Because of Karson

Chapter 9

A few days have passed and my body has been healing very well. My bruises were gone and my ribs weren't as swollen, so they weren't causing as much pain as they did before. They still aren't fully healed, but the pain wasn't as noticeable.

My mother still hasn't come home, but I'm sure as hell not complaining. I didn't need her coming back and ruining all of the progress my siblings and I have made.

With my body being almost completely healed, I was finally able to return back to work. I haven't been in a while due to my mother and my constant injuries. She knew that my job was our only income, but she believed that since I was working, then she didn't need to. She would just live off of my salary and take money from my savings account to buy herself drugs and alcohol. I was enraged, but because I'm underage, I couldn't really do anything about it.

As of right now, Jace was at home with Liv, babysitting her so I could go into work today. We both knew we needed money, so I tried to pick up as many shifts as I could while my body wasn't in pain. We needed to take advantage of this, because we never know when my mother could come back home. When she comes home, we'll be at square one all over again.

I've been working at Stan's Brewery, a local coffee shop only located a few miles from my house. I've been working there since I was fourteen, because that's when my mother found alcohol for the first time.

The owner of the shop is an older man, Stan, and he somehow saw potential in my fourteen year old self. Stan was a 65 year old man who didn't have any children. He was married to a beautiful woman named Violet, but she sadly passed a few years ago.

When I first started working here, he showed me how to clean the coffee machines, how to make his most popular baked goods, and taught me how to properly talk to customers. We became very close over the past few years and he soon became like a father figure to me. He reminded me so much of my father and we quickly bonded over anything and everything.

I walked into the coffeehouse, hearing a small bell ring above my head as I stepped through the doors. A strong smell of coffee hit my nostrils at full force as I took a deep breath, inhaling the bitter smell. Stan's Brewery was like my second home, it was my one place to escape.

I looked around the coffee shop and stopped when I noticed a little girl running up to her mother who was sitting in one of our booths next to the window. I watched as the mother picked the girl up and sat her down in the booth before laughing at a joke her daughter made. I smiled as I watched the scene unfold in front of me, wishing I had what they had.

I took some time to look around the coffee shop and noticed all the other customers that sat peacefully, in their own little world. I always wondered what their life is like, every person has a different story and I was so curious as to what chapter they were on at this moment.

I continued to study my surroundings and found myself stopping once again, my gaze lingering on an older lady who sat by herself. I wondered what adventures she's lived through and wondered if she was happy with her life. The old woman sipped her black coffee as her shaky hand gripped the book she was reading, occasionally turning the page when her eyes no longer found any words left.

I noticed a couple seated in the corner, their hands outstretched across the table as the young boy softly ran his fingers against the back of her hand, comforting her. I wore a sad smile, knowing I would never experience that type of love.

I never realized how much I missed this place until now. I missed the atmosphere and crowd this coffee shop brought.

I looked around one last time, searching for my boss. It didn't take long for me to find Stan wiping down table number six and straightening the chairs as he picked up the customers leftover trash. I watched as he sprayed more cleaning product onto a rag before wiping it against the dirty table.