Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121990 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Roach didn’t bother turning around, so in a split second decision, Zane followed him after all. “This place is small,” he noticed, pushing through the door and into a large room smelling of dusty paper. The green carpet had the ugliest shade that reminded him of diarrhea after too many St. Patrick’s Day sundaes, but the books occupying all the walls and shelves behind the desk at the front were the stars of this show.
“Do you ever actually stick to your decisions?” Roach shook his head as they walked up to the counter where a woman in her thirties tapped something on the keyboard of a computer from the Paleolithic era.
Zane always imagined libraries the way they looked in movies—with leather seats, mood lighting, furniture made of solid wood, and perhaps even some decorative elements from a bygone era. The Grit Public Library didn’t have a single stained glass window and was the average classroom’s larger, more introverted cousin.
He elbowed Roach, trying to focus on something other than the elderly woman he’d spotted outside. Two years had passed, and she was a reminder of that night—as unchanged as if she was just waiting to take him back in time in her shopping cart. He needed to get away from this town, but he’d only do that by stepping over Roach’s corpse.
“Hi. I wanted to use the library,” Roach said in a soft, almost submissive voice, as if the woman behind the counter was out to get him.
She looked like the most harmless goth Zane had ever seen. She did wear black eyeshadow and witchy earrings made of tiny twigs, but she’d also donned nerdy glasses, a sweater with an embroidered cat, and her nose was red from a cold.
“Do you have a library card?”
Roach leaned over and spoke even more softly. “No.”
She smiled. “No need to be that quiet, Denver.”
“I just don’t want to disrespect the library.”
Zane frowned and joined him at the counter. “The library’s here for you, not the other way around.”
There. He’d gotten the librarian’s attention, and her blue eyes settled on him. Maybe she could help him.
A small smile twisted her lips. “Who’s your friend, Denver?”
Denver. That had to be Roach’s surname. He glanced at the woman’s name tag. Elizabeth.
“This is Zane. He’s not from here. So, yeah… I don’t have a card.”
She waved her hand and stole another glance at Zane. “I know you had one in high school. Let’s check on the system.”
A miracle.
“Yep. Not from here. I came here all the way from beautiful Georgia,” Zane said, making sure his accent was clear. He’d lost some of it throughout the years of traveling all over the country, but he still considered it his secret weapon, especially all the way up here.
His gaze passed over the bracelet hiding scars everyone asked about, and he slid it off the counter, willing himself to ignore the fact that there were reasons other than style for covering both his wrists. But he couldn’t forget. Not with Roach standing so close.
“Ooh! What are you doing in Grit?” She asked, typing ever slower.
Zane took a deep breath, leaned forward, and stared straight at her as he tapped the rhythm of one of his new creations on the plywood counter. “I let the music flow. From your soul to mine,” he sang softly, smiling when her eyes widened, cheeks flushing with excitement. It was that easy when you had a handsome face to back you up. His future lay in music, and once he left this dump, he’d never look back.
“So fucking corny,” Roach mumbled.
Zane wanted to kick him in the balls. But then Elizabeth the Librarian would have told them both to leave. Not to mention that in their current state, it would’ve fucking hurt a lot.
“You’re just jealous that you’ve never been in love.”
That shut Roach up, and he only let out an unintelligible huff.
To Zane’s surprise, the librarian came to Roach’s defence. “Oh, I bet that’s not true. Denver was the high school bad boy and always had a string of girls pining for him. Don’t you have a baby or something?”
Roach’s face went blank. “No, she got an abortion.”
That was fucking awkward, and Zane had seen some really crazy shit.
The silence that followed had Elizabeth tapping on the keyboard faster. “There we go. Your card’s here, but you’ve got some terrible late fees on here.”
“Okay, thanks, bye.” Roach was already turning around, but Elizabeth spoke again.
“Don’t be silly. The state’s got this free access to libraries program. You can’t check anything out without paying the fees, but you’re allowed to browse and read as long as you do it in the building. What is it that you’re looking for?”
“Magic, Voodoo, and all that good stuff,” Zane said and gave Roach a loud pat on the back, because in this version of reality they were friends, and Roach’s actions hadn’t gotten Zane’s family into debt.