Chapter 5
Eliza’s POV
I was relieved that they finally left. I stood up and made my way out of Moe’s Diner to head back to dad’s house. On the way back I passed by Romeo. I tried to say something to him and I waved but he seemed too intrigued by something on his phone screen. I awkwardly retracted my hand.
For some reason, I thought there was something magnetic between us before but I was obviously mistaken.
I walked home and walked in the front door, taking my sneakers off at the door.
“How’d it go pumpkin?” Dad asked as soon as I passed by the living room.
“Went great! I got the job!” I grinned at him. He smiled back and continued reading his newspaper. I walked upstairs to my room and flopped down on the bed. This room was where I had all my teenage angst moments. I looked around and decided to do a little redecorating. I removed the posters of boy bands and emo groups, I changed the bedding from black to a red set that I found tucked away in the closet, and I threw away old makeup. Dad didn’t touch a thing after I moved out. I started to feel a little bad. After mom died, dad and I were all each other had, and I abandoned him to go live a life in the big city. I mused about the days of high school, my first kiss, the few friends I had and my old teachers. Honestly, high school was okay. I wasn’t popular by any means, but I wasn’t a complete outcast. I just existed there. I was like one of the obligatory extras in a high school drama. The ones who walk the halls in the back ground to fill space.
knock, knock, knock
“Yeah?” I called out.
Without answering, the knob turned and a large figure entered my room.
“Oh my god!” I screamed. I hopped off my bed and leapt into the arms of the awaiting figure.
“Trey! How did you know I was here?!” I squealed.
He merely laughed and spun me around until I got dizzy.
“Small town like this, news travels fast. It’s so good to see you Liz,” he said smiling down at me. I beamed up at his large frame, so glad to see my best friend. We were completely inseparable at school. Trey is what made everything here bearable. I looked into his honey colored eyes and smiled before I reached up and ruffled his dirty blonde hair.
“I’m so happy to see you!”I yelled out, throwing myself backwards on my bed.
“Not as happy as I am to see you! You have some explaining to do. You never called after you left! That shit hurts Liz. I thought you cared more than that.” He scolded me.
I paled, that’s right, after I left I thought it was best to cut everyone off.
“I’m so sorry, Trey! I understand if you totally hate me. I never meant to hurt you, can you forgive me?” I asked.
“You’re the only person I could never hate, I forgive you.” He murmured, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.
Like seeing him for the first time, I gasped. “You have tattoos!”
“Yes, I’m pretty inked up now. Everyone looks at me in horror.” He gave me a lopsided grin.
“I could never!” I exclaimed.
He reached out and embraced me, I played with the ends of his hair right where they curled above the ear.
“You cut your hair.” I murmured.
“Yes, it was unruly. I hope you don’t mind.” He said. Now that’s just silly, I’m not his boss.
“I’m happy with it if you are.” I grabbed his face and looked into his eyes before smiling.
“You’ve grown so handsome,” I tell him.
I felt his grip tighten on my waist, “you’re more gorgeous than ever sweet pea.”
I watched his head tilt to the right a little. He let out a sigh and then gave me a kiss on the forehead.
“I couldn’t wait for you to come find me when I heard you were back in town, I missed you so much, Liz. Life became bland after you left. Now, color has returned to it.” He said.
I felt tears streaming down my cheeks. I really hurt Trey. He was my first ever friend and the most reliable person in my life. I used to tell him everything and he’s always been so supportive.
“So have you found a woman yet?” I asked him. Curiously, I’ve never seen him date but once or twice.
“No one worth mentioning,” he said.
“Any guys in your life?” He asked.
“No one worth mentioning,” I retorted with a smile. I laid down on the bed and patted the spot next to me. He laid his large frame down right next to me. We were pressed chest to chest on this tiny full sized bed.
“Remember we used to have sleepovers all the time and stay up all night? I could’ve sworn the bed held the both of us easier then.” I complained. He laughed, “I think I grew larger.”
“That must be it. You’ve been working out like a horse. I don’t think you have an ounce of fat on your body.” I told him.
