SO COLD (18+) currently editing

Chapter 62

"My mother is dead. Can you not take pity on me?"

"Jesus Christ, Seth. Way to guilt-trip a person."

"It works on everyone," he said, a joyous tilt to his mouth. "Women love a pity story. Men can't resist it either. Your boyfriend brought me a new set of headphones after I texted him about my first pair breaking."

"Are you talking about Irvin? He's not my–"

"No, Cole."

My eyebrows shot up. "When was this? How do you have Cole's number?"

"He gave it to me when he came to the house months ago, said I should call him if there's an emergency. I've been inviting him to play 1v1 with me and after the first few invitations, I think he's blocked my username from his online server. It sucks because he has a really great set-up and the best weapon arsenal."

"Huh," I said, mildly surprised. "Have you heard from Daniel?"

"Not lately. Irvin tells me he's at a Christian sanctuary in Germany somewhere."

"Oscar–" sourness flooded my gut, and I corrected my mistake. "His friend sent him some money. He's out of the sanctuary and he's visiting the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin before heading back home. You should see him soon." I parked the Shogun at the curb outside Gloria's white-picket fenced house and took out my wallet and handed over a couple of notes to Seth. "Get home at a reasonable time. Tell Isiah I said bye. We'll see another movie next week, alright?"

"Thanks," he grinned, giving me a quick hug. "You can keep the sweets. I've got a toothache. See you later!"

I waited until Gloria's mother answered the door and Seth was let in before starting up the engine again and driving down the road. Using the SATNAV, I entered in the local college's address and followed the instructions. It took me twenty minutes. I parked on a side street and walked the five minute journey to college grounds. The buildings were newly refurbished, giant skyscrapers made out of glass and a football field almost half the size of the buildings.

I blended right in with the students, and walked past a fountain, an outdoor seating area, and a herd of biology students in lab coats with clipboards listening intently to a teacher pointing at a green plant. The reception desk was right in front of me as I ambled through the sliding doors and I asked a man in a suit with sharp eyes for directions to the library.

"It's been two weeks, sweetie. Surely you must know the way by now?" he huffed disapprovingly, and listed speedily. "Through this corridor, take your second left, then your first right, go past the green lockers, past the student lounge, and turn two more lefts and you should find it."

What the f...? I didn't catch any of that. "Uh, thanks."

"You're welcome," he dismissed me, onto the next inquirer.

So, two lefts, and then a right? I ambled around aimlessly and clueless, until I saw a wall of green lockers and after a few more victorious turns, found myself in front of the library. It was a majestic land of books and high shelves. There were hardly any people around. Walking past a brown-oak desk with a librarian perched behind, I walked past the history section and a bulletin board and found a backrow of computers.

I logged in using a spare email and clicked open the Internet browser, hoping for the college's intranet. The home page had the college's logo emblazoned on the front with tabs for students, teachers, visitors, news, contact details, and subjects. I clicked on the last button, typed in technician and sifted through the results. Ten intense minutes later and I found myself back at the search button, frowning deeply.