My Peace, Like Shattered Glass

"Ow!"

"That's why I wear gloves," Iris teased gently as she smoothed a Band-Aid over the badly stinging cut that Jessica had obtained when trying to rip open a box—it was basically a papercut, but when it was caused by cardboard, the pain was considerably more; as was the amount of blood that had welled up to the surface of the cut.

"I thought that was to hide the mark," Jessica admitted quietly, her low voice deliberately making sure that their coworkers didn't hear what she said. "You're always wearing them."

"This is the fourth time you've cut yourself this week," Iris pointed out in counterattack, causing the younger woman to flush in embarrassment before she simply shrugged her shoulders. There was no defense against that. Iris shook her head with a gentle smile, collecting the garbage from disinfecting and covering the cut, tossing them into the nearby trashcan of the office. "You should get a pair, you know. Boxes and books don't just cause papercuts, but they dehydrate your hands as well. Wearing a pair of these will stop that."

"Don't rub it in," Jessica grumbled half-heartedly. Iris just gave that same smile as she stood up.

"I know it's a bit earlier than usual, but why not take your break now?" Iris asked instead, briefly checking the time on the bottom of the office computer's screen. Jessica agreed easily, happy to get off shift and eat something. The two women went their separate ways once they left the office, Iris making her way back into the store as she smiled to her coworkers and reclaimed her place behind the register.

She knew they were whispering about her, confused by why she was constantly smiling and always seemed to be happy. Not that she'd been doom and gloom before, but they couldn't remember a time when she had smiled and showed her happiness so openly and constantly. Jessica was still the only one to know about her marks—or at least the fact that there is more than one—but they had all been able to notice the change in their manager in the past few weeks. She'd gotten worse, to the point that she had been forced to take time off, before she miraculously got better.

There were still days when they could tell she hadn't slept well, for whatever reason, but they were few and far between.

Iris wasn't able to see her soulmates every day, try as either of them might, but they spoke constantly. She would wake up to emails from whoever was in the light that day, but she would usually write to all of them every morning—she hated feeling like any of her soulmates were being neglected. Continuing to do this as more and more of them are met, she isn't sure, but she knows that she will go out of her way to make sure they are all…loved. Welcomed and acknowledged for their individuality.

It was surprisingly difficult to focus on her work—she had never had anything in her life to distract her before. Even fear of her parents had bled away after a time, but her soulmates were ever present on her mind.

Absentmindedly, Iris stroked a fingertip over the mark on the back of her palm.

They were all so different, it made her wonder who else was in the body of Kevin Crumb. When would she meet Hedwig, the supposed child? Or Jade, a younger female than Patricia?

"Looks like the cold-front has arrived," Sarah called from the front window, a box perched on her hip as she glanced back toward Iris. The young woman's eyes turned to the window, blinking in shock at the white-out of flurries that had overtaken the view outside the storefront.

Her face pinched slightly uncomfortably, knowing that her walk home was going to be horrendous. "That's gunna be so cold," she mumbled to herself, but it was loud enough for Sarah to hear. It had been chilly enough on the walk in to work, heading home through the snow was going to be so much worse. Sarah gave her a pitying look before she turned to get back to work.

Instead of letting herself become distracted by thoughts of walking home, Iris collected one of the boxes that needed to be scanned through and took it to the main counter. Sarah continued to clean and organize the front displays—it was a quiet day and there was very little to do for the group without more customers coming in.

Iris herself had been there since five o'clock that morning, completing some of the reports that needed to be sent to the owners by the end of that week. Not wanting to wait and rush through it, she decided to come in a few hours before her usual time and get in a bit of silent work. She was feeling more exhausted as the day drew on, but at least her sleep the night before had been a fitful one until her alarm had gone off.

Of course, her day did not get any better when she got a call from David, who sounded like death, saying that he had tried but he wouldn't be able to come in to work. As an old habit, she didn't want to bother anyone else and just decided that she would stay for the full shift and close the store down as well. Jessica and Sarah both shooed her to the back for a long break, however, and made sure she ate the soup she had brought and even made her a tea with the kettle they had in the break room.

It made Iris wonder if they had gotten a lecture about how she was always doing things for them. Her boss definitely had not liked how she was always working, taking the weekend and evening shifts or filling in for the others when they did not or could not come in. It wouldn't have surprised her if her employees had gotten a lecture during her forced days off.

"Do you want me to get you a tea? Or a coffee? How about-"

"Jessica," Iris interrupted, her voice carrying an amused tone as she shook her head at the younger woman. "Calm down! I'm fine, I promise. There's only a few more hours before close and the snow kept it quiet today. I promise I'll head straight home and eat."

