Chapter 12

Soma’s POV

I wasn't even sure I wanted to keep the store open. This made my heart hurt and I was angry too. I wanted to do something, Detective Marks didn’t have a right to do this to my store. I wasn't even sure what he was looking for, and now he took the one thing that made me happy away.

Tossing the rest of the ruined product into the dumpster behind the store, I cried hard. I don’t know how long I stood by the smelly trash but when I was done crying all I thought about was going home. Not to my apartment, but back home. I needed my mom more than anything, I needed to hear her encouraging words.

Walking back into my shop, I decided it was best to post a note that I would be closed until my new merchandise came in, whenever that might be. I sighed tomorrow was supposed to be a good day, but now I’ll be home sulking and trying to figure out my next move.

Before leaving the store my cellphone rang. Looking down my heart dropped, it was Nick. I hadn't heard from him in a while, he must have been having fun and forgot to check on me. This couldn’t come at the worst time.

“Hey, Nick,” I said trying not to let him know I was upset.

“Hey baby girl, how’s business?” he said cheerily.

“Eh,” I said. “Good I guess.”

“What’s wrong did something happen?” he said sounding concerned. “Do I need to come there?”

“No, no you cannot leave London. Something happened, I will have to figure this one out on my own.” I sighed again.

“Tell me what happened? Did that coffee shop across the street do something?”

“No, no it wasn't them,” I said looking out the window, I could see Oliver talking to someone outside, but it didn’t matter. “A mix-up with the police is all, and they thought I was hiding drugs here,” I said walking away from the window. “They destroyed my store, and now I, uh, I don’t know what I am going to do.”

“Did they ruin everything?” he questioned.

“Almost,” I said with tears rolling down my face. “I have some savings so I will have to figure out what I can afford until I get more business.”

“Don't worry baby girl I am going to make a trip there, we’ll figure this out together. Besides I’ve missed you so much and I need to see you.”

“Do you?” I questioned. “I don’t want you coming here, I don’t know what this cop is going to do. I don’t want him hurting you.”

“I’m not afraid of some stupid cop, hell we could bury him under your store,” he said laughing. “But no I am coming to you. I’m booking the flight right now, I will be there on Saturday,” he said sounding calm.

“You are going to be so disappointed in me, I don’t know if I want you here,” he said wiping the tears and snot from my nose. “I miss you, but I wanted to see you when this was happening, not like this. I am so embarrassed.”

“Don't worry there isn't anything to be embarrassed about, some bully came through your store and is trying to mess with you. Well, Nick isn't going to let that happen,” he said sounding confident.

“Well alright, so Saturday huh?” I said walking back to the window the coffee shop was dark, we must have been on the phone for a while. It didn’t seem that long, but hell it was getting late.

“I’ll see you in a few days okay? I’m going to head home standing in my broken store is depressing as hell.”

“Alright, stay away from that cop until I get into town. We’ll go and chat with his boss and tell them to back off or they are going to have a lawsuit on their hands. See you later.” he said before hanging the phone up.

It was good that Nick was coming into town, I needed to be around someone that I knew. I felt like I didn’t belong.

Taking one last look around the store, I frowned. Pulling myself to the door, I tried to hold the tears back but they seemed to have a mind of their own, I posted the sign and then locked the door up. I wasn't sure I wanted to go home, I decided to head to the wine store. I needed to get drunk and get this bastard off my mind.

I didn’t want to wait for Nick to come into town to confront him, but I knew I wasn't as strong as Nick, and maybe Nick could get him to leave me alone. I just hoped it didn’t cause more issues with me and this whole town. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to sell my tea, it was making my heart hurt worse just knowing Detective Marks could do what he did and get away with him.

Turn the car off, I wasn't sure what kind of wine I wanted. I preferred the red to the white, but my body was sensitive to the white, and I didn’t have to drink as much to make a statement. Walking in, there were a few people, they stopped to look at me. I thought it was weird, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask them why they were staring, it didn’t matter. I was in there for the wine and not some award. I rolled my eyes walking past them, looking through the wine. I found a few bottles, I knew it was going to be overkill but I was taking a few days off to figure out what I needed to do.

I was worried about the supplies, I would have to wait until Nick came into town to see where he ordered everything from and how much it would cost. I was worried that it was going to put me in the negative, but I needed to do what I needed to do.

Paying for my wine, I headed home. It was going to be a quiet night I hoped, just Mouse and I. I couldn’t wait to hold him and tell him about Nick coming to visit. Parking my car and headed towards the door.

“Lovely night isn't it.” a familiar voice said.

I looked up and half-smiled. “I guess, but it could be better,” I said clenching my wine. “I haven't seen you around.”

“Oh yeah, my boss keeps me pretty busy,” Ryan said. “But glad to see you around,” he said moving out of the way so I could walk into the apartment building.

It was a little weird, but maybe I am being overly weird since everything that happened. Walking into my apartment, Mouse greeted me at the door with a long meow. It was like he knew something happened and he wanted to comfort me.

“I know, it was a bad day,” I said picking him up. “But mommy is going to take a few days off and hopefully get over this. Nick is coming into town, so it’s going to be fun.” I said sitting down on the couch with him.

I decided to cook some dinner for myself before I drank anything. I didn’t want to wander around outside tonight just in case I don’t get lucky. Making some soup was the best I felt like doing, I knew it wasn't going to be enough for when I started drinking, but honestly, I didn’t care. The faster I was drunk the faster I would fall into bed and forget about what happened today.

I knew I was being a baby, but I’ve never been through anything like this, and it made me mad that I felt so powerless. I couldn’t let this cop win, whether or not he was in the right and was just being cautious since I bought coffee, but the way he was doing it was wrong.

Eating and drinking my wine, I started to relax and forget about the tough day. Mouse curled up in my lap, I turned on a movie but was soon bored of it. I decided to surf the internet and see if I could find a place that sold bulk tea so I could get a start on my journey.

Remembering I left something in my car, I went outside. The cold breeze hit me, it was snowing a little bit which was nice. I smiled, this was something that made me feel all warm inside. I loved winter, I couldn’t wait to see if it turned into something. Maybe tomorrow I’ll run around and play in the snow. I wanted so bad to be a kid again, even though it was probably the wine making me happy.

Near my car door was a rose, I smiled when I picked it up. Looking around I was hoping someone would come and say hello, but it was just me and the snow. Smelling the rose made me feel a little better, I smiled the whole way back to my apartment, I probably looked weird but I didn’t care. Someone made my night a little better, whoever you are thank you.