> Author Note: This is my first time posting my work publicly in over 6 years and Im open and ready for all criticism. Im a little rough around the edges but I'm here to learn and improve. That said, please enjoy.
Chapter 0 - Starting Anew
Amanda was just about finished packing up all her belongings in preparation for her move. The only things that remained were a few trophies and pictures placed upon an old and worn shelf situated under the window sill.
'Can't forget this' She thought as she reached towards the last photo; a simple square picture frame. The picture within an old worn photo of a young girl clung to the leg of a man in boxing gloves holding up a championship belt, and placing it. 'Wish me luck, pops.' Shutting the box she lifted it and placed it onto the stack of others all ready to go on the dolly sitting in the doorway.
From outside the room footsteps approach, an old but well built man with a long beard full of gray hairs stood behind the dolly. "Ready to go?" He asked, grabbing the dolly and tilting it towards him.
"Yup, thanks for the help but are you sure you're gonna be alright to drive me? It's an almost 6 hour drive." She asked with a smirk. "You're starting to look your age, especially with all those gray hairs."
"I will be perfectly fine, besides what kind of father would I be if I couldn't drive to help my own daughter to her new apartment. Besides, I have to check it out and make sure you aren't gonna be living in some freak shows apartment." He replied with a smirk of his own.
Amanda sighed. "How many times have I told you, I'm moving to one of the best parts of town. You even checked the city score beforehand, there's always gonna be weirdos but you already made sure to limit that as much as possible. Help me lift this" She requested, crouching down to lift the largest box of the bunch.
The old man grunted as he slowly crouched down to grab the box. "But its ******* city, you always hear about people getting mugged or stabbed when they're ther- AAA" He exclaimed, a very audible crack sounding from his back as they lifted the box into the bed of the old pick-up truck.
Amanda stared at the old man bent over rubbing his lower back. "… are you sure you're gonna be alright?"
A few hours later the duo stopped for gas at a rest stop alongside the highway, it was rather run down and a general sense of disgust filled Amanda's mind as she entered the mini-mart to buy some water. She made her way to the back of the store where the coolers were and knelt down to grab a gallon jug from the bottom.
"Mmm hmm, they really do come better these days don't they" A slimy sounding voice spoke from behind her. "How much?"
Amanda turned around to face the man, a pot bellied trucker who clearly had been drinking and reeked like he hadn't showered in weeks. "Excuse me?" She retorted with a glare.
A putrid smirk crossed his face. "I asked how much, a girl like you's definitely a rest stop bitch" He stepped closer. "You're a little built for my tastes but momma says we can't be picky."
"Fuck off, pig" She replied bluntly, brushing past him towards the register.
"What'd you call me?!" He shouted, grabbing her by the arm. "Don't you fucking walk away from m-"
Before the last words could escape his mouth a hook clocked him right in the chins. A few seconds passed as he wobbled back and forth as he struggled to keep his balance before falling backwards into the cooler, smashing the glass door and bending the frame. The crash rang throughout the small mart.
A worker wearing a hat and apron donning the mini-mart's logo rushed towards the back of the store. "M-Ma'am what happened?" She stuttered, gaping at the unconscious man laying in a pile of glass and beverages.
Amanda looked towards the worker and scratched her head. "Uh he tried to grab me, I'm sure the cameras or something picked it up. It was self defense." She responded. "Though I didn't think he'd get knocked out from just one punch."
The worker sighed and pulled out her phone and sighed. "I'm gonna call the police, could you wait here for a bit?" She asked defeated, judging from the fact no other workers showed up, it's something she surely has to clean up.
"Ah, yes… sorry about the mess." Amanda joked with a weak chuckle.
15 Minutes later two police officers escorted the man out of the building and into a squad car. "You two are good to go, this isn't the first time we've been called about this guy. Drive safe." An officer said before climbing into the front of the car and driving off.
For a moment the duo stood in silence watching the cop car drive into the distance. "It's a good thing the cameras actually worked here." Amanda's father said, breaking the silence. "But really? One punch? That's impressive."
"I had a good teacher." The girl replied with a smile. "Alright no more pit stops, I wanna make it there before it gets dark."