"Remember, I'm opening the store tomorrow so I better not find you here early," Jessica forewarned, pointing a threatening finger at the frail woman. "I swear, I'll make you sleep in the break room."

Shaking her head at Jess's antics, Iris motioned toward the door. "Go home, Jess. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

She was given one more warning look before her new friend and old coworker disappeared out the door into the white flurries that had dominated the window most of the day. Supressing a yawn, Iris sat herself down at the main cash with some of the paperwork from the back office—she still had work that she needed to get done, even if she had to stay and help Sarah until closing.

The odd person or two would wander in throughout the day, making small or simple purchases that Iris handled easily and with little thought. Sarah kept up with cleaning and stocking to busy herself, giving Iris several assurances that she would take care of the aisles and to not worry. By the time the final hour rolled around, and it had been at least forty-five minutes since the last customer, Iris was tempted to send Sarah home early.

The shelves were spotless and there were no other boxes that needed to be put out, so there was nothing else for the young woman to do. Iris had even spent a good thirty minutes explaining to her how to run the computer programs that she used to manage all of the store's books. Sarah just sat with a bewildered look on her face and they both decided that management was not something that she was interested in learning.

"It's deserted today," Iris finally declared, leaning against the counter as Sarah wandered by with a dusting rag. "You head on home, okay? I'll stay and finish my paperwork and if someone does come by I can handle it."

Sarah blinked at her owlishly. "Are you sure? I don't mind staying!"

"There's no point in both of us being bored out of our minds. Head on home, I'll be fine."

And then there was one.

Iris fought another yawn as she glanced at the computer screen. Just one more hour. Sitting back in her chair to rub at her tired eyes, the dark haired woman could feel them sting slightly with the effort she had been putting in to keep her eyes open.

She used to have no problem staying up for ungodly hours, but she'd been adjusting to a new way of living lately and now it seems going back to how things were would be impossible.

Sitting forward with a silent sigh, she tried to focus on the paperwork in front of her. Only a minute had gone by before her concentration was shattered, similar to the store window that exploded in a shower of glass as something was sent flying through it.

A shriek of surprise tore from her lips as Iris ducked behind the desk, too far for the object to reach but fear drawing the defensive reaction to the forefront. Her heart had rocketed into a galloping pace in her chest, hands shaking in fright against the edge of the counter. The roar of wind and the tinkling of glass hitting the once clean floors filled the silence of the store.

The rush of cold against her covered arms and bare neck made her shiver, skin already beginning to feel feverish from the sudden rush of adrenaline that flooded her system. Shivering and panting, Iris remained crouched and hidden as she waited and listened for any sign that the person who had broken the window might come inside.

However, even as time passed and nothing happened, she couldn't bring herself to move. Trembling in fear and shivering from the cold, her hands gripped the desk above her head until her knuckles were white beneath her gloves. Eventually the distant sound of police sirens broke the silence, bringing her mind back to the present. She'd forgotten about the security system—if one of the doors were opened while the code was inputted, the police were alerted, but if a window was broken at any time the police were called immediately.

Trying to force her hands to relax on the edge of the desk, the sirens grew louder until the police cars came to a screeching halt outside of the store.

Taking in deep breaths of the cold air, Iris exhaled through trembling lips as she finally detached her hands from the desk. Shuffling out from her hiding place, she used the desk to support herself as she finally stood up and surveyed the damage. The front was a mess now, a combination of glass and snow covering the floor and surrounding displays.

The first thing that came to her mind was how the books were going to be ruined if they got snowed on.

"Police, don't move!"

Iris jumped and choked back a gasp, hands shooting up as one of the officers stopped outside of the broken window. She was the only person visible in the store, so she could understand being suspicious.

"I'm the manager!" she shouted, her voice shaking. "My name is Iris Mayfair, my employers are Melissa and Gerald McIntosh. They would have been contacted as soon as the alarm was set off."

"Please step out where I can see you, ma'am. Do you have ID on you?"

Walking around the desk on shaky legs, her hands still raised, Iris nodded. "My employee card; it's with the keys around my wrist." She shook her arm to demonstrate, causing the keys to jingle soundly and flash the little badge attached to it that had a barcode scanner for her to access the computers upon opening. Jess had one as well, for when she opened the store.

"Are you hurt?" the man asked as he stepped forward, some of the other officers entering behind him as they surveyed the damage and entered the store, checking through the aisles.

"No, I was behind the desk-"

"You have glass in your hair," the officer interrupted gently once he had checked the ID on her wrist, comparing the information she had given to him with the name and photo on the card. Naturally, her hand lifted to her head to feel for the sharp projectiles. Thankfully, the officers caught her arm gently to stop her before she cut her hand. "No, don't worry. It's only a few pieces. Shake your head and they should fall right off."

