Bound by blood & Ink

Lost & found

Alex Fairmont kept her eyes on the gray linoleum floor as the laughter echoed through the hall. It always started the same way-a quiet snicker, followed by a hushed whisper that quickly grew louder, sharp enough to slice through her already fragile confidence. She clutched her books tighter, her knuckles whitening as she tried to quicken her pace, but the voices followed her like a storm cloud.

"Hey, Alex! Drop any books lately?" one of them called, a mocking sweetness dripping from her voice.

She winced but didn't respond. Not today.

Another voice chimed in. "Oh, careful! Don't trip! Can't have you breaking your nose again."

The group burst into laughter behind her. Alex bit the inside of her cheek, fighting the sting in her eyes. She knew better than to turn around. They wanted a reaction-a flinch, a stumble, anything to fuel their amusement.

The door to the library appeared ahead, a beacon of safety. She hurried toward it, shoving the heavy door open and letting it close behind her, the sound muffling the taunts from outside.

Inside, the quiet embraced her like an old friend. Dust motes danced in the faint streams of sunlight filtering through the high windows. She exhaled slowly, her shoulders dropping as she let the tension seep out of her.

"Fairmont."

Alex looked up to see Mrs. Hargrove, the librarian, peering at her over her glasses. Her stern face softened slightly, the closest thing to kindness Alex ever got here.

"You're late."

"Sorry," Alex mumbled, setting her bag down behind the counter.

Put these returns away. And try to finish before closing," Hargrove said without looking up, already moving toward a computer station with a dust cloth in hand.

"Yes, ma'am."

Alex wheeled the return cart toward the towering shelves. The restricted section loomed in the distance, marked off with its familiar red rope and the quiet air of mystery it always carried.

She worked quickly, sliding books back into their places. As she moved through the aisles and entered the restricted section, she slipped on a pair of gloves. These books could only be handled by librarians and borrowed for a maximum of two hours under strict supervision.

While returning a book to the shelf, her eye fell on an empty spot: 0904.

Frowning, Alex glanced toward Mrs. Hargrove, who was busy near the front desk. Abandoning her cart, she returned to the desk and checked the register. The book wasn't marked as borrowed or reserved.

Her pulse quickened as she hurried back toward the restricted section.

Her heart raced as she scanned the floor, hoping the book had simply fallen off her cart. But it was nowhere to be seen.

As she turned to head back to her cart, a loud thud echoed through the restricted section.

Her breath hitched, and she froze. Glancing toward Mrs. Hargrove, she saw the librarian still absorbed in her work. She didn't seem to have heard the noise.

"Hello?" Alex called softly. No response.

Swallowing hard, she moved toward the sound, weaving between the towering shelves. A faint breeze brushed her cheek, and the old wooden floor groaned under her steps.

When she reached the source of the noise, her heart skipped a beat. There, lying on the ground infront of the shelf where 0904 belonged, was a book.

"There's no way I missed this," Alex thought, kneeling down.

The book's dark leather cover was cracked with age, and her fingers traced the faint outline of a silhouette carved into it-a girl, her face obscured by time. There was no title, no markings, just that haunting figure.

She was about to open it when-

"Fairmont!" Mrs. Hargrove's voice startled her. "Can you help the young man at the desk, please?"

Alex flinched, clutching the book to her chest. "Coming!" she called, quickly heading back to the desk.

When she arrived, she placed the mysterious book on the table behind the front desk, barely glancing at it as she turned to help the boy standing in front of her. Her stomach sank.

It was one of her bullies, grinning as if he'd won some private joke.

"Hello... Fairmont," he said, barely able to contain his laughter.

Alex glanced at Mrs. Hargrove, who was now helping another student at a computer far from the desk.

"Can I help you?" she asked, forcing her voice to remain calm.

"Yes, I want to return a book," he said, smirking as he dropped it onto the desk with an exaggerated thud.

The book struck a vial of ink, tipping it over. The glass shattered as dark liquid splattered across the desk, soaking papers, pooling on the floor, and dripping onto Alex's bag.

"Jesus Christ, Fairmont. You really can't do shit, can you?" he said, laughing loudly enough to draw attention from a few nearby students.

Alex looked up to see Mrs. Hargrove staring at her, her face etched with disappointment.

Her cheeks burned. She turned back to the boy, whose friends were now filming from just outside the door, their phones barely concealed.

Alex took a deep breath and forced a smile so fake it made her cheeks ache. "I'm so sorry for this, sir. Thank you for returning the book. I hope you have a wonderful day." Her voice was syrupy with sarcasm, but she refused to let him see how much he'd gotten to her.

His grin faltered for a moment, but he quickly turned on his heel and left, his friends' laughter fading as they disappeared down the hall.

After mopping up the ink and setting her bag to the side, Alex finally approached Mrs. Hargrove. "Hey, um, do you know what happened to book 0904?" she asked, keeping her voice casual.

Hargrove frowned, adjusting her glasses. "0904? That book's been missing since before I started here. Over a decade, at least. Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Alex said quickly, her pulse quickening. She forced a shrug. "Just noticed the gap on the shelf."

Hargrove hummed, turning back to her work.

Alex returned to the desk, glancing at the leather-bound book still sitting where she'd left it. She hesitated, then carefully slipped it into her bag. She'd bring it back, of course-eventually.

But first, she needed to know what was inside.