The Meant to Be Collection

by Claire Highton-Stevenson

  Her dad was gone. Just like that; one minute he got a diagnosis, and the next, heart attack, and not even sixty. The last time she had spoken to him, he had made her promise that if the worst happened, she would take care of Robin. She fully intended to keep that promise too, but the pressure to give her the life she deserved was high. She had to find the money for that school trip; it was hugely important. But at almost a thousand pound for a 5-day trip to Athens, it was going to be a stretch. And then there was Christmas; she would need presents and food. There was no way she was going to let Robin down.

  The savings she had left would pay this month and next month’s rent, plus some towards Christmas. After that though, they would be relying on Brooke’s employment.

  Pollards was a good job for now. They paid a lot more than many other security jobs did, and of course she got extra payments for unsocial hours that she would be working, but there wasn’t going to be much left out of her wages once the rent and bills were paid.

  She would just have to tighten their belt. If she bought their shopping daily from the reduced section, that would save a heap until she passed the six-month probation period and got her own store discount card. She yawned and swallowed down the rest of her tea.

  Of course, the way that Catherine had reacted was now a problem. Brooke was under no illusions that that six-month period could be halted at any time, and Catherine was in charge of hiring and firing, so it didn’t bode well that she had pissed her off. She wanted to hate the woman, but she couldn’t; Catherine hadn’t really done anything wrong. She would just have to do as Catherine wished: forget it and avoid her at all costs. She would keep her head down and just get on with the job, because when push came to shove, Robin was more important than her non-existent love life.

  ~FI~

  Robin was excited as they entered the store and all of the lights dazzled her. Christmas songs played loudly over the speaker system and she started to sing along. Stan gave Brooke a nod as she passed, and she smiled back at him as she followed Robin.

  “So, where ya wanna start first?” Brooke asked, pushing a trolley, which Robin promptly took charge of.

  “Lights, we need lots of lights,” Robin gushed. This had always been her favourite time of year. Brooke could remember the few times she had gotten leave over the holidays and how excited Robin would be. She was probably just six or seven when Brooke had left for her army training. She hadn’t been home for Christmas for a couple of years, but that first time back had been memorable. Robin had followed her everywhere.

  Their mum was actually still at home on that occasion, one of the last before she ran off with Terry from across the road (he didn’t last long though before she came crawling back). Robin had been so excited when Brooke walked in carrying presents; it was probably one of the best memories Brooke had. They’d always been close, even with the 11-year age gap. Though as Robin got older, that gap seemed to feel less and less.

  Robin raced towards the Seasonal aisle, pushing the trolley fast and then jumping up onto the back of it. “What about these?” she bellowed excitedly.

  Brooke caught up and took the box from her hand, casually glancing at the price. They were expensive. “Maybe, but there are a lot in this box. I’m not sure we need that amount of lights for the size of tree we can fit.”

  Robin scrunched up her nose. “I guess so,” she said, a little crestfallen.

  Looking down at the section, Brooke saw the same style but in a smaller box. “Hey look, these will work. Exactly the same, but a lot less of them.” Her kid sister’s face broke out into a smile again.

  “Yes. Now we just need tinsel and baubles. Did you consider a colour scheme?”

  The laugh that bubbled up from Brooke’s throat was the best sound she had heard for days. “No, Sis, why don’t you decide?” Her joy didn’t last long though; as soon as Robin was off again, Brooke was mentally calculating the cost.

  ~FI~

  Catherine was running late. She cursed silently under her breath; lateness was a habit she didn’t intend to continue. But here she was, at Pollards for last minute shopping. She hadn’t realised just how low her bottle of shampoo had gotten until she was packing for her weekend spa retreat. If there was one thing that she disliked most about hotels, it was those expensive-looking shampoo and conditioners they used. For some reason, her hair never felt right when she used them. She checked her watch again. If she was quick, she could be on the road in 10 minutes; and maybe, if the traffic was good, she could make up the time.

  Only there was one slight problem to her plan: Brooke Chambers. She cursed again; what were the odds? Had she really been such an awful person that the Gods were so against her? She got to the one aisle she needed in the entire store, and the one person she was desperately trying not to think about was standing right there, right next to her brand of shampoo, looking all cute and casually perusing the brands without a care in the world.

  Catherine hid at the end of the aisle and pretended to be interested in the bright pink hair colour that was on a special that week. As she hovered, she couldn’t help but watch Brooke and her sister interacting.

  From her position, she realised that she could easily observe Brooke more closely. Unguarded, the brunette didn’t appear to be having fun. A note of sadness and worry would descend upon her angular features anytime her sister moved away, magically disappearing the moment Robin returned. Brooke’s face would then light up and Robin would grin in return, placing her latest item, always costlier than the one before, into the trolley. The trolley that was already filled to the brim with Christmas; they would be having a lovely time by all accounts.

  Catherine wondered why that was. If Brooke was unhappy or didn’t want the item, then why let her sister have it? Family dynamics were not something Catherine really understood. Being an only child to parents who were a lot older than those of most of her peers, she had been what she laughed off as an orphan for almost a decade. She didn’t really celebrate Christmas, or any other event throughout the year. Only a handful of birthdays had been spent whilst in a relationship.

