sparrowkeeper

[sparrowkeeper]

“It is better to be alone than to be with someone who can’t see who you are.”

— E. Lockhart

[sparrowkeeper]

Taking a little adventure here and wondering if anyone would be keen on taking a look at a book I am currently writing? Here is a small snippet of chapter one if you want:

The café was busy, customers calling for their coffee or herbal tea orders like every Monday morning rush. They wore their grogginess on their shoulders, only perking up once they had taken a sip of their drink, caffeine coursing through their veins as they exited with a bump in their step. Lucky them, I suppose, they did not have to gruel through the weekend shifts as we did. Even sitting on my break, I could hear the chatter outside as I scrolled through my phone. One slave is a slave for another, I guess.

I only glanced up when Addy came rushing in, her cheeks red as she grinned at me like a fool. The clock behind her head told me I still had fifteen minutes left to go before having to brave the counter again.

“You won’t believe it. There is a really hot guy looking for you, like really hot with these intense eyes,” Addy exclaimed, rushing each word while bunching up her skirt to reveal more of her freckled legs. Rolling my eyes, I stood up, pocketed my phone and strolled out of the breakroom. Sure enough, there was a handsome man behind the counter his face turned towards the door.

“Afternoon sir, how can I help you?” I tried to keep the venom out of my voice as my precious lunchtime ticked by. The man glanced at me then, his eyes intensely scanning over my face. Addy was right in that aspect but everything about him made me uneasy. The way his eyes were almost animalistic in their golden chocolate colouring and how he gripped the countertop so hard that his knuckles were white.

“Are you Harper Grace?” Raising an eyebrow at his accent, I folded my arms over my chest while slowly taking a step back from the counter.

“Yes. What business do you think you have with me?” “We must leave right now before it is late, and they arrive.”

“Excuse me? I don’t know you and surely would not go with you anywhere. If you are not going to spend money here, then leave,” I growled, going back into the breakroom with the turn of my heel. Addy was gawking at me as I resumed my position on the stained couch and continued my scrolling, trying to push away the unease the man had placed over me.

“How could you do that? That guy was so your type and even knew your name! Why did you drop him like that?” Addy fell onto the couch next to me, her skirt riding up as I rolled my eyes at her naivety.

“You’re eighteen and you think that’s a way a guy should pick you up? No, that is just a creep poorly attempting a kidnapping. Now, please leave me be, I don’t need further stress in my life than that asshole has added.” Addy huffed and threw her hands down on either side of her on the cushion as if that would change my opinion.

When the clock finally hit its mark, I sighed and stood up. Adjusting my hair and patting the creases out of my skirt, I faked a kind smile as I exited the breakroom, hoping the last hours would tick by faster than the first lot. I was lucky that is what exactly happened. The afternoon rush was pleasant and smooth sailing with little requirement of conversation with sleazy teenage boys and bitchy girls. When it came to locking up, I was left behind, waving the other baristas off.

Humming to myself, I turned the key in its lock before feeling a prick like a bee sting at the side of my neck and the whole world blacked out.