An Angel Amongst Devils (An enemies to lovers, slow burn romance)

Chapter 10

I am overwhelmed by it all. I never brought books, I had brought a total of 3 in my whole life, in which they were both thrifted from the second hand shop, but other than that, books were always too expensive for me, and I would ever dare ask my mother for money, especially for books. I think she would laugh in my face at the stupidity of it . On the other hand, if I were to ask for money to buy makeup or some shit, she would give me her whole fucking bank account. I could have lied and said so, but I didn't want her money, I didn't need it. I was doing quite well stealing from kids at school, which I happened to be very good at. But that money would be used for food or necessities, very rarely would I have a cent remaining after I brought my food for the day. So that left very little access to the luxuries in life. But it was okay, I could borrow from the library, in fact I went so frequently that Larue, the lady the main librarian would see me so regularly that we made a tradition that every friday, we would sit down and discuss our current reads. Call me a nerd for enjoying my Friday discussions, but I loved it and I would never miss it. Speaking of which, it was saturday, last night I missed it, for the first time in four months. She was probably around her late sixties, I don't think she would get very worried, but she would definitely question it. I should probably stop by before I leave and make sure she knows that I'm not dead.

I run my fingers over the spines of all the books, scanning over the labels and finding a tidal that interests me. It's not that hard though, I want to read all of them, it's just a matter of which, which ones I want to read now. Otherwise, I would read this whole fucking libary. That's the goal. My finger stops at a book with a blue spine. The Song Of Achilles. I have heard of this one before. I read over the blurb and it automatically excites me. I prop it underneath my arm, trying to stop the smile creeping up on my face. Buying books excites me, even though I have only ever done it a few times. The idea of owning a book for myself makes me want to scream with joy.

Oh it's the little things in life.

I walk around the store, realising how many options there are. My indecisiveness has improved, thanks to Arlos little test he did, but choosing a few books out of thousands is a bit more extreme. This is going to take a while.

Before I realise it, my arms are full with books, I couldn't fit one more in even if I tried, my arms are burning because of it. Those little twiggy, weak arms of mine aren't holding up too well. I find a corner, slightly hidden from the cafe and without a second thought, I plop down on the corner, crossing my legs and leaning behind the bookshelf, the tower of books falling around me. I lay them out,and it is now that I realise that I was carrying 16 books. I got so carried away, I didn't realise how many I had picked up.

Eh, this is going to be a problem.

I flatten them out in front of me in lines, organizing which ones excite me the most. I chew my cheeks as I decide which ones I would like the most. I decided that this isn't going to work, so I reread the blurbs on each of the backs. God, they all sound so good, how am I supposed to choose? This is why I go to the library, because you don't have to choose, I just get everything and everything, and Larue and I had a good relationship. She knew I could read way more than the maximum amount of books they would allow you to borrow. So she let me go way over the maximum.

I start reading the blurbs for the third time when I get interrupted but a low, husky voice.

"Got quite the setup there."

Arlo.

"You know, there is a booth right over there." He pointed to a booth that was literally a meter away from me, not that I cared about sitting on the floor, but It would have been easier. Of Course I missed it though.

"I'm quite happy on the floor, thank you."

"I can see that." I think he is about to take the booth, but he sits down next to me, his back reading on the bookshelf too. He lets his legs bend and he rests an arm there, while the other leg flattens out on the timber. "What have you got here?"