Blocked

Three

     I walked out to the car, unlocking it with the car remote. Izzy was silent as I put her in her car seat.

     "Izzy, I beg you, please do not cause a ruckus when we get there. Last time we went, you almost got us kicked out," I said, buckling Izzy into the seat. She just smiled and sat back, coherently looking up at me.

     "I mean it," I said, pointing my finger at her. She grabbed my finger, shaking it vigorously. I snatched my finger from the toddler and rolled my eyes.

     "Oh, dear lord," I mumbled, closing the side door and getting into the front. 

     I drove without a word, listening to incoherent mumbles from the backseat. Like the slurs of a drunken man. I couldn't help but smile and look into the rear view mirror, back at my sister. I saw my mother in Izzy's face. Someone that I would never see again. Someone that wouldn't be there to see her grow up. Someone who wouldn't be there, ever.

     Another car's horn suddenly made me look up. I swerved to the side to avoid the oncoming car. I had just ran through a red light.

     "Shit," I mumbled under my breath, carefully looking around to see if there were any cops to bust me. Thankfully, there weren't. I could feel my heart thumping against my rib cage as I pulled into the parking lot of the library. University Place Public Library. A popular, but unusually empty library in the town of Leighton. I was used to coming here on the weekends and having trouble finding a place to park. Today, I had no issue finding a parking spot. There were only about five other cars in the lot.

     "Huh," I muttered under my breath, cutting the engine then dropping the keys into my bag on the passenger seat. I looked back at my sister and smiled.

     "You gonna be good?" I asked. She just looked at me and smiled. "You better be."

     I grabbed my bag and got out. Opening the back door, I smiled when I saw Izzy already trying to unbuckle the straps of her car seat.

     "Relax, child. You're not stuck in there forever," I said, leaning down and getting her out. I shifted her onto my opposite hip, reaching back into my bag for my keys.

     "Great," I mumbled, tightening my grip on Izzy when I realized I couldn't find my car keys. They must've been all the way at the bottom of my bag. Holding tightly onto the toddler, I tossed my bag on the trunk of the car and began digging. Finally, I got a hold of the keys. Rolling my eyes at myself, I locked the car doors and held onto my car keys.

     I walked up to the library's doors, Izzy excitedly bounced up and down in my arms. The dead silence of the building swallowed us both like a cave.

     "Izzy, please be quiet," I whispered as she started grunting to herself. I walked up to the front desk. Not to my surprise, there was no one behind it. I sighed to myself and reached out, tapping the service bell that sat on top of the desk.

     An elderly looking woman popped up from behind the desk, a small pile of thick books in her arms. I jumped and mentally scolded myself for getting scared by a librarian.

     "Yes?" the woman asked, placing the books on top of the desk and smiling at Izzy, then back at me.

     "Yeah, um. Can I get a computer card, please?" I asked, shifting my sister onto my other hip.

     "Yes, you can. May I see your library card?" she asked, and I quickly shuffled through the small rewards cards attached to my key ring before handing over my library card. She scanned the card and then reached underneath the desk, pulling out another small plastic card and handing it over to me. Without one, you couldn't get onto any of the library's computers.

     "Thanks," I said, then walked away. I looked down at my computer card, then sighed in frustration. The woman had given me a card for one of the computers on the third floor. 3-7284 was my computer. There wasn't really a password for the computers. You just scan the card, then it logs in by itself.

     "Can you occupy yourself with some kiddie books until I'm done?" I asked Izzy, setting her down and grabbing her hand as we walked up to an elevator. She stood on her toes and pressed the up button with an outstretched finger. I took that as a yes.

     "Good, cause I need to get some work done," I said, stepping into the elevator with Izzy and pressing the 3 button. I moved further back when I realized there was someone else in the elevator. I looked back and smiled awkwardly at a young looking guy - he had to be no more than five years older than me.

     "Stressful day?" he asked, smirking. The level of awkwardness raised a bit as I tried to answer that question smoothly.

     "A little, yeah," I said, turning my attention back to the front of the elevator. It seemed to move slower than normal just to mock me.

     "She's cute. How old is she?" I heard him ask, and it took me a second to realize he was talking about Izzy.

     "She's two," I said, smiling back at him, then back towards the front of the elevator again.

     "Is the father around?" he asked, and I almost choked when I realized what he meant.

     "Oh God, no. No, no, no, she's my sister,"I replied, looking back at him and smiling even more awkwardly.

     "Ah. Sorry, that's just the first thing that came to mind. You two look so much alike," he said, just as the elevator dinged and the doors opened. Thank God, I thought to myself. I tried rushing out of the elevator a little too fast, the tip of my shoe catching on the edge of the elevator door. I tripped forward, my bag slipping off my shoulder and spilling all over the floor.

     "Ah, jeez," I mumbled to myself, releasing Izzy's hand. I struggled to pick up all my papers and the rest of the junk that fell out of my bag.

     "Stressed, and clumsy. Lemme' help you." He was suddenly next to me, picking up my stuff.

     "Thanks, um. Just a rough day," I said, trying a bit too much to play off what had just happened.

     "Hey, I never got your name," he said, handing me a small pile of paper, my wallet and the car keys.

     "Uh, it's Hailey. And this is Izzy," I answered, slinging my bag back over my shoulder and taking hold of Izzy's hand as I got back on my feet.

     "Izzy. Cute, but not so common," he said, standing up straight.

     "Uh, it's short for Isabell. My mom called her Izzy when she was pregnant with her, so we just use that to honor her. It kinda' stuck."

     "Honor her?" he asked, and I twisted my lips, not so willing to share such personal information with a stranger.

     "Um, yeah. Uh, my mom passed away. You never gave me your name,"I said, trying to change the subject.

     "I'm really sorry. It's Cameron. I never see you around school. You go to Curtis, right?" 

     "Um. I do, yeah," I said, immediately regretting not lying. "I take days off occasionally. It's easier to help my dad out with the house and take care of my brother and sister that way."

     I was starting to tap my fingers against my thigh. A tic I got when I felt really awkward, mad or nervous. I couldn't tell at this point if it was from just one, or all three.

     "I see. Well, in that case, do you have a Facebook? Or an Instagram?" he asked, a hopeful look in his eyes. I blinked my eyes twice, and bit my lip.

     "No, sorry," I lied, curling my lips into a slight awkward smile.

     "Damn. Guess I'll see you around then?"

     "Yeah, I guess. I gotta' go do some work, though, so..."

     "Oh, yeah, yeah.See you later, then," he said, fixing the straps of his backpack.

     "Bye, Izzy," he said, smiling at her as she waved goodbye, then he walked off. I let out a sigh of relief, then looked around until I found the computers. I squeeze Izzy's hand and made my way over to the computers.

     "Note to self, Hailey; start taking the stairs."