A Home Like Ours by Fiona Lowe (feel good books .txt) 📕

back together and use the monkey wrench to make sure it’s on tightly, but not enough to crack the breakable plastic ring surrounding it.

I turn on the main water slowly, and watch to see if there are any drips. Although, last time there weren’t any either, so I might not find out ’til next week that yet again, the pipe is leaking.

I watch it for five minutes, with my mind admittedly going back to the Quest I did last night, which is the reason I am so tired today, and I don’t see any leaking.

I had found a Questline that no one else had found. I even checked the wiki to make sure—nothing on the site about it. So I ended up staying up late to finish it before anyone else could, taking down details about it, so I could write up a walkthrough about it later for the wiki and stamp my name on the page.

I wash my hands clean from the germs I am sure are all over the place in here, using liberal amounts of soap and hot water until they are red and almost raw from the scrubbing. At least I know this bathroom gets cleaned weekly, as I am the one who does it. Once I’m done, I head back to my food that’s waiting for me at the staff table. I sit down and finish the other half of my sandwich and my drink, and take my book out of my bag.

Ah, come to me, oh words of wisdom. I glance at my watch, I have forty minutes before I need to start my shift. Sweet, I think to myself. I open the book to my bookmark, which is a hot Elf girl that is mostly naked, other than the bikini she is wearing. Yeah, I know. What would a fantasy Elf girl be doing wearing a bikini? Who cares!

To make sure I don’t get too engrossed in my book and lose time, I take my smartphone out and set the alarm for five minutes before my shift starts. Joshua hates leaving late to go home to supper with his kids and wife.

I get pulled out of my book with a shock and stare at my phone like it is something evil. Fuck, I had just gotten to a good part of the story. As much as I want to stay and read it, I know Joshua. He docks me an hour’s pay if I am even a minute late. I learned that the hard way when I started working for him five years ago after dropping out of college. That’s right, five years. That’s part of the reason I am able to work the evening shift instead of the night shift. I have the seniority, and also Joshua likes me, even though he keeps saying I could do so much better with my life than work for him. I just shake my head and tell him I am doing exactly what I want to be doing.

The day staff hate working with Joshua. The night staff, well, Joshua’s older brother has dibs on that shift. I put my garbage in the waste container next to the table, throwing my bottle into the blue recycle bin that I knew Joshua’s brother will end up dumping into the wastebasket anyhow. I get up and stretch, stiff from sitting down without moving for so long, and place my bookmark into my book, before putting the book inside my bag. I walk over to the set of four lockers, I set my bag in one of them and close the door, placing my thumbprint on it to lock it.

One thing that Joshua was willing to splurge on was these lockers. He said he got them at a discount, but the staff didn’t care since they were so damn cool. No keys, no combination to remember. Just your thumbprint, I think with a grin.

Heading to the front of the store, I walk through the door and stop dead in my tracks. There is a man in front of the counter, but he isn’t buying shit. He has a gun in his hand, and it’s pointed at Joshua. The man has a ski mask over his face, and he suddenly turns towards me, with the handgun tracking my way.

“Whoa, whoa!” I shout at him, putting my hands up.

This isn’t my first robbery in five years, but looking at Joshua, I can see he is white as a ghost. Working the day shift, he has never been robbed before. “Listen, if you want the cash, we can give you the cash. All right? It’s cool, man. Just my boss there, he will open the till and pass you the money. Good?” I tell him in a calm voice.

“What the fuck, man,” the robber says, turning the gun back towards Joshua. “I asked you if you was alone, and you said yes. You fucking lied to me, you fucking asshole,” he tells Joshua, waving the gun back and forth threateningly.

“Whoa, whoa!” I shout again, focusing his attention back on me, which unfortunately also means the gun is now facing my way again.

“He didn’t know,” I lied. “I came in through the back door and had been reading a book in the back room. Normally I would come in through the front door about this time, for my shift,” I tell him in a soft and calm voice, even though my heart is in my throat from having a gun aimed at me.

“You’s lying,” he says, taking a step towards me, but I stand my ground. “You probably already called the fucking cops,” the robber shouts in what I can now see is a panic. His eyes have gotten bigger, and his breathing has gotten quicker. Shit, is this guy jacked up on something?

“No, seriously, dude. I didn’t call the cops. Listen, let my boss get you the cash from the till, and then you can go. We promise not to