Loving Eros

Chapter 3

  Chapter 3

“I don’t know why I feel the need to lie and cause you so much pain, Maybe it’s something inside, maybe it’s something I can’t explain, ‘cause all I do is mess you up and lie to you.” -Rollins Band

The library was much more massive than Story imagined it to be. It was a small city, so she figured it would have a small library, but it was quite the opposite. Bookshelves as far as she could see, stacks of books on the occasional table, a small computer lab, even a vending machine. It had everything. Almost everything. There was only one thing it was missing.

People. There wasn’t even a librarian at the desk, the checkout was wide open. Not a soul, not a sound. Libraries were supposed to be quiet, yes, but you could hear a pin drop. A heartbeat. Anything but the presence of a person.

“Um, Ozzy… Are you sure this place is even open?”

“Quite sure.” He stated firmly. “In fact, it’s busy.”

Story’s jaw dropped. “Busy?”

“Come on.” Ozzy strode his way forward, leaving Story to stand behind in shock. Busy, he says. “Well, are you coming, or not?” He asked, turning around.

“Y-yeah.” She ran to catch up with him. Looking around as she followed close behind Ozzy, Story could see that most of the books were either untouched or torn and worn. Nobody touched them, or someone abused them. She was quite sure she saw a dark red stain on one of the book covers, but she convinced herself it was just part of the design. Perhaps Ozzy was right about being a realistic optimist. Finally, the two reached the back of the library, where there were several private study rooms. All but one of them had windows to see inside of them.

Ozzy went up to the private room labeled ‘4’ and knocked. “... Hm. She’s not here. How disappointing.”

“She? Ah, what was it...” Story furrowed her eyebrows in thought. Ozzy had filled her in along the way that this ‘mistress’ of some sort was someone very known to the city, and even feared by some. They were disruptive, as he described, and as his title for her said, she was deceiving. To call her a liar was not only untrue, but an understatement. She wasn’t quite sure why Spera would even work with someone like that, but needless to say, she was definitely intimidated. The way Ozzy described her, she practically lived off of disguising herself behind countless faces of emotion, personalities, histories, acts, and even a few fake identities. To be honest, she was actually afraid. Ozzy most distinctly told her that the strongest feature about her was her ability to tear someone’s peace and composure apart.

“The Mistress of… Deceit?” She’d already forgotten the appropriate and designated term.

“Ugh, don’t tell me he’s still saying that crap.”

A younger voice came from behind the two. Ozzy stayed standing in front of the door, as if he was examining it. Story, however, turned around to find herself looking at a teenage girl. She was extremely surprised at the entirety of not only this girl’s appearance, but the immediate change of surrounding that she brought with her.

She was an older teen, probably a tad shorter than others her age. Tan skin, her red hair pulled into a ponytail, wisps of hair falling just enough to lightly frame her hazel eyes. What was even more incredible to Story was the girl’s posture. It was so obvious and notable that this girl was stubborn just by her posture. However, her eyes weren’t focused-- on anything. In a way, Story was actually a little creeped out at how empty her eyes looked. In an instant, she’d spaced out, so it looked.

“And who exactly are you, huh?” The girl asked with an Australian accent so thick and genuine you could practically feel it hit your ears. Story oddly found herself imagining this girl to be the kind that would actually wrestle a crocodile and have no problem at all, which she actually found a bit nerve-racking.