“Alright…” Jaelyn said, stretching her arms out. “I have to go soon… If I stay in here any longer, the silence is going to kill me.”
“That’s what a library’s for,” Raven commented. “So, people can work.”
“They don’t have to constantly shush you though, it’s rude.”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t be playing pop music out loud,” Raven answered, shooting her a look.
Jaelyn returned the glare. “I didn’t know my earbuds weren’t connected, so excuse me.”
Raven rolled her eyes. “Whatever… I’m almost done here anyway.”
“Cool!” she said with a little too much enthusiasm. “Meet me at the car, alright?”
Before Raven could answer, she shot up off the chair and darted outside.
Raven let out a long sigh, looking back to her Algebra homework that rested on the library’s computer in front of her…
She tapped her pencil against her notebook while reading the next problem, and scraped her lead into it, solving it.
After she boxed the solution, she went to the last problem, staring at the numbers for a moment before copying it down onto her paper.
“Library’s closing in thirty minutes,” a librarian commented from beside her.
Raven looked to the clock on the side of the wall…
Sure enough… it was 9:30.
“Thanks,” she said back, going back down to her paper when she left and solving the last problem.
After about five minutes, she finished, closing her notebook, powering off the computer and stuffed her spiral as well as other school supplies in her backpack, standing up and starting out the door.
“Hey,” a voice caught her mid-step, making her turn to find Malachi standing a couple feet away from her.
She swallowed down cold air. “Did you follow me?”
“Not really,” he said, raising a copy of Othello in his hand. “Just wanted to check out this copy. I finished the first one.”
His smile said otherwise… he followed her… but just needed an excuse.
“What was the first book?” she questioned, deciding to continue with the conversation.
“Romeo and Juliet,” he answered.
Raven blinked. “You don’t seem much of a romance guy… And not really the reading type either.”
“I’ll take what I can get.” He smiled, though not innocently.
“Othello kills his wife,” she said, smiling as she spoiled the ending.
Malachi just looked down to the book, not lashing out like she expected, but still didn’t look particularly amused. “Well, that ruins it.” He tossed the book onto the side table across from them.
She only shook her head.
“You want to come help me find another book?” he wondered casually.
“I can’t,” she answered, pointing a thumb to the doors, “Jae’s waiting for me.”
“Come on,” he said, smile tilting. “You ruined it for me. You owe me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine, but don’t go trying to kidnap me, alright?”
He nodded. “Deal, but you have to find me a book. I don’t really know what’s good here. I just like old stuff.”
She walked with him to the fiction section then, holding her backpack over a shoulder when her fingers traced the bindings on the shelves until she pulled one out. “Here,” she said, holding a book out to him. “A Tale of Two Cities is a pretty good novel. It dates back to the 1800s. Seems like your style.”
“I’ve heard of it,” he answered, taking the book from her hand. “I was planning on reading more Shakespeare, but I’ll take it. Thanks.”
“Umm…” she said, shocked that he just expressed gratitude, “you’re welcome, I guess?”
He looked to her with a smile then.
“What?”
“You ‘guess?’”
She shrugged as a response.
“Anyway,” he said, “were you going to check out something?”
“No,” she answered.
He blinked, tilting his head to the side curiously. “Then why were you here, Princess?”
“I was doing homework,” she answered, “and please stop calling me ‘Princess.’”
“Nah,” he said, “it suits you,” but he added when she glared, “and you do your homework here?”
A nod.
“Why not at home?”
Raven shook her head. “I’m staying at Jaelyn’s house because you said I’m not supposed to be alone… and there’s no desk there.”
“You’re saying your friend’s house doesn’t feel like home?”
“I didn’t say that,” she answered.
“You implied it.”
Raven exhaled an annoyed sigh. “Look… I really should go. She’s waiting for me and the library’s closing soon.”
“Hold on,” he said, “can you show me your favorite section first?”
“I haven’t read A Tale of Two Cities, Mal.”
“No,” he said, shaking his head, “not this book. Show me your favorite genre in here.”
Wouldn’t he already know that? He’d known other things about her…
Her cheeks heated. “It’s… kind of weird. You won’t like it.”