Iris did as instructed, shaking her head as she closed her eyes. She could feel when the fragments fell out, tapping down past her shoulders before they hit the already messy floor.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?" the officers asked again—a glance at his shirt revealed his name was Montez—and Iris nodded her head dazedly. "Were you the only one working?"

Iris stood in the storefront with the officer as she answered his questions, giving him the time to write them down between answers. As the wind and snow continued to blow into the store, Iris steadily started to shiver more heavily. The adrenaline was bleeding from her system, causing her vision to blur in and out. Montez must have seen her sway on her feet because he abruptly stopped talking and reached out to claim her arm.

"Woah, let's go sit you down. Is there a back office in this place? Somewhere warm?"

"Yes, just back down that aisle. There's a door that leads to the stock-room at the end."

The place was crawling with police by now, and one of them informed her and Montez that the owners were on their way down. There was a camera out front that might have caught the person who threw what turned out to be an old pipe through the window, but Iris didn't have authorization to scroll back into the recorded footage so she was no help to them.

As they entered the back office to finish giving her statement, Iris found herself wishing that her soulmates were with her. Glancing at the nearest clock, she realized that they would be home by now and waiting for her to let them know that she was home safe.

Her shift had ended twenty minutes ago.

"Ma'am, are you alright?" Montez asked from across from her, worry clearly evident on his face as she trembled and stared blankly at the clock. "Is there someone you'd like me to call for you?"

Small and pale, Iris look like a terrified, small animal. The chair she was in made her appear that much smaller; her feet didn't touch the floor and her boney frame was enveloped in the black leather of the chair-back. Montez felt like he was interviewing a terrified child. If she got any paler in her face, he'd be calling in the paramedics to check on her again. She looked on the verge of passing out.

The liquid gold of her eyes watered further as she gave a stuttered nod.

"Kevin Crumb," she answered meekly. "His number is in my cellphone," she answered, motioning to where she had left the phone on the office desk. She preferred not to have her cellphone with her when she was working, so she usually left it in the back office.

She was probably never going to do that again, not after what she had just experienced.

Montez nodded calmly, picking up the small phone and having her input the password before he stepped away. One of the other officers, a woman named Sinclair, came into the office briefly to inform Iris that her employers were here and she could leave once her statement was complete, they would help the police with anything else needed.

Iris just gave a short nod as she stared at the floor, yet to regain any colouring in her face.

Sinclair gave Montez a sympathetic look as she left, understanding that speaking to someone who was in shock could be a trying endeavor.

The ringing in his ear cut off, drawing his attention back to Iris's phone. "Hey, Iris, you get home okay?" The casual question, filled with true concern, almost caused the officer to wince. He hated when he had to tell the unsuspecting spouse or loved one that something had happened. At least Iris appeared unhurt and he could offer that assurance.

"This is Officer Liam Montez; is this Kevin Crumb?"

There was a pause on the other end, silence filling the line for a long beat. "Where's Iris?" the male voice demanded, upping in pitch as fear sharpened his words.

"Miss. Mayfair is fine; someone threw an item through the window of her store but she is safe and unharmed. It would be best if someone was with her right now, she's in a bit of shock and will able to leave as soon as we finish getting her statement. She asked me to call you—are you able to come down to Pages of the World right now?"

"Yes, yea, I'm on my way. She's alright? You said she wasn't hurt?"

"She was far enough away that she only got a bit of glass in her hair, but no, she wasn't hurt. I might recommend bringing her something warm, preferably tea or something that doesn't have caffeine in it."

"Can I talk to her, please? Just for a second?" the plea in the man's words were impossible to ignore—Montez was certain, as he turned to hand the phone to Iris, that this was a soulmate he was dealing with.

Iris could barely hold onto the phone as she leaned her head heavily against the cellphone, into the pressure of Montez's continued grip on the device. He was sure that she would have dropped it if he hadn't helped hold it up. "Hello?" He couldn't hear the man's words, but Iris's bow-tight body finally relaxed slightly at the sound of his voice.

Definitely soulmates.

"Hey, Sweetheart, it's Barry. You okay? I'm on my way right now."

"I don't feel good," Iris answered weakly, as though she was ashamed of her body's reaction.

"That's just the shock, Sweetheart. I'll be there in ten, okay? Just try and take some deep breaths. Are you sitting down?"

"Mhm." The conversation barely lasted a few seconds more before Iris suddenly dropped her hand, letting Montez pull the phone away. Glancing at the screen told him that the man had already ended the call, so he simply placed her phone on the desk as he reclaimed the other chair.

"Are you alright to continue?"

Swallowing thickly, Iris gave a tired nod as she met his eyes again.