Chapter Text
“Welcome to Leaf Therapy. Please browse our shelves,
Enjoy a freshly brewed cup of coffee and just relax” I say as the bell above the door jingles,
This is my newest of many mantras over my life, I say it every day now, thankfully not just to myself alone, like in the past. I am the proud proprietor of the aforementioned Leaf Therapy, which is a small chain of book stores. I have been the owner for just under three years, a whirlwind three years I might add. Starting out with one single store and slowly, well, it often felt slow to me, opening one every, roughly six to nine months. Now how you might ask does a twenty-three year old own a chain of book stores. Actually, it was easier than I thought, expecting this to be a lifetime ambition. I wrote a book, which became a best selling series of books and this is my reward to myself. Whereas other people might get depressed after a bad messy break-up, I got creative and wrote a book.
A book about getting even and getting revenge on the boy who so cruelly and callously broke my just turned eighteen year old heart. Who knew it would resonate with so many other heartbroken girls out there, young and old. It wasn’t just about him, oh no, but his whole family and how they just dropped me like yesterdays news. Yes, they tossed me aside like an old newspaper, only having been read once, and now to them totally worthless. But I’m not worthless and I never was, they on the other hand…! Anyway my English teacher insisted I submit it to a publisher and they were the ones who suggested, or was that firmly insisted I break it up into several separate novels. That was when my one jam packed novel became four better spaced and slower paced ones and for some reason they took the world by storm.
So, that’s what I did to exorcise my demons as it were, and well the rest is history, as they say. I thought long and hard about the perfect titles for these very watered down, no, more like highly censored stories. The needed to convey how I felt, overwhelmed by the rush of first love, then how I suffered the coldness of casual rejection and how I ultimately won. Also making them human wasn’t as hard as I initially expected. Why? Because their behaviour was wrong no matter their species. Yes, I’m implying they were other, as in supernaturally other. I rued the day I met that coven of vampires, even if they called themselves a family, they were not! The barely liked each other, never mind me the gullible human! Not that I had any chance of avoiding them, they attended my High School, can you imagine. Yeah, I stood no chance at all!
Book 1, I called it, Broken China Dolls. I named it thus because I wasn’t the only one damaged; he was as well and had been long before ever meeting me. A perfect pair, a match made in hell!
Book 2, this was titled Fractured Porcelain Puppets. It was all about the unequal triangle of tainted love, between a petulant boy, a naive girl and his perceived rival, her jealous best friend. A family friend who demanded more of her. But it was way too much more than a real friend ever would have asked.
Book 3, I named it Cracked Alabaster Hearts. Showcasing the slipping facade of the friendships she thought were true. As well as the lack of familial love they thought she didn’t see, but even our heroine wasn’t that blind. It was plain to see, they barely liked each other.
Book 4, I called the final instalment, Stone Cold Effigies. Their abandonment of said naive girl and her made-up revenge set a few years later.
Which I wish I could have gotten. Having the capacity to really cause damage to them all, almost all, as much as they had done to me. Their lies, the fact they got away scot-free, still rankles to this day, but I revel in the knowledge that I moved on, that I at least had grown and I had flourished without them, can they say the same? I very much doubt it. I didn’t write these under my real name of Isabella Marie Swan, but the pseudonym of Arizona Desert and if they ever read them, I’m sure they could make the connection, but maybe not! My little dig was in their names, hell they were old-fashioned anyway, I just made them worse. Think, Ernest, Agatha and Jethro, Rowena and Elmer, not forgetting their parent’s Edna and Chester Carlton!
Whereas they had once made a profound and lasting impression on me, I doubt they even remember my name. I was probably one of many humans they allowed their son and brother to dupe! In the book I named myself Imogen Maeve Sparrow, same initials at least. I’m guessing you caught the vampire comment from before, it’s I know a hard tale to swallow and the reason I didn’t out them, I didn’t want to die!. Well they were, they really were bona fide vampires and had no right being in my world, my school or dragging me into theirs. Not that I could get away from the supernatural world even if I’d wanted to, my former best friend or who I once thought was my best friend was also not fully human. Turns out the indigenous people of North and South America had their own way of dealing with vampires.
