Innocence

Chapter 1

Dusty shelves.
Worn covers.
Smiling librarians.
Nothing ever changes here.

Every day I walk in and I feel at ease. All of my problems just disappear the moment I enter.

I head straight over to my favorite section. It may say romance but to those who know where to look?
You'll find something else.

I grab a book without an obvious cover and head over to the the librarian.
Alice.

I come here so much that I knew practically everything about her.
And she knew the same about me.

Granted, everyone knows about me. That happens when you're the preacher's daughter.

I order most of my books online. I'm too afraid that word would get around that the preacher's daughter reads porn for fun. God what a scandal that would be.

In this small town I would be in every newspaper and tabloid available.
Not that anyone even reads those these days.

But if one person saw it then word would spread like wildfire.

Which is why I choose books without distinct covers. That way nobody will know what's in it unless they themselves have read it.

Smart I know, I'm a genius.

I'll admit, it is partly an excuse to see Alice. Occasionally we engage in small talk which led to her confessing that she's lonely.

To paraphrase her,
"Everything is online these days.. people have no reason to go to a library"

So when given the chance? I jump at the opportunity to visit her.

I know that she knows what I read. She has to. She stocks the shelves and orders the books.
She's just too kind to say anything.

She scanned my book and handed it back to me with a smile.

I happily accepted it from her grasp, smiled back at her and left the library.

With my book in hand, I made my way to a quaint little coffee shop nearby where I spent most of my free time.

Taking my place in my usual seat by the window in the far corner I pulled out my book and started reading.

I only got a couple pages in when I heard a bang.

From my seat in the corner I couldn't see anything else.

I simply just shrugged it off assuming it was just someone who dropped something.

That's when I heard a gunshot and a blood curdling scream.

I hesitantly got up from my seat and peeked around the corner.

I saw an unmasked man and two other men behind him with guns. Blood everywhere.

I quietly walked back to my table hoping that he didn't see me as I kept my hand over my mouth to keep the scream that was forcing its way out, down.

I grabbed my book and started to look around for a back door or a window I could climb out of.

When my search attempt only ended with nothing I decided hiding was the best option for me.

I slipped under the table and got as far back as I could.

I sat there even after the screams stopped.
It felt like forever.

I didn't dare leave from under the table.
I've watched enough horror movies to know it's best to stay put.
Leaving only gets the dumbasses killed off.