Page 26 of Exchange of Heart

Corey stuck his head into a small metal trash can outside a kebab shop and produced a half-eaten falafel roll. ‘Hungry?’

A few stores up, my nose scrunched when I lifted some black trousers with a questionable stain on the crutch out of a large, black bin. ‘New pants?’

We frowned at each other through the stench.

‘This is fucking gross.’ He dropped the roll.

True, but possibly not as gross as the blood bubbling through my body.

‘Let’s find some second-chance stores, though I’m sure anyone who found that umbrella would have thrown it in the bin. I know I would have,’ I said.

‘It isn’t hideous,’ Corey said for the twentieth time.

The bell above the door jingled as we walked into a musty store of nick-nacks. There were books with crinkled spines, rusty lamp stands, and an entire section dedicated to half-used yarn and knitting needles. The young lady behind the counter giggled at something on her phone, oblivious to our arrival.

‘I’ve always wanted a typewriter.’ Corey ran my slender fingers over the metal lump.

‘Yes, because your expensive laptop is utterly useless, therefore you must replace it with that hunk of junk.’

‘What’s your problem?’ He rolled his eyes.

Argh, I didn’t realise I looked like a moody teenager who’d been told she couldn’t stay at a party past eleven when I did that. ‘We need to focus,’ I reminded him.

Mainly, I didn’t want to listen to him harp on about the crap in here he could afford. After a disapproving huff, he begrudgingly stepped away and continued searching.

‘Oh my goodness, this might be it.’ I rushed to an umbrella stand at the side of the store dedicated to furniture.

Grabbing the metal stem, I released the canopy until it covered me in disappointment and a sprinkle of dust. Plain black. Not it – and now I’d likely added to my bad luck by opening an umbrella inside. I’d need to search for a four-leaf clover at some point.

‘Hey! You can’t do that inside, you’ll break something.’ The lady finally noticed us.

‘Sorry, do you have any other umbrellas in here?’

Without a second of consideration, she shook her head and returned her attention to her screen. This store was nothing more than a dead end. I sighed in defeat and closed the umbrella.

‘Where’s the next one?’

Corey checked the map on his phone. ‘Around the corner, we can walk to it. And don’t worry, we’ll find it.’

Had he stolen my optimism with my body? I couldn’t summon a single positive thought. ‘How can you be so sure?’

His gaze softened, almost giving the illusion he cared about my feelings. ‘Because I’m sick of sitting down every time I need to take a piss.’

‘Charming.’ My nose wrinkled, and I dug my elbow into his side.

His eyes may have been mine, but somehow he’d manipulated his own charm and mischief into them. They do say our eyes are the window to our soul, and I was getting a peek at what made Corey who he was.

Ridiculous and cocky.

The next store appeared to be worse than the first. Earlier, we’d walked into organised chaos, but here, it was simply chaos. Not to mention the hairless cat that slunk around piles and wrapped its tail around our legs. I released a disgusted shudder and stepped away. Lucky would be pissed when he smelled that oversized rat on my pants. He hadn’t even accepted that this new golden skin was his owner. Last night, he’d slept in the living room and hissed at me when I came out for a glass of water despite making his favourite pstpstpst sounds.

‘Shit, this is going to take all day.’ Corey twisted from corner to corner.

My brain ached thinking how long it would take to search this place, and my fingers rubbed my temples. ‘Let’s ask first.’

Taking short breaths in an attempt to avoid the stale air, we followed the maze of filthy mounds of crap to the back. A man who’d combed the remaining three hairs on his head over the top in a pitiful attempt to cover his scalp smiled with a missing front tooth.

‘Find a treasure in the trove,’ he exclaimed, arms open wide.