Dax or Storm tonight…Dax, or Storm.
Dax is safer.
Storm makes me feel out of control.
I text Storm back first.
Morning.
Then I open my texts to Dax and tell him to come over now. The butterflies sink a little, though, and that’s how I know I made the right choice. No matter what happens with me and Dax, he won’t be able to hurt me. I’m not invested enough.
I drop my feet to the floor and swipe all my stuff up. The thunder booms again outside the library and I hear rain lash against the windows.
There might be an umbrella left behind in the stand by the exit though, and I could take it tonight and return it in the morning. I clutch my phone in my hand and swing my backpack over my shoulder as I get to my feet.
I weave my way out of the stacks of biographies, then start to walk past all the towering shelves separating me from the circulation desk. Beyond it are a few couches, a closed coffee shop, then the heavy wooden doors that lead out to the awning and the steps. Even from here, I can see lightning flash purple in the windows of the door and I shiver as the power flickers overhead.
There’s an elevator to my left and for some reason, I glance at it, my heart racing.
The digital red number indicates it’s on the third floor.
It feels spooky, imagining it waiting for someone who isn’t there.
But what if they are?
A chill ices its way down my spine and I hunch my shoulders in, shivering a little.Get it together, Sloane.There must be security cameras here; it’s a university library after all. And what would anyone want with me in here after dark? No one is here and no one cares that I am.
I pass the empty circulation desk, note a pile of Stephen King paperbacks with an orange sticky note on them.
For Lydiais scrawled in a messy font by the computer.
There’s like five books in that stack and I wonder why the hellLydiawants them all at one time.
Not my business though.
And I don’t need to think of things likePet Semataryat a time like this.
Just as I pass the couches though, my phone buzzes in my hand and I nearly shriek out loud because it startled me. I don’t remember putting it on vibrate and as I turn my gaze from another vibrant purple strike outside that illuminates the courtyard in eerie shadows of trees and buildings, I see Remi is calling me.
I frown and make a turn toward a green leather couch set around a glass table. I sit down with my bag still on and answer the call, then hold the phone to my ear. My best friend hates talking on the phone, and it’s nearly midnight. I’m surprised she’s doing anything other than sneaking in sleep or time with Cortland.
What if something happened at his dad’s place?
“Remi?”
There’s silence for a minute, then another loud rumble from outside.
I twist to look over my shoulder and I swear I see a shadow of a figure right at the glass panes in the door.
A lump forms in my throat.
Remi doesn’t say anything.
I don’t look away from the door.
My mouth opens but I can’t seem to find the words. I don’t even know what to say.
The darkness has fallen again, so I don’t know if anyone is there or not.