He laughed again, “nah, I don’t think I do.”
We both then fell into silence and laid on my bed, looking into each other’s eyes.
Next thing I knew, it was morning.
I sat up groggily. What the heck happened? I remember laying on the bed with Trey but I guess I ended up passing out. It must’ve been early evening when I fell asleep, I probably overslept which just increased my grogginess.
I stretched gingerly in the bed and realized that Trey was no longer here. I looked around and noticed a piece of paper on my nightstand.
Liz,
You passed out and looked so peaceful that I couldn’t bear to wake you up.
I tucked you in and am about to sneak out.
Give me a text when you wake up.
My number is xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Trey
I felt around for my phone on the covers and eventually saw it plugged in and sitting on my nightstand. Wow I’m an idiot for not seeing it there. I plucked it off the charger and sent him a text. I finally hopped out of bed and got myself ready for my first day of work at the library. I dressed in a black pencil skirt, white button up shirt, a bun and my glasses. I looked in the mirror and was reminded of when I stripped dressed as a school teacher. I shook that thought out of my head. That was my old life. This is my new reality. I’m just a normal woman again.
I slipped on some black heels and strode downstairs. I ended up making a bowl of fruity fruity cereal before heading out the door.
I noticed I didn’t see dad this morning, he must’ve already left for work. He works at the local meat market as a butcher, he’s been there since he was a teenager. I told him he should own the place by now but he insisted he’s happy just being a butcher.
After a short walk, I approached the entrance to the library and slipped inside. I looked around searching for Mrs. Bishop.
“Ah there you are!” I hear from behind me. I whirled around and saw the librarian carrying a stack of books.
“Oh let me get those for you!” I rushed to help her carry the pile.
“Thank you, dear.” She said.
We spoke for a few minutes about the particular duties she needed me to carry out this morning and she strode off afterwards.
I set to work returning books to their proper places, dusting the stacks and other small tasks that she assigned me. When I finally looked at my phone I realized it was lunchtime. I wiped my brow with my arm and sat down on one of the chairs that were scattered around the library for patrons to sit in and read.
“You’re in my chair.” I hear from behind me. I turned my head to see Romeo was the one complaining about the chair.
“Oh sorry about that, sir.” I hurriedly stood up and wiped off my skirt. For the first time since I had seen him yesterday, he cracked a grin.
“That was a joke. This is a public library after all.” He said. I nervously chuckled, embarrassed.
“Look, I’m sorry, my humor is a little off at times. I’m Luke, by the way.” He reached out a hand to shake mine. I placed my hand in his cold one, “I’m Eliza.”
“It’s nice to officially meet you, Eliza. I come to this library a lot so I’m sure we will be seeing each other often. May as well become comfortable with each other right off the bat. Though I do think we were quite comfortable with each other the other night.”
I blushed and nodded in agreement.
“Eliza, time for lunch, you can just head out for now.” Mrs. Bishop said. I thanked her and grabbed my purse from behind the counter to head out.
“Eliza, wait!” I looked back to see Luke running after me.
“Do you want to have lunch with me?” He asked. I thought about it a moment and couldn’t think of why not so I quickly agreed. We ended up walking to the local Italian restaurant and eating there.
Lunch flew by quickly chatting with Luke. I learned that he grew up a few towns over and recently moved here. He owns a law firm and he loves to read. I told him about how I grew up here and that I recently moved back. When he asked why, I was a little spotty on the details. I didn’t want him to think lesser of me.
“Lunch was wonderful, thank you, but you didn’t have to pay.” I told him as we left.
“Nonsense, I insisted on you eating with me so of course I should pay. Anyway, I’ll walk you back but then I need to head into work. It was nice getting to actually know you Eliza.” He said.
After he walked me back to the entrance of the library, he grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it. I shivered from the feel of his cool skin.
“I’ll see you soon.” He promised.
I had to admit, I was very curious about him. He’s just so different from anyone I had ever met before. I was even a little bit excited to see him again. I set back to work, humming the rest of my shift.