Angeline Read online

  One bitch said, “Bout damn time. I have been waiting forever!”

  Aww…you had to wait, poor baby!

  I grabbed her items and passed the barcode over the scanner, hearing the beeps as the items scanned. Then after it beeped and appeared on the screen, time to bag!

  Fruits and vegetables went together. Dairy was separate as well as meat since meat could leak out everywhere contaminating everything. All the crushed items went in a separate bag like bread and chips. I always put eggs in a separate bag and gave it to them. Lastly, no mixing chemicals with food either, since you don’t want them to get mixed up and spill on something. I double bagged wine and cans. Some people had particular bagging preferences, and I asked about it so I wouldn’t get yelled at. This job was easy, but the customers could make it more difficult than it needed to be.

  I tried to talk to the customer in front of me as I bagged her items. But I got done and then told her the total. Even though I’d rather be anywhere but there, checking out people.

  “Ma’am, your total is $179.28.”

  Her eyes widened. “You can’t be serious. I thought it would be less…”

  “Taxes make it higher to keep the creatures at bay, and we wouldn’t want a werewolf eating the dogs, now would we?” I replied cheerfully since we had taxes in the Crystal Crest realm high to help please the supernaturals by paying them to live in the Luxor realm so they could let us be in peace. But I would love to meet one. And this woman made me wish I had a zombie nearby. They had taxes to keep humans safe since there was actually a spell keeping Crystal Crest safe from danger. Crystal Crest was mainly for humans to live in peace, and then there was Luxor, created so creatures could stay safe from humans. It could cost money keeping people safe, and Ijust made sure not to piss off a major person.

  She glared. “Then let me take something off. I can’t believe these freaks make our taxes high. It’s bad enough the monsters under our bed are real…”

  She looked at the items already in the bag and gave me enough items to void until the total was to her liking.

  “Your new total is $70.00.”

  She smiled. “Thanks, but you could have been nicer.” Turning me from sweet to bitchy in 2.5 seconds because they treated the people behind the counter like dogs. Or servants.

  “Yes, maybe, but you need to factor in tax before you jump down my throat for something I can’t control.”

  She glared again, turning to bitchy. “You need to learn manners.”

  “Whatever, take your shit and stop arguing with me over stupid tax dollars.” I fired back.

  She took her bags after I gave her the receipt, but not before I erased the memory of me being mean and gave her new ones. I did it because people like her complain all the time. I’ve had this ability since high school when I wanted to erase a moment that happened like the school bully laughing as I slipped on paper. I had powers and I used them for fun. Maybe one day I could find someone from there to see why I had all these powers, but I couldn’t’ go there because only a real supernatural creature will be able to feel the entrance to the realm and know its location.

  After the bitch customer left, the people after her were nice, and it almost made me not hate the register, almost.

  I turned around and there was a cashier to relieve me of this spot in hell.

  “Good luck,” I told her.

  I went back to apparel, only to have this lady in a motorized scooter flag me down like a dog. “Where is there a price checker?” she asked, and she repeated her question again like she thought I was deaf and stupid.

  I took her to the jewelry checker and scanned the belts. “How is it full price when it was in the clearance section?” she asked me as if it was my fault it was ringing up full price.

  “The belts are mixed in together. There is are sale priced and clearance priced items mixed in,” I told her.

  “Well, then shouldn’t it be moved to a different section? There was 20 of them.”

  I repeated the same thing.

  “I don’t think you are understanding me. It should not be mixed in with the clearance items,” she said, treating me like a dumbass once again.

  “I do understand you, but they are mixed in, and it's not my fault because if it was clearance there would be a red tag. I know how to do my job, bitch.” I told her, not playing nice because of how she was treating me.

  “Wow…okay,” she replied and rolled off, hopefully into traffic where she would get run over by a car.

