• Chapter Eight •

Ariel

The door rings as someone walks into the shop. I look up from my book and prepare to say the usual welcome speech but stop when I see it's just Axel walking in with his signature sour expression.

"Hey." I barely acknowledge him, then turn back to my book. The storyline is so amazing. Each chapter brings something new to the plot, keeping me excited and anticipating more. Tearing myself away is almost impossible.

"Hey." He walks around the counter and drops his bag beside mine, then walks to the back room to get changed into his apron.

The girl runs and screams in fright, falling to the ground as the wolf knocks her down.
"Please! Don't hurt me!" She cries. The wolf bares its teeth at her then—

"C'mon, Ariel." My head jerks up at the mention of my name. Axel stands over me with his arms crossed, a slightly annoyed expression on his face.

"Sorry, what?" I close my book and set it to the side, giving Axel my full attention.

"I asked where my apron is? It's not in its usual place in the back room. Where did you put it?" He raises an eyebrow at me, his tone accusing.

"What makes you think I did anything with it? It's your apron." I roll my eyes at his tone and continue to focus on my reading. "Maybe Steve took them all home last night to wash?" I quickly throw in, hoping he'll stop bugging me so I can focus.

He sighs and I watch through my peripheral vision as he runs a hand through his hair, turning back around to walk to the back room. Where is he going now?

I glance around the shop to make sure nobody is coming, and then I follow him back. I push open the backroom door. "What are you doing? I don't think you'll find it— Oh goodness, I'm so sorry!" I squeak in embarrassment and cover my eyes, quickly backing out of the room and shutting the door. I hear Axel's deep laugh and the sound of the door opening.

"Have you ever heard of knocking?" I peek open one eye but quickly close it again when I see his bare chest. Shielding my eyes, I turn around to give him some privacy. My blood boils with irritation and embarrassment at his teasing tone.

"Have you ever heard of a lock?" I quickly fire back, too ashamed to accept my own fault. He chuckles again and shuts the door. A few moments later I hear it open again, and I feel his warm hands gently wrap around mine, pulling them away from covering my eyes.

"It's alright, I have a shirt on." I open my eyes cautiously, sighing in relief when I see his chest is covered by a black tee shirt. I quickly frown at him and try to rip my hands out of his strong grip.

He raises an eyebrow at me and releases my hands. "Don't be so dramatic. You act like you've never seen a shirtless guy before." He starts to walk away, talking to me over his shoulder. I shut my eyes quickly, pushing back the unwanted images, my chest tightening when I fail.

"You have no idea." I softly whisper the words. A tear slips out and slides down my cheek. Quickly opening my eyes and wiping it away, I walk out to the front and take my seat again. Axel is cleaning the tables.

I watch him carefully, his biceps flexing slightly each time he drags the cleaning towel back towards himself. I frown at my own actions and quickly look away, reaching down to grab my book and divert my attention. Why can't I even enjoy looking at men without feeling like I'm betraying myself? Opening my book, I get easily lost between the pages again, pushing my thoughts away once again.

"Please! Don't hurt me!" She cries. The wolf bares its teeth at her then—

"Hey, where's the other bag of coffee grounds?" Axel asks. I sigh softly and shut my book again. I look over at Axel, who is now rummaging through the cabinets looking for the coffee. I huff and get up, moving to open up the cabinet beside the one he is looking in. Grabbing the bag, I pull it out and show it to him.

"Right here."

He frowns and grabs the bag, mumbling a quiet, "Thank you."

My eyebrows furrow and despite my dislike, I quietly ask, "Are you alright?"

He stops what he's doing and looks over at me with surprise. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

I shrug and move to sit criss-cross on the floor beside him. "You've just seemed...not yourself today?"

He stares at me with the same shocked
expression, making me feel uncomfortable and regret asking. I trip over my words as I try to explain myself, "I mean, you usually have a lot to say. Not that you don't today, I just mean usually you joke a lot more and—"

He cuts off my word vomit. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He chuckles and turns back to his work. "I always seem upset, you'll just have to get used to it, sweetheart."

