Try {Emerson Barrett}

12

The cold winter chill bit at Emerson's skin as he walked the empty streets, pulling the green velvet coat further into his skin as he tried to absorb all of the heat the material had to offer. A midnight stroll was definitely not the best of his ideas, but he was getting stir crazy staring at the same walls over and over again, he couldn't imagine if he had to stay in that house, and wasn't allowed to leave, he would have probably gone crazy.

Leaving at midnight was not entirely ideal, considering he was being 'watched' well babysat, so he left a note, and actually for once took his phone when he went out for a walk, usually when he left the house, he left all technology at home to add to the isolation and meditating purpose of the walk.

Wandering the streets and looking at all the LA houses, imagining the people who lived there, conjuring a day to day of their lives and wondering what menial problems would hinder their happily ever after was peaceful, though far from what Emerson would usually do, yet thinking about other people's lives meant he was ignoring his own life and the shitstorm that he called normality.

The cold reminded him of the night Maisie and he met for the first time, the cold biting wind that he ignored as he pursued this woman. In some strange twisted way, that night described the end of his relationship with her, him ignoring his own self-preserving needs to make the woman smile and to suit her needs.

He found himself in a small cafe about 5 blocks from Remington's apartment, the cafe was small and tucked away in an unfamiliar area. The architecture of the building was almost like a renovated studio flat, books lined the walls in tall bookcases, each shelf was half-filled as the books stood slanted, there were couches and chairs clustered together, separated by small pinewood coffee tables, the pillows and chairs were mismatched colours, but to Emerson, these flaws in decor made it all the more homely.

Emerson found himself climbing the spiral staircase that led to a more recluse area of the shop where the lights weren't as bright, and the books had just a bit more dust. Not only that, but the couches up here had more of a neutral colour scheme, almost as if the decorators had just forgotten about this part of the building. It seemed odd that what Emerson would consider being the best part of the shop, would be forgotten.

Shaking off his coat, he lost himself in the shelves, exploring the many shelves of books, to try and get a true sense of the cafe, he had yet to order himself a drink and was for the moment content with sifting through each and every book that he could lay his eyes on, caressing the spine of the book as he read each of the names. It was with such actions and an equal amount of luck that he stumbled across an Alan Watts book, a book that Emerson himself had, which had been abandoned with tour life and moving in with Remington. It now resided next to a motorbike in the bottom of a dull brown box in Remington's storage container.

Deciding now was a good time to settle down and order something, he grabbed the book from the shelf and made his way down the steps, he was seemingly the only one upstairs so he had no issues leaving his coat on the brown, clumpy- yet surprisingly comfortable- sofa. He walked to the counter, where a young girl, around 20 with blue hair and stretchers in both ears watched him approach, he gave her a small smile before turning his attention to the menu board.

"Can I please get a black coffee, croissant and blueberry muffin please?" giving one more smile before burying his head in the book. The girl smiled back, writing his order down and got to work on it, her eyes catching the book in his hands, "Alan Watts huh? First time reader or dedicated... would fan be the adjective in this case? A dedicated philosopher? Not many people come in this shop and pick up a philosophy book," her question brought Emerson out of the book, he glanced at her intrigued face, she was still working on his order, well waiting for the coffee pot to brew.