I picked up the silver necklace, feeling the sharp edges of the blue sapphire against my palm. I tucked it deep into the pocket of my coat and stepped out of the car.
The sidewalk outside Crestview Gold was cracked, with tiny weeds pushing through the concrete. A man in a heavy brown wool coat brushed past me, his shoulder nearly clipping mine. He was carrying a cardboard box full of old metal gears.
“Watch where you are standing,” he muttered, not looking back.
I did not answer him. I stood before the rusty iron gate that protected the front door of the shop, my heart pushing against my ribs.
A small sign hung behind the dirty glass of the door, its gold letters peeling at the corners to read Crestview Gold. My hand hovered over the cold metal handle of the gate. If I did this, there was no going back.
I Brought a Coworker as My Date to My Ex’s Wedding, and One Comment From Him Wiped the Smile Off My Ex’s Face
My Husband Lost His Phone Until A Stranger Revealed Where He Found It
I turned eighteen on a Tuesday. No cake. No card. Not even a half-hearted “happy birthday.” Just my father sitting at the kitchen table, his wife stirring sugar into her mug, and my stepbrother leaning back in his chair with that look people get when they already know how the story ends.
I Saw a Homeless Man Wearing My Missing Son’s Jacket – I Followed Him to an Abandoned House, and What I Found Inside Made Me Nearly Collapse
He Took His Father’s Bedroom After Surgery. Then Dad Took Back the House
