Belonging - House of Goths 2

Chapter 1

Belonging - House of Goths 2

Copyright © 2016 by Maria Bernard ISBN: 978-0-9938067-4-2 (Wattpad Edition)

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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.

Chapter 1

When he had come into the shop weeks ago, Gwen couldn't stop staring. She couldn't believe her eyes or stop her heart from racing. The man might as well have stepped out of her many favourite historical romance novels. In fact, he could be any number of characters, from Heathcliff to Edward Rochester. For that matter, toss in Dracula for all the black he was wearing. Not to mention the pale skin, the long wavy black hair, and haunted grey eyes. In short, the man was breathtaking, all her Victorian inspired dreams-come-true in the flesh.

Often while standing behind the counter at Mathewson's Jewellers, the family-run business where she worked, she wondered how it all had turned out for him. He'd seemed so despondent if not jaded for lack of a better word. On the other hand, the girl he was with appeared so hopeful, so reassuring towards him. Even Gwen herself had gotten caught up in her enthusiasm. In truth, she recalled both she and Becky, as she had introduced herself, had practically ganged up on him at the time. Becky had painted such a wistful picture and Gwen couldn't help but fall under the spell of it. While Crispin, his name was, had looked on rather unconvinced the entire time.

In the end, Gwen had found the perfect gift for him to give the lucky lady in question. Gwen sighed every time she imagined it. The girl would have had to be a fool not to accept this gift. In fact, it was the most beautiful bracelet that Gwen herself had been admiring forever. It had arrived at the shop ages ago only to be ignored by the vast clientele. She'd become so enamoured with the simple little pewter bracelet. If only it was she he would have given it to. That man, that bracelet, together, it was all so very perfect.

Gwen couldn't believe it when he had run his long slender fingers over the bracelet sitting amongst the other sparkly gold and silver trinkets Becky had requested for a closer look. Gwen had placed it alongside the others in a last ditch attempt. With the slightest exchanges of eye contact with her, Crispin picked up the tiny pewter bracelet and twisted it around his fingers.

"This is the one," he said with a sigh before reaching for his wallet.

*** ***

Weeks later, while flipping through her many notes, Gwen found herself daydreaming about Crispin as she often did since that fateful day before Christmas. It was silly, really. She didn't even know much about him, not even his last name. Still, she couldn't help it. She wondered how it had turned out for him. No doubt, the lucky lady would have been thrilled with his gift. Hopefully, whoever she was would be appreciative of the bracelet for its delicate simplicity.

Oh, who was she kidding?

As much as she wanted to root for him as if he were a character in her books, a selfish part of her wanted him for herself. She wanted to claim the book boyfriend as her own, even at the expense of his broken heart. In her imaginings, she would be the true heroine who shows up near the end of the story and saves the broken boy from further heartache. If only real life could be as it was in her favourite books.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Gwen took a soothing sip of her earl grey tea. Break time was almost over and soon she'd have to return to the shop next door. For now, though, she was going to enjoy what time she had left by focussing on planning her dream holiday. A trip she so desperately wanted to take but had no idea how she would ever follow through.

How could she possibly get past her paralyzing fear of the unknown? She had thought that by taking such great pains to plan out every aspect of the trip, she would feel better about going. But as much as she tried to convince herself, she simply could not get past the idea of dealing with the airport, never mind flying itself. So much could go wrong! So many aspects to contend with. For someone suffering from Generalized Anxiety Disorder, the fear of the unexpected or unrehearsed was crippling!

If she could persuade one of her friends to go with her, it might make things easier, but, of course, none of her friends were interested in a trip to dreary old England. They would much rather go south to sunny all-inclusive resorts. Gwen understood that yet she had no interest in those types of trips. What she wanted most was England. She wanted to see the place that inspired so many of her favourite books.

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