Free Through Glass (The Glass Series Book 1) by Kari Fisher

Instagram it. That’s the hipster thing to do, right? I hand it to the customer and he makes small talk. He tells me his name is Skylar. I’ll bet he drives a Saab. He tips me a ten dollar bill, which I tuck neatly into the pocket of my jeans.
    I get some light cleaning done—dusting the counter, and sweeping the floor—and then I’m already finished with my four hour shift.
    “Thanks for your help today.” Oliver smiles.
    “No problem. Sorry I couldn’t get more done. I just didn’t really know what I was doing yet, but I’ll get it,” I promise.
    “You did great, Laur,” he assures me.
    “Can we hang out tonight, Oliver?” I plead. I realize I sound desperate but I don’t want to be alone when I’m an exhausted, emotional wreck.
    “Sure,” he agrees. “I’ll text you when I’m done work.”
    He’s watching Tara wash tables while he’s talking to me, which irritates me a little bit.
    The sky is grey and the weather is miserable. It snowed this morning and it looks like it’s finally going to stay on the ground. I am thankful for this; I was getting really tired of that “in between seasons” weather.
    Perhaps it’s time to focus my attention on something other than him.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Sixteen
     
     
    You owe me for all my pain
    But I need something you can’t give
     
    I’m unlocking the door to my apartment when I hear someone moving around behind me. I turn to see a man is holding two boxes with one hand, and trying to open the door to the apartment across from mine with the other.
    “Here, let me get that,” I offer.
    “Thanks!” he exclaims.
    I open the door to the apartment and I see that it’s empty. For as long as I’ve lived here, I’ve never noticed anyone living there. It has probably been vacant the entire time. I don’t know why it would have ever not been rented, though. They’re actually half decent apartments and reasonably priced. It isn’t the best area to live in but it’s not easy to find affordable accommodations in this city. From where I’m standing, it looks like his apartment has been renovated recently, as well. The walls are freshly painted a neutral off-white color, and the floors are redone with laminate. His windows seem bigger and brighter than mine.
    “Are you just moving in?” I ask.
    “Yeah, just came up from Seattle,” he explains. “I’m Chase.”
    “Lauren.” I smile warmly. I grab one of the two boxes he’s carrying and help him bring it into the empty living room.
    “Would you like help moving the rest of your stuff in? I mean, I really have nothing else to do today; I just finished work and I was going to lay down for a bit but the three espresso shots I had in my coffee a couple hours ago have me feeling shaky and energetic.”
    “Sure.” He laughs. “I could use the help. I don’t know anyone in the city so I’m pretty much on my own. I just finished the five hour drive here and I’m pretty tired, so it would be nice to get this done.”
    Unpacking his car doesn’t take as long as I expected. He reminds me of myself; he only has a couple of totes labeled “books,” and a few bags of clothes. I wonder if he’s starting over, too, and what it is that he’s running from. Perhaps he’s got a crazy ex-girlfriend in another city. She was sleeping around on him and ended up getting pregnant. She told him the baby was his and that she had been faithful this entire time. They hadn’t been together long and he decided to step up and be a father. Not far into the pregnancy, she decides she can’t handle this change in her life and she gets an abortion. He’s devastated that she would kill his unborn child, and they fight—verbally, not physically, because he’d never hit a woman—which ends in him walking out. He stays with a friend for a couple days, and she calls his cell phone repeatedly but he won’t answer. Maybe he considers forgiving her and getting back together. Maybe he doesn’t. Sometime