Forty two

CHAPTER 42

GLENN

I turned to the direction of the door as I could feel my heart thudding heavily in my chest—

Something didn't feel right, the scent, the atmosphere, all of it. I swallowed the heavy lump that was forming in my throat.

As I stood there with my bag hanging from my shoulder, soon a shadow emerged at the doorway and the doorbell jingled.

A strange feeling filled my soul and instinctively I turned to the direction of the door.

Anxiety zipped through me, at that moment it looked like I was in a kind of dream and must definitely be having an illusion.

Blinking my eyes, I was staring right at him as he stood there at the door, flesh and blood, looking around and lifting a pack off the shelf.

"Fuck."

I ducked behind the counter soon as his gaze was directed toward where I was. My heart was beating heavily as I rested my back against the wooden frames.

My colleague looked shocked and perplexed—

What was he doing here ?

What were the odds?

Different thoughts fleeted through my mind at the speed of light.

"Good day." His voice sounded overhead at the table.

I clasped my finger's together, hoping he didn't stay there for too long.

"What do you need sir?" She asked —

The rest of their words drifted in the air, leaving a hint of the aftereffects It had on me.

Soon the door sounded again as he walked out, I sighed to myself still beneath the counter.

"He is gone ." She muttered as I crawled out while still trying to catch my breath.

"Someone from the past?" She asked.

I nodded with hesitation. While still wondering why he was here , I could tell that the whole situation wasn't ideal. I had spent the past month trying to forget about him and just when I was starting to see him pop up into my life again.

"You do realize he might come back?"

I sighed deeply sensing the truth in her voice. "Yeah, what am I going to do about that when I am on duty?"

"Well, we can work things out. "

" What do you mean? " I asked.

"Trust me, we would."

"Well, I just feel you should talk to him. " She suggested while taking off her apron.

" You don't understand, this is more complicated than anything you've seen, I promise you. "

“Well he looked like a nice man."

"Never trust the ones who look calm, never heard of that?"

" Well—"

" Trust me, If you get to know him you'd know what I am speaking about. "

She rolled her eyes ." Guess we would see later then." She picks up her bag.

" Are you leaving me here? "

She shrugs. " You'd have to deal with him alone if he returns. "

" Ann? " I called after her

The wind blew against my face as she stepped out, I was left there standing behind the counter mesmerized, wondering how he suddenly got to be in the same I never thought he would.

Was it fate?

The Truth was fate hadn't been so unfair to me and at the moment, I felt so unhandled by it, so much that at that moment all I felt was a feeling of frustration.

Maybe it was stupid, but I did want to speak to him again—on this matter. I wanted to talk to him and hear his side of things but at the same time one part of me just wanted to flee.

My finger tapped against the counter as I felt restless, as I could feel a heavy weight right there on my shoulders. Maybe I was taking this whole situation personally and deeper than I should .

Or perhaps, all I thought about at this moment was righting this wrong, hoping In my mind that doing that might perhaps erase mine.

The door sounded again and I could feel my heart leap right there between my chest .

I sighed in relief when I saw it was just a kid and perhaps her father, both smiling at each other as they walked by the shelf.

I was a bit skeptical that I could deal with the stress, the fear that he might pop up anytime.

I didn’t want to have heartbreak and regret and seeing him here, brought it all back.

When the kid—a girl, stopped close to where I was with a box of cookies she smiled sheepishly at me.

A blush spread from my cheeks to my chest as I could feel her warm hands brush mine.

"Is that all?" I asked.

She nodded her head in a charming way as she did, I could feel the silence filled with the pace of my heart beat.

"You can't run forever you know."

Right there I was staring at him, or maybe his illusion.

Yet, his posture remained indifferent, as he stared down at me, it looked like I was standing right there at the edges. Looking as he ran his tongue across his teeth and saying something —His voice sounding from a distance.

I didn’t know why, but I had this strange feeling, this—

"Hello?" The man waves his hands as I drift out of my imagination.

As it appeared, I had been hallucinating.

"I am Sorry." I apologized with a smile.

"Are you fine?" He looked worried.

"Just a bit sick—" I lied.

"Well, you should take some time to rest if you look stressed."

Muttering a Thank you, I watched as he grabbed his drink and leaned against the opposite counter, taking a sip of it.

As I watched the two leave, I sighed in relief —

Now, the fear that I thought was buried all this whole while rushed through, right there beneath the surface of my skin, right there in my nerves.

Losing balance, I grabbed the edge of the table. My breath came out deep and heavily as I could feel the erratic beat of my heart like a quiet noise.

Why Santiago? I thought to myself.

I stared longingly at the door, hoping I dissolve into the thin air and never be seen.