Fallen

Nightmare in The BookStore

Chapter 9

Ana
~*~

          For the next few hours I sit at the bookstores front desk, listening for any movement from Rebecca upstairs but I can't hear anything. The store has been completely dead since I've arrived.

          Rebecca is starting to worry me now, so I climb the stairs and knock on the door. No answer. I try to push it open but it's locked. Ok, this is starting to weird me out. I step back and walk down the stairs confused.

          I quickly close up the shop, I call Rebecca's name through her door and try to open the handle but she just shouts in answer from inside her flat and insists she doesn't need anything, telling me to go on lunch. I ask whether she's okay and she assures me that everything is fine and that she only has a headache. With that I run to the cafe to grab my lunch and I pick something small up for Rebecca too, in case she feels like eating something.

          Once I return, I knock on her door but get no answer so I figure Rebecca must have fallen asleep so I let myself in and pop a sandwich on her coffee table. 

          I walk downstairs and once I finish my own lunch, I continue to put out the latest delivery of books.

          It's been extremely quiet today but that's probably because it's just started to hail down outside, covering the pavement in a river of water.

         I struggle on the last shelf that just happens to be at the top, so I have to stand on the furthest step up on the wonky ladder. When I finally place the last book on the shelf, the bell on the door rings.

          I turn around to face the customer on top of the ladder and catch a glimpse of dark black eyes. I squint as my foot accidentally leaves the top step. My eyes widen as I feel myself fall. The air whips past me as I try to cling onto a shelf.

          "Whoa!" The customer runs over and catches me as I land in his arms. I meet his gaze and I'm completely for words. Loki.

          I just can't quite believe that he's caught me. Not only that, but I can't quite believe I fell in the first place.

          "Thanks." I finally say as I scramble out of his arms.

          "Are you okay?" He asks.

          I nod my head way to frantically as I feel completely flustered by his appearance. Why does he always seem to appear when I'm falling off of something?

          He raises an eyebrow at me and once he's certain that I haven't injured myself in anyway, he leans against the bookshelf, clearly amused. I quickly adjust my clothing and brush the dust off from my trousers that has somehow formed from all the old books. I look up at Loki and then the questions start to hit me, why is he here? It's not like I would expect him to be hanging around an old bookshop in his spare time, he just doesn't seem the type.

         "Can I help you something?"

          He smiles that cheeky grin of his and walks over to one of the shelves, running his fingers over a spine of an old Latin dictionary.

          "What are you doing, tonight?" He asks.

          "I'm busy." I quickly fire back and pick up a few more books from the desk.

          "Doing what?" Loki frowns.

          "I don't think it's any of your business what I do in my spare time." I reply, narrowing my eyes.