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Chapter One - ROOK

Life Sucks

I step off the curb, dodge a few cars, and head straight for the Starbucks I can’t even remember the last time I had Starbucks, but today, with only ten dollars to -dollar coffee Quality Cleaning can kissfor ht now, but I’ve never been a thief and I’ve never been a liar If they want to try and charge ht

I knoas that stupid Delores who stole that ring I know it She bla out of a ho side of town

I take a deep breath and smell the coffee

Coffee

I haven’t had a decent coffee in like… well, irl who hung out on the trendy side of town And this place is definitely trendy, lots of bars--and not the kind that have strippers or that look like they only serve oldpeople who are out looking to get laid on Friday nights And men who like sports The baseball stadium is very close, so there are lots of sports bars

All the people who are going in and out of this Starbucks look like they work around here, like they belong I look down at ner, shit, they’re not even Levis And ives a crap?

I let a young hipster couple exit and then push ot time, so I stand there with more patience than pretty much everyone else in that place, and wait my turn The barista is patient as I ask questions and I order the biggest latte size they have, ask for real cream and hazelnut syrup, and top it off hip cream instead of foam

It takes another ten minutes for them to make my frothy drink and then finally, I take a look around for a place to sit I have to stand for a few minutes but eventually a man leaves a table and I swoop in, sit withthe door, and try to pretend I’ her usual drink before going back to her trendy job

That I have a job, period That I’m not out on the streets, that I’m not a victim, that I’m not scared shitless that Jon will somehow find me

I take a deep breath and let it out like the counselors at the shelter taught me This fear of Jon is not rational I realize this I one two ave them a fake name at the shelter, but the maid service needed a real name, and I’ve worked there for six weeks and no one cas me because I pretty much disappeared off the face of the Earth and no one even noticed

It makes me feel small and inconsequential