They it turned outwere shapeshifters, wolf shapeshifters! He, my so-called friend just wanted to own me as well, but I didn’t see it until much later. As if I would do that again willingly, they both mistook me for a fool. My father wanted me to be with him as well and that’s why I left for College and never looked back. What gave them the right to think they could take over my life? It was hard studying and at first writing my book, then starting a business, but since that was the focus of my major it worked out really well. So here I am in North Carolina, running my book shop in Asheville, but just for the day. I live in Fountain Inn, South Carolina at present, near the first shop I opened in Greenville. I didn’t want to live over my work; I love it but not that much.
When the books made me money I took my idea and ran with it. I have five small stores now and this is the newest. I run the Greenville one as I said and I pay other aspiring authors who are also aligned with my publisher to run the others. Giving them a steady income while they hopefully write their own best sellers! The other three are in Shelby, Conway and Langley. I’ve stayed small within the Carolina’s for now, and hope that one day I’ll open stores in Fayettevilleand Bryson Citytoo. Would I like to branch out, maybe one day, for now it’s enough sticking to North and South Carolina. Who knows what the future may bring, I didn’t know what the past would bring until I had been here for about six months. Having two red eyed vampires arrive in my store was scary and what do they want?
My autograph, my damned autograph! I think I scared the crap out of them by laughing hysterically at the thought! Turns out they know thatcoven, only too well and wanted me to sign their 1st Edition copies of mybooks. They intended to gift signed copies of them to all their friends for Christmas. Vampires like me who thought very little of thatso-called family. Vampires who in fact laughed at them, ridiculed them at every turn! They were the first two vampires to re-enter my life. In fact I almost met them once before but he, my ex wouldn’t let me! He insisted they were dangerous and would kill me! So now I’ve finally became friends with Peter and Charlotte Whitlock. She really is the sister I never had, sending me stuff from their wanderings.
Plus she’s always there for me to gripe and moan too, you know like a real sister and friend. Next came Conrad from Iceland, he was just passing through on his way to see Peter and Char. That man has the prettiest eyes I've ever seen, a shade of lavender, due to his diet of half humans, half sea life. He just had to meet their human friend. He’s fun and like them doesn’t care I’m human. So my speed dial is full of names, all of whom are vampires. Garrett came next, he’s a big bit naughty and a little bit of a flirt. The scent of other vampires hanging around me was what drew him in and of course, he recognised Peter's scent. When he realised it was me who wrote that books Peter gave him he was thrilled, asking me to sign more for friends he had abroad. I’m still wrapping my head around my books going international.
Garrett said especially the ones in the United Kingdom and Eire, he mentioned an English one called Alistair and a. Scottish woman named Morag. Then the Irish coven he said, but thought Liam would find my books hilarious. Although his mate Siobhan, was a friend of the leader of that coven. He couldn’t stand any of them, ‘Pretentious Gits!’ he’d called them to Garrett. I'm not going to lie Garrett wants to be more than just friends with me. But for some reason I can't seem to take that leap, if it was anyone it would be him. He knows I'm not his mate, so for now we just go with having a great time, him making suggestive comments, me blushing all the time. When he's around we get together and do crazy things I'd never contemplate in the past. So far he’s had me try water skiing, sky diving and much more.
He is a dear friend and thankful not pushy or belligerent like my old friend once was. He's the one who keeps me up to date on where everyone else is and who's likely to come calling. Because my new friends are from all over the world now I enjoy having books in their languages as well as English. So Maltese, *Greenlandic (Kalaallisut) very hard to come by, French, Swedish, Norwegian and Greek. The Greek was a request from a vampire I haven’t met yet, he appears to be very secretive. But that’s his right and not for me to comment on. Anyway they, the ones I know come stay for a few days or even weeks and wander off again, I’m like a pit stop for them. Whilst here they pick up new clothes, drop off valuables to be sold etc, and I even bank money for them.