By the time they had arrived in the city and figured out where and how to reach the apartment it was already twilight. The streetlights illuminated the trees and sidewalks alongside the buildings, a few benches strewn about and almost no sign of any sort of trash or filth like you'd expect in a larger city. Arriving at their destination they parked in front of an older but well maintained 2 story building in between two much larger and modern apartment complexes. Soft yellow lamps illuminated words painted across the front of the build.
Estrella Libri
"It's a little older looking than I was expecting." The man commented as he hopped out of the truck. "But I like it, it stands out amongst the rest."
Amanda opened the tailgate of the truck and began reaching for the boxes that had scattered around during the drive. "Well that's probably why it was so much cheaper than all the other places." She responded, placing boxes onto the dolly. "Won't have to deal with people above or below me which will be nice, I've heard that gets really annoying really fast. I wonder if the rest of my stuff made it here in one piece, I don't really know if you can trust moving companies not to steal your shit."
"Well all your valuable stuff is in these boxes so worst comes to worst you just buy new furniture." The man said, placing the final box onto the dolly. "But I'm sure everything's fine, besides worrying about you is my job."
"You're probably right." Amanda tilted the dolly, pulling it up over the curb and towards the door of the building. "You gonna help me get these upstairs or is your back done for?" She asked, stopping the dolly in front of the door.
The older man sighed and stood in front of Amanda, they were both rather tall but he was just shy of a few inches over her. He looked down at Amanda with a soft expression. "If I come inside I don't think I'll ever wanna leave." He replied, embracing her with a tight hug. "I'm proud of you kid, I know you're gonna do some great things. Just try not to forget your old man and if you ever need anything you know I'll be here as fast as I can."
Amanda reached up, wrapping her arms around him. "I know dad, don't worry I'll be fine. I love you" She said softly, hugging him tighter.
The two stayed there for a few moments before Amanda stepped back, the glint of a single tear in her eye. "Now get out of here old man, if you don't leave now you're not gonna beat traffic." She beamed with a big smile.
Pulling out his phone the older man checked the time, 6:18 PM. "Oh shit you're right! The last thing I want is to get stuck in ***** city traffic." He exclaimed, rushing to get back in the truck. "You better come home for at least a few holidays." The truck's engine sputtered to life. "And if you find yourself a nice boy or girl you better bring them with you, I wanna know there's someone else looking out for you before I die." He shouted through the missing side window.
"Where else would I go, if I didn't show up for Christmas you'd be all by yourself." She laughed, motioning her arms for him to leave. "Now get outta here, you're stalling"
"Yea yea I'm going I'm going, don't want this old fart stinking up the place." He chuckled. "… see ya later kiddo"
Amanda waved as the sound of the truck's engine faded as it disappeared down the road, leaving her alone under the glow of the street lamps and soft white noise that seemed to emanate from the city itself. "…see ya later dad" she spoke softly, lowering her hand to wipe her eyes. "Allllllllllllrighty, time to meet this roommate of mine." Amanda turned towards the door of the building and pushed it open, the bell above the door jingling as she did.
As she entered the shop their eyes met. Almost like pearls, large blue and hazel eyes made even larger by the stout square framed glasses stood in front of her. Her chaotically curly brown hair gave an air of defiance that contrasted against her meek and small stature. For a moment Amanda forgot why she was there before returning to her senses.
"Are you Ellie?" Amanda asked.
______________________________________________________
The scurrying of little paws could be heard racing up and down the halls, scratches and the pulling of fabric heard as the creature sprinted up and down furniture. No doubt chasing some shadow or hair its eyes caught in the morning light. Soon, it made its way into a corner room and pushed open the door with its paw.
"Mrow" Purred the cat.
The room was on the smaller side, hardwood floors and a twin bed situated in the corner opposite the door. To the left bookshelves filled with a rainbow of books reached from the floor to the ceiling, various knick knacks and memento's placed on the lip in front of some of the books. A desk, covered in notes and papers scattered across with seemingly no thought or organization and older looking laptop sat in the corner of the room, on both sides windows with clear views of the city scape to the right and a rather dreary view of the adjacent building brick wall to the left.
