The One That Ran Away Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Keep Up With Hildred

  The One That Ran Away

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  April Fool's Day

  Join Me On Facebook

  Author Bio

  Special Preview: Liquid Courage

  Also Available

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Keep Up With Hildred

  The One That Ran Away

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  April Fool's Day

  Join Me On Facebook

  Author Bio

  Special Preview: Liquid Courage

  Also Available

  The One That Ran Away

  Hildred Billings

  BARACHOU PRESS

  The One That Ran Away

  Copyright: Hildred Billings

  Published: March 9th, 2018

  Publisher: Barachou Press

  This is a work of fiction. Any and all similarities to any characters, settings, or situations are purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

  Keep up with Hildred’s latest releases by joining her mailing list! Behind the scenes, first looks, and even some free snippets!

  The One That Ran Away

  Chapter 1

  Jess

  Jess’s popularity as an astrologer meant she commandeered the biggest table by the teashop widow every Sunday night. At first, it was done on a lark. A future client saw her big book of astrology guides and birth charts and insisted that she buy Jess a drink in exchange for a reading. Later, another teashop patron witnessed Jess giving a reading and decided she was next in line. Two clients turned into three. Five became nine. By the end of that first month, Jess made a sizable side-income doing something that had only been a hobby.

  Tourists and others who didn’t stop by the café more than once a month were always shocked to find the small crowd growing around Jess’s table. There were die-hard astrology fanatics and pure, scoffing skeptics who later admitted that it was “amusing, at best.” Jess wasn’t a big believer in astrology herself, but that was a really Libra thing of her to say.

  “This explains so much,” said the woman sitting across from Jess. Her bubble tea remained largely untouched since the barista brought it to her half an hour ago. The client was too absorbed in the charts and cards Jess presented in the center of the table. “I haven’t been dating according to my sign!”

  Her friend, a young woman with curly hair and a bored visage, rolled her eyes. That’s how it goes. Jess wrote something else down on the client’s personalized chart. For every person who comes in here with big-eyes and desperate for answers, there’s a friend or family member sighing in disbelief. As long as Jess was tipped in either drinks or hard cash, she didn’t give a shit what people thought of her readings.

  “You really need to stop dating Tauruses,” Jess said with a sage nod. “Your last two boyfriends were Tauruses, and they are honestly one of the worst matches for you. I bet they both hated how coy and hard to get you played when they first asked you out, huh?”

  The woman gasped into her frilly winter scarf. “No way! How did you know that?”

  “As an Aries, your best romantic approach is indulging in the ‘chase.’ You think it’s sweet, whereas for Tauruses, they’d rather lasso you in right now than go chasing after you. Not the strongest way to start relationships.”

  “You’re right. I love being pursued! Isn’t that half the fun in a new relationship?”

  “Not to most Tauruses.”

  “Wow…” The woman sat back in her seat. Her friend continued to play Animal Crossing on her phone. “This makes so much sense. You know, I’ve never really been into horoscopes and stuff, but everything you say about my sign and the men I’ve dated is so true. You got all that just from knowing my birthday?”

  “It’s much more complex than knowing your sun sign,” Jess said, and not for the first time since this woman sat down with her tea. “There are natal charts, rising signs, the time of your birth…”

  “But you know so much about Aries!”

  Jess grinned. “My mother was an Aries. My best friend growing up was an Aries. Honestly, I love you guys. You’re so easy for me to get along with.”

  “What sign are you? Maybe your type is my match come true!”

  Jess had been getting to that. She fingered the pendant hanging around her neck and said, “Libra. Aries and Libra are a strong romantic match and complement each other well.” Aries was fire, and Libra was air – Jess liked to think of her fanning her friends’ fans. Aries were the ones with the outgoing personalities, a strong sense of doing what was right, and the brash wherewithal to do something about it. So easy to coax into doing my bidding. It didn’t sound creepy in her head. Then again, Libras were prone to manipulation…

  For just causes, of course!

  “Libras can offer you a bit more spontaneity that you crave. Tauruses tend to be more practical and down to Earth. If it’s adventure you want in a romance, then Libras aren’t a bad choice for matches. We’re also hella romantic.” Jess said that with a wink.

  Her client giggled. “Wooow, if I were gay, I’d totally date you!”

  Jess pretended she hadn’t heard that for the fifth time that day, yet still said, “I get that a lot.” No, really. She did. Straight women loved making sure she knew she was prime dating material until it came down to actually doing the deed. The queer ones acted like she didn’t exist. “You’re not limited to Libras, of course. Both Gemini and Leo are great options for you too. Honestly, anybody who has a more outgoing personality or at least doesn’t mind spontaneity can be a great match for you.”

