Life as We Know It: A Treasure Key Novel

by Sarah Bates

  Kat and I both stared at her for a moment, then, when she looked up at us, and lifted her eyebrows, I shifted to finish typing in my ID number into the computer. “Thanks,” I said, though I was still unsure how I should take what she’d said. “I think.”

  “Anytime,” she said cheerfully, turning her gaze back to her magazine.

  Kat and I glanced at each other and she smirked, then sighed as she turned to go take care of our customer when the door jingled open.

  She paused, though, and out of the corner of my eye I saw her grimace. Not needing to look to know who it was, I turned to face Ava and her pack of friends.

  “Welcome to Nora’s Closet,” I said pleasantly, plastering a bright smile on my face. “What can we do to help you?”

  “Like I’d actually shop in here,” Ava said snidely, even as she studied a pair of high-heeled strappy pink sandals.

  She clearly liked the look of them, though she refused to pick them up.

  “Well, I’m sorry if you can’t find anything that you like,” Kat said pleasantly as she folded her hands in front of herself. “Perhaps Simply Chic or Seaside Styles would be more to your liking.”

  “Oh, believe me, they are,” Ava said as she continued to walk through the racks, a look of disdain on her face. She poked at a hanger holding a pretty black sundress with a large, pink hibiscus print, then looked over to me. “Given your continued presence in Hayden’s life, I assume you either didn’t get my message or you’re too stupid to comprehend it,” she said, folding her arms at her chest.

  “Oh, no, I got it and understood it perfectly,” I replied, forcing my smile to widen, mirroring Kat’s pose. “I’ve just chosen to ignore it.”

  “Then I guess that makes you pretty damn stupid,” Ava said, glaring contemptuously at me. “Smart girls know better than to mess with me or play with what belongs to me.” She took a step closer to me, her glare darkening furiously. “Better girls than you have tried to stand up to me, and I’ve flattened them. So, believe me when I say, I can and will happily make your life a living hell until you back off Hayden.”

  I lifted my eyebrows, giving off the air that I was clearly unimpressed by her threat, though I felt a sharp, hot ball of anger begin to burn in my belly over the way she thought she had the right treat other people so terribly. “First, I’d be careful doling out the threats if I were you, Ava. Your dad might be rich enough to afford a halfway decent lawyer for you, but my dad is a lawyer, and a successful one.” While my dad might not be my favorite person at the moment, Ava didn’t need to know that he and I were currently estranged.

  “Second, Hayden’s a human being. He doesn’t belong to anyone, least of all you. And third, weren’t you playing with his younger brother the other night?” I continued, cocking my head as I studied her. “It seems to me that if you’re with Logan you shouldn’t be bothered by the fact Hayden’s clearly and happily moved on.”

  She sneered, clearly unimpressed with the mention of my father being a lawyer, and amused by what I’d said in regard to the Quinn brothers. “So, what if I was with Logan the other night. He, like his brother, is good with his hands. That doesn’t mean that Hayden is any less mine. And I don’t share.”

  “Wow, little girl, you’re a piece of work.”

  We all turned at the sound of Aunt Nora’s voice, and she set a stack of folders on the counter. She shook her head when Ava glared at her. “You’re going to get a rude awakening when the real world hits you.” She gave her such a look of pity that Ava’s friends flushed and smirked behind her back, even as Ava herself narrowed her eyes at her.

  “And who asked you?” Ava demanded. “You’re nothing but a middle-aged nobody who owns a pathetic excuse for a fashion-challenged boutique.”

  Aunt Nora hummed and looked around her shop. “If my boutique is so fashion-challenged, then why did you point out items that you wanted your friends to take for you?” she asked, looking back to Ava. “Don’t bother denying it. I saw the whole thing on the security cameras out back, and your signals, too.” She gestured to where the shoes had been on the display, and then over to where the sundress had hung, and it was then that I realized both items were gone, and one of her friends stood close by to each location, each with an over-sized tote bag on her shoulder.

  Both girls flushed, having been caught.

