Page 20 of One Last Wish

Chapter Seven

Iwoke up feeling anythingbut rested. My mind must have been racing even while I’d been asleep.

When I gazed in the bathroom mirror, I cringed. I looked more like death than usual. The big bags under my eyes did nothing for my pale, ice-white complexion. After pulling my hair into a bun and brushing my teeth, I wandered into the kitchen where Evelyn had made me breakfast. Oh, please no! I was in no mood totalk.

“Sit and eat,” she ordered, placing a cup of coffee down at the breakfast bar. “We don’t have to talk, but I need to know you’re okay.” As I sat down, I realised she’d made me an omelette with bacon, so I took a bite. It was pretty damn good.

“Thanks,” I muttered after another mouthful. “And you’re right, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Do you realise how crazy you sounded last night?” Evelyn took a seat next to me, sipping coffee from her favourite purple mug. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“It was a really realistic dream. I’m sorry,” I lied, not wanting her to press the matter anymore than she already was.

“Maybe you need to read contemporary romance for a little while. All these fantasy books are clearly messing with your head. You’ve had too many of these dreams lately.” I did read contemporary when I was in the mood. The smuttier ones were always my favourites.

“You might be right.” I forced a smile and looked up at her. “I’m fine, Evelyn. You don’t need to fuss.” After studying my face carefully, she finally believed me and got up.

“I can make the midnight release party forFuture of Dawnat Bookends in December, by the way. I’ll bring some friends with me.” Well, at least that was the first few tickets sold. “I’ll help you and Theo decorate, if you want.” All I could do was nod as she grabbed her jacket and left for college.

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ITHOUGHT ABOUT THEaesthetics of my first midnight release party on my way to work, partly to try and clear my mind from the events of last night.Future of Dawnwas a dragon series set in a distant magical kingdom. Dragon eggs and draped pieces of cloth that look like dragon fire would look magical in Bookends. Theo was looking into cardboard cutout dragons to finish the look off. If we sold a hundred tickets, I’d be happy.

I was the first at work, as usual. Ned got there a few minutes after me, followed by Theo and Alice. Darce was on the later shift today, and would be in after lunch.

“If you could beanymagical being, what would you pick?” Daisy asked me while I finished putting the display lighting on. It was eight in the morning. Seriously, what was this girl smoking?

“A vampire so I could suck all the life out ofyou.”

“That’s horrible,” Daisy chirped. “I’d be a unicorn, spreading love and peace.” That was so sickly, I threw up in my mouth a little. “What about you, Theo?” she called. I hadn’t even noticed he was so close.

“I’d be some kind of Shadow Prince. The tortured, brooding type that would kill anyone for the one he loved.” Evelyn really did tell Theo too much about me. It can’t have been a coincidence that they were my favourite kind of male fictional characters.

“That’s very specific,” Daisy frowned. Theo shrugged, going back to his duties of checking all the shelves on the ground floor.

I left Alice and Theo on the tills and escaped upstairs, hiding in one of the hidden alcoves in the fantasy section. It was a sunny day, and the rays streaming through the skylight were beautiful. It made the light appear to have specks of gold glitter intertwined within it. Malcolm was working from home today, which meant I was in charge. It would be an eleven hour shift for me, but I had a few books to keep me company.

I was reading a few of the new books that had come in, trying to work out where to shelve them. If I enjoyed a book, I often gave it a little handwritten write up and put it on the shelf for our customers to read. It was these personal touches that made our customers come back.

It was well past midday when I looked at my watch. Stretching, I stood up, knowing I’d have to make sure everyone was working. The fact Theo hadn’t found me meant I’d hidden myself well.

Looking down below, I saw Alice and Darce at the cashier’s desk. My cheeks began to burn as I took him in. While he wasn’t watching me, I found it hard to tear my eyes away. How did he have an effect on me from this distance? I stepped back and gripped one of the book cases, then looked at my hands. Was I really going insane or had I seen my hands glowing last night? That thought hadn’t left my mind all day. Distracting myself with books hadn’t worked like I’d hoped.

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