  “Thank you so much. You do tarot readings too, yeah?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t bring any cards today.” Jess sighed. “Maybe next time.”

  The client shoved a small stack of dollar bills in Jess’s direction. Her friend, who had gone to the bathroom to keep from rolling her eyes yet again, returned in time to find the Aries of the Evening babbling about Libras and Geminis. “I need to get me a Gemini!”

  “Those two-faced sluts?” The friend asked on their way out the door.

  Jess had to contain a laugh of disbelief. Rolling your eyes at me, yet you know that stereotype about Geminis? Typical.

  There were parts of Jess that remained embarrassed that she knew so much about astrology. What began as a curious hobby as a kid had blossomed into a side-gig as a thirty-year-old adult. Even before she discovered the horoscope section of the newspaper, she was listening to her mother (the first Aries of her life) go on about e
vil Leos and how great Cancers were because her daddy was one. Or was he a Leo, but born in July? Jess’s mother was the one to teach her that what month you were born in was just as important as the overall sign. A June Leo could not be compared to an August Leo!

  Still, Jess likewise rolled her eyes at how many people heckled her for her stacks of astrology books (all used from the bookstore) or outright derided her for accepting tips from happy clients. People couldn’t understand how an agnostic like her dallied in astrology, when “it’s all the same hogwash, isn’t it?” What they couldn’t understand was that this wasn’t the word of law to Jess. It wasn’t a spiritual experience, nor was it a religion. It simply… was. Whatever people chose to read into it, good or bad, was simply that. Jess couldn’t control what the charts said. It was a science to her, like the mathematicians plugging in their formulas say, “The numbers don’t lie.”

  Of course, scientists really hated when she pointed that out…

  “Hey, Jess,” Amanda, one of her acquaintances from other circles, appeared at the edge of the small room. “How goes it? Are the stars being fruitful tonight?”

  Jess shook her tip jar. “Check me out. Almost ten bucks.”

  “Big living!”

  “Hell yeah. I’m getting takeout for dinner.”

  “Thai or Chinese?”

  “Chinese. Duh.”

  Amanda looked around the room before pulling out the other chair at the table and helping herself to a seat. “I figured you must have been doing pretty good when I passed someone babbling about Geminis on the staircase.”

  “That woman was an Aries dating Tauruses. She couldn’t figure out why her dating life sucked so much.”

  “I’ll take your word for it.” Amanda crossed her slender legs and slapped her hand on the table. “Got a few minutes to spare this old girl her horoscope for tomorrow?”

  “I don’t do horoscopes!”

  “Shh.” Amanda held a finger to her lips. “The others don’t have to know that. Actually,” she leaned across the table, strands of bleach blond hair threatening to land in Jess’s teacup. “I’m seeing a guy tomorrow night. Think he might be a Cancer. Hook me up, girl. My sex life needs all the help it can get.”

  “You’re a Sag. What are you doing dating a Cancer? That’s one of the either-or signs for you! You need to date a wholesome Leo,” she sputtered that, because was there such a thing as a “wholesome” Leo? “Or a hot Aquarius.”

  “Or a totes romantic Libra, right?”

  “I’m just saying, Manda, there’s a reason we get along so well.”

  Amanda gently nudged Jess’s arm. “You’re silly. Get out your tarot cards.”

  “Didn’t bring them.”

  With a gasping countenance that implied she had a few cards hidden up her own sleeve, Amanda dug into her bookbag and produced a stack of well-worn Rider-Waites. “Look what I’ve got!”

  “Jesus, Manda, you should put a rubber band around those things.”

  “Did I fuck up the energy? Because these things are so old that I don’t think it matters.”

  “If anything, them being so old means they’ve got plenty of energy to spare. I think.”

  “Well?” Amanda began shuffling the deck. “You got your interpretation book or whatever? Because I’ve got this pamphlet thing, but it’s pretty grody.”

  Jess rummaged through her backpack to see if she had brought her tarot book. Probably not, but who knew what she remembered to remove over the days? Sometimes she discovered books that had been missing for months in the bottom of her backpack.

  She looked up to say something witty. Instead, she was too gobsmacked to remember what she wanted to say.

  A woman had walked into the teashop, her head of feathery hair looking back and forth for a place to sit.

  A common sight in the teashop. God knew Jess saw it every time she glanced over at the door, and it didn’t help that the place was tiny and usually stuffed with patrons on a Sunday evening. The only reason Jess got the same table every week was because the staff were amused by her antics and reserved it for her. It helped she kept patrons around ordering more drinks.

  What wasn’t a common sight, however, was who walked through the door. At first, Jess wasn’t sure she could trust her blurry eyesight. After all, she was a wizard at seeing faces that weren’t there. How many men around Portland looked like her ex-boyfriend and gave her a start every time they crossed her path?