  I made it back to the fitting room, and I checked in the baskets to see the clothes. I gathered a few of them. I started to put them in their spots. While I hung up a shirt, I spotted Kyle doing his usual walk around the store. To my horror, he spotted me. “Good morning.” Even though it is 4:00 in the bloody afternoon.

  I smiled back a fake retail smile. “Hi, to you, too, sir. I hope you enjoy your day.” Once I acknowledged him, he walked away. I had already tried running away. He caught me so that was a bust. I was taking away the trash. Then I heard the cries to the register after the lines kept backing up. I ran to put away the trash so I could get up to the front. I saw Kyle and ran the other way, hoping he did not see me. Instead, he pulled me into the office to accuse me of running away from my responsibilities. Nope, I didn’t run away to hide from the register. He just loved to put me on it since he knew how badly I hated it.

  I jumped for joy when I went back to folding bliss, since it allowed me to fold on autopilot and daydream about leaving. The crowd died down at 4:30 which meant I could fold without some jackass messing it up. I hated it. Just get me to get the size you wanted, so you wouldn’t mess up my neat piles.

  Kalisa came back. “The fuckers pulled me too, and if they’d hire more cashiers, this would not have to happen. We need to be on the sales floor doing our stupid jobs.”

  I went to the time clock and clocked out. I made my way to find lunch. I really loved having an hour to myself, and I usually went out instead of staying in the store since I can’t stand Kyle. I left and headed to my friend Ginger’s shop. She was a local witch, or supposedly was, I just think she is a new age human who loves oils and incense. I have known her since I started purchasing the stones from her. She knew about me being able to feel people’s emotions. She was the one who suggested which stones to use. I came to her during my lunch at 5:00 to get away.

  I parked my car, and the cool air greeted me, making me wish I had more on. I opened the rough door, and the bell jingled. Once I stepped inside, the smell of incense calmed me, and I recognized the calming chamomile scent. Yum. It calmed me down, making my problems melt away. I loved the smell, and it made my stress from the assholes at Kyle’s melt. I saw Ginger behind the counter, her green eyes lighting up into a smile on her face when she saw me.

  “Hey, how have you been?” She asked, noticing the relaxed look on my face.

  I smiled. “I’m alive, aren’t I? It has been a hectic Black Friday shift. I just need to get out of there before their energy drains me.”

  "Do you want me to cleanse you from it?" she asked, since she knows it can put a damper on my day when dealing with their negative energy.

  I nodded. "That'll be good. I will like it, and I'm going to need it to get through the rest of the shift."

  "Yes, I know you need it, and their energy can build up to the point where it can overload your system. Follow me."

  I followed Ginger to the back to her cleansing room, and I loved the smell since it was filled with lavender. There was a chair in the middle of a circle with candles. I sat on the chair, watching the candles flicker and sway, then closed my eyes.

  Ginger put her hands on me, mumbling the chant to cleanse me while lifting the negative energy-blocks the customers left in their wake. They sent their energy toward me every time they yelled, and it was a horrible blast of energy putting a damper on my day. I felt it being lifted off me, and I could breathe now. It burned at some point, as if a person left their hooks in my aura. Negative peo
ple used hooks to feed off your life force without doing it, and the fucker must be Kyle. He had been on my case ever since I started working there six years ago. She stopped five minutes later, and I got off the chair.

  She smiled at me. "Feel better?"

  I nodded. "Good as new, since I had no idea Kyle had his hooks in me till now. I'm happy I can finally breathe now."

  "It was a nasty hook, too, with barbs coming in showing he was a real piece of work. Humans don’t really give off that kind of hook either so be careful. He could be something else, and you wouldn’t even know it until it was too late," she said.

  "I bet he has had it out for me since day one," I told her.

  "There is something I want to ask you though, and a question I haven't asked you before. Do you believe in angels?" she asked. I wondered where that question came from since it was so out of the blue. My thoughts shifted to that guy in my dream….could it be?

  My eyebrow rose. "What kind of angels, like ones with a halo, wings, and the things you meet when you die? That kind, and why now?"