  Eventually they moved off and Catherine took the opportunity to get what she came in for. She grabbed it off the shelf and then turned to retreat, but she couldn’t help one last look back over her shoulder at them as they crossed the central aisle to continue on. She should have known better. Her eyes locked with Brooke for just a moment before the younger woman’s cheeks reddened and she ducked her head, turning away.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Monday morning came around way too fast for Brooke’s liking. Her first week anniversary apparently had to be celebrated, and Paul made a big deal of handing over the walkie talkie, going over all the rules again, testing her on protocols. She didn’t want to point out that she had actually killed people for Queen and country and that Pollards rules and regs were a piss in the ocean compared to the Army. He was pushing her already-frayed buttons, but she relinquished her annoyance. It wasn’t his fault she was in a foul mood.

  After seeing Catherine in the store on Saturday, she suddenly realised just how difficult it might be to avoid her. She had no real idea what Catherine’s job involved, or how often she left her office, went to the cafeteria, or wandered around the store. And of course, seeing her had set off the constant questioning of why Catherine was behaving this way. She had even come to the conclusion that Catherine wasn’t even a bisexual, that it had all been a fantasy she had finally gotten to act out and then, reality kicked in and she wanted to forget it ever happened.

  Robin told her she was an idiot.

  She had her new shift pattern too, having now been officially added to the rota. There were the obligatory night shifts, which she kind of looked forward to. The store was closed to the public, but staff were in restocking shelves and moving displays, so there were always two security guards on duty during those hours. It would be less stressful, and definitely no chance of bumping into Catherine.

  This week though, she w
ould do four early shifts. Then she had two days off before another set of day shifts. Didn’t seem too bad, she thought as she started to make rough plans in her head. She would even be home around the same time Robin got back from school, though the youngster would have to get herself up and off to school in the mornings. Yet again, Brooke was grateful to Yasmeen for picking up Robin and dropping both girls off on her way to work. She worked in the family business, just mornings. The Khans had three children, and Jas was the eldest. Krishna was twelve and the baby, Ishaan, was nearly two. So, she dropped Kris and Jas off in the morning and took Ishaan with her to work at the store.

  “Now, remember, this is the time of year that we get inundated with tealeaves.” Zoning out already, Brooke smirked to herself. “Keep ya eyes peeled and grab the little oiks,” Paul was saying as they walked back out onto the shop floor.

  ~FI~

  By Wednesday, Brooke just about had the layout of the store stamped into her mind. She knew each and every aisle number and what was on sale. She knew all the new displays and had already caught two kids trying to steal a couple of games. They were too dim to know that the cases were empty. So far, she had been spending her lunches with Amber, who had tried, unsuccessfully, to get out of her what it was that had made Ms Blake so mad the previous week. Brooke didn’t think it was anyone else’s business. She wasn’t the type to gossip, and quite frankly, she really didn’t want to admit how pathetic she was, nor did she think it fair to gossip about Catherine regardless of how unfair she had been. Kim and Amber had no idea her little gifts were anything more than just being nice. In the end, Amber stopped asking. Instead, they swapped phone numbers and agreed to meet up at the weekend for drinks. Brooke was looking forward to it. Maybe a night out with a friend would brush away the lingering interest in Catherine Blake.

  The last thing she needed after lunch was to run around the store until she was almost blue in the face, chasing after Potter and his overly enthusiastic approach to security work. Mostly, he tailed perfectly well-behaved customers around, quietly intimidating them into heading to the tills as quickly as possible, but then he’d be off, charging around the store sniffing out someone who just happened to be wearing a baggy coat. He was exhausting to work with.

  Brooke let him run as she wandered back and forth around the high-priced sections and the areas where people were most likely to attempt a theft. Surprisingly, beef was one of the most stolen items – that and hair products, razorblades, and alcohol. High-tech and high-priced items were always on the list for the common thief.

  Currently she was patrolling aisle 7: dentistry care items on one side, hygiene products on the opposite set of shelves. An elderly gentleman was struggling to reach a can of shaving cream on the top shelf. His spine looked curved, and he had trouble raising his arm. “I’ll get that for you, sir,” she offered, stepping up beside him.

  “Oh, thank you, dear. I do struggle.”

  She handed him the tin can. “There ya go, no problem at all.” She watched him shuffle off and grinned. Maybe this job wasn’t quite so bad.

  The loud shrill of an alarm rang out across the store and her radio crackled into life, Potter’s exuberant voice echoing through the channel to inform her of an attempted theft.

  “Got a runner,” he said. “Aisle one.”

  Turning on her heels, she ran, skidding to a halt at the end of the aisle, where she turned right and then left, hurtling past the baby products in aisle 4. It was difficult dodging around customers and trolleys, but finally she made it to the tills. She pushed harder and aimed for the front exit. From her right, she could see the blur of movement as something or someone hurtled towards the exit too. Sounds fell away as she concentrated on getting there first and stopping him or her from escaping with whatever it was they had grabbed and intended to steal.