I have one human connection in my speed dial Jason Jenks their and my Attorney at Law. We met by accident and I was in need of a lawyer, the rest fell into place when he found out I had lived in Forks. Now that I do business with him on behalf of several of his clients, he asked me if I'd one day like to learn the ropes and take over from him. I’m still thinking about it, it’s a massive undertaking and I need to be sure. Is forgery something I’d be good at, Jason seems to think so. But I have to be completely sure because getting it wrong could cost me my life! I mean to have all the stores I want here first if I do, because my final push would be the Capitals, Raleigh and Columbia. The most pressing thing for me at present is, a reading of my books.
What I mean is, they want me to read exerts from my books out loud to a select clientele that the publisher has hand picked. They have even mentioned me being the narrator for a series of audio books as well. The money they are offering is insane and over and above I would receive royalties. It would really be helpful for the future! I have so many things to think about these days. But I refuse to jump into anything new without seriously thinking it through. That hasn’t changed, I like to weigh up the pros and cons. My getting involved with that coven was not my choice, he glamoured me or it would never have happened!Meanwhile Conrad had been moping around for a few days, to tell the truth he was getting in the way and I was starting to get more than a little exasperated with him.
"You’re bored aren’t you? Why don’t you get a job or a hobby? It's not always about money, sometimes it’s about fulfilment! I say and watch the confusion flit across his face,
“I don’t know what I’d do!” Conrad says sceptically, he strong accent out in full force,
“Okay, first you need to make a list. Likes versus dislikes kinda thing. Then you decide if it’s something you like, and what you want to do to enhance it or if it’s something you dislike, how you want to change and improve it!” I say smiling at him,
Thank you 'inngilia' (angel) you’ve given me much to think about" he replies before going upstairs to do just that,
Who’d have thought that I would one day become friend, confidant, and agony aunt to a bunch of human drinking vampires? Par for the course when it comes to me I guess. All of my shops now have glyphs, ones scratched in the wood by venom coated fingernails. Warning others I and my stores are not to be messed with, So far it has worked and no random vampires have ever approached me or my staff. Each store has a living space above it, if whoever runs the place doesn’t use it then a vampire will to wash, rest up or whatever they want within reason. I’m not allowing them bring back humans to feed on or running a brothel for them. Otherwise I don’t interfere in the least, I trust them. Strange that I can trust a bunch of nomads, but a coven of so called civilised vampires, not so much!
But even with all that was going on in my life I felt as if I was waiting, waiting for something or someone. You know that thing just out of reach, unseen but tangible? Well, it made sense to me in a strange roundabout way. I think that’s why I won’t commit to a relationship with Garrett. Because I’m no blushing virgin anymore, I dated and experimented at college whilst writing the original book, but again no one felt completely right and I just threw myself into the story, before it became stories and then the book stores and here I am. Funnily enough I don’t and never did want to be a writer, I just wanted to get that all off my chest and writing it out did that for me, literally it was therapy. The books I sell are my passion, owing the stores is the dream come true for me. Everything else is just an unexpected bonus foe me.
I love setting up displays for them, hyping them up to customers and above all reading them. I spoke to Char about the book reading event and she said to just go for it. That these things don’t come around every day so to expand my horizons. They asked if I would come to Seattle but I declined, no way was I going anywhere near Washington State, the tribe or my Dad. And therefore it will now be being held in New York. I would also have to do a questions and answers section of the evening, but it would be short and not to personal they said. I won’t lie, I’m a little nervous about the whole thing and would have loved some backup, but well friends are not something I have many of, unless they are vampires! It’s a catch-22, kind of situation, I don’t have friends because of vampires, but vampires have become my only friends!