  She laughed. "Real angels are not like that, but they do have wings. They live in a realm separate from ours like in the Luxor realm. Or course, you do need to fly to get to certain places or ride the friendly angel dragons. I can tell by your energy something has changed. Have you been dreaming of something lately?"

  "I have had a dream about a guy who said, ‘we will meet again, my angel.’ But why are you asking this now?” I said.

  “I am asking this now, since I saw your angel. You are an AngelWtich, and not just any AngelWitch but the leader of them. The guy you are dreaming about is your AngelMate. And the reason why I’m telling you about it now, instead of later, is this is the right time, and if one angel can see what you are, then the rest will follow. The dark one, Zackary, will too, and they will try to steal your powers to escape Hell,” she said.

  Huh? There must be some LSD in the incense she has lit... Her words hit me…I’m an AngelWitch, and I have an Angelmate…My thoughts went back to the guy in my dream. He was meant to be mine? Really? I’m not just a retail worker, but something more? I couldn’t believe this at all. He was real…

  She smiled at me. “I didn’t want to tell you this yet, but I did since you needed to know. When you came into my shop, I knew you were one. It was hard to put into words since you felt like more than a witch, and you feel differently than a human. You will see, and I wanted to warn you since there has been a bad presence here lately, and something dark. I wanted to warn you before it was too late, and your angel will find you to keep you safe and never leave your side. You can trust him since he is your Protector.”

  My mind tried to process what she said, but it’s too much right now. “I have to go. This is too much right now…” I left the room, exited the store, and headed to my car. Work was on my mind now, and I couldn’t deal with this right now…

  Chapter 3

  My world had been turned upside down. I couldn’t believe it or process it…I thought I was a person who could sense feelings. Damn, how did I get so lucky, maybe this will lead to a way that will let me get out of my miserable job and do something that matters. My head went back to the dream with the sexy winged guy.

  I made it to Kyle’s General Store to clock in after I had time to myself. I really had no idea what I was going to do. None. I clocked in, choosing to not think about it till it actually happened. At least there was a possibility of getting out of this horrible human-ran job. I went to the fitting room and started putting back the clothes while picking up items customers tossed carelessly on the floor after they didn’t want them.

  “Get me a manager then, this is ridiculous. I paid $5,000 dollars for this watch, and you won't even do it. That is disgusting. You won’t do it because you won’t carry it? I have had it done here twice already.”

  I looked over to see Jasmine the jewelry sales associate explain why, and the guy is not having it. This was not the first time. She left to get the dumbass a manager, and that is when I had a little fun. I say fuck it because if I really was that special, I wasn’t wasting any more time at this shitty job. I looked at him and deliberately swallowed his anger. It was an interesting ability to swallow one emotion and put in a new one. It was like taking an old card and replacing it with a new one. I made him feel happy, and the guy now had a grin where his scowl had been and walked away.

  I will go elsewhere now and leave her alone. It’s not her fault, anyway.

  His thought rang in my head, and I could read his mind as if he was speaking to me.

  Maybe Ginger was telling the truth? But what am I? If that’s the case I might not be human at all, and that comforted me more than anything, knowing I wasn’t like them.

  I smiled, thinking I might have overreacted.

  Jasmine came back with a manager and lifted up her hand when she couldn’t see where he went. I turned my mind back to the task at hand and shielded my mind back to keep their thoughts from interfering with my emotional state.

  I could block them and unblock them at will. It came in handy, especially during crowded holidays. I thought I was going crazy in high school when I heard thoughts and their mouths never moved.

  My mom never told me where she got me from when she adopted me. I moved out of my house after I graduated high school, went to community college, and transferred to South Bend since they have online classes. I recently graduated with a bachelor’s since I was able to double major in History and English. I love both, and I wanted a degree in something I knew I could get through.