“Try me.”
She sighed. “But you said you like old stuff…” she gestured to his book, “like that.”
“Just show me,” he said. “Please?”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. This way.”
He followed her to the other side of the fiction section, but this one was labeled “YA” for “young adult.”
“There’s a lot of genres here, Princess,” he said. “Which one’s your favorite?”
She stepped over to the large novels labeled “S,” and pointed to her favorite author.
“Hmm,” Malachi commented, kneeling down to take a look at all of them. “What’s this?”
“They… they’re paranormal romances…” she answered, cursing at herself for stammering.
He gave her a smirk. “So, you’re a romance nerd, too, huh?”
Her cheeks heated. “Romeo and Juliet was a tragedy… they died at the end… I like romances with happy endings.”
“I see…” he responded. “I wasn’t much of a fan of that ending anyway. Which one’s your favorite book?”
“Malachi…” she said, “they’re in a girl’s perspective.”
He looked to her. “That hasn’t bothered me before.”
Really? Because she hated reading novels in a man’s perspective… If it was in both, she was fine with that… but just a guy’s? No…
“So, when you say ‘paranormal,’” he said, eyeing the bindings, “what does that mean?”
“Like werewolves… vampires… angels and stuff.”
He looked to her then, seeming genuinely surprised. “Really? I thought it was like… ghosts in love.”
She laughed then, looking down to him when he stared back with something indecipherable in his gaze.
“No,” she said, calming her laughter, “I always found werewolf, vampire, and angel romances the most intriguing. I’ve never really known why… I just like it.”
Mal looked surprised for a moment, and she could tell he was thinking something over in his head but looked to her. “What are your favorite parts to read?”
She blinked. “What?”
“In the romances…” he said, “do you like the sex parts? The fighting? What?”
She almost choked when he said the “s” word. “No… not all girls like the intimate parts, Malachi.”
“Just answer,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“I specifically… like the bad boy ones… I just like the character changes.”
“Your favorite part?”
She hesitated. “The....”
“Yeah?”
“The cuddle scenes…” she said honestly, cheeks burning.
He smiled. “Really?”
A nod.
“That explains a lot.”
Her head shot up then. “What the heck is that supposed to mean?”
He only chuckled, looking back to the books. “Tell me which one’s your favorite.”
She had to think for a moment. “I mean… I like Dire the best… it’s a really good angel-werewolf romance… but it’s kind of messed up.”
“Didn’t they make a movie out of that?” he said.
“Yeah… the guy kind of wanted to like… ruin the girl’s life at first… like he wanted to kidnap her, kill her family, and steal all her money because he thought she sent his friends to jail… but… there was a dilemma and the guy was an asshole at first… but I liked his character change.”
“Were there a lot of cuddle scenes?” Mal wondered.
Raven hesitated. “I… yeah… And kind of a hot scene, too.” Her cheeks burned when the words left her mouth.
Oh, my God… Why did I have to say that?
Malachi chuckled, pulling it out from the shelf. “I’ll take it. Oh, look! It’s also a first edition, so if I steal it, it would be valuable.”
“Don’t you have to read that other book I gave you?” she said, choosing to ignore the whole “stealing” part.
“Nah,” he said, “I get to learn more about your style when I read this.”
“I wouldn’t say… style.”
“The cover’s kind of cool too, huh?” He showed it to her, flashing the guy and the girl pressed together, face inches from the other. “Kind of has the cuddle slash sexy vibe.”
She rolled her eyes, but still felt her cheeks burning.
“Cool,” he said, smirking, “let’s go check out.”
She followed him numbly to the checkout desk, watching his hair glisten in the soft lighting.
It was ten minutes till the library closed, so she and Malachi were the first in line, and probably the last for that night.
“Just this?” the girl said, scanning it.
A nod.
“Alright, do you have a library card or something?”
“Malachi…” Raven said, “I’m going to go, okay?”
He caught her arm before she could walk away, and she shot him a glare, but he ignored it.
“Yeah,” he told the librarian, not loosening his grip, “2098745723.”
She typed in the code on her computer. “Have a good day.”
He grabbed the book and looked to Raven who was still glaring at him.
