7

~Xander~

She left her innocent eyes on my soul. This moment reminds me of a story. 

Some folks who needed emotional rescue were trapped in an iceberg that took many years to form. When you bring your gentle flame to their outer walls and melt a little, if they are brave enough, they will light their internal flame and allow the ice to melt. If they are afraid, they will add more layers of ice faster than you can melt it.

Unknowingly, I felt the same. Aoife was an unknown flame that melted my heart, and I was not ready for the change. My playboy image wanted to bite every part of her delicate body, while my heart wanted to be with her. In this turmoil, when Zareena pushed her, it enraged my emotions to a degree I’d never felt before.

My angry look toward Zareena scared her off, and she stomped outside. I didn’t understand my sudden anger. Is Aoife controlling me? Or does Zareena’s misbehavior towards Aoife affect me?

All I knew was her teary eyes influenced me deeply. With this emotional roller coaster turning inside me, I saw her leaving the classroom with a hopelessness in her eyes that I regret taking part in.

After she left, I grabbed Zareena’s hand with severe pressure when I caught up to her.

“Xander, what…?” She went on and said something which I ignored.

She surrendered herself and followed me without any argument. I dragged her inside the classroom and locked the door behind me. My mouth clamped, and my eyes fixed on her.

“Why did you do that?” The words hoarse from my mouth.

“I thought she came here for...” She tried to explain her point, but once she saw my red eyes. She changed her tone. “I am sorry, baby. Let me make it up to you.”

My body was stiff as my nostrils flared with anger.

She pecked wet kisses on my lips and chin and started nibbling on my ears. Her hand ran all over my body as I stood stiffly in my place.

She touched my member, chuckled, and said, “Do you want to play a game?”

She licked her lips as she tried to fuel them for further actions. With a smirk on her face, she unbuckled my pants. It was a strange feeling. Until now, whatever she did, I used to enjoy it, but today something changed. I watched her playing with me, but I didn’t want her to touch me anymore.

I tried to clear my mind to enjoy this, but whenever I closed my eyes, I saw Aoife’s face. What is happening to me? 

Zareena was busy with her task, and all I wanted was to see someone else.

Suddenly, I grabbed her hair and pulled her up.

“Never touch her again,” the words shoot from my mouth.

She looked at me with questionable emotions as I moved her head away and pulled up my pants.

“She is a freshman. Why are you behaving like this?” she grumbled at me. 

Without further clarification of my behavior, I left her alone in the classroom.

What is happening to me? I can’t allow anyone to control my mind. And this girl, who the hell is she? She was not even doing anything, but it was difficult for me to hold myself to drown in her emotions. 

To clear my mind, I dialed Matt’s number. Pick up, Matt. My mind needs to relax.

“Hello, Matty. Where are you?”

“I am in the library,” he answered.

“Come on. Let’s go out. It’s pleasant weather.”

“I am not coming. I am helping someone.”

“Matty, are you flirting with that old lady? Come on. You can help her later,” I answered while walking outside the building.

“No, not Agnes.”

“You are in the library and not helping, Miss Agnes? That’s strange. Who is with you?” 

“I’ll tell you later. Don’t wait. Bye.”

I knew he was trying to hide something. But why? What is he trying to hide, and whom? 

I changed my direction back to the library. When I entered, I saw a girl standing beside him.

***

~Aoife~

The talk with Xander didn’t go well. How could I expect good from the wrong person? How did I expect he would let me off the hook so quickly?

They plotted against me, and now they started being physical. Zareena pushed me hard, and I got scratches on my hand and elbow. But something had me wondering why Xander behaved differently. He even said sorry, even when he knew he was behind all this chaos.

After my strange meeting with Xander, I went to class where Luka and Clara were waiting for me.

“Is everything all right? What did he say?” Clara jumped on her toes when she saw the tears in my eyes.

I pressed my lips. What should I say? 

I told them everything, and I could feel they struggled to believe what Xander did for me. It was surprising to me how he stopped Zareena and extended his hand for help.

“I don’t know why it happened, but it did.” I rolled my eyes while conveying every detail.

“Change of heart?” Clara raised her brow.

“Xander? Change of heart?... Never,” Luka resisted.

“You’re right.” I supported Luka’s words. “I saw him putting that nasty picture on my locker, so nothing’s changed.”

Luka agreed.

We talked a little more, but I could feel they wanted some time alone, so I made an excuse to break away. “I need to check out some books. Do you know where the library is? I forget if it’s on the right side of the building or left?” 

“Down the hall to the right. You can’t miss it.”

I took off, leaving these new love birds alone in the classroom. The college day was over, and most students were gone or headed home, anyway. So, I walked myself to my favorite place, the library.

Standing outside the library door, I felt like I was home. With a peek inside, I saw row after row of neatly lined books with their spines facing outward, color-coded with dots, fiction section arranged in alphabetical order, young adults’ section, and biographies of ancient people. Comfortable leather armchairs. They arranged tables for quiet study with muffled stillness and a librarian at the help desk. Inside, the coarse cheap carpet on the floor felt comfortable, while students were at computers doing book searches or surfing the web.

