Midnight ☆ L.H

three

6:45 am - ANASTASIA BYNES

"So, Miss Janice, what's the story about the storage room?" I ask while leaning against the wall, a damp rag in one hand.

She wakes us up at the crack of dawn to wipe down a few shelves for a new book launch happening this weekend, and seeing as we feel more than obligated to do so, we hop right out of bed, eager to help out our generous landlady.

"Honey, just call me Jan as Connie does. And, story?" She asks, her eyes locked on mine as she sips her coffee. "What do you mean?"

I'm not sure if she's trying to play me the fool or if she's genuinely clueless, but as I'm now standing in the doorway of her office, she has little choice but to answer me.

"Do you have some sort of security staying here around the clock? I've been seeing someone walking around the restricted parts of the library. I was just wondering if Connie and I should expect to bump into another face once in a while or if we're supposed to be the only others walking around up there."

Jan's face seems to drain of its color as she looks at me with a deadpan for a split moment before illuminating quickly. "Oh! I believe you mean Lucas!"

What a wonderful name.

I turn my head sideways, "I thought you said no one else lived here?"

It's her turn to tilt her head a little. "Why yes, but technically he's only there part-time. Isn't he a doll?"

While he does look nice, I wouldn't exactly call him a doll—certainly not personality-wise. "I've seen him around. Haven't spoken to him much though."

That's his own doing.

"He'll warm up sooner or later," she slows, tapping her chin as she gets lost in thought, "He's not as stern as he looks."

I thank her kindly and glance at the clock above her to see that it's a little after seven, making it the perfect time to finish up some last-minute cleaning on the library floor.

The shelves are riddled with layers of dust from years of little care, but it still stands no chance against my damp rag and a little elbow grease. Jan is paying me thirty dollars for the ordeal— and a little dust will not keep me from thirty dollars I didn't have before.

My eyes roam over the crowd of people at the door waiting for opening. I'm genuinely surprised people still go to bookstores, especially locally owned ones. I could probably sell a few pre-med books to Jan for other university students when I manage to unpack them all.

Dropping the rag back into the water bucket with a plop, I grab the bucket and make my way back through the storage room. Jan has passed me by so she could check the floor one last time before opening. She's an amazing store owner, something I admire in the days I've known her. Nevertheless, I make my way back to the apartment and dump the contents of the bucket down our sink and shove the bucket under the counter for later convenience, dropping the rag in the sink to deal with later.

Mail comes every Monday morning around seven if I'm not mistaken. Now that the library is officially open for business and with Connie spending most of her free time helping out down there, it's not hard to feel lonely in the apartment. I stare between Lilo on the couch and the kitchen cabinets which I know are still dead empty, unless I get lucky and we're counting a few cobwebs.

Jan has a list of chores that someone has to do to keep the library running, so I stand and grab my keys from the hook, swinging the door open. I make sure to shoot a glance back into the apartment and stick a foot out in case Lilo has any plans of bolting.