Edmund Bennet wrapped his hand firmly around the door handle, then, drawing in a deep breath and holding it to tamp down the touch of anxiety fluttering along his nerves, he slowly and silently pulled open the door that separated the back rooms of the library from the public areas. He had always been good at spying on his older brothers – well, except for his twin since Fred had usually been spying with him.
Surely, he could find out if Ava was here without being noticed, couldn’t he?
He peeked his head out, glanced right, then left, and sighed in relief.
She wasn’t here. At least, not right here or any place that could be seen from here.
If she was at the library – and he was pretty certain she was since he thought that he had seen her car in the parking lot – she was likely where she always was, in the computer room, which was nowhere near this door. However, one could not be too cautious when attempting to keep from being noticed.
“Are you trying to avoid someone?”
Eddie jumped, and the door thumped against his shoulder. “Ow.”
“Sorry,” came from somewhere to his left.
“Josh?”
The lanky highschooler who worked part time at the library was leaning against the wall in between two bookcases to the left of the door to the back room. If it hadn’t been for his size thirteen red sneakers poking out at the bottom of the bookcase and the fact that he was just head and shoulders taller than the short shelving units, Eddie never would’ve seen him.
“Why are you standing there?” Eddie rubbed his sore shoulder.
“I was just taking a break,” Josh said with a crooked grin as he pushed his glasses up his nose. “And I didn’t feel like talking to anyone, so I picked quiet companions.” He motioned to the rows of reference books at his side. “They don’t get much company, you know.”
That was true. The internet was where people went these days to research things. Therefore, these books rarely got used, and Eddie had to admit that the kid had picked a great hiding spot.
“Is your shoulder okay?”
Even though he wanted to keep rubbing his shoulder until the stinging stopped, Edmund let his hand fall to his side. Josh tended to get fixated on things like injuries, and Eddie really wasn’t in the mood to be asked every day – at least twice per day – for the rest of the week if his shoulder hurt. “It’s just a little bruise if anything at all.”
“Sorry about that. I really didn’t mean to startle you. I thought you saw me. Do you need some ice? I could go get you an ice pack.”
“Nah, I don’t need any ice.” He just needed to get to the front desk and back without being seen by Ava and talking to Josh about a possible bruised shoulder was not going to help him accomplish that. The longer he stayed in an observable spot, the more likely it was that someone, such as Ava, would see him. He could just duck back inside the back room, but that seemed silly since he needed those books from the front desk if he wanted to clear his list of books to be processed or fixed.
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.” Eddie took a step away from the safety of the back room where Ava was not allowed to be and towards the books he needed to retrieve.
“So, were you looking for someone?” Josh fell into step along side him.
“I thought you wanted a quiet break.”
Josh’s watch buzzed at the very moment Eddie finished his comment.
“It’s over.” Josh held up his arm with the watch on it. “That girl you keep talking to is here again.”
“Is she?” So the car he could just see the tail end of from the window in the breakroom was hers. Just as he’d suspected.
“Yep. She’s working on the computer next to your grandmother.”
That was also what he had expected. Next to his grandmother was Ava’s usual spot to work when she was at the library. The two had grown to be good friends from their first meeting, which was not unusual for his grandmother. She made friends easily…
{from Don’t Tell Anyone I Read Romance}