  “You can’t prove I had anything to do with that,” Ava hissed, and earned a panicked, betrayed look from her friends.

  “As I said, I have it all on recording. Courtyard security is already on their way…oh, and look, they’re here,” Aunt Nora said as two uniformed security guards entered the store. “Those two have the items,” she told the security guards. “That one instigated it,” she gestured to Ava’s friends, then to Ava herself. “I’ll get you a copy of that recording.”

  “Mighty obliged, Mrs. Griffin,” one of the guards said, nodding politely. “Chief’s on his way,” he added.

  “You called the police over a stupid pair of shoes and an ugly dress?” Ava asked, outraged.

  “Only when people take the ugly dress and stupid shoes without the intention to pay for them,” Aunt Nora replied easily, and she hummed when the door jingled open again.

  I followed her gaze and sighed when I saw Hayden and Leo both freeze at the sight of the security guards. Then Hayden’s gaze snapped over to Ava.

  “What did you do?” he demanded.

  “Fuck off,” she snapped, and she turned her glare from him to my aunt, then to me, then to the guards. “I don’t have to stay here for this.” She turned in a huff, giving her two friends glares of warning, before she stormed toward the door.

  She reached it just as Uncle Jim and two of his uniformed officers came through it.

  Both of the officers were women, so he’d clearly been given a heads up on what to expect.

  “Oh, I don’t think so,” Uncle Jim said pleasantly, then he looked at the other two girls. “I think we’ll take this down to the station,” he added.

  “You can’t arrest me, I didn’t take anything,” Ava told him, folding her arms at her chest.

  “She took a bikini from the Surf Shop,” one of her friends – the one by the shoe display – countered, glaring right back at Ava as she held her own tote out to one of the security guards. “It’s in her bag, along with the nail polish and lip balm she took from the pharmacy.”

  “How dare you!” Ava hissed. “You can’t prove it.”

  “But the security footage from the Surf Shop and the contents of your bag can,” the other security guard said, holding up a flash drive, then handing it over to Uncle Jim. “I don’t know about the pharmacy, as that’s over at Seaside Shopping Center and we don’t cover their security, but the Surf Shop had already called the theft in, and handed over the security footage just as Mrs. Griffin called in this incident,” he told him.

  “Thank you, Bill,” Uncle Jim said as he reached out to accept the flash drive. “I’ll call the pharmacy once we get back to the station.” He looked at Aunt Nora. “Darling?”

  “One moment, dear,” she replied, and she turned, smiling, to go into the backroom.

  “This is outrageous,” Ava snapped. “My father is going to hear about this, and when he does, you’ll all be out of jobs.”

  “Norman Humphrey is many things, but all-powerful he isn’t,” Uncle Jim said lightly, and he gestured to the guards and his officers, and they began to herd the other girls out of the boutique.

  Ava moved out of their way when one of the officers reached for her, then turned and glared at me. “We’re not finished,” she informed me.

  “Oh, I think you are,” Uncle Jim told her, his voice sharp and stern, and he reached out to take the flash drive that Aunt Nora held out to him, and gestured to one of his officers to handcuff her. “Arrested for vandalism and shoplifting all in the span of a week. That’s a record, even for you. Now let’s go.”

  She glared at him as the officer handcuffed her, then turned in a huff and went
out the door when the other held the door open for them.

  “See you all at home,” he called out before he followed her.

  “Jeez, she’s a piece of work,” Leo said, shaking his head, then he glanced at Hayden. “You really used to date her?”

  “Technically, no. I never actually dated her, I just partied and slept with her,” Hayden said, then he grimaced and glanced at me. “I’m sorry.”

  Though I didn’t like the reminder of the fact that he had shared so much of himself with Ava, I just shook my head. “It was before you knew me,” I said, crossing over to him. Because he seemed in need of it, I slipped my arms around him in a gentle hug and rested my head on his chest. “You don’t have to keep apologizing for your past.”

  “It’s hard not to, when it’s something I regret so much,” he said, wrapping his arms around me.