"Mmmew" The cat chirped as it hopped on the bed, stepping across the sleeping figure and kneading at their chest.
"Mmmm... go away, it's not food time yet." Ellie groaned, rolling over in the bed to face the wall.
"Mrooow" The cat hopped off the bed and made its way to the desk, jumping on the open laptop. For a moment the sounds of key presses and errors sounds could filled the room.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Choosing to ignore it and stay asleep Ellie rolled over again, embracing a long purple pillow that was clearly well loved and time worn. A few minutes passed before her phone sitting on the small table next to the bed chirped to life.
'Good Morning, the time is 7:45 AM. The temperature outside is 67 degrees. In today's news a fi-' Before the robotic ladies voice could continue Ellie reached over and dismissed the alarm. She laid in bed contemplating why her phone's default alarm clock was a weird Siri knock off for the millionth time. "I oughta to change that at some point." She mumbled to herself before standing up with a stretch, unlocking her phone a few notifications pinged. The first one a text from her friend, Andrea, rambling about some new show she needed to watch. Swipe. The second a generic update reminder, Ellie never really updated her phone unless it forced her to. Swipe, Swipe, Swipe. No matter how many times she tried to clear that one it never went away. The third and final, a calendar notification for Sunday, March 19th: New Roommate.
"Oh right that new girl's supposed to be coming today. What do you think Jimbo, think she'll be nice?" Ellie turned to face the cat now laying on its back, basking in the morning glow. She knelt down beside it and started scratching its chin. "I'm sure you'll like her, you like everybody. She seemed like a decent person when we talked but you never know. Alright let's get you some food." With the last word leaving her mouth the cat perked up and rolled back onto its feet, prancing out of the room leading Ellie to the food bowl as if she had forgotten where it was overnight.
Ellie opened the cabinet and reached inside the bag of cat food, grabbed the scoop, filling it a bit over the brim and kneeling down to fill the steel bowl at her feet. The food clinked into the bowl and Jimbo hurried skittered over to enjoy his morning meal. "Mrow, Mrow, Fsfsfsfs." The way the cat had a sort of, siphon sound to it. Like he was slurping up the food with the sheer force of lung alone.
"You're such a rat when it comes to food." Ellie joked stroking the cats back. "Gotta run some errands before the new girl shows up, you behave yourself. Not like me saying that is gonna change anything though."
After feeding the cat, Ellie made her way to the kitchen and began her morning routine. First she filled her electric kettle and set it to boil water for her tea throughout the day. Whilst that was running she walked down the hall towards the bathroom at the end. The bathroom was small, barely enough room to stretch her arms out but it came with a full shower and bath as well as a decent sink. She couldn't complain, it's what she had used for the majority of her life. Above the sink was a gaudy mirror that her late grandmother had bought and hung when she was a kid. It had intricate and detailed bronze work lining the edge and was probably just as old as her grandmother had been.
A bit later Ellie exited the now steam filled bathroom wrapped in a puffy green bathroom and entered her room. She closed the door to her room and behind it opened the door to her closet, a small but organized walk in. A wide selection of sun dresses and sweaters hung to the right and a smaller collection of trousers and jeans hung to her right. A pair of worn slip ons sat in between a pair of sandals and rather out of place a long pair of black leather boots with laces that would go up to her knees. 'I have no idea why Andrea thought I'd wear these.'
Once she was dressed and ready for the day Ellie made her to the desk, leaning over to check her laptop. On the screen was a messaging app with a conversation she was having with her boss.
9:48 PM - Boss Bitch: need an eta on when those draft edits will be done
9:50 - El: should have them in by the end of the day wednesday
9:50 - El: did we ever hear back from that new author on the edits I suggested?
9:52 - Boss Bitch: not yet, they haven't returned any of my calls as of late. you weren't too hard on their work were you? I don't like you scaring away new authors
10:01 - El: I would never, if they can't handle the honest criticism of someone in the industry they'll never survive the comments of the readers.
