Chapter 19
1104words
Outside the store, Aiden was getting apprehensive about being caught by the watching eyes of others.
Deciding to walk away, he heard something hit the floor and his ears perked up for another sound just in case it might have been a fraction of his imagination.
Listening closely, whoever was inside the store made an effort to pick up whatever it was that fell and made a shuffling sound with her legs. Her grunts betray her gender.
It had to be Moon; her partners would always abandon her, leaving her to take the workload on herself. Before now, Aiden would have sneaked in to help her out till they were both done with the work and he thought of doing that today, at least to make up for his actions back there.
'Moon, I know you are in there," Aiden said but met with silence.
Knowing she was still mad at his action, he decided it was best to just go in and confront her.
Reaching the door knob, he twisted it but the door wouldn't move.
'Hey Moon, I am sorry okay? Just open up."
'How do you even breathe inside there with the door all locked up?" He asked the care in his voice evident.
Repeating his actions a few times, he decided it was best to just leave it be.
Moon who had stilled in fear when she thought he was about to kick down the door, breathed in relief, her racing heart calming and muttering one or two words before going back to what she was doing.
If it were to be before now, her heart would have fluttered at his coming to check up on her. She was blinded by love, too blind not to see his manipulation and selfishness.
'How did I fall for that?" She questioned herself.
Reaching for the door to the inner store called the cold room, she shivered a bit when the freezing air hit her face. She needed to take out the quantity of meat enough for the night's dinner.
On reaching out for the labeled one hanging a few inches above her, an unwanted memory flashed before her eyes, making her shiver. Not from the cold, but from disgust of her past action.
***
After making several small jumps to get to the tip of the hanger and unhang the meat, Moon's face began to pale and her lips were getting dry. It looks just like someone had kept it far from her reach on purpose.
Her already reddened and puffed-up eyes from crying before began to conjure tears all over again. On this final jump, she got her hand pierced and offered a low ouch, shaking severely from the crown of her head to her feet.
Startled by the sudden warmth she felt, she had wanted to turn abruptly but was kept in place.
'Don't move." He had told her.
'You are cold." He commented, his hands wrapping tighter around her waist as he brought her closer to his chest.
'You hurt your hands."
Moon got confused, pondering if it was a question or a statement. One thing was for sure, though: the butterflies in her belly were fluttering wildly; it was a sickening, sweet feeling.
'let me see." He said, and before she knew it, his hand reached out of the big chunk of meat above her; taking it in one hand, he also held her in the other before walking away from the cold room.
Looking at his focused face in treating the minor injury on his finger, Moon's lips stretched into a smile, her eyes were fawning over him, and her heart did several somersaults each time he bent to blow in the air into her injury at every little wince from her.
From then on, it became a habit to meet up at the store and do the selection and packing together. Any missing day would leave Moon's mood sour all through till he explains missing out on helping her in the store.
***
'I will never be that stupid again," Moon commented shaking off the cringe memory from her head.
'What do you mean by that?" Aiden responded behind her, with his hand reaching for hers as they both touched the meat.
Jumping away from him as if scalded by a pot of hot oil, Moon looked at the face of the man she now hated even more than her parents.
'You are welcome," Aiden said, making a show of helping her out.
Knowing he was just there to elicit words from her, Moon avoided him, moving into the main store to round up her activity and go back to her room.
'I know you are vexed about what I did. I am extremely sorry." He said, closely following her.
Not wanting to go back to the embarrassing memory from earlier, nor wanting to give him the satisfaction that he had the power to change her mood to the way he wanted it to be, Moon, quickly reached for the door.
'Moon!" He called out.
Thankfully, he didn't keep it locked this time. She pushed it wide open and ran out immediately without looking back. He could decide to also leave the work undone for all she cared.
The eyes of others followed her till she reached her room. She didn't stop for air, and that left her breathing hard.
Flopping on the floor, with her head on the bed, she let out a muffled scream, allowing the restrained tears to run down her face.
‘I did nothing to deserve all this hate.'
Falling into deep sleep, she was awakened by a loud thump on her door.
'Dinner!" Whoever it was yelled, before moving away.
She wanted to ignore but her stomach chose that moment to give a loud rumble. She needed to eat.
Packing her curly brown her to a loose bun, she had a change of clothes before moving to the dining.
Deciding to look ahead and ignore every other person, Moon reaches for her portion of food on the counter.
Her eyes looked droopy, her steps floppy, and her body a little shaky; Moon found her way to the seat already reserved for her when she found herself slipping over something.
With another dull thud, she fell to the floor under the watching eyes of everyone present in the dining, the tray of scantily arranged dishes spilling all over her and making a mess of her appearance.
