It was time to start the buffering process for the evening's mindless show-binging. Lana thought of Chloe's cousin's girlfriend every time she opened Netflix. It would be a dreadful day when that woman inevitably found out she was sponsoring a village of people with her Netflix account. And then what if heaven forbid, she changes her password?
Don't put that thought out into the Universe!
After scrolling through titles for over thirty minutes, Lana realized she had already watched every romantic comedy and baking competition show on the platform. What else is on here? Stranger Things? Is there romance in that? I'll keep looking. She paused when she came across one called Locke & Key and stared at the thumbnail of, well, as the name suggested, a lock and a key.
Her thoughts drifted back to the chest she found at Goodwill. What is with me? What is it about that box?
In an instant, a cloaked memory emerged from the shadows of her mind, causing her to sit up abruptly in bed. What are the chances? There's no way.
With eyes wide and pulse rising, Lana dashed to her vanity table and started shuffling through all the jewelry she had. She tried to go through every necklace piece by piece, but the knotted cluster had decided to form itself into a mini art installation. After picking apart the accidental assemblage as best as she could, she concluded there was no sign of the necklace. What did I do with that thing?
It didn't take long for Lana to give up. And it was right back to Netflix. She scrolled down to season five of Gilmore Girls. Everyone knew that was the best season because that was when Logan and Rory started dating. And those two are adorable together.
As Lana stared at her pixelated screen, Logan became Jack Hanscom in her mind. And she was Rory. And then suddenly they were adorable together. Lana sighed. If only.
She thought about her non-existent dating life. Despite her friend Chloe constantly trying to set her up on a blind date, she was a little scared of the idea—going to meet a stranger and talking about life, hoping something will click. No, no, Lana was much happier to live vicariously through all the characters she saw on screen, where she was comfortable and safe. She didn't need any real heartache in her life.
Yet, as much as Lana tried to push it away, her heart was still open to the idea of going on a date with someone. Her life was in a monotonous rhythm, and she often felt like she was walking along a long plateau with no upward progression in sight. Would it be so terrible if there was a man that would take care of me? And buy me nice things? Like nice shiny earrings, or a new necklace?
Necklace. Her mind was back on that mysterious box. And then another thought occurred to her.
She quickly grabbed a step stool and set it in front of her closet. As her head became level with the shelf, she saw a navy blue shoebox sitting in the back corner. Her pulse quickened just slightly as she opened the box. The dark gold immediately caught her eye. There it was, wedged between some notecards and AA batteries. Holy crap! I still have it!
She sat on her bed and twisted the necklace's charm in her fingers, squinting, studying the small key. Two small rings overlapped at the head of it, the same shape seen above the keyhole from that chest.
She threw the necklace around her neck, snatched her phone, and checked the time. 6:46. "Siri, what time does Goodwill close today?"
"I'm not sure about that. Is there something else I can help with?" said the female voice from Lana's cracked phone.
"Ugh! Siri. What. Time. Does. Good. Will. Close. To. Day?" she commanded as she held down the button, enunciating each syllable.
"Here's what I found on the web."
Lana glanced at her screen.
Goodwill: In accounting, an intangible asset arises when a buyer acquires an existing business.
"Ugh! Siri, you are useless!" Lana huffed and quickly typed into Google, Goodwill hours.
7 PM.
Chances were, she wouldn't make it there in time, but she quickly slid on her Converse shoes, seized her purse, and raced out the door anyway.
Lana drummed her thumb on the steering wheel at each red light she hit. Despite her car's sputters and groans, she pushed it a little harder than usual and made it to the Goodwill parking lot five minutes before closing.
Briskly walking through the door, she smiled at the only cashier that was in there while ignoring the look she got for being such a last-minute customer.
Lana proceeded to the home décor section with as much determination as a fanny-pack-clad mom exercising at the mall. Yet she stopped in her tracks when she saw an older woman holding the small red box.
Crap. Please don't buy it!
After taking in a deep breath, she strode up next to the woman and picked up a very similar-looking box, which was green and much wider. "Oh my! This one is so pretty."
The old woman glanced at the box in Lana's hand, seemingly now interested in it. Lana set it down and strolled away as casually as she could to observe from a distance.
Miraculously, it worked! The older lady placed the red box back on the shelf and opted for the similar-looking green one before walking away.
After waiting a moment for the woman to vacate the aisle, Lana snatched the red box and looked at it in disbelief. Yet clutching her key, she instantly knew. The color and shape were perfectly identical to each other. Is this the box? Here goes nothing.
"Attention all shoppers, two minutes until closing!" Lana jumped from the voice blaring on the loudspeaker. "Please make your way immediately to the cash register or else."
Lana chuckled and then furrowed her brows. "Or else what?" she said to herself under her breath.
She flinched again when the voice continued after the pause. "Or else you will not be able to leave with the items you picked this evening."
Lana quickly made her way to the register and set her box down on the counter, behind the woman who had previously been observing the item.
The woman paid for her items, which included the similar green box, and the cashier began placing it in a bag for her. Yet, before the woman was able to pick up her bag, the cashier gasped and froze.
Lana's heart sank. As she looked up, a man with a ski mask barged into the store full force.
***
Buckle up for the next chapter! If you're liking where this story is going don't forget to vote by clicking the little star. Thanks for reading! XoXo
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Stolen Heart
ChickLit[Complete] A flirty, romantic adventure & feel-good read! *** Lana Asfoor was content to live with the status quo and ignore her piling debt. Ignorance is bliss, right? Yet any ideas of playing things safe are thrown out the window when a charming...