10:02 - Boss Bitch: i suppose, lemme know when you upload those files please and ty
10:05 - El: Will do
7:38 AM - El: aaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssseqwgvnjasjkhbbccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccxccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc
7:38 AM - El: ccccccccccccdttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt
7:51 AM - Boss Bitch: Morning Jimbo
Ellie sighed then chuckled reading the reply her boss had sent the cat's morning charade. "Might as well get some work done, I got time to kill." She whispered to herself, pulling over her office chair and sitting down.
By the time Ellie had finished her up projects and uploaded them for her boss to check it was already a little past noon. Her stomach was telling her it was time to eat some lunch, the most she had had today was a couple slices of toast with her morning tea. 'I wonder if Andrea is busy right now, not that she's ever busy.' Ellie thought, reaching for her phone and tapping the quick call icon on her home page.
Ring ... Ring ... Ring ... Ri-Click
"Wassup" A groggy sounding voice asked.
"Were you still asleep, it's almost 12:30." Ellie asked with a slight tone of annoyance.
"Mmm ye, whatchu want." She responded. "Actually I'm hungry wanna get some food?"
"Are you psychic or something?" Ellie joked "But yea, where to? I'm kind of craving some noodles."
The sound of shuffling and then a thud could be heard from the phone. "Can you hear me? Noodles eh? We could always hit up Sakae, they should be open." She asked, sounding a bit more distant than before.
"Yea that works for me, I'll meet you there in say thirty minutes?" Ellie quizzed, standing up from her desk and making her way to the closet to grab her sandals. "See you in a bit." Click.
After hanging up Ellie made her way to the door, it led into a stairwell and at the bottom another door. Opening the second door she stepped into the first floor of the building, her grandmothers and now her bookstore. A small quaint shop with 4 aisles of books organized by genre and year. Near the door a round wooden counter upon which rested an old fashioned cash register. It was a bit of a relic and rarely saw use, most customers opted to use the more modern tablet with a simple card reader attached to it situated in front of said register. 4 Large windows made up the majority of the store's front, a collection of doodles and book quotes written backwards to be legible outside covered the glass.
Ellie unlocked the door to the shop and the door creaked open, the bell above the door ringing to life as she did. She made sure to lock the door behind her, she did live in a rather safe part of the city. The only things that ever happened around were domestic disputes and the occasional car break in but she always triple checked the lock before leaving.
Exiting the subway car Ellie found herself in a rather calm station, only a few people were seen waiting around for the subway. Nevertheless she made her way up to the road and down the sidewalk towards her destination. Sakae was a small hole in the wall restaurant that served a wide variety of different Asian cuisine. She wasn't too sure if it was 100% authentic food but the owners were a nice old couple who opened the shop after moving from out of the country a few decades ago and the food was absolutely amazing.
Waiting outside the shop was a blonde haired girl a bit taller than Ellie herself typing away on the phone she held in both hands. She was wearing a vibrantly colored varsity jacket and simple gray sweats. "Hey hey, wassup" She said as Ellie came into her view, barely looking away from her phone.
"Why are you waiting outside? It's gotta be hot in that outfit." Ellie asked, looking her friend up and down. She had no idea how this girl wore these kinds of clothes year round and never got cold or hot.
"Nah I'm all good, besides it's nice out. Gotta get my daily dose of that D." The girl replied with a grin. "But that's enough D, I'm hungry. In we go."
They made their way inside the small shop and took a seat at a table near the back of the store away from the windows. Ellie never liked sitting close to them; she always felt like people would watch her through the windows. A few moments later a young girl approached their table and asked for their order.
"I'll just have some Miso Ramen and a glass of water." Ellie answered, she always had the same thing whenever she came. It was sort of a comfort food to her, she'd eaten it probably a thousand times growing up.
"A California Roll and a Philly Roll for me!" Her friend beamed. "And extra sauce please."
"Tell Miss An we said hello as well, Lily." Ellie smiled, resting her head in her hands. Miss An was the mother of the young girl who was waiting on them, a sort of god mother if you would. Her grandmother and Miss An had been best friends for years. Ellie had even babysit Lily on a few occasions as well and helped tutor a few of her siblings.
The girl nodded, she was always a bit shy and scurried away towards the kitchen.
Ellie glanced over at her friend who hadn't put her phone down for even a second since they came in. "You know it's rude to invite me out and be on your phone all the time." She stated with an annoyed look.
