Painting

Chapter 14

I get up and put that thought away. I hear my boss calling me in the store. We have customers and they want some advice on a romance book.

-Coming!

A romance book... For a "Romantic things" lover... That reminds me of someone. What about this one, it's a red book about two persons meeting in secret. A gentleman and a lady from a far away land. Forbidden love story, that's good. Well, that sounds interesting and it's a new one. I might ask my boss if I can have a copy. It's going to fulfill my interest for "Disney-like" stories. I run to the register with it, my boss is talking to the customers.

A mother and her daughter, it brings back some memories.

My own mom, buying me romance books in the same exact store. She introduced me to literature at a very young age. As soon as I was able to read, she gave me her own old books. The ones with the pictures of course. I couldn't read those classics 1000 pages books at seven. I'm not a genius. Far from that.

Well I made one sale today. There is definitely more people on the week-ends. It's almost closing time. Week days are not the time where I make a lot of sales. I get paid anyway. I get paid for siting in the store reading books, that's pretty fair if you want my opinion. I discover new lands and I can be whatever character I want. Week-days, I always leave the store with the head full of dreams.

I talk a bit with my boss and he asks me what I read today. I talk about the red book I sold to the customers and he tells me I can take one home. I take my purse. I slowly walk to the romance section. Again I let my hands wander on the smooth covers. I find the red one, but another one draws my attention, a blue one. It's a bit old, I think it's on a stand since my first day working at the store. It's covered in dust. The title is written with gold ink. I softly blow on it. I should never do that, it could damage the book, but it's not old enough for that. I open it. The pages started to turn yellow. It gives it a look vintage. That's cool. I think it would fit perfectly in my private library, well now it's just a shelf, but soon enough it'll become a library. How strange, it never caught my attention before. How peculiar, I take it.

I walk back to the register and I open my wallet. My boss repels my money and roll his eyes.

-Stop trying to pay for it, damn it! It's on the house.

He laughs and I put my wallet back in my purse. It's my turn to roll my eyes.

-It's always good to try. One day, I'll convince you to make me pay for the books you give me.

-And I will tell you the exact same thing.

We say it together:

-It's on the house!

We laugh again and he tells me I can go home.

-Have a great evening!

I smile and I open the glass door.

It's already dark. I don't like to walk alone at night time. When I was in high school, I would always try to take the most illuminated path, even if it made my road home longer. I remember taking the exact same route and at one moment I would run to my house. Then lock the door, my parents were used to it. So they always welcomed me the same way. They would always ask me if I got kidnapped and I would always roll my eyes. Then smile and laugh a little bit. Even if that was the thing I was the most scared of.

I've always been scared and now that Teddy sent me those texts. I just...

He could be right behind me, walking slowly. Almost nonchalant. His hands always in his pockets. His silent and subtle steps. His breathing slow and also silent. Then he would increase the sound of his breathing and slowly stroke my left shoulder, before walking past me. It was his way of telling me that he was there if anything would happen. Now, that I am thinking about it. I'm pretty sure it was his way of saying to me that I couldn't just escape his sight, even when school was over. We weren't even together at the time, but he had his hand on me even before I knew it.

I turn around. My heart feels like it's going to burst out of my chest.

He is not there. Stop being paranoid. You're just stressing yourself out for nothing. It's not like he would be that crazy, following me through my daily routine. Would he?