  “Oh, sweetie, we all have things in life that we regret,” Aunt Nora said, giving him a soft, understanding smile. “So long as you try to do better than before, that’s all that matters.” She reached out and patted his shoulder, then smiled at Leo. “Is one of those for me?” she asked, gesturing to the drink tray he held.

  “Iced vanilla chai latte,” he said, holding the tray out to her.

  “Ooh, good boy.” She reached out and took her drink, patted him on the cheek, then turned to go into the backroom.

  We all watched her go, then Margo, who still sat behind the counter on her stool, looking through her magazines as though nothing had just happened, glanced up. “Did you get my matcha latte?” she asked.

  Hayden smirked, even as I gave her a bland look. “Frozen with extra whipped cream, just as Jennifer said you like it.”

  “Oh, good.” She hopped off her stool and crossed over to take her drink. Then she spotted a dress she apparently liked the look of and went to check it out as she took her first sip.

  Leo and Kat both rolled their eyes, while Hayden’s smirk spread into a grin, and I shook my head.

  “I’ve got to go,” Hayden said, turning his gaze down to me. “But I would like it very much if we could please meet up later, and talk.”

  “I’d like to meet up later, too,” I said. “But you don’t owe me any explanations.”

  “Maybe I don’t,” he said, “But I’d like to give you one anyway.”

  I hesitated, then simply nodded, as I could tell just by the look on his face that he wanted to finally get this particular conversation over with. “All right.” I pushed up on my toes and kissed him lightly. “It won’t change how I feel, but all right.”

  “My shift ends at seven,” he said, brushing his free hand over my hair. “Seven-thirty work?”

  I nodded. “Seven-thirty,” I agreed, and I took my drink when he held the tray out to me. “Hayden,” I waited until he met my gaze. “I mean it. Nothing will change how I feel.”

  He nodded, pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, then turned to go.

  I watched him leave, then sighed and turned to get to work.

  ☼

  Thankfully, the rest of the day was uneventful, and with a sudden rush of customers it was busy enough to make the time go by quickly.

  I had just finished clocking out when my mom came through the door. She looked so pretty in her yellow sundress, her short hair decorated with the pretty enameled barrette that she had used to pin back her bangs. Somehow still looking as fresh and put-together as she had that morning – it was an enviable trait that she had not, unfortunately, passed down to me – with the happy smile curving her pink lips, you’d never know she’d just finished an eight-hour workday.

  “You look like you’ve had a good day,” I said, smiling happily at her.

  “I did,” she replied, setting her purse on the counter. “I got to go solo today. Apparently there was a packing crisis at Karen’s,” she explained when I blinked in surprise, referring to Derek’s departing receptionist.

  “And you were okay with that?” I asked. She’d only had a few days of training.

  “I was a nervous wreck for the first couple of hours,” she replied. “But then, I don’t know, it all just clicked, and I realized I’ve got this, and I did. And I’m feeling pretty damn good about that,” she added with a grin.

  “I’m happy for you,” I told her, giving her a hug as I stepped out from behind the counter.

  “Thank you. Now, what about you?” she asked, lifting a hand to brush it over my hair. When I grimaced, she frowned. “More problems at school?”

  “No, actually, school was fine. But there was an incident with Ava Humphrey and some of her friends here at the boutique.”

  She stared at me for a moment, then pressed her lips together and made a humming sound. “What happened?”

  “Well,” I shifted when the door jingled open, instinctively checking to see who it might be and if they might need help, but Kat stepped out of one of dressing rooms and headed over to see to the woman and her daughter.

  Margo, inspired by her magazines, had long since tucked herself into the backroom to discuss her vision for the upcoming photo shoot with Aunt Nora.

  “Chloe,”

  “Ava and her friends were apparently on a shoplifting spree,” I told her as I turned my gaze back to her. “When they came in here Ava used what’s been going on with everything to distract Kat and me while her friends slipped the things that she wanted into their bags. Aunt Nora saw the whole thing on the security feed in the back, and called security,” I added when her eyes widened. “And they called it in to the police station. Uncle Jim and a couple of his officers came by and picked them up. Apparently, they were all loaded, from various other stores.”

