Indra

one | vinyl shop

one | VINYL SHOP
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I  N  D  R  A    F  O  R  E  S  T

The luscious scent of cinnamon astonishes my nose as the aroma flows through my nostrils straight to my blood cells. The tan walls are painted with vintage pictures of artists and bands, all forming in a straight line across the half room. The corners of some of the photographs crumble at the ends due to the brown, detailed shelves next to each one. Various genres of vinyl adorn the shelves, strewn throughout the shop. The shop was littered with vinyl in wooden crates. Vinyl players sit elegantly on black tables in front of the counter I stand behind. Vibrations of the soft background music hit the bottom of my shoes like a mini massage for my feet. Sun rays slip through the broad windows, adding more life to the shop, and the September wind waits until the door opens to enter the room, chilling up every creature in here.

"Do you want?" Eloise asks, and I nod. Eloise, the owner of this shop, is a friend of mine I've known since I started working here. She hired me when I was sixteen years old, she needed a worker asap, and I happened to be the one available at the time.

She passes me the cup of coffee she made, and I thanked her, grabbing it from her hands. I bring the coffee to my nose, smelling the strong scent of cinnamons in it. I love coffee. I could drink it every morning, every night, every evening. I will never get tired of coffee.

"I'm slowly debating if I should stay in Boston or not." Mateo states, placing a vinyl on the cashier's desk. Mateo is a customer that comes to Eloise's shop every day. His slick back blonde hair matches his outfit, a tan color shirt with a black puffy jacket and khaki jeans. "I want to move somewhere warm."

I prop the coffee on the counter, "Where are you planning on going."

"Maybe Los Angeles." He answers, positioning a bunch of dollars on the counter. "Seen many videos about the place, and I already love the energy there."

I hum, grabbing the dollars and counting them.

"Just because you see something online doesn't mean it's real." Eloise states as I place the money in the cash register and grab Mateo's change.

"You sound like my mother." Mateo laughs, "And I'd asked someone who lives there, and they say it's great." I pass him his change as he grabs the vinyl off the cashier's desk and collects the money out of my hands. "So, what are you ladies doing later tonight?"

"Not that it concerns you, but I'm going on a date with my lovely girlfriend. We're celebrating our one-year anniversary." Eloise says, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Lexi right?" Mateo asks, and she nods. "That's great. Tell her she's one lucky lady." Mateo's eyes trail up and down Eloise's body, licking his lips. I roll my eyes at his action. Mateo likes to flirt, or I think it's flirting, a lot. He asked me out before, but I respectfully declined. I told him that I'm not ready to date, but he still asked me out many times after. "What about you?" He asks, turning his head to face me.

"Nothing much. Just going home and maybe watching some television." I answer.

"That's boring." He bluntly states, rolling his eyes. "Well, I'm going to go and actually do something fun." He tugs the vinyl under his shoulder, turns around, and walks away.

"I thought he would never leave." Elosie laughs, strolling around me. "I need to go grab something from the back so you're in charge." Then she paces out of the main room into the staff room.

Low music starts to play in the background. I bob my head to the music, tapping my hand on the counter. I look down at my fingernails, I hate the way they're shaped.

I groan as I felt a vibration in my back pocket from my phone. I slid my hand into my back pocket and grabbed my phone. I check the caller ID. Birth Giver was written on my phone. I press the pad of my thumb on the red icon.

I don't need her negativity today.

The soft sounds of someone opening the door cause me to slide my phone into my back pocket. I focus my attention on the person who enters the shop. The man had short, dark brown hair, almost black, a few loose strands of his hair fell over his face. He was wearing a thick black jacket with black loose jeans. I watch him subtly as he brings his hand to his hair, running his fingers through it. Bright silver rings wrap around his fingers. His plump pink lips pucker, looking around the store. He slowly walks to the vinyl in the wooden crates set on tables. He flicks through the vinyl in the crates, his hand on his jaw, the other hand inside his hoodie pocket.

My back pocket starts to vibrate again, a groan escapes my lips. Apparently, the groan catches the man's attention because his head turns to face me. His bright, emerald green eyes connect with mine. I quickly look away at something more interesting, sliding my hand into my back pocket again. I reach for my phone, checking the caller ID for the second time in the past hour. Brother. I roll my eyes, my mother and brother are probably together right now.

Elias, my brother, will always be ranked better than me in my mother's eyes. My mother never showed me love. I don't even think she ever loved me. There could be a possibility? But I doubt that. I've seen the way she treated me differently, the side glances and sighs she gave me, and her body language. All things I can't physically detach from my brain because my brother was a reminder that I'll never received the love my mother gives him.

Whenever her gaze touches my skin, anger envelops her eyes as she burns holes into my flesh, forcing me to have the worst qualities compared to my brother so she could hate me.

I always envy kids who get to ask their mother for something without their mother giving them a sigh before talking to them.

Her hate towards me was even worse when my father died.

"Merde." The man mumbles under his breath,  his thick French accent was heard loud and clear. I remove my attention from my phone and focus on the dude, sliding my phone back into my back pocket. His eyes crease together, and a frustrating sigh escapes his lips. | Shit |

I walk out of the cashier's desk and pace toward the man, "Need any help?"

"Does it look like I need help?" His eyebrows crease, even more, when anger laced in his voice. What's gotten up his ass.

"Yes." I simply reply.

He lets out a sigh, his eyes connecting with mine. "I don't need help."

"Well, if you need any help, I'll be over there." I shrug, looking over my shoulder and pointing at the cashier's desk. I look back to see green eyes with a frown on his face.

"Don't worry about it, I won't be needing you." He says, under his breath. I shrug, turning around and walking off toward the cashier's desk.

I spent the next ten minutes helping other customers as green eyes still walk around the shop, finding something he likes. I watch him slowly walk up to the register, a couple of vinyl in his hand. I tell him the price of the vinyl, and he digs into his pocket, pulling his wallet out. His slender fingers drew out dollar bills and pass them over to me. I count the money, place them inside the register, collect his change, and pass it back to him. He grabs the remaining cash, collects the vinyl, walks towards the door, and exits the shop.

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chapter one posted.

can't wait to write the other parts.

anyways have a nice day/night and be safe <3