Mr. Rockstar is Sold

Ch-32 ★Tangled

Ch-32 ★Tangled

Shell Gas Station, Galveston

          I’ve never been a morning person for as long as I can remember. Drake better be grateful that I’m taking over this shift because if it were someone else I’d probably shoo them off the instant they mentioned the ‘m’ word.

  The morning was grey- the first crack of dawn just about to make its appearance. If I stared at the sky long enough, I would be able to see the sunlight spilling over the edge of the horizon.

          I turned the steering wheel and pulled my second-hand Chevy truck into the parking-lot of the petrol pump. The petrol pump was relatively small compared to the other ones I’ve seen here.  There were only two petrol stations and one shack sized store at the corner.

          I cut the engine and stepped out on the uneven gravel. My boots made empty clacking sounds as I walked to the store’s entrance. The door was unlocked. Martha must already be here.

          Ring-ring the bell above the door sang. I had guessed right. Martha was standing at the back of the store with her back facing me. By the looks of it, she was arranging the soda bottles in the fridge.

          She was a tall middle-aged woman with a slender frame. Even though she appeared to be weak, she was dead strong. I’ve seen her lift the supply crate without any carts. She has a really sharp voice. One word and she’ll have you sweeping the floors clean. She reminds me of those military trainers they have at boot camps.

          “Allie, will you go grab the trash bags? They’re lying on the counter,” Martha spoke, not taking her eyes off the bottles of soda in her hands.

          “How did you know it was me?” I asked- half surprised, half awed.

“The sound of your boots- it’s a distinct sound. The leather is of fine quality. Not the kind you find here in Galveston,”

She turned to face me and smiled. When she smiled, which was rarely, she looked like an entirely different person. The way warmth would encase her features- it somewhat reminded me of mom.

I picked up the bags and walked to back to the store- nearly tripping on the packets of Crips scattered down the aisles.

“You have a sharp eye for detail, Martha. I’m impressed.” I placed the trash bag in her outstretched hand.

She shrugged her shoulders. With her other hand, she emptied the entire shelf of soda bottles into the bag.

I quirked an eyebrow in confusion. What was she going to do with all those bottles?

“They’ve gone bad. See,” She pointed her slim finger at the one the bottles neck. The soda had passed the expiry date.

I took the soda bottle from her hand. It was a bottle of root beer. As I far as I know, this thing was pretty popular here in Texas. It should have been sold-out before the expiry date.

“Strange. Why didn’t this sell?”

Martha shrugged her shoulders again. They rose under blue checkered shirt she wore. “The brand isn’t good. We Texas folks are pretty picky when it comes to beer,”

“Oh,” Was all I could say.

I helped Martha toss rest of the stock into the bag. When we were done, I quickly sealed the bag and let it fall to the store’s floor.

“Can I ask you something?”  Martha spoke, closing the refrigerator’s door with a gentle thud.

“Anything,”

Her eyes briefly flickered to my face before vacantly staring the fridge’s glass. The light reflected off the door. “Why did you leave London?”

My heart sped up at the mention of London. A strange gust of nostalgia took control of me.

“I was bringing the people I loved down.”  I replied honestly. It felt good to have that burden off my chest. I could breathe a bit easily now. “I nearly ruined my sister’s life-”

“So you left for their sake,” Martha completed my sentence.  “You thought if you left it would be easier for them. Am I right?”

I nodded.

           “Four years ago, my daughter committed suicide,” My eyes widened as I stared at Martha. She placed her hand on the glass- almost as if she would collapse without its support. “She thought it would be easier for us if she left the world. It wasn’t. Allie, every single minute, I yearn to hear my daughter’s voice again. In you, I see my daughter. I see the hopeless and sadness that consumed her.

          “Only God knows how much pain I’ve been through since my daughter’s death. If you think your family is happy because you left. They’re not. They’re probably blaming themselves for what you’ve done,”

          I stayed silent. No word seemed to form on my tongue. I placed a hand on Martha’s shoulder in the hope to ease her pain.

          Her shoulder sagged beneath my fingers.

“Think about it, will you?”  She looked at me-a glint of hope in her eyes.

          “I will,” I breathed out.  Honestly, I didn’t mean it. For the past year, I’ve thought about everything over and over again. All the puzzles pieces were in their places now that I was here. My family was doing great with Samantha by their side. Jay was better than ever. They don’t want me back, no- they don’t need me back.

“Good,” She smiled.

          I didn’t smile back. I don’t think I could.

“And the next to you call you mother, you might not want to use the store’s phone. Good thing I was the one who picked when your mother had called,”

          I stared at Martha for a minute or two- my mouth wide open. Did she know that I’m Aulaura Grey? No, she doesn’t. Not by the looks of it. She looked way too calm when she mentioned mom.

          “Sorry about that,” I muttered. “Did she anything?”

Martha shook her head. “Not much. She wanted you to call her back,”

          “Okay. Thank you,”

“No problem. I’ll be at the front desk if you need me,” with that she left me alone in the store.

          I watched her leave- my mind racing in all different direction.

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          Note:  I had to post something, anything. I was thinking of doing a spin-off from this book. It’ll be Samantha’s story from the start. I don’t know. Will you guys read it?

Updates? I don’t know. I’m on the other side of the world in a hotel with more problems on my plate than I can handle…

          Comment! Vote! Let me know what you think.