  “Oh, dear.”

  I shrugged. “On the plus side, Aly called a little while ago to tell me to tell you to expect a call from her mom. Mrs. Fernandez is on the school board,” I explained when she frowned. “According to Aly, they finished their review of what happened last week and have decided to go through with Ava’s suspension after all.”

  Though I still didn’t know the full extent of what Ava had done to Hayden’s locker last week, other than the fact I knew it was worse than what she had done to mine, I did know that the principal had wanted to suspend her immediately. But her dad and his lawyer had managed to prevent it, claiming youthful hijinks – along with the unspoken threat of withholding his annual monetary contribution to the school’s yearly fundraiser.

  As the money he donated helped balance out a lot of the underfunded programs, the principal had naturally been reluctant to do anything to lose it, so Ava, of course, had been allowed to stay. After receiving multiple complaints, though, concerning Ava’s behavior from other concerned parents (what was it teaching the other kids, after all, if there were no consequences for her actions) the board had decided to do a review of the situation.

  “How long did they give her?” she asked. “And why wasn’t I notified immediately?”

  “She got two weeks,” I replied, folding my arms at my chest. Knowing Ava, she’d probably treat it like a vacation. “And Aly said that her mom wants to meet up with you for coffee so she can give you more of the exact details.”

  “Oh. Okay, yes, that will work.” She checked her watch. “Has anyone mentioned anything about dinner?” she asked, looking back up to me.

  “Zach is eating at the Butlers’, Kat’s eating dinner at Zorbas with Leo when he goes on break,” I grinned when she lifted her eyebrows in surprise, “and Jamie is hanging out with his friend Ian, who’s still home from the mainland. Aunt Nora’s already eating a salad from the Nautilus Grill, as she’s still working on things for the photo shoot, and Uncle Jim’s still at the station, so I have no idea what he’s planning on eating. Aunt Nora said he’ll probably grab something from somewhere.”

  “So, it’s just you and me.” She waited a beat, then added, “Unless, of course, you have plans with Hayden.”

  I glanced at my phone. It was six-fifteen. “We do, but I always have time for dinner with you,” I told her, and I k
issed her cheek. “I’m thinking a cheeseburger with all the fixings would taste pretty good,” I added, turning to grab my backpack from behind the counter.

  “I kind of like the way you think,” she said, and she smiled and hooked an arm around me. “While we eat our burgers, you can tell me all about your plans with Hayden,” she added as we headed for the door.

  “There’s not much to tell,” I said. “He asked if we could talk.”

  “Oh.” She frowned. “Good talk, or bad talk?” she asked.

  I considered this as we both waved to Kat, and she smiled and waved back. “Serious talk,” I finally replied as we stepped out into the hot, humid evening air.

  “Serious talk?”

  I nodded. “He wants to explain some things about his past and his connection with the Humphreys,” I told her.

  “I see.” She was quiet for a moment as we made our way to the parking lot. “Well, I suppose if you two are going to continue seeing each other the way you have been, and plan on making a real go of it, then that’s wise. It’s always better to have the big picture,” she added when I gave her a look of uncertainty. “And to have all of the facts up front. If you’re going to be with him, you need to accept him for all of him. Past and all.”

  “I already accept him for all of him, though,” I said.

  “That’s easy to say when you don’t have that big picture, though,” she countered, and she turned to face me when we reached her Volvo. “But true acceptance comes from knowing the details, and choosing that person anyway. That’s love.”

  I opened my mouth, then closed it as I considered this. “I hadn’t thought of it that way,” I admitted.

  “Well, you haven’t been with him for very long,” she said, opening her door. “And to top that off, this is your first real relationship. There’s going to be a learning curve.”

  “Yeah, I guess.” I went around and climbed into my seat, and cocked my head as I studied her and clicked my seatbelt into place. “Have you thought about what it might be like to try it again?”