Living Violet (2 page)

Authors: Jaime Reed

Tags: #Young Adult, #Fantasy, #Romance

BOOK: Living Violet

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A
fter another four hours of retail hell, the closing announcements piped through the store.

Customers ambled toward the counter to make last-minute orders. There was always one person who insisted on leaving when we did, and trust me, they were more than welcome to shut down the cook station for me.

Because Nadine did let's-get-the-hell-out-of-here better than anyone, she wrapped up the food while I stacked the chairs and mopped. Rock music blared through the intercom, letting everyone know that business hours were officially over. After forty minutes of shutdown, it was time to call it a night.

“Don't forget, we have reading group tonight,” Nadine reminded me.

“Oh, crap!” All joy and enthusiasm vanished. Staying after hours without pay took more patience than I could give.

I flung my apron behind me and turned off the back kitchen lights. After gathering our things, we clocked out, then moved to the restroom hallway toward the break room.

Half the employees were already there, drinking stale coffee to stay awake. The sour expressions and defeated postures made it clear that no one wanted to be here on a Sunday night, so I was in good company.

The monthly book club strived to keep the work morale up, but it usually led to fights. The sales reps from on high thought it was a good idea to have the employees read the new releases and recommend them to customers.

One thing I loved about my coworkers was that they disliked this activity as much as I did. That mutual hatred brought us together, and it made this pointless hour bearable. We could let our hair down and talk true literary smack without censorship. At the end of the night, a book was voted as the store's choice of the month.

Nadine stood by the broken soda machine talking to Caleb. Though out of earshot, her reddened face suggested that the topic didn't involve the latest bestseller. Fingers pointed at the other person, teeth bared, features twisted in anger.

Caleb and Nadine barely talked at work, just brief exchanges and whispers in secluded corners of the store. I suspected that Nadine and Caleb shared a thing that went sour before I started working here, but I thought it was better not to rehash the past. No matter how bad the breakup, Caleb was the only guy she seemed to respect.

Trying hard not to look nosy, I slinked over to the low-budget refreshment stand and commandeered day-old snack food.

Placing a doughnut on a napkin, I almost jumped at the deep voice behind me. “Hey, I had my eyes on that powdered one.”

I turned around and met those freaky purple-blue eyes again. In all honesty, that was the only thing going for him, at least in my book. Caleb was pasty, even for white-boy standards, and he was in dire need of a haircut and shave. With hands shoved in his tan khakis, he looked at me under thick lashes.

“Too bad. It's the last doughnut, and it's all mine.” I allowed the treat to hover in my hand for good measure.

“No way I can change your mind?” His eyes ran the length of my body before meeting my gaze again.

“Nope. Sorry.” I took a huge bite of the powdery confection and scooted to the folding chair next to Nadine. I could feel him watching me, no doubt coveting my sugary prize. Caleb was skinny with a swimmer's build, so who would believe that this guy could wipe out an entire sugar plantation in one sitting? His sweet tooth rivaled mine, and that was no small feat.

Linda, the store manager and the queen of bling, barged in and slung her bag on the floor. Her stilettos clunked against the linoleum tiles, signifying that the bedazzled badass had just arrived. Propping hands on her hips and car keys clasped in her jewel-covered hand, she addressed the group.

“All right, let's get this over with. I got an hour drive ahead of me, and I'm not trying to be here all night.” She took a seat and pulled her dreadlocks into a bun on the top of her head. “Okay, let's begin with the young adult section.” She turned to the short, curly-haired girl to her left. “Alicia, what book did you read?”

Alicia Holloway sat up straight, grinning, sporting wide eyes and dimples. She was a freshman at my schoolâwell, sophomore this fallâand the youngest employee at BB. Her work permit was probably still tucked inside her Hello Kitty purse. Alicia had come a long way from the frightened deer who always brought a nightlight when she slept over my house. I used to babysit her when I was in junior high, and even then she tried too hard to act mature. I saw right through it, and it was my duty as a friend to bug her to death.

“I read
Specter
, by Nan Jacobs,” Alicia chimed with excitement, holding the book up so everyone could see the worn cover.

A number of groans filled the break room. People adjusted their chairs, preparing for the diatribe that would surely follow.

This was the book series that every bookseller loved to hate, and its popularity boggled the minds of everyone in the room. But no one could deny the number of sales among teenage girls, and an entire shelf in the store was devoted to the saga. Anything that mainstream was enough to keep us from reading it. Well, most of us.

“Okay, first off, I have to say I loved this book. It's so romantic and sweet, and the characters were so believable, and I felt like I was right there with the main character and,
Omgoodness
, Nicolas Damien is so hot!” Alicia bounced in her seat and swallowed a lungful of much-needed air.

“Have you met him?” Nadine leaned back in her chair and allowed her hands to touch at the fingertips. “This Nicolas Damienâhas he come to the store or something?”

Alicia frowned in confusion. “Uh, no. He's a character in the book.”

“Then how do you know he is hot?”

“Because the book makes him hot, that's how,” Alicia snapped, then addressed the group again. “Anyway, the story's about a young girl who goes to detention and falls in love with a gorgeous new guy. But there's something mysterious about him.”

“Let me guess, he's a serial killer?” Caleb piped in. He sat at the opposite side of the circle with one leg resting on his knee and his arms folded. Every so often, I caught him watching me, probing me with an open curiosity that had no shame. I tried not to stare at him, tried not to squirm in my seat, but his stare had a physical presence.

I couldn't wait to get out of there.

“No, he's not a killer.” Alicia rolled her eyes. “He's dead.”

