Happy Hope (Book Two)

Chapter 12:

I could point out exactly what it was that I hated about the customer. It wasn’t her long blonde hair, her dark green eyes, her tanned skin or even the jeans that looked like they’d been put through a shredder. I could smell her strong lavender perfume from where I was standing two meters away from her. It was that smirk on her face telling me that she’d gotten the reaction she came to get. Her face had smugness written all over it, the sparkling eyes, the stupid grin. It made me want to push her over.

            “Hi Hope,” her overly sweet voice greeted me. My stomach tensed up at her words. She acted like nothing had happened and that everything was just fine and dandy. It wasn’t.

            “Hi,” I said and then after three seconds, “now bye.” I slammed a box onto the counter it was labelled with our address and ‘Plain Truth/Jodi Picoult’.

            “Still holding a grudge I see,” she stated before scanning her eyes around the store scrutinising every crevice of it like there was a bomb hidden. “What a, uhh, cute store.” I stabbed the knife into the tape, which kept the box sealed.

            “Hope! You have a special delivery at the back door!” Amelia called out happily and I could imagine the sparkle in her eyes.

            “Great you come deal with this thing and I’ll take care of that special delivery,” I said walking to the back of the store forgetting about the box with a knife sticking in it. The thing followed me and my jaw was tight eyes were filled with hatred. I wished I could stab the knife into her because she was like a fly on a wall that I couldn’t hit away.

            “Wow!” Louis stated. “Who ran over your cat this morning?”

            “Oh please no,” Amelia whimpered.

            “Hey Amy!”

            “Daniella it has been five years. It’s Amelia,” she said firmly.

            “But Amy was such a good nickname!” she pouted and I rolled my eyes.

            “Yeah but some bitch I used to know gave it to me,” Amelia retorted.

            “Am I missing something?” Louis asked thoroughly confused. His eyes were switching from me to Amelia questioningly. Amelia gave me a look saying ‘explain later’, Louis saw it to and discretely nodded.

            “I thought you had an interview?” I asked ignoring the question and slumping my shoulders in Louis’s direction.

            “Well, yeah but it finished early so I thought I’d pop in…”

            “Oh that is adorable!” Daniella exclaimed and I cringed.

            “I told you to leave,” I told her stiffly, my fingernails were digging into the back of my hand, my back was as straight as a pole.

            “Oh but I was just getting started!” she pouted again her eyes wide trying to be innocent.

            “There is nothing to start.” I started to walk away but then froze at her words.

            “So how’s my soon to be nephew?”

            “You don’t get to ask about Connor,” I said fiercely whirling to face her.

            “Why, I’m just concerned?”

            “Well you didn’t seem too concerned five and a half years ago when you and my dear brother drove me to an abortion centre!” I yelled at her, my anger finally getting the best of me. My fists unclenched at the outburst and my shoulders relaxed. Daniella’s mouth popped open a little bit in surprise but her face remained pretty much the same.