  This wasn’t a man, though. This was a woman, walking right out of Jess’s past and into her present.

  Shannon. Shannon Parker.

  “Oh my God,” Jess muttered, dropping her bag onto the floor. “No!” she then hissed, pointing her head toward the table before redirecting Amanda’s line of sight. “Don’t look! Don’t get her attention!”

  “Who is that?” Amanda hissed back.

  How the fuck could Jess explain the existence of Shannon Parker? It would take months. Years. A whole lifetime to describe who she was and how she had affected Jess’s life in profound ways – many of which she continued to recover from. “Someone I went to college with.” Yeah. That was succinct. It would also have to do.

  “Ooh, I see.” Amanda lay her beat-up tarot cards out in a simple spread. “One of those, huh?”

  Jess didn’t know what her friend meant. It didn’t matter. Because she was so distracted by the tall and slender woman picking up a tea menu that it would’ve been impossible to interpret anything but the complicated feelings welling up in her heart.

  And her thrice-damned loins.

  ***

  Memory #1

  The first time I saw her… how do you describe something as powerful as fate?

  Sophomore year, I think it was. I woke up early enough to amble my way across campus to my first class. It was a beautiful morning. Sunshine. Early spring. Birds chirped, whatever.

  There I was, walking to class without a care in the world. A baby lesbian only recently coming to terms with what it meant to sell one’s soul to Sappho. Dating pool was nonexistent. While everyone else batted their eyelashes and got laid on the same night, I was dreaming of the day when I would get myself a cute girl and maybe lose my virginity. Maybe. It would be an undertaking, as any baby lesbian in a tiny community will tell you.

  I was outside the English and History building when I first saw her.

  I didn’t know her name yet. How do you describe a veritable angel descending from Heaven and stalking across campus without her own cares? She didn’t see me. But I saw her.

  God, did I see her.

  There are people you meet and instantly know that they will change your life. They breathe the same air as you, but are otherworldly. Ethereal. They don’t follow your rules. They barely acknowledge your existence. They have their own problems to worry about and aren’t looking to get involved with yours. Yet there they are. They exist. For some reason, your paths have never crossed before.

  They do now. It was fate. It was written in the god damned stars that have no business interfering yet again.

  Stars that weren’t crossed, for fuck’s sake. Just a bunch of measly stars that have already blinked out of existence, but for some reason still shine in the night sky. Physics. Scientists. They tell you the stars have no power other than what astronomy assigns them. You, the astrologer, know differently.

  I saw her for the first time that morning. She passed me without acknowledgment. I did a double-take. My heart stopped. My stomach jumped. Every neuron in my body braced itself for impact.

  Time didn’t slow, though. She was gone, that firm ass swaying back and forth with her confident steps as she silently sang along to the music in her headphones. Everything about her swayed, rocked, and existed with effortless purpose. Did she know she looked so cool? That she was coordinated, with her light brown hair, knee-high boots, and casually baggy jacket that accentuated the dip in her back and the curve of her hips? Had she rolled out of bed that way?

  I went to class thinking about
her. I spaced out the lesson because I couldn’t stop thinking about her. What it would be like to talk to her. To learn her name. What she wanted from life.

  What it would be like to kiss her. To simply stare at her from across the table and drink in what it’s like to be Aphrodite – because there is no other goddess she could be.

  I felt love when I saw her in those few seconds. I felt free. I felt as if the air had lifted me off the ground and gave me wings that only she could see. She was an angel, after all. Angels know each other, I suppose.

  You never forget that moment when everything changed, when you realize your life will never again be surprised.

  You never forget when Aphrodite sends Cupid’s arrow in your direction. You never forget what it’s like to be betrayed by the planet ruling your cursed sign.

  ***

  Shannon put down the menu and approached the register. The barista on duty was her usual cheery self. Somehow, the rest of the café continued to go on as if a cataclysmic storm hadn’t erupted between two people.

  Because, apparently, Jess was the only one who felt it.

  What were the odds? She hadn’t seen Shannon since college graduation eight years before. Their paths had diverged. Anything they felt for each other was sacrificed to the ether.

  Most importantly, Jess had long moved on from her first real lesbian love.

  Wasn’t that how shit worked, though? The universe didn’t like it when a woman finally got her life together and decided to move on. When she started dating (or at least tried to date.) When she went whole weeks, years without once thinking of that woman who made her partly who she was.

  It hated that. It must interfere.

  Jess kept her face covered and eyes pointed to her table while Shannon turned away from the register and continued to search for a place to sit. She bypassed the couches and tables by the register and ambled into the back room where Jess practiced her divination on Sunday evenings.