I wave and smile. “Evening,” I reply.
Parking outside the mansion, I’m excited to be home.
I hurry from my car, eager to get inside to her.
But she’s not there.
It’s late, and she should be home already. I run to her bedroom, mine, the kitchen, the living room, until I bump into her security guard, the one meant to be watching her at all times.
“What are you doing here? Where is Georgie?” I snap, agitated with worry.
“She is at the library on campus, sir. She wanted to study in peace. I will go and fetch her in an hour or two.”
I growl, annoyed that he left her there. “No need. I’ll go myself. You can leave.”
“Sir?” he stammers, realizing he’s pissed me off.
“Leave. Go home,” I snap again, then turn from him to hurry out of the mansion, back towards my car.
It doesn’t take me long to get to the library, but the whole way there, I’m annoyed that she told the guard to leave, and that he actually obeyed her.
Parking outside the campus library, I pause, sitting in the quiet car after I’ve turned the engine off. I can’t go in there blazing and angry over her sending her guard away. I already have something to apologize for, and all I’ll end up doing is pushing her away from me.
I need to focus on the important things—saying sorry for how I spoke to her this morning and making an effort to explain why it came out so harshly.
I climb out and head towards the library. The campus is bright with plenty of lights everywhere and still busy with students coming and going.
The library is hushed with silence when I walk in. My boots echo on the wooden floors, and I walk slower, not wanting to disturb anyone. My eyes scan over the rows of students, some writing notes, some reading, and some busy on computers or laptops.
I can’t see Georgie anywhere.
I begin walking up and down the aisles of books, my stomach knotting tighter by the second.
Chapter 14 - Georgie
I’ve had my head buried in textbooks for over two hours, and I’m hyper-focused on the research I’m doing.
Standing between two high bookshelves, I prop up the massive textbook in one hand while I page through it with the other, searching for a reference to the theory I’m trying to support in my article.
It contradicts the norm, so I know when I present this paper, it has to be thorough. More than thorough. It has to blow my professor’s mind.
I squint at the fine print text, realizing how long I’ve been here and how tired my eyes are. Maybe I should call the security guard and ask him to come fetch me. I can finish the rest of my research at home, online.
I’ll photocopy a few pages and summarize them this evening.
I close the massive book and carry it towards the back room in the library. It’s a small office for photocopying and scanning documents. People hardly use it; mostly, we just take photos on our phones and convert the image to text and read it like that. But this text is so fine, I’d rather just make a few copies from the chapter I need. Then I can highlight and make notes on the page.
I’m alone in the copy room, humming quietly to myself as I press the book against the glass and press the big green button. The machine bubbles to life, and a bright light scans beneath the page.
One done. I lift the book and turn to the next page, and repeat the process.
Suddenly, there are hands around my waist, tugging me backwards.
I yelp in fright, but a massive hand clamps over my mouth. My heart is racing like wild horses until I hear his low, velvet chuckle.
“I didn’t mean to give you a fright. I’m so sorry,” he laughs under his breath, removing his hand from my face. “I didn’t know you were so focused.”
I spin around and punch him in the chest. “Oh my word. I can’t believe you did that,” I whisper harshly.
