"Stop staring at him and go to your work already. Are you expecting all those books to fly back to their corresponding shelves?", after uttering the final words Mrs. Benson walked past Ellen into her room which was around in the corner of the library. As per the fact that the girl would be only able to calm her nerves only after bickering with grim, she held herself back in the interest of her needed job and disappeared behind the shelves being all huffed and puffed.
Getting to eat a hussy fit for the breakfast, she asked herself what could be there for the dessert. Putting everything that came off to cause a disturbance in her life aside, she started with the shelf on the very last. First, the growling of her stomach had paid her visits after every row that she would arrange, later she emerged herself into the work that the sound died down itself. As usual the other days, she kept arranging the books.
It was past noon when she sluggishly dragged a chair to which she earned some hushes and some annoyed faces from all the readers in the library. After mouthing them a quick apology, she plopped down into the chair. Time passed. She thought to continue after relaxing for a few more minutes. From where she sat, she could see everyone in the library. Yes, she had grim in the corner of her eyes but she didn't let him have a single glance from her.
She was more than just pissed with the boy. Had he came to pick her up, she wouldn't be that late and her mood had not been this sulky and grouchy upon seeing him smirking at her as he might have left after dropping her. However, grim wasn't responsible for her being late. Neither grim was her driver nor she was his responsibility. She knew that but her brain demanded someone to put all the blame on and it couldn't find any option other than grim. Hence, she just believed whatever her brain made her believe.
The clock was about to hit five, people eventually vacating the place. Soon after some time, there left no one except one figure who remained sitting at the same spot where Ellen saw him earlier today. He had his eyes on his phone the entire time. If he was to use the phone all the time, why would he even come to the library? Leaving the thought hanging in the empty place, Ellen inferred to go back to her work since everyone had left. Starting from her right side, opposite to where grim was sitting on the left, she collected books from over the tables. Reclining them one by one on the shelves, she began to hum a song. She could use her earphones but today she decided to not push Mrs. Benson anymore.
The daylight vanished behind the thick curtains of dark that the night brought down over to the place, birds' chirping replaced by the sound of crickets, moon taking over sun's niche on the sky with the uncountable number of twinling dots accompanying it, the ticking of the clock only to be heard in the library. Mrs. Benson left a while ago, leaving the girl alone in the place. Well, not all alone. Her death was lurking around her.
Ellen had all the place wrapped up, just the last shelf she was arranging books in. The instant she filled the space in between the other books with the book she was holding, everything went black. She froze at her place, taking a minute to process the situation. The clock hands were near to be landed on the digit 10, she was alone in the library and lights were out. She didn't remember if grim was still there since she last saw him an hour ago when she went near to the table he was sitting at to collect the books.
To make the already terrible situation worsen, she hadn't her phone with her. She probably flung her bag away on a chair but didn't remember which one. Great. As she stood motionless on the place, she felt a hot breath falling on the back of her neck. The breath sent creepy chills running down her spine. She was certain of one thing, it wasn't grim.
When she thought someone was chasing her a few weeks ago, grim stood behind her with the same closed proximity and she didn't feel this spine-chilling feeling. Also, the scent was very different from grim's. Grim had leaned in over her face multiple times, there was no way she hadn't sniffled in his scent. Now that she had confirmed it was someone other than grim, it was time to freak out.
"Sh-Shawn?", her voice she thought would out to be a loud shriek rather came out below a whisper.
"Are y-ou there?", at the sudden absence of the breath that was fanning over her neck, she felt the hair on her body standing straight in the blood-curling air of the dark place. It was pitch-dark that she couldn't even see her own hands. She took a single step back, checking if whoever it was still present there. If the person had moved away from her backside, why didn't she hear the sound of walking? There was only one way to confirm it, to walk back. Walk back until her backside hit against someone. Thus, she kept taking steps in the backward direction. Every step she took, had her whole courage encompassed.
She went on with her retro movements until she had was she wanted the least to come about. Her breath got trapped in her throat with the release of adrenaline rush throughout the body when her back came in contact with a rigid surface. An audible gasped of terror escaped her lips.
As her conscious mind made her react as per the situation, she took two steady steps, creating a gap between her body and the body she presumed was of someone else's, a hand gripped on her wrist and she was yanked back in a swift motion. Her back colliding hard this time with the body and two arms instantly locked her in an embrace.
Before she could take time to respond, a dominant yet undertone whisper rang in her ears.
"Relax, it's me, little fawn."