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CHAPTER ONE
STORM
“You’re coming. It’s non-negotiable,” Hedda said.
Storm groaned and placed her head against the front counter. Hedda had been trying to get her to come to her best friend’s birthday party so Storm could meet new people.
It was something she really didn’t want to do. Storm didn’t like to meet new people. It only led to disappointment later down the road.
“I really don’t want to,” Storm whispered. “I want to go home, relax, and be Little. I’ve been looking forward to it all day long.”
Storm had started working at a bookstore in New York where Hedda was a regular customer. Apparently, it had been easy for Hedda to figure out she was a Little and had informed Storm she was one as well.
Storm had never had another friend who was Little. Granted, she didn’t really have friends, but it was nice since she didn’t have to hide that part of herself.
“Nope. You can do that tomorrow and the next day. Tonight, you’re coming with me,” Hedda said. “You need to get out and mingle. It’s not good for you to be holed up all the time!”
Storm could disagree with that. Her immune system had always been weak, and it seemed like anytime she was around a huge group of people, she always ended up getting sick. Her whole life had been that way, even when she was little.
It sucked.
Over the course of her existence, she had gone to so many doctors trying to discover why she was getting sick all the time but none of them could find anything besides a weak immune system.
Her parents loved her and, even though they were poor, made sure she had access to specialists that were available. A lot of money was wasted since they never did find a diagnosis, and she felt guilty.
She never wanted to be a burden to her parents. They had struggled throughout her life with not having enough food, wearing clothes until they were just threads in a pile, walking everywhere, and so much more. They had put all their money into her medical bills and sacrificed so much for her.
Now to repay them, she sent them money from each of her paychecks to help them out. It did make her living a little harder since everything was so expensive in New York, but it was the least she could do.
Since they had done so much for her, it was now time to do stuff for them, even if she had to skip some meals here and there.
“I don’t want to get sick,” she groaned. “I’ve told you before what happens when I’m around a lot of people. I always manage to catch something, and I can’t afford to take any time off!”
Although Storm had told Hedda this many times, they had not been out in a crowd together where Hedda could see first-hand what would happen. Storm was pretty sure Hedda thought she was exaggerating.
“It won’t happen this time! The person’s house we’re going to is a clean freak. Raynar hates messes and germs.” Hedda chuckled at the end of her statement, clearly remembering something. “You’re going to be okay. You haven’t gotten sick once since you’ve been living in New York.”
“Not true. I’ve gotten sick. You’ve even come in when I’ve had a sore throat, cold, and just felt terrible. Besides, it’s because I avoid crowds as much as possible. I don’t take public transportation and have my groceries delivered to me.”
“Small sicknesses. Not a big deal and those could’ve just been allergies!”
She didn’t know why she was arguing with Hedda about this. Storm had learned long ago that people just didn’t understand and she needed to leave it be.
“This one time isn’t going to hurt anything. You’re going to be okay. The guy is a clean freak,” Hedda said again, waving her hand in the air.
“Is he the person with the birthday?” she asked.
“Nope! It’s my best friend’s birthday. We’re just having the party at Raynar’s house because it has a backyard big enough for everyone to fit.”
Before she could open her mouth and tell Hedda no, her friend started to speak again.
“I’m really not taking no for an answer. You’re going to come with me and that’s final. You need to meet other people and while these people may be intimidating, they are all nice. Well, most of them are,” Hedda said.
Storm let out a sigh and nodded her head. There was no way she was getting out of this. Whenever Hedda made up her mind, there was no changing it.
“When does it start?” she asked, hoping it was later so she could go home and get ready.
“It’s technically starting right now so we’ll head over when you clock out. It’s five so you can leave now,” Hedda replied.