“How romantic,” I mumbled. “Forget
Teen Beat
; go to your local cemetery. Corpses are the new heartthrobs.”

“No, I mean he's a ghost,” Alicia explained. “Anyway, the girl doesn't know that at first, and the thing is she's the only one who can see him. Nicolas thinks it's a sign that Angelica is his soul mate.”

“Angelica?”
Nadine and I mimicked in unison.

Alicia spun her head at the jeering. “What's wrong with that?”

“It's reaching, isn't it?” Nadine asked. “Let me guess, Nicolas calls her âhis angel'?”

Alicia snarled in our direction, then continued, “Anyway, it's about forbidden love. They can't be together because Angelica is still alive and he's a ghost, and they can't even touch. The story follows her search to figure out how Nick died, all while fighting their attraction.”

“Why is she the only one that can see him?” Linda asked.

“Because Angelica is a rare and unique snowflake,” I answered, picking at my doughnut.

Redness rushed to Alicia's cheeks, giving her skin a rich mahogany tint. Her fist slammed down against her knees. “Shut up! You're just jealous of Nicky and Angie.”

“Wow, we're on a nickname basis with these made-up people?” Caleb asked, his chest shaking with laughter. “It's just a book, Alicia. Relax.”

Applying some serious neck action, Alicia contended, “Look, you write a bestselling novel and then you can complain about someone else's book.”

“Will someone else go now, please?” Linda rubbed the bridge of her nose and squeezed her eyes shut. That vein on her forehead looked ready to pop, so I jumped in.

“Okay.” I reached behind my chair and pulled the book from my shoulder bag. “
Trick of the Light
âI love that titleâby Harriet Coffman-Frost. It's about this male prostitute, Ren, who runs into some bad luck and gets evicted from his house, and ends up rooming with one of his lady customers, named Janice. Janice is emotionally unavailableâsome Madonna-whore complex where she can't sleep with someone she has feelings for, so she buys male company. The tables slowly turn as they get to know each other. Ren ends up having feelings for Janice and tries to woo her, but she clams up and ignores him. So he ends up using his hooker money to buy her affection. I'm almost to the end; I'll let you know what happens.”

Alicia sucked her teeth in disgust. “That's sick.”

I grinned. “Isn't it, though? But the characters are real to life, unlike your oh-so-perfect Nicky.”

“Can't be too perfect if Nicky can't remember how he died,” another employee added.

“All right, settle down people,” Linda broke in. She turned toward Caleb and smiled. “Okay, how about you? What book did you read?”

Caleb unfolded his arms and presented the paperback to the group. “
Snap Shot
, by Orlando Hutchins. It's about this demonic photo booth in the middle of the Jersey boardwalk. When Mark Daniels goes inside, the camera flash gives him a subliminal message to murder people. And out of the photo slot are pictures of five people he has to kill. So Mark goes on a mindless killing spree, but he only figures it out when a friend comes to kill him. The friend also has a strip of pictures with Mark's face on the last square. It's a crazy, vicious circle.”

“Wow, that's awesome.” Linda jotted something down on her notepad.

“Yeah, it's got plenty of gore and violence,” he agreed, glancing over at me. “Good family fun.”

After another twenty minutes of show-and-tell, we all decided on Caleb's book choice. Sighing in relief, everyone got up and filed toward the doors. I grabbed my bag and walked out, ignoring the prickling feeling on the back of my neck, the warm humming over my skin, and Alicia giving me the stink eye.

Linda stayed behind to lock up, while outside an ambulance and two cop cars flanked a vehicle at the end of the lot. Aside from the employees' cars, the parking lot was empty.

Nadine leaned into me and asked, “What's that about?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” I stepped to the side as the rest of the crew moved in to watch.

Nadine's eyes widened with excitement. “You think there was shooting or something? I would kill for action in this town.”

She had a point, but I wasn't sure if this was the way to go about it. Williamsburg was one of the most boring cities on the planet. It was a far cry from Mayberry, but this town still had some sleep in its eyes. It was a resort town, the hotbed for tourists for the summer, and most of its revenue banked on the hotels and restaurants in the area. So any sign of a skirmish proved enough to keep the townsfolk talking for a while.

A group of skateboarders sat on the grass, watching the fallout from the opposite side of the lot as a heavyset officer took statements from each of them.

I looked to the dark blue SUV parked near the store when the driver's window rolled down. Mr. Holloway popped his head out the window. “Alicia, come on!”

“Coming, Daddy!”

Alicia rushed from behind me and bumped my shoulder. Obviously, she took her book rejection personally and needed someone to blame.

Reaching the van, I straightened my back and saluted Alicia's dad. “Captain Holloway, sir!”

My foolishness never failed to make him smile, no matter how hard he tried not to. The man was too serious, as was the military fade cropped close to his head. “At ease, soldier,” he said. “You guys are coming out late.”

Alicia climbed in the passenger side. “Yeah, we had our book club tonight. Sorry you had to wait so long.”

“Hey, what's up with the police?” Nadine asked before I could.

Mr. Holloway turned his head to the flashing lights. “A woman had a heart attack in the parking lot. Some kids found her unconscious in her car; I guess they called the cops. God, for a minute there I thought it was my little girl.”

“Daddy, I'm fine,” Alicia chided. “You're such a drama freak.”

“Hey, kid, mind your elders!” I pointed a finger at her.

“My mom's got me on lock like that too. It's a parent thing.”

Alicia snickered. “Whatever, thumb-sucker.”

I spread my arms wide, inviting the challenge. “Anytime, training bra.”

“Ladies.” Dragging a hand over his face, Mr. Holloway lifted his head and sighed. “You two will never grow out of this phase, will you?”