As vampires can sniff the blood from far away, book lovers like me can inhale the fragrance of books just the same.

I entered and found myself surrounded by thousands of books. 

Suddenly, my eyes landed on a poster saying, I do believe something magical can happen when you read a good book. - J. K. Rowling.

Now that’s the energy I was talking about that wanted me to wake up in the morning. I felt so excited when I read different quotes in this beautiful place. While roaming from here to there, I heard a noise.

“The library is closed.” The voice was old and breathy.

I walked towards the source and found an old lady standing on the ladder, trying to arrange some books.

“Hello, ma’am, I am new here,” I answered, composing my excitement.

She coughed with her eyes scanning me. “So, I can’t help you now. Can’t you see I am trying to arrange these books? Come tomorrow.” 

Well, that wasn’t nice, but I let it go. Considering her age, a student bothering her clearly annoyed her.

She grabbed another book while ignoring me, but I didn’t come here to give up.

Without a second thought, I said, “Can I help you? I would love to arrange all these books for you.” With an ear-to-ear smile, I conveyed my message.

Her angry look and piercing eyes changed into a soft glaze as she chuckled.

“Thank you. My husband is out, and there is no one to help me.”

She rolled her eyes as she told me about the students who didn’t care about the books that they left here and there. It was a demanding job for her alone.

“You don’t have a helper?” I asked while arranging the books from the trolly.

“Nope, but we told the management we need someone young.” She passed her last book.

“Can I help you until you get a new helper? I love to spend time in the library, and I can stay for a long time as I live in the campus dorm.” 

She could feel the excitement in my voice. Her wrinkled smile gave me her agreement.

“Sure, I would be happy to give this job to a book lover. So, tell me, what is the name of this beautiful girl?” she asked, patting my back.

“I am Aoife Marshall. I am a freshman. And you are?”

“I am Mrs. Agnes. The caretaker of these books. The librarian of this college and keeper of this beautiful place.” Her smile widened when she introduced herself.

Within a few moments, we understood we were book lovers, and the mood lightened greatly.

“So, can I call you Aunt Agnes? Or Agnes Ma’am?”

“Call me, Aunt Agnes. You will be the second person from this college to whom I allowed this.”

“Second? Who is first?” I asked excitedly.

“It’s Matt who can call this beautiful woman Aunt Agnes,” an unknown voice echoed in this silent place.

We turned and found a handsome man had walked toward us. He was tall with a cute smile. His hair was blond, which complimented his personality. Quickly, he came over and hugged Aunt Agnes.

I looked stunned, I’m sure, as he changed the aura of this place. It seemed livelier now.

He said hello to me, and my hand flowed towards the gesture without my knowledge.

“Hi, I am Matt. And you are?”

“I am Aoife Marshall,” I answered with a blushed smile.

He furrowed his brow as if he was trying to recall something.

“Are you a freshman?”

“Yes, are you a senior?”

“Yes,” he answered immediately.

Once I heard his answer, I lowered my peer and greeted him.

“I am sorry, sir. I didn’t know that.” All the excitement in my voice vanished suddenly.

Matt looked at Aunt Agnes, and they laughed together.

“Hey, Aoife. Chill. I am not like those who wanted you to follow these stupid rules. And I am not sir to you, Call me Matt.” He extended his hand again with a kind smile.

A mirrored expression sprinkled on my cheeks. It was a significant relief for me. At least someone amongst the seniors treats their juniors like humans.

I saw Aunt Agnes was smiling too. She adores him.

“He is my kind-hearted boy, and another bookworm.” 

That’s cute.

“Do you guys want some coffee?” she patted his back, heading to the pot behind the information desk.

We nodded, and there she went to make coffee for us as we took another trolly to place the books on the shelves.

I climbed the ladder as Matt helped to pass through the books.

“So, you are the one everyone was talking about?”

I looked at him with an upset grimace on my face.

“Lucky me,” I answered in a lower voice.

Suddenly, he got a call before moving towards the window.

“Hello… I am in the library… No, I am not coming. I am helping someone… No, not Aunt Agnes.”

There was a long pause as he looked back at me. 

“I will tell you later… What? No. Don’t… wait… Bye.”

He hung up the call and walked towards me, passing another book. 

Unintentionally, it slammed my elbow.

“Ahh...” a painful voice came out.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I pulled my sleeves up and saw the scratch filled with droplets of blood.

“Come down.” He pulled me immediately from the ladder. “How did you get hurt? We need to clean this. Aunt, where is the first aid box?” He said all this in one breath.

I was standing next to the chair when he held my hand to look at my scratch with an intense gaze. He seemed caring to me, and so I relaxed as he looked me over. 

Hastily, he took out the cotton and dipped it in some antiseptic Agnus had brought him.

“This is going to hurt,” he said. “Have a seat while I clean you up.”

I squinted, knowing it would make me scream as I used to in childhood. A painful moan escaped my mouth as tears rolled through my eyes. I clinched the chair arm hard as I could feel my nails inserted into the leather, channelizing all my screams there.

My big tears rolled down my cheeks, and I finally relaxed when he pulled away.

“Are you okay?”