"New girl I met at a club last night has been blowing up my phone all morning, on damage control trying to calm her down." she replied with a groan. "I mean she doesn't believe I was just sleeping in, why do they always do this."
"Let me see." Ellie demanded, reaching her palm out towards the phone.
"Fine." she replied with a sigh.
Scrolling up through the texts she skimmed over all the insults and accusations. "How do you always find the crabbiest people imaginable?" Ellie pondered, genuinely every time her friend introduced her to a new supposed friend or partner they were always through in a matter of weeks if not days. "Here this will solve the problem. Block. Now, no more phones." She placed the phone on the bench beside her out of reach of her friend.
"Now who's being rude." She chuckled. "Oh well she probably would have blocked me anyways." The blonde rested back against the bench and stretched her arms out onto the table. "Speaking of new people, isn't your new roomie supposed to be showing up today. I wonder if she's hot."
"She'll be here later tonight as far as I know, as long as I'm home by five ish should be fine. Also my new roommate is off limits, I don't need you causing any problems by trying to scoop her up." Ellie said glaring at her friend.
"Yes yes, no home wrecking. I understand Ma'am" Her friend replied, playfully saluting. A few moments later their food and drinks were brought to the table and the duo continued to chat while they ate. By the time the two had finished their food and figured it was time to leave some hours had passed. They paid for their meal at the counter and left a sizable tip for the young girl to spend on herself and made their way down the sidewalk towards the subway entrance.
"You sure you're gonna be okay with that new roommate?" The blonde asked as the two stopped to wait at a crosswalk. "I mean like it was your grandmother's room and I know how much she meant to you."
Ellie smiled and leaned to rest against her friend’s shoulder. "Showing our soft side today are we?" She replied with a smile. "I'll be alright, it's been over a year and I've already moved everything out there. Plus it'll be a huge stress relief not having to pay for everything on my own." Ellie stood back up straight and began walking across the road as the signal turned white. "Besides I know if anything happens you'll be there before I even know it."
"Of course," Her friend replied with another goofy salute. "I would never let anything happen to my queen."
"Oh stop it you dork. Once she gets settled in and If she's not a weirdo I'll introduce you. She's still off limits, I don't need any drama." Ellie said sternly. "Well I'll see you later, text me to let me know you got home safe."
"Will do, see ya." Her friend waved as she continued down the sidewalk and they parted ways.
Ellie stepped down the stairs leading to the subway and made her way to the station. It was a short 20 minute ride from here to the station near her home and then a 15 minute walk from there. She pulled out her phone to check the time, 5:11 PM. 'Hopefully she's not waiting outside' Ellie thought worriedly, she didn't want her new roommates' first impression of her to be that she was late. Quickly she entered the subway and found a seat.
When she arrived back in front of her shop the time was 5:41 PM, she had rushed a little and saved a few minutes. She unlocked the front door and stepped inside, since there wasn't anyone waiting out front she assumed she was safe and made her way back upstairs into the apartment. She changed into more suitable comfy home clothes and went back down stairs to unlock the door and wait for her new roommate. 'She said 5, hope nothing bad happened.' Ellie thought as she tidied up the shop, finding small things to keep herself busy like rearranging magazines and sweeping the entryway.
A few minutes later she headed back upstairs to use the restroom, she would only be gone a few moments so it'll be fine she told herself. After washing up and returning to the store the faint sound of a truck engine could be heard growing even quieter outside. As she made her way to the front and rounded the shelf near the front the door opened with a familiar ring. A sense of bewilderment filled Ellie as she met eyes with the girl who walked in.
Staring back at her was an almost mountain of a woman, she stood almost a foot taller than Ellie herself, her auburn hair stuck up in a messy ponytail giving her the impression of a rowdy animal. Her eyes seemingly held Ellie's by force, deep brown eyes that didn't seem to end as if they were staring into her very essence. A slight warmth began to grow in Ellie's cheeks, she felt as if she'd be devoured if she did or said the wrong thing. For a moment everything seemed to stop. Until...
"Are you Ellie?" A voice rang in her ears, snapping her back to reality.
"A-Ah, yes. You must be Amanda." Ellie replied.