Mezzanine

| 9 |

The library was about a fifteen minute walk from Carter's house, so it was only a quarter past ten when we arrived.

Rows of sycamore trees lined the yard leading up to the old brick building. I ran my hand along one of the trunks as we headed towards the door, tracing the lines where the smooth white skin mottled with the darker, flaking crust.The trees looked like they were painted in camouflage rather than coated in bark.

A late October breeze rippled through their branches, sending a chill all the way to my core. I tucked my chin against my neck, shoving my hands into the pockets of my jacket.

"Will she be here today?" I asked.

"Christine's always here," Carter said as he pulled the thick, wooden door open.

A musty, damp scent laced with a hint of vanilla wafted over me as we entered the warm building. The tension in my shoulders relaxed as I breathed it in—the smell of old books and oily, inky pages.

It reminded me of when I was a little kid. My brother and I would go to the library together after school, hunting for the spookiest books we could find. We'd spend all night reading them under a blanket with a flashlight so Mom wouldn't catch us up past bedtime.

As we got older, Damien found...other things...to take up our attention, but still, the scent of the library brought back memories of my early childhood. They were nice memories, but thinking about them now left a hollow ache in my chest.

"It's so quiet," Lola whispered as our footsteps echoed through the lower level of the cavernous building.

"It's a library," Carter said. "They're kinda supposed to be that way."

"No," Lola continued, "not just that..."

"There are no thoughts," I finished her sentence when she trailed off.

I guess that would make sense. Carter's thoughts filled the otherwise tense silence. I don't really understand how all this mind reading works, but I imagine there aren't too many people here on a Saturday morning for them to listen in on... Oh, hi Jay and Lola! Can you hear me? This is kinda fun. I bet I can find all new ways to annoy you now!

Lola snickered.

I shook my head and rolled my eyes at him.

"So what's the plan?" I asked as we paced through the rows of children's books at the front of the library.

"I was thinking maybe some old fashioned good-cop-bad-cop could do the trick," Lola suggested, flashing a smirk at Carter and me.

"Can I please be the bad cop," Carter begged. "I've always wanted to be the bad cop."

"Absolutely," Lola said. We reached a set of stairs that led up to the second floor—the main section of the library. "You and I will be the bad cops." She glanced over her shoulder at me. "Jay, you're going to be the good cop."

"What? Why me?" I crossed my arms over my chest. "Come on, I'm the most evil looking of us all."

"Yeah, exactly," Lola said. "That's the point."

"You can catch her off guard," Carter added.

"Plus, Christine doesn't already know you," Lola continued. "It will make it easier. Trust me."

Lola and Carter lead the way up to the main section of the library, taking the steps two-by-two. I stalked behind them, suddenly hyper aware of the fact that they had probably spent hours and hours here growing up, and I'd never been here before in my life. I usually took pride in being an "outsider," but right now, it made me feel separate and alone.