The Baker Shop [ON-GOING]

Chapter 8

Nate's POV

I slummed back at my chair, waiting for silence to grow over me like plants on soil. Erin and Gran Joan sat in front of me on the other end of the table.

My head has been tilted down to my chest for the past hour, clasping my hands together underneath the table and biting my lower lip to prevent myself from tearing up.

"At least the stock was still there." Erin spoke, lightening the noticeable dark mood in the area. But not lightening the situation in my mind.

Gran Joan greatly hit Erin's left shoulder and gave her a demeaning glare, Erin lightly groaned as a result. They both look back at me, the tension continuing to rise again.

"Nate, I'm so sorry for what happened." Gran Joan comforted, leaning her head on the table,"I'm sure the cops will find whoever was behind this." she assured, rubbing my left shoulder and sparking little wonder of hope in my system.

I didn't expect this to ever happen to me, it's unbelievable. Earlier, when I entered my bakery I expected a closed and empty establishment in the middle of a busy day in 5th Street waiting for its owner to turn up after refusing to get his lazy ass of bed.

But you know what came to my doorstep; something a whole lot worse than my unpaid electric bills.

I come up with the door to my office unlocked and the profits I saved under a secret compartment in my office desk gone, swept away to Neverland.

I overslept last night because of my late night swimming lesson with Erin and was seduced by my bed to come back to sleep. Waking up at noon still feeling drowsy and full of regret.

It seemed like a nightmare only a 4-year old would get but no, it happens to grown-ass man like me. Gran Joan closed the coffee shop for the day because she wanted to alleviate my situation despite my protests to her. All was left now was me, Gran Joan, Erin and a robbed bakery next door.

"Who would rob money from a bakery anyway?" Erin returned,"Only a heartless bastard would ever do something like this. I'm sorry you had to suffer the other end of it." she sympathized.

I tilted my head up at them,"It's still unbelievable to me at this point." I finally spoke after an hour of my silence,"I  never thought I would actually be a victim of robbery, I thought those things only happen to the protagonist in a movie." I came up.

"How much was actually stolen again?" Gran Joan asked.

"All of my profits for the past 2 weeks. All $10,000 and some change." I answered, unmoved in my chair.

They both let out a compassionate sigh and made me realize just how much I've actually lost. Now that I understand the situation I'm in, I can't help but feel angry at myself for letting this tragedy happen in the first place. I could've done something if only my head wasn't filled by stupidity and mild self-absorption.

"What did the police at the station say?" Are they going to send in someone to investigate?" she asked.

"By the way that guy in the info desk sounded, it's highly unlikely." I replied, because Office Delgado claimed it would take another week before anyone would respond to my case, depending if anyone would even want to handle it.

"They should be doing their jobs. Are they just gonna ignore the fact that there's crime in this world?" Erin loudly expressed, annoyed as I am.

There's another thing Officer Delgado mentioned other than my complaint and the inevitable divorce with his wife, Darlene. He said that my report might be another case of the "Aeredale Burglar", the night burglar in town that strikes whatever home he desires for quick bucks.

"I've always had extreme hatred for that person." Erin joined,"My friend was one of his victims back then, she and her family was already struggling financially..." she told. She paused, her eyes becoming teary,"...then that bastard decided to rob their house too." she let out her tears and immediately wiped them out of hate.

Gran Joan moved closer to her granddaughter's side, engaging her in a hug then patting her back, I sat still in my chair with the same expression I had listening to Erin's story.

The Aeredale Burglar is a force to be reckoned with, like a brewing lightning storm you never know who it's gonna hit. There's already been hundreds of identical cases about him in Aeredale Police Station for the past decade. I might as well add another to the pile.

It would take a miracle and a professional detective to open the case again and start investigating it with hopes of finding a treasure in this town. My complaint would just be another lost file in the cabinet waiting for someone to open it, I have no high hopes that this man would be caught soon. Just like I have no hope at all that I would be able to pay back the bank with the money I borrowed.

After realizing the predicament I put myself in, I eventually let out all the built-up tears and mucus in my system to ease my pain and suffering. Now both Erin and I are crying our hearts out.

How am I going to bring back my business from this? How would I pay back the money I borrowed from the bank? Sometimes, life has ups and downs but I think I've fallen in a deep void pit at this point.

I don't know what I should do, my business would eventually lose stocks because I wouldn't be able to pay for the supplies I need, my employee would also have to resign and find herself another job, I would end up in my lonely apartment forever calling myself a failure and regretting my decisions.

How I wish time could turn back to when I was happy—with my family—with my friends—my life. I'm now here in a world full of lost dreams, this place sucks.

I realized that the sun was beginning to set so I waved goodbye to Erin and Gran Joan and went back to the bakery. Closed. Empty. Broken.

Three words that describe both me and my business, I went behind the cash register where I usually worked at, I reminisced back when I imagined myself being a successful manager and businessman, the first time I bought this building.

I was so jovial, I was like a puppy that just got adopted by a new owner in the pound. I thought all my dreams would come true in the end. But now, I'm just as hopeless as that same puppy that got abandoned.

It's depressing how I thought that if I worked hard enough I would achieve what I've been looking for all along, I knew that stupid saying in front of the support group was a lie. I thought that by being optimistic and positive I would be as strong but now I realize that it only made me more sensitive and emotional.

How stupid really am I?

I walk over to the glass window to lock it when I suddenly notice a police car pull up on the street beside the bakery. Two figure came out with strict looks but one of them immediately caught my whole attention—a beautiful goddess.