.
"Do I get to see you in action?" he asked rubbing his hands together as if I was going to perform a circus act.
"well only for the time it takes to unload and categorize 3 more boxes" I said smiling
"Cool!" he said. so i showed him how to organize them and check them off the list and run them through the system. We laughed and stocked more books than I ever had.
"Done!" I yelled to him from across the store where he was finishing his box.
“Almost done! I could use a little help!” he called back to me. I rushed over there to see Jason, his hands filled with books and even some historical novels between his legs trying to balance without letting them all tumble to the ground.
“Oh god” I said. I grabbed at least 7 books out of his hands and helped him off the ladder. “They should pay you for over time” he said
“They should pay you” I said looking at his now filled clipboard and empty boxes. “Thanks you’ve been a big help, I don’t think we have ever finished a new shipment that fast” I said giving him an approving smile. “So what do you want to do?” I asked him while picking up empty boxes and torn pieces of paper. When I tried to look at him I had to arc my neck just to get a glimpse of his face. “Wow you’re tall!” I exclaimed looking at his perfect face. He towered at least 8 inches taller than me. Then again anybody was taller than me.
“What do you want to do?” he asked raising his eyebrows.
“Well… I have to open the box for the book covers and leave a note for ruby but then after that I’m all yours!” I said.
"ok sounds good" I walked over to the counter Jason walking silently behind me and grabbed the exacto knife off the shelve and tried to open the box. The tape was thick and really sticky so I pulled harder on the knife. The knife slipped out of my hand and slid down my wrist. The blade sliced a deep cut into my wrist leaving a gruesome bright scarlet line across the front of my wrist. my pale skin turned even more pale with the loss of blood. Thick salty smelling blood poured down my wrist and into the floor. Jason ran over to me and with out speaking threw me down onto the small stool behind the desk. I let him do what he was going to do. I was in a base of shock everything seemed fuzzy and I was unaware of everything happening around me until the true pain came.
"dammit" i muttered as my vision begain to waver.
“charolette! You’re going to bleed out!” he yelled at me. I looked down at my red wrist. Blood was freely flowing from the wound. My head felt light and airy. The last thing I saw was Jason running toward me and trying to catch me. was I faling? I wasn’t sure until my vision gave out and I hit something really hard.
…………………………………..
My vision came back. Sort of. I could see the outline of Jason muscular body hunching over me and two other people wearing god awful red suits. I opened my eyes to find Jason staring squarely into my eyes.
“Hey, how about no more knives for you ok?” he told me his half smile held pounds of worry.
“I’m fine. Wipe that look off your face. Just a little cut.” I said and tried to fake a convincible smile without throwing up.
“I don’t know what your definition of fine is but it doesn’t qualify for mine.” He said lifting up my bandaged wrist. The middle of my arm was wrapped in white gauze and a fresh pink stain rose to meet the surface of the brilliant white.
“Totally fine” I said getting up feeling a little dizzy.
“Umm Charlotte I don’t think you should….” I cut him off mid sentence.
“I’m fine don’t worry about me” I said flashing him a grin.
“Sure….” He smiled and then let go of me. I staggered and was forced to sit back down on the mini couch.
“Nice” I said kind of mad now.
“Let’s just go home, where are my keys?” I asked looking through my pockets. And there they were bright and shining the VW sign almost frowning while being held in Jason’s huge hands.
“I’ll drive, thanks guys but I think were fine now” he said to the ambulance people or whoever they really were.
“lets go gimpy" he said laughing to himself and smirking. I got up and started walking but had to balance myself on the counter to keep from falling over. Jason looped around and picked me up like a sack of potatoes.
“oh my god put me down! Now!" I scolded him. He just kept smiling, opened the door and licked up. He carried me like I was as light as a feather and I wasn’t I was 128 pounds of dead weight. Urgh!.
Sometime after I got into his car I drifted off into sleep my arm still throbbing. The next thing I knew I was in my bed under my covers and in my pajamas. I wasn’t wearing my pajamas to bed, and Jason was staring at me.
“What the hell happened to my clothes? You didn’t….” I looked at him accusingly though the thick darkness of my bedroom. I wonder how late it was.
He put his hands up in the air in defeat. “Whoa! Whoa whoa! No! You dressed yourself. Don’t you remember?” I didn’t. I don’t even remember how I got home. He walked over to my bedside and whispered to me, his sweet breath tickling my ear. I must have looked puzzled and confused.
“good night Charlotte” he said putting a bottle of pills on my nightstand. “Two in the morning, one in the afternoon ok?” he said kissed my forehead and went to my window. He unlocked it and stepped out into the cold night air. Taking his beautiful face with him and away from me.