  I continued with the mindless tasks of zoning and cleaning after I was finished with the baskets, and I knew there would be more the next day. I was always working there, and people always dumped shit in the most random places. People messed it up all the time. Perfectly neat tables and then the next minute, they were messed up since they didn’t bother to refold the shit they looked at. All the time I found meat in places it should not be. I even found stolen items stuffed in shelves. I clocked out when my shift was over and headed to my apartment. My home was the one place I could go to for peace and quiet. No emotions or buzzing thoughts, just silence.

  I’ve heard so many thoughts today about coupons, Black Friday, and sales that I would rather watch mindless television and not think about anything else for a few days.

  I took off my uniform and dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a t-shirt. I took off my sneakers in exchange for a pair of slippers to let my throbbing feet rest. Standing on your feet for hours a day was not easy. My back and shoulders ached, too. It was hard for me to sit there and fold for hours on end. I had to squat to get some of the stuff at the bottom folded, and I had to stretch my muscles to reach clothes people stuffed in the middle of the table. Also, as an empath, the people’s emotions kept buzzing, too, so it’s even more hard to keep focused on the tasks at hand. All the lifting heavy boxes and opening items with a box cutter to put them away after I ripped off the plastic and lined it up neatly. It was all tiring, especially when you did nothing but put away items all day--and finding a spot when it’s all tightly packed isn’t easy at all.

  Time for me to settle down and forget about Black Friday,

  To forget…

  To relax and not think about work at all. I loved my small one-bedroom apartment with a bathroom, living room, dining room, and a small kitchen. I got a snack and sat my ass on the couch watching television.

  The hours went by fast as I watched television, drowning out the noise in my own head. I could feel the opal in the box my mom bought me before she disappeared. It held a stone that I didn’t wish to experience in the end. Normal might as well be a pipe dream for me if what Ginger said is true. Normal people didn’t have superpowers like I did. They couldn’t influence people’s heads or get into them. None of it, and I could. That’s why I had to find out why this angel thought I was his mate.

  The next day I had off since they made me work Black Friday. I got dressed in a comfortable red, short-
sleeved shirt and blue jeans. I put on my white sneakers since they were a must since I love the weather. I headed out to take a walk and clear my head. After I got outside, my hair stood on end.

  I felt like something was watching me.

  Weird.

  I walked to the park which was less than five miles away. I didn’t take my stones since it wasn’t crowded as much today since people spent yesterday spending money.

  I could use this time to think and be free of cock sucking Kyle. I walked more, noticing the warm air.

  I said fuck it and amped up my pace. I turned it into a jog and ran like hell. I ran until my legs burned in protest, and ran like zombies were chasing after me.

  My mind was clear after some time running. I needed to find out more, and since I felt like driving, I headed back to my car to go to Ginger’s shop. I had to find out more at this point because I have had it with Kyle. All that was missing was a whip. I made it to the shop after avoiding an accident when a dick cut in front of me like an asshole. I parked the car and headed inside. I opened the door to her shop and heard the tinkle of the bell as I walked in. I scanned the shop, looking for Ginger, and not only did I find her, but she was talking to someone. My eyes met his eyes, and I was lost since he was incredibly hot. My heart beat fast when he smiled at me. The thing that stopped me in my tracks? He had fucking wings coming out of his back. What the fuck is going on? Why do I want him so bad? Why does he look like that? All thoughts flew out the window as I looked into his eyes...He was the guy in my dreams. The one that called me Angel, and my AngelMate…

  Chapter 4

  A guy with wings was not something you saw every day. Ginger walked around from behind the counter and smiled. “I was hoping you would come see me.”

  “We were, too.” Three guys come through the door, ruining my happy moment. They have creep written over their faces. Spiked black hair, black lizard eyes and black wings coming out of their backs like evil angels. I feel like I’m in a bad good versus evil movie and the villain is ugly. The leader of the group smiled at me, beaming sharp, spiky teeth. Yuck. A part of me felt like running away, and the other part of me felt like slapping the smile off his ugly ass face. Fucker.