Charcoal veins

Chatper 5 - Hidden Toilets and Mermaid Murderers

I swore quietly under my breath as I tried to shut my door without making any loud noises, hoping to not wake anyone on my floor. I tiptoed down the corridor and made my way to the first floor stairs, holding my breath each time the warn oak floor creaked and moaned whenever I took a step.

Many old pictures and paintings lined the walls of the staircase, some hand painted and other were old black and white photographs of previous students from many years ago. I walked down the carpeted stairs towards the entrance hall, the maroon-speckled red carpet was slightly frayed at its corners and every time you stood on it the smell of dust, cinnamon and musk that always lurked around the school seemed to get a little stronger. The entrance hall was silent, the only sound that could be heard was a low murmuring coming from the huge fridges that were in the kitchens, the sound making the place seem slightly less eerie and dark. I fished the brass key from my sweat pants pocket – the library key I had been given by Bertie, the 57 year old, pot belled caretaker in a bid to stop me from telling Nessy about his 'shed'o'porn' (literally a shed filled with old porno mags) - as I began to walk to the second corridor that came off of the entrance hall.

The library door was small and slanted and upon first glance was unnoticeable by most, hidden by an alcove in dingy wing of the second floor corridor. This wasn't the main library, however, it was just an overflow library full of miscellaneous dog eared books and forgotten novels, left behind by those that are now too old to grace the halls and hidden rooms of MESH. I unlocked the door and carefully closed it behind me, not wanting to wake any one in rooms nearby, not so that they got extra beauty sleep, but mainly so that my hiding place remained mine. I leant my back against the door and breathed in the smell of old books and the dusty shelves that lined the dark room. My favourite feature of the room was always the round window that situated on the central wall, half concealed by one of various clutched bookshelves. I liked sitting there to smoke, to be able to read with the soft lighting from the moon and the many old candles that I'd accumulated over the years. I climbed up on to the window seat and took the battered copy of Pride and Prejudice that I left stowed away underneath one of the many candles, scrapping off bits of old wax. I opened the window ajar to allow some of the cool breeze to get rid of the smell of cigarette smoke that was soon to be wafting around. I stared at the upturned desks and chairs that cluttered the corner of the room like a pile of fire wood waiting to be engulfed by flames as I lit my cigarette.

Minutes of silence had past as I read Jane Austen's famous words and watched the smoke dance in intricate patterns around the room, leaning my head against the wall. I heard a small metallic creak coming from near the door followed by a sting of whispered profanities.

"For fucks sake! This place is a bloody maze." The male voice continued "All I want is a piss"

By this time the owner of the voice had quietly shut the door and began to work his way around the shelves, almost unsure as to what he was looking for. I sat there in the silence, quickly wafting away the smell of smoke out of the, window deciding to see how this comical situation would play out.

The shuffling and the whispering stopped as I continued to get read of the smell, my back to the shelves.

"That won't do much, you know?"

I jumped at the voice, dropping my cigarette out of the window and swearing as I watched it fall to the floor.

"Well it not like I can finish now, is it?" I said whilst turning around. Before me I saw a man dressed in a white v neck t-shirt and grey baggy jogging trouser, his tan skin covered in tattoos although they appeared to be a smear of ink over his arms, the room too dark to make any out. His hair was messy and dishevelled, but somewhat styled. With the small amount of light in the room I could tell that his hair must have been of a dark hue. The unnamed man was tall and strong, his t-shirt clinging to his frame.

The man laughed and shrugged, his eyes quickly focusing on my cleavage that was visible due to my clingy black vest.  I cleared my throat and he averted his gaze.

"Umm yeah. So why are you in here?"

"Well I could ask you the same thing."  I swung my legs round so that they dangled off of the window seat, watching the guy look at the books that lined the shelves.

"I actually came here to grab a copy of a book. Romeo and Juliet. Seen one?"

"Ohhh so it had nothing to do with the fact that you thought this a toilet then? I paused noticing him shifting his weight, from bare foot to bare foot. And yeah, there must be about 20 copies right in front of you."

He nodded at me and reached up to the top of the shelf, grabbing a copy of one the battered books, his shirt rising showing his abdomen and prominent v lines, littered with tattoos.

"Thanks. This place should come with a map. Or maybe a tour guide?" He winked me mockingly and I scoffed.

"HA HA. You don't even know my name yet you want me to show you around in the middle of the night? What if I'm a murderer or something?"

"Well love I've never known of a murderer with mermaid coloured hair." The man chuckled quietly as I rushed to grab my hair, messily moving it back into place. And what was your name? Never caught it.

"My names Alexandria and I am not your love. So run along back to your room. Oh and you owe me a cigarette by the way."

The guy turned and began to walk to the door, chuckling to himself, clutching the book in his hand. I stared at him as he neared the door, noticing the dim moonlight catching a familiar ship tattoo on the back of his neck.

"Bye Ria" he sing songed as he walked out the door.

"Shit."

A/N:

So this chapter  took us 9 months to write... we're sorry! we've just been so busy with life and other distractions! we really hope you enjoy this update and that you stick with us and the story!

thanks for reading/waiting and putting up with our slacking

B and H xxx