“What?” he said.
She looked to his arm. “I said I have to go, and you decide to grab me, so I won’t leave. I’m starting to think that you’re going to kidnap me again.”
The librarian laughed as if she thought what Raven said was a joke and walked off.
“I just want to walk you out,” he said innocently. “Is that so bad?”
“Fine,” she said, “let’s go.”
They stepped out of the building together, but Malachi still had his grip tightened around her wrist. “Where’s your friend?”
Raven scanned the small lot, seeing no signs of Jaelyn’s car. “That’s odd.”
And slightly concerning…
She pulled her phone out of her pocket, checking the screen.
It was drained to black…
“Crap…” she muttered, “I thought I charged it last night.”
Malachi was just watching her curiously.
“Jaelyn?” she called out to the darkness, feeling the chill of the wind bite into her skin.
“You cold?” Malachi said. “You’re shivering.”
She only shook her head. “She wouldn’t leave me.”
“Maybe she texted you that she was going home, and you could call her when you were ready to leave.”
“Maybe…” Raven said, realizing he had a point whether or not she liked it. “Do you have your phone on you?”
He pulled it out of his pocket, handing it to her.
Raven stared down at the screen. “I don’t remember her number… she changed it recently.”
“Well, that sucks.”
She took a breath. “I guess… I can just walk.”
Malachi shook his head. “Nope. Not safe. I let you go because you said you’d be with her. Not alone.” He looked to her then. “I’ll drive you, okay?”
She blinked, then took a step back. “How do I know that you’re going to take me to her house? Not yours?”
“You’ll just have to trust me, Angel. And you have no other options, do you?”
She bit her lip, tapping her shoe.
No, she didn’t…
He wouldn’t let her walk anywhere alone… Her phone was dead so she couldn’t call Jae…
“Fine…” she muttered. “But if you take me anywhere else, I’m going to kill you.”
He laughed softly. “Alright, whatever.”
“I’m serious.”
“I’m sure you are,” he said. “Come on.”
And he dragged her to a large black car, the windows tinted with some kind of shade…
“Malachi…” she said, “this looks like a kidnapper van.”
He gave her a look. “One, it’s an SUV, and two, you’re sitting in the passenger seat, so calm down. And three? Can you stop with all these kidnapping statements?”
She sighed. “Whatever.”
He shut the door behind her when she got in the passenger seat, settling in the driver's seat seconds later…
They sat in silence when he turned the keys in the ignition, the car rumbling as it started.
And he drove off.
225Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQPlmvcCPY7
*****
About twenty minutes later—after Raven and Malachi drove in complete silence—they stopped in front of Jaelyn’s house, Malachi looking to Raven as she stared out the window.
“Here you are,” he said, pushing the gearshift into park.
“Thanks,” she said silently, opening her door and pulling her pack out of the backseat.
“Welcome,” he said back.
She looked to him from the passenger seat. “Don’t tell anyone you drove me. I walked here, alright?”
He threw his hands up. “My lips are sealed.”
She looked him over for a moment before shutting the door and stepping up to Jaelyn’s house.
“See you at school tomorrow!” he called.
She just waved, then waited for him to leave when she rang the doorbell.
He probably would watch her again… and knowing that seemed a little unnerving, but she had to accept it by now…
Did he even sleep?
The door opened, and Jae stood at the entrance. “I thought you were going to call me.”
“Needed some fresh air,” Raven said, forcing a smile while she questioned how the hell Malachi was right about the whole texting thing. “I walked.”
Jae rolled her eyes. “I was going to ask you if you knew how dangerous that was, but this is you we’re talking about. Come on in.”
Raven giggled, stepping in the house.
She took a quick scan of the neighborhood for Malachi before Jaelyn shut the door, nodding further in the house. “Come on. It’s almost ten and we have school tomorrow.”
Raven nodded, following Jaelyn down the stairs to her bedroom.
They didn’t talk much that night… Jae was clearly tired, and Raven’s mind was racing… so they just got ready for bed… brushing teeth, changing into nightgowns… and slipping into bed…
Just a quick, “Good night,” before lights out.
225Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiFLNzEyz2D