  There was a slowing of motion. She twisted her head to the right and saw the bulk that was heading her way. She was faster though, and would easily get to the exit before he did. Under his arm he still held onto what looked like a laptop with the alarm system wires still attached and dangling from it. Looking up, she made eye contact with him. He didn’t slow. He didn’t try to dodge. He was coming right for her with an malevolent grin on his face.

  Planting her feet, she prepared herself for the hit. He dipped his shoulder and 300 pounds of muscle, bone, and fat hit her, lifting her off her feet. His arm grabbed around her waist as he rugby tackled her to the ground. She landed on her back with an almighty thump, and then her head hit and bounced off of the ground. All the air left her lungs in a loud “humpf.”

  And then it all went black.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Brooke? Brooke? Can you hear me?” There was an angel speaking to her, a beautiful sound that filtered through her ears. Her vision was blurred, but she could just about discern the halo of gold that hung like a curtain around her face. She wanted to reach up and touch it, but good god was her head pounding. “Brooke?”

  She heard herself groan. A sharp pain kept picking at her, like hot pins stabbing frequently. Still, it was all okay; the angel was smiling.

  “Hey, just lie still.”

  Her head felt wet. Was it raining? Her thoughts were jumbled. With her right hand, she tried to reach up and feel her head, but something soft and warm took hold of it and placed it down across her chest, holding it there.

  “Don’t touch it, Brooke,” the angel’s voice said. Brooke’s vision swam in and out of focus. Her angel was lovely, kneeling beside her and holding her hand. It would be heavenly if it wasn’t for this god-awful pain.

  “What happened?” she mumbled offhandedly. Her vision swimming in and out of focus made it difficult to get her thoughts together and made her feel nauseous.

  “You were knocked to the ground by an oaf trying to steal a laptop.” A man’s voice this time. She looked up to find him hovering about her.

  “Oh…where am I?” She tried to lift her head and look around. More people hovered over her. Why were they looking at her? Her last cognitive thought was of Robin, they had just moved into their new flat and were unpacking everything. How had she ended up here?

  “Brooke? Don’t you know?” The voice was like a gentle whisper against her ear. She felt her eyes closing again as another hand began stroking her forehead. It was nice, relaxing.

  “So tired,” she mumbled. Other voices now mixed in, but it was difficult to concentrate. She heard the words “ambulance” and “hospital” and wondered who had been hurt.

  “Brooke, you’re at Pollards Department store, you work here. You’ve had an accident and hit…”

  “I don’t have a job, I need one though.” She chuckled and tried to open her eyes again. For just a moment her vision cleared again. “Wow, you’re gorgeous.”

  ~FI~

  Several hours later, Brooke was still in the hospital. Finally, her head had cleared a little; probably a lot to do with the drugs they’d pumped into her: painkillers, along with gas and air, or laughing gas – she was laughing quite a bit at nothing. She liked that stuff a lot.

  She also had a little room all by herself, which was at least something. Sitting up in the bed, she looked around the room and tried to gather her thoughts. Why did she have a uniform on that she didn’t recognise? She knew there were stitches in a gash to the back of her head and that someone had knocked her to the ground. What she didn’t know was why? Why had someone hit her? Why was she in that store? She had as many questions as they did.

  Apparently, they were not willing to let her go because she had a concussion? Oh, and she had a sprained wrist and contusions of all kinds. All in all, she was a little banged up, but she’d had worse. There was no reason to keep her here.

  She sat there quietly and let them all fuss around her. They were all pleasant enough, and it wasn’t like she had anywhere else to be. There was a little remote control attached to the bed. She pressed some buttons, and the bed tilted back until she was almost lying down. Tiredness ke
pt coming and going. Releasing the button, she hooked it back onto the railing around the bed and spotted the clock.

  Robin!

  Her brain felt like it rattled inside her head, and a giant anvil dropped down on top of it when she sat back up far too quickly. She cried out in agony.

  The door opened, and one of the nurses rushed in. “Brooke, what is it?”

  “Someone needs to get Robin.”

  “Okay, just relax. That head of yours needs a lot of rest right now,” she said, checking her pulse and watching the monitors. Politely, Brooke waited to get her attention and tell her about Robin, but the door opened again, and this time two men entered. She had seen both men before. The one in the uniform like her own had travelled with her in the ambulance. His name was Paul something, and the other guy was the doctor. She couldn’t remember his name. They stood just inside the doorway and were joined by the nurse, listening as she filled them in on her latest observations.

  “Hello, anyone? I need to get my sister!” she all but bellowed at them.

  The tall man in the white coat looked at her and smiled, “Sorry, Miss Chambers, I just need to ask you some questions. Would that be alright?” He was a handsome guy, looked a bit like Dev Khan, only younger. His name tag read Dr M Rishne.

  She huffed. “Yes, but you need to be quick, because I have to get home. My sister will be worrying where I am.”

  He smiled again. “No need to worry, I believe someone has gone to get her.”

  With that information, she felt herself relax a little until she suddenly realised that she didn’t know anybody. “Oh, who?”

  “I don’t know, but I know that she should be here very soon.” He smiled kindly. “So, Brooke, can you tell me what the date is?”