The Anatomy of a Broken Heart //Completed//

24. Santana

Word for Word Books was a tiny shop in the middle of town overshadowed by a Starbucks and a hipster soap boutique. It was so small, people always thought it was part of the boutique. A side entry for unloading merchandise. Moises really needed to make the shop sign bigger if he wanted to get more attention. But we got enough traffic to keep the store afloat. Secretly, I suspected he liked that only some people knew where his store was. As if only they deserved to shop there if they had the smarts to discover it was a different store.

Gregory was there which surprised me. Moises usually had only one of us covering the shop at a time. He sometimes dropped by to check on us or to do work in the back. I'd have asked Greg why he was there but I didn't care enough to do so. When he saw me, Greg asked if he could help me with anything. This hair was turning out to be more trouble than I'd bargained for.

"It's me Greg. Santana."

"Oh shoot. I didn't recognize you. You look beautiful." His thirty-year-old laugh lines deepened when he smiled at me.

Ugh. Greg was such a skeez. He had a scanner in his hand, twirling it around in his hand as he looked me up and down. I'd worn a modest scarlet long sleeve dress that fit loosely on my body and a pair of black leggings and lace-up boots that covered everything he wanted to get a peek at. He apparently got bored of me quickly enough and started walking back to the back.

"I'm doing inventory so you have to cover the front," he informed me and I trekked back to the front without acknowledging him. Shortly after I settled into the seat behind the register, Greg came out of the back to bother me. He leaned forward on the counter, his smelly breath almost making me gag.

"So Santana what are your plans for tonight?"

"As if Greg."

"What? I heard you're newly single."

"From who?" I demanded.

"This town is smaller than you'd expect," he said.

"From who Gregory?"

"Jasper came by and dropped off some of your things, asking me to give them to you when I saw you."

My heart sank to my stomach.

Liar. Jasper couldn't have done that. It surprised me that he even bothered to bring my things. Maybe he was hoping to see me...

"He said he'd come by again to drop the rest of your stuff off when you weren't working."

Or not.

He walked around the counter and ducked beneath, his head dangerously close to my thighs. My body shuddered involuntarily and I squirmed away from him. He struggled with something and finally managed to pull out a medium sized cardboard box and placed it on the countertop. It was taped but on the top, in black Sharpie, I recognized Jaspers frenzied scribbles: Santana's things.

That doesn't mean I'm single, Greg. It just means I'm not with Jasper..." it hurt to say his name... "anymore."

My breaths were coming in shallow and I couldn't feel the floor beneath me.

"Wait. You have a boyfriend already?"

"Yes," I tried to say but it came out as more of an exhale.

"Oh. Well I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Pretty girl like you."

I just nodded absently. He was still speaking but I'd lost the ability to hear. I needed to get out of there. I needed fresh air. Or air that wasn't polluted with the stink of Greg and his putrid words.

"I need to use the restroom. Cover me." I stumbled toward the back.

Elliot's words came back to me like an air deprived hallucination. Jasper's just spooked right now because of that Rosethorn kid. Don't do anything stupid. He needs you, Santana.

His words had given me hope that Jasper had just overreacted. That he'd come back soon. But instead of sounding like a desperate groupie, I kept my cool and told him that whenever Jasper was done being frightened, he could come talk to me, and in the meantime I'd be with my new boyfriend. The shock in Elliot's eyes had been almost comical. What an idiot I'd been. Elliot must have gone and told him I was with Caleb and he must have gotten pissed. This whole stupid plan had blown up in my face.

Elliot was a sweet kid who always kept Jasper in check. Whenever Jasper wasn't doing to hot or was partying too hard, he was there to help me take care of his brother. We'd grown close over the years, so I understood his sense of betrayal.

Finally, I managed to find the ladies' and turned on the faucet, running my hands under the cold water. I took a deep breath and then another, fighting against the vertigo.

Pull yourself together, I chastised. Nothing was 100 percent until it was. For now, I had to keep to the plan. Besides, my motives were still binary. Ginger had to get what was coming for her and I wasn't going to spoil a chance for revenge.

I got out of the bathroom, my mind swimming with vitriol, giving me the push I needed to get through these few hours next to the detestable Greg. When I returned to the front, Greg was gone, thankfully. The rest of the shift went by slowly, with only three customers coming in. while I waited for it to be five, I dug around through the box Jasper had brought. There were a few items of clothes, including a bra that I quickly tucked into the bottom of the box before gross Greg could see it and make one of his idiotic comments. There were basic toiletries too and a necklace I thought I'd lost.

Jasper had given it to me for Christmas last year. He said he'd bought it but I was sure he'd jacked it from somewhere. It didn't matter though. The pendant that hung from the gold chain was a tiny flower about the size of a grain of salt. It didn't have some deep significant meaning. He never called me his flower or said I looked like the most beautiful flower...it was just a necklace. But it was from him and it was perfect.

I took the chain and hung it around my neck, just as the bell on the shop door opened and Moises came walking in.

"Hey, how'd it go?"

I told him that a few people had come in and that Greg was still in the back. He let me go then, promising me I could come in on Wednesday at five because he'd be gone then too.

"Greg won't be here will he?" I tried being casual, but his eyes narrowed.
"Why?"

"Just curious."

"No. he should be done with inventory by Monday. If not, I may ask you to help him." He studied my face for a reaction, but I managed to keep it straight.

"Okay. I'll see you then."

He only nodded and I took my box and my purse and exited the shop into the dark evening.

The drive home was quick and I managed to get inside without dad or Maria noticing. I needed some time to reset and recharge before I had to face everyone at Zealand's tonight. I had half a mind to text Caleb and call the whole thing off, but I remembered I still had to go to his dad's fundraiser crap next week. That should be fun.

If I was going to face tonight with any semblance of composure, I was going to need a little help. From my dresser drawer I pulled out the little plastic baggie I'd used the other day. It had enough for a two lines so I tucked it into my purse to take to Zealand's. No way was I going to this party sober.