String of Fate

Chapter Twenty Four

I'd loved coming to this café since it opened six months ago. I always came after school for a couple of hours to get on with my homework and read for a little while before going home. Since it let me have a break from my family, who tended to get on my nerves. I also came on Saturdays to drink the gorgeous hot chocolate and read. Sadly, it was closed on Sundays. It helped that the owner, Logan, was handsome in my eyes, even if he was about ten years older than me. He was single, too. There was a tiny part of me that thought that maybe he could be at the end of my string even though I knew it was impossible.

"Good book?" Logan asked me. I looked up from the page and I nodded to him. He knew that I rarely spoke to anyone because I was really shy. "I thought so. Sorry but I'm about to close up. It's usual business hours on Monday though if you want to come in even though you're off school."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I completely lost track of time." I replied, quickly pulling together the last pieces of my homework and putting the book in my bag with everything in some sort of organised chaos. I zipped up my bag and swung it onto my shoulder, standing up with the motion. "I don't think that I'll be able to be here on Monday thought I'm afraid. It's my birthday, so, I don't know what my parents have planned. I'll definitely be back after school on Tuesday, though, so, I'll see you then, Logan."

"Hopefully, I'll see you Monday. If not, enjoy your birthday and I shall see you on Tuesday." Logan smiled to me. "Happy birthday for Monday."

"Thank you. See you then." I answered, heading from the café and almost bumping into my best friend, Kat. She lived close to me and, since she was only a few months older than me, we grew up being close to each other. She must have been heading home from the local shop. "Oh, hey. You heading home?"

"Yeah. Want to walk together?" She questioned, linking her arm through mine without waiting for a reply. We started heading in the direction of home. We were quiet for a moment. "You're worried about your string, aren't you? Don't worry about it. Your birthday isn't until the day after tomorrow. I mean, mine still hasn't turned up yet, so, we both know that it doesn't matter when the string appears. You know that the person on the other end will be perfect for you. Just let nature take its course and pick the right person for you."

Since we had already reached home, she unlinked our arms and placed a kiss on my cheek before heading into her home. I then headed into my house, thoughts playing about on my mind. My parents told me that I was just in time for tea and I was in a world of my own throughout the whole thing.

I kept thinking of a bunch of things for the rest of the evening. Did I want Logan to be at the end of my string? What if someone else was linked to me for an eternity instead? It wouldn't be so bad if it was Kat. What if it was someone in my school? There were still a few people who didn't have strings yet, but for some reason I didn't want it to be any of them. I didn't even know who I wanted at the end of my string.

For Sunday, I kept thinking over who could be at the end of my string, even if I didn't know who was at the end of it. I was really hoping that it was Logan, but I didn't even know if he would be. I didn't even know if I knew the person that was at the end of my string. I just worried that I wouldn't get on with the person. Was that even possible? Could I not get on with the person at the end of my string? I really couldn't stop worrying about it.

Finally, it was the bank holiday Monday. It was the day of my birthday. When I woke up, the first thing I did was check for a string, and sure enough, there was the red string tied around my finger. I didn't know who I wanted to be at the end of it, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to follow it, either. I thought about it for a little while, just lying in my bed and staring at the red string that was there.

In the end, I decided against following it but I knew that I could do nothing about it if the person at the other end decided to come looking for me. I would have to deal with whoever it was when they came. Until then, I felt like hiding in my house for the day. Hopefully my parents wouldn't mind.