I crinkle my nose up in distaste. "Sweetheart? Really?"

He glances back over at me and gives me a once over. "Yeah, it fits you perfectly." He smirks, finishing up his job and turning to face me completely. He crosses his legs like mine, then leans on his elbows and rests his chin on his hands. His brown eyes stare back at me with a spark of amusement in them. "You're sweet, and you have a big heart. Therefore, sweetheart." He smiles smugly and waits for my answer. His eyes light up with mischief as he quickly adds, "Or should I use sweet cheeks? That one is fitting too..."

My glare hardens as I scoff loudly, "You're stupid." He looks at me with surprise and confusion, then frowns like a child pouting.

"You're stupid-er." I stare at him for a second before a small laugh bubbles up my throat. He laughs with me, his voice like smooth velvet, causing goosebumps to race across my skin. Whoa, that's never happened before. I push my sweater sleeve up and stare down at the raised bumps, completely forgetting where I am for a moment.

"Excuse me? Is anyone here?" An angry voice interrupts us. We stare at each other with wide eyes and quickly get to our feet. The man on the other side of the counter raises an eyebrow at both of us, and I can't help but turn red with embarrassment. I can only imagine what he's thinking right now.

"How can I help you?" Axel jumps to action, casually sliding in front of me to shield me from the man's pinning stare. I blink at his back, frozen in my place as he helps the customer; surprise and a newfound feeling of fondness washing over me at the fact that Axel so quickly jumped to my rescue, again.

I shake my head and put my focus back on working. A few customers have filtered into the shop, forcing us to pick up our pace a bit to serve them. About an hour or so later, it calms down again and I'm able to pick up my forgotten book. Oh book, how I've missed you! I gingerly open it up to the page that I was on, excitement bubbling up through my body. I can't wait to find out what happens next—

"Excuse me." I jump in fright and slam the book shut, looking up to find a boy around my age standing at the counter and smiling at me. He points to the book, "Sorry for the interruption, but seeing as you're the only one up here to serve..." He smiles sheepishly and scratches the back of his neck. His voice coated with a thick, Australian accent.

I smile up at him and place the book aside. "No, it's alright. It's my job. What can I get for you?"

He leans against the counter and looks up at the menu. "Umm, I'll take a mocha frappe and a blueberry muffin." He hands me the money and I get him his change, then turn to start making his coffee.

"So, how long have you worked here?" He moves over slightly and makes room for any other possible customers. His eyes stay locked on me, his smile warm and inviting.

A warm blush crawls up my neck onto my cheeks as I notice his blatant staring. "About a year or so now."

He hums in response. "Do you work often?"

"Just about every day, I guess. I work here all the time. It just depends on when I'm needed." I smile over at him and continue with the coffee, sliding over to wrap up his muffin while I'm at it.

"Hmm, okay. What's your book about?" I finish his coffee and hand it to him before neatly placing the muffin in a bag. He takes a small sip of his coffee, his eyes closing in delight. "This is really good, thank you."

I smile because he asked about my book and then lean against the counter. "Oh wow, where do I begin? It's so amazing!" I look lovingly at the book across the counter and lean my head against my hand. "So far it's about this girl who gets captured by a werewolf and then he takes her back to his pack. There's a lot more to it than just that. I haven't read it all yet so I don't know what happens next."

I sigh softly and look back over at the boy. He's staring at me and biting his lip, eyeing me up from across the counter.

"Mm, sounds interesting. Where'd you get it?"

My smile grows brighter, ready to share my favorite place. "Oh, I got it from—"

"She got it from me, her boyfriend," Axel says as he comes up behind me and pulls me against his chest, his arm tightly wrapped around my waist. I gasp in shock and look up at him with confusion, but he's not looking back. No, he's glaring daggers at the boy leaning against the counter. The boy raises his hands up in defense and backs away with his coffee and muffin.

"Sorry, mate. Didn't realize she was taken." He glances at me then looks me up and down once more. "When you get bored with him, come find me, babe." He winks suggestively and then walks out of the shop. My skin grows cold after his words, but I quickly brush it off and shove Axel away from me.

