"This is what she had become."
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Cleopatra Banks' last week in the small town of New Chelsea is nothing like she would have imagined it, but nothing could have prepared her for the stinging betrayal she's faced with and suddenly the prospect of...
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I spare a guilty glance at the shopping cart and cringe.
Then I turn my attention back to the credit card in my hand. How have I not managed to max it out yet?
I turn around and look at the stationery shop behind me, clutching the credit card tighter in my hands wondering if it's all worth it.
Yes, I reallyhave to do this.
I take in a deep breath and maneuver the heavy shopping cart into the shop, making sure to not bump into anyone. I do it so strategically, I even begin to wonder why my parents don't trust me with a car just yet.
This is my last stop, where the most important items on my imaginary shopping list are located. The shop is big, one half of it selling office and school supplies and the other half a whole array of books from novels to self-help and spiritual books.
And that's where I start off- the self-help section.
I'm not exactly sure what to look for or which books are trending at the moment but maybe something with the words reinvent and rediscover will help a lot. I scan over the covers, hoping something will catch my eye. No rediscover, no reinvent. Should I be looking for something else?
Before I can answer that question I see a flashing light go off behind me. I turn around only to find a petite girl with a perfectly trimmed bob and glasses snap a picture of me. Despite being caught in the act, she does so a few more times and then turns around to leave at a hurried pace, shaking her head as she does so.
I feel my cheeks warming up and adjust my top then pull up my jeans at the waistband as self-consciousness creeps in.
Creepy bitch.
She's probably going to send that picture to her petite lemon and cucumber water drinking friends on "the group" so they can all laugh at me while drinking lemon and cucumber water.
Deciding that I need to get the hell out of this shop before someone actually says something about the flab under my top or the size of my butt I grab the first three books I can find and throw them over the shopping bags I've accumulated so far. I maneuver the shopping cart behind the self-help books to get myself away from the entrance and find myself in front of a giant red banner that reads: Romance.
A smile makes its way onto my face immediately as all I can think of is a certain blue eyed brunette who's obsessed with anything Romance and Avengers related. She's all around me isn't she?
I look at the books in front of me that have been divided into different sub-genres and I feel a headache coming on just by looking at the myriad of covers. I'm not an avid reader.
I grab the first book I find and observe the front cover. It's a black and white cover with a faceless man's chest and veiny eight pack on display and a bright red lipstick stain on his chest.