Well, I better practise my reading out loud skills if I don’t want to embarrass myself in public. Alone at last, it’s been a while since I had my place to myself and I won’t lie it’s nice. Yes, I like all my new friends but they can be a little, well a little needy. I’ve taken over all the reading groups, just to get myself in the right mind set and I’m feeling way more confidant than before. I have one week until the event and I really am going to have to bite the bullet and go clothes shopping. What once was a mild to moderate dislike is now a full-blown aversion, thanks to that family, one annoying member in particular! But turning up in jeans might not be the look I want to project, so shopping it is. I want something conservative, but not black and definitely not blue.
Finally I settle on a skirt suit in a deep forest green, yes much more my colour than blue! It took me a while to realise they had tried using every trick in the book to break my spirit, but all it did was solidify it. They tried to change everything about me, things I loved about myself and I just dug my heels in harder with every try, until they tried to up their usage of glamour on me! That was when I saw the light, it didn’t work as well as they’d hoped, so they became more apparent in their attempts. But if I feigned compliance they stupidly talked in front of me and boy did he love to talk. It was about then when I realised I had one ally in the family, Jethro or should I say Jasper, as that’s his real name. Between us we cooked up my escape plan and he would be the fall guy as it were.
Nobody knows this, nobody guessed and I have never told a soul it was a planned attack! He said it was his way of repaying me for his family’s deplorable behaviour. Jasper said I was worth it, the grief he would get was nothing they hadn’t tried to do before to him. Well, that’s neither here nor there and a past I was happy to forget. Forget as a much as an author can do, but I seem to be able to separate it from reality. Now it’s down on paper it is just a story about the past, a past I’m well out off. Crazy as it might sound, reading these exerts doesn’t feel like it has anything to do with me, it's as if I exorcised everything as I wrote it all down. I was daydreaming as I sat on the flight to New York, imagining what my life would have been like if I had never met them.
Though I guess it’s moot, I did and here I am about to face a live audience. I was jumpy as I left home, but the nearer I get the calmer I feel. Looks like this isn’t going to be as bad as I once thought. Char called me to wish me luck, Peter just said to relax and go with the flow, whatever that means! There was only one little blip, an overly eager assistant suggested the previously approved choice of exerts were, bland, boring and what did she say predictable! She thrust the new ones at me expecting, I’m not sure what. Maybe capitulation, maybe full compliance. Had none of them actually read the books, that, that was one of the things I hated most of all? I just turned and started to walk away, as the papers dropped to the floor that’s when she realised her mistake.
“Please inform the audience this evening’s show is cancelled, due to…, well, you make up an excuse!” I state calmly, go with the flow my ass!
I’d long ago had my fill of assholes, ones who could kill me no less, so this was nothing in the grand scheme of things. My original editor, the publishing house manager and their entourage rushed after me, the assistant now in tears as she got a dressing down. Why on earth would they all think changing things at the last moment would be acceptable by anyone? I’d been practising this for weeks, it wasn't an off the cuff thing! Bit staff only get away with stuff like that when they have no proper direction or it was a direct order. I slowed and turned, only to be fawned over like a celebrity, which was sickening.
“Arizona, we’re so sorry she’ll be fired!” someone said loudly,
“No! This is your fault, not hers, she’s the assistant. Was it even her idea? Or was she the fall guy for whichever idiot thought I’d just roll over for them!” I remarked caustically,
It caused a few red faces and some ruffled feathers, but I didn’t give a damn. Yes, I’m young in their eyes, but I’ve lived a life they couldn’t imagine, hell I still am. My agent was standing next to me trying not to laugh and failing badly, yeah she knows I take crap from no one anymore.
“I take it I can do what was originally planned and agreed on?” I ask and they all nod,
This is why I don’t do this kind of thing normally, I am not interested in this fake life. After I tell them to stuff the hair and make-up part they finally get the picture. I came to read parts of my books, not play their games. I could have sworn I heard someone in the audience snigger, but it was to far away for anyone to have overheard this debacle! When I stepped onto the stage, the audience was in shadow and I was glad of that. I settled into the chair as applause rippled through the venue.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Miss Arizona Desert” a disembodied voice said,