"What was that all about? Since when are you my boyfriend?" My eyes lock onto his with a dark glare, my body slowly beginning to shake.
"And keep your hands to yourself!" I instantly cross my arms over my chest, trying to put an extra shield around myself.

He glares at the door and turns to wipe the counter, completely avoiding looking in my direction. "Ever since that slimeball decided to undress you with his eyes." He disregards my last statement and turns to face me, his expression teeming with rage.

My throat tightens uncomfortably, and I try to gulp past the lump in it, an uneasy feeling setting out through my stomach as the flashbacks start up. "I don't—" My voice shakes as I struggle to get the words out, "I don't need your protection." The words crack as I speak, a cold sweat breaking out across my body. Oh no, not again. Not here. Please.

I shut my eyes tightly and force the images out of my mind. Opening my eyes, I see Axel staring at me with concern in his eyes.

"You alright over there?"

I shake my head and move to grab my stuff. "I-I gotta go." I check the time and see that it's six o'clock, which means we are free to leave anyway since Steve is already there to take over for us. My head begins to ache as tears threaten to spill onto my cheeks.

Squeezing my eyes for a moment, I awkwardly throw my bag over my shoulder. "Our shifts are over anyway." I quickly brush past him and whip my phone out of my pocket to text Matti and ask him to come get me. He texts back that he's on his way and that he'll be here in ten minutes. Thankfully the shop is already cleaned up, and the boy was the last customer of the night, so nothing needs to be done. Thank God. I need to get out of here.

"Whoa, okay. Do you need a ride home?" Axel follows me outside and stands in front of his car, hands stuffed in his pockets while he watches me lock up the place.

"No, my brother is on his way." I lean against the door and wrap my arms around myself tightly. The images are flashing through my mind quickly and gradually opening old wounds.

"Oh, alright. Well, at least let me wait with you until he gets here. You shouldn't stand out here by yourself."

"Okay." My breathing becomes uneven, my body starts to shake. No, no please. Not like this. The tears start burning behind my eyes.

"Hey, hey, no need to cry." Axel rushes over to me and pulls me into his arms. I scream and push him away.

"I said don't touch me!" I cry out as I crumble to the ground. My knees give out from under me. He gets closer, and I quickly move my hands up to block my face.

"Don't cower away from me!" The echoes of the past start ringing in my ears.

"Please! Leave me be!" At this point I'm a sobbing mess. My vision blurs between the past and reality, Stan hovering over me and yelling at me so loudly that my ears start throbbing.

"You're mine. Forever and always, baby girl. Just like we promised."

"No! Not again!" I scream and kick at him, pushing my body into the corner of the door and wall.

"Ariel!" I hear Matti's voice from a few feet away.

"You're all mine, nothing can take you away from me."

"No, Stan, please!"

"Ariel! Open your eyes!" Someone is shaking my shoulders, pulling me into their chest. I open my eyes to see Matti there looking at me. I cry out and throw myself into his arms, curling up into a ball as he wraps me up in his arms and picks me up from the ground. I bury my face in his shoulder and slowly the world goes dark.

~•~

        • Author's Note. •

Updated note!

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It's the freaking weekend baby - something else something else, I can't remember the rest of the song other than BOUNCE BOUNCE BOUNCE

Okay sorry, I'll stop 😂😂😂😂

How're you guys? 😘❤️ This week has been insane for me, so I'm extremely thankful for the relaxing weekend ahead of me! Between fake publishers, fb drama, and pain - it has been a crazy week for sure 😂😂😂

HOLY CRAP I FORGOT IT WAS FRIDAY AND ALMOST FORGOT TO POST!!!!

I realized that I've been totally lazy and haven't written much at all this week....UH OH SPAGHETTI O'S
I need to step up my game 😂😂

Who else here wants to marry Matti? *raises hand clear into space* I know I do!

Song added: I'll be good
By: Jaymes Young ❤️

Don't forget to Vote, Comment, Share, and Follow me! 😘❤️

                   Much Love
                                ~Molly

Written 11/6/2016