I throw my bag over my shoulder and look around my apartment.Of course, I could take my laptop or some extra chargers, but those tend to be heavy to carry and I like to pack as light as possible. Besides, I could always grab another one wherever I go. And for all I know, I’ll be right back here in an hour.
I lock my door and head down the street to the meeting place, which is only fifteen minutes away. Stopping at the address she gave me, I look up at the quaint little bookshop called Once Upon a Spine. Tilting my head, I try to think if I’d seen this place before. It’s in my neighborhood and I love reading, so I’m shocked that I don’t recognize it.
I push the door open and head inside. It’s actually gorgeous in here. The giant wooden bookshelves span the length of the store and my fingers itch to get my hands on some of those books. But I’m here for a reason. I look around and spot a girl with pink hair leaning on the counter, smiling in my direction.
“Penny?” she asks.
“Yes,” I say as I head towards her. She starts to walk around the counter but she stumbles a little, her hand on the counter grips it so hard her knuckles go white. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yes, yes,” she says, standing up straight, regaining her composure. “Just a little indigestion. Please follow me, my office is in the back.” As I follow her to the back of the shop, I can’t stop myself from glancing at the bookshelves. We pass through the romance section and if I’m not busy after this, I know I’m going to be picking up several of these books.
“Penny?” I realize I’ve stalled at one of the bookshelves, so I continue towards where she stands with a door half open behind her. “Please, come in.” She gestures into the room.
“Whoa, this is not what I expected,” I say, looking around at the stark white walls and gray marble floors. It has such a corporate appearance compared to the front of the shop.
“Yes, this part was an addition to the rest of the shop, so it’s much newer,” she explains.
“It’s… nice.” Her lips press together as she tries not to laugh at my comment.
“Please, take a seat.” We both sit down in the gray armchairs that face each other, a glass coffee table between them.
“So tell me Pen?—”
“Where’s Aquaria?” I cut her off, desperate to get to the reason I’m here.
“Excuse me?” she looks half shocked and half confused at my outburst.
“Look, I know my best friend, Aquaria, Ria, called you, and I haven’t been able to find her since. You are allegedly the last person to speak to her, and I want to know what you said to her. Did she come here for an appointment too? Tell me where she is.” I can’t help but ramble out everything I’m thinking.
Her mouth sits half open as she stares at me for a moment, until finally she snaps her jaw shut and sits back, tilting her head and squinting your eyes. “Okay, Penny, I guess there’s no beating around the bush with you. I’ll tell you where she is, on two conditions.”
Holy smokes!She knows!I knew it! I eagerly move forward to the edge of my seat and rest my elbows on my knees. “Yes, anything.”
“First, tell me how you know that the Aquaria living out there,” she gestures towards the front of the shop, “Isn’t your best friend?”
“I knew instantly. It was clear she didn’t recognize me, although she pretended she did. And she’s missing a small scar… here.” I point to my inner wrist.
“Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” she says ominously, tapping her finger against her lips as she stares off to the side.
“Next time?”
“Oh, don’t mind me.”
“Okay… what was the other condition?” I ask to get her back on track.
“Ah, right. Well, if I tell you where she is, you have to follow her there.”
“Oh my god, did you kill her?!”
“What?” she asks in shock. “No! Of course I didn’t kill her. My goodness, Penny, I was helping her, not hurting her. Just like I did for the Aquaria I put in her place, here.”
“Yeah, about that… are you going to explain how that is possible?” I ask, calming down from her reassuring words. I mean, she could be lying, but I believed her for some reason.
“I’ll tell you, but first you have to assure me you’ll follow her.”
“Of course I will. Why do you think I’m here? She is my only family, and I’m hers. Where she goes, I go.”
“She’s your family?” she asks in surprise.
