Reality Check

The Solo Journey

A/N- I should name this chapter "Bethany's 2nd Mistake" lollll
smh at you Bethany

Lights Up (by Harry Styles)

"Shine, step into the light. Shine, so bright sometimes. Shine, I'm not ever going back . . ."

___

After an exciting trip to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (and being warned many times that he could eat, but he could not swim in the chocolate river), Owen returned to work an hour later, making up an excuse to his mother that Bethany had a stomach virus and needed help. He hated lying to his mother, but he didn't want to get into any more trouble. He was still gaining his mother's trust — and his freedom — back. He wanted to be on his best behavior until they went to the fictional world.

He felt bad about leaving his mother again. Often, she looked worried. He knew he'd caused it, because she never used to get anxious before. It always made him feel guilty to see her that way. He never wanted his mother to suffer because of him — because of Nobody's actions. Owen would come home this time; he promised himself that. They probably would only be gone for two days or three, but no more than that.

Owen had chosen to work later tonight instead of going home at 5:00 to eat dinner. Usually, he went home with his mother anyway. She always worked late, so Owen constantly found himself either eating in the library or going home early to eat.

He wished Kiel would come to the library. He hadn't for three days, but only because he'd been at his house, taking fictional medicine and resting until they went back to the fictional world. That made sense. The threat of disappearing couldn't be taken lightly, and Bethany had told Kiel that he shouldn't move too much, to avoid getting worse.

Owen wished he could call Kiel, but since the boy magician didn't have a phone it couldn't be helped. He was considering stopping over Kiel's house just to spend time with him until his mother made him come home, but he was still grounded, which meant he couldn't go anywhere without telling his mother and getting permission from her. Also, he was always working from early afternoon to nighttime, so he didn't know if he'd be able to.

"Hey, Owen, can you put these books away?" his mother asked, dumping a small pile of books on the checkout counter. "I'm locking up, but I have a few things to take care of in the office after that."

"Sure," Owen replied, inwardly groaning. He pushed his schoolwork aside and used his non-injured hand to steer the pile to the edge of the counter. Once he was done, he gingerly placed the books into his hand, struggling a bit from the weight. That was the main thing that bothered him about his broken arm. Carrying books used to be much easier with two arms, and using one meant that it took ages to put each book away.

He edged out of the checkout area and walked over to the romance section, where all of the books in the pile were from. Often, he read the descriptions of books just for fun, but the romance books either made him self-conscious, grossed out, or embarrassed. There was no in-between.

Of all the books in the library, the romance books were the only genre he never liked reading. That, and the boring books about school or cooking or travel. Okay, maybe books about those things were helpful, like with learning a new skill. That made sense. But what did romance books do, besides making Owen feel uncomfortable? Nothing.

Owen dropped the books in the aisle of the romance section and sorted through them. He grabbed To All the Boys I've Loved Before — which sounded kinda gross, by the way — and looked around for Jenny Han's name. He spotted the books she'd written and slid the book onto the shelf. He'd never been interested in reading that book, but according to Bethany, a movie had been made for it back in August.