Chapter Six
Nixie
Walking into my apartment, I throw my keys down on the side and kick off my shoes. What a fucking week this has been. After the interaction with Malcom on Monday afternoon, and then bumping into the guy with hand tattoos, it just got worse. Who knew working in a library could have so much drama? From the group of old women arguing over what saucy book to read next in their book club, to someone actually trying to steal books. How they thought we wouldn’t notice the multiple books under his shirt is beyond me.
In the kitchen, I grab a wine glass from the cupboard and pour myself a generous glass of wine. Just as I’m taking a rather large sip, Darcy walks out of her room. She stops in her tracks and looks straight at me.
“Erm, what the fuck is happening?” her eyes go round the room like she’s looking for something. “Am I being pranked right now?”
Rolling my eyes, I set the glass down on the worktop.
“Why on earth would you think that, Darc?”
She cocks her head to the side. “What do you expect me to think when I walk out to see my best friend—who isn’t a big drinker—having a glass of wine on Friday night the minute she walks through the door?”
Shaking my head, I pick up the glass and walk over to the couch, careful not to spill a drop as I flop down into the seat.
I point my glass toward her.
“Be thankful it”s just a glass. I could easily drink the whole bottle after this week.”
Darcy takes a seat next to me and has a genuine look of concern on her face.
“The whole bottle? Now I am worried. Do you wanna talk about it?”
Sighing, I take another sip and then relay everything that’s happened this week. Darcy gets up and grabs herself a glass, and the rest of the bottle for us to share. I watch as she drains the last of her wine.
“I swear, I’m going to kill Malcolm next time I see him. How dare he speak to you like that? What a fucking asshole.” She is full of rage. I swear, I can actually see it coming out of her ears.
“Darc, I appreciate the support, but I”d rather you not go to jail. How will I get through life with you behind bars?”
She looks at me with a very serious look on her face. “Babe. I have so many true crime documentaries and podcasts under my belt. I can make it look like an accident, I promise you that!” She holds out her pinky finger to me, waiting for me to link mine with it. As I do, she shakes them together. Fuck me, she’s serious about it!
“You are one crazy bitch, you know that?” I laugh at her.
“You are not wrong, my friend! Never underestimate what I would do for you, Nix. You’re not just my best friend; you are my sister, through and through. I love you, and I don’t want the likes of Malcolm to pull you down.”
I pull her into a hug. “I love you too, sis.”
We spend the rest of our night drinking wine and watching multiple episodes of one of our favorite TV show, Bridgerton.
“I need a man who will tell me he burns for me,” Darcy says as she tops up her glass from a second bottle.
“No offense, Darcy, but the men you are attracted to will never tell you those things. And even if they did say they burn for you, I think they may actually mean they would literally burn someone for you,” I laugh at her.
She looks at me with a shock on her face. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“That means you only seem to attract psychopaths.”
She giggles at that statement. “That is very true, but you know what they say it takes a crazy to tame a crazy.” She winks as she gets up.
I laugh as she stumbles away. I love her, I really do, but you do not want to get on the wrong side of her. That girl is not afraid to say what’s on her mind or do something crazy to defend herself and others she cares about. It”s what I really admire about her. She sits back down next to me and decides to just start drinking from the bottle now.
“Wait, does that make me crazy if I have to tame you every now and then?”
She looks at me and smirks. “Oh, babe. You couldn’t tame me if you really tried. I just keep most of the crazy in around you.”
The thought sends a shiver down my spine. Jesus Christ. I smirk to myself as she starts to nod off with the bottle in her hands. I take it from her and place it on the coffee table, turning off the TV. I stand and throw a blanket over her. Ain’t no way I am going to attempt to wake her or move her. I make sure the door is locked and turn off all the lights as I make my way to my bedroom.
Switching my bedside light on, I finally undress from my work clothes and throw them in the laundry basket. I pull out my short pajamas and slide them on. Throwing the duvet back, I climb into bed and grab my phone so I can do my nightly doom scroll on TikTok.
I finally manage to put my phone down on the table next to me. Turning the light off, I close my eyes and let the darkness take over and drift off, hoping the wine I’ve consumed helps me sleep.
The sun comes shining through the gap in my curtains, waking me from my sleep. Rolling over, I grab my phone to check the time and sit up, startled by the fact that it”s now midday. Oh, the joys of wine!
Climbing out of bed, I go about getting my day started. First things first, a shower! I need to wash away the shitty week and the wine. I’m so glad it”s the weekend and I don’t have to see anyone apart from Darcy.
Once I’m dressed for the day, I make my way to the kitchen and go about making some food. Halfway through making a sandwich, Darcy appears, looking a little worse for wear. She hops onto the kitchen worktop, groaning about her head feeling like someone has been stomping on it.
Chuckling, I point the butter knife at her.
“I have no sympathy for you. This is what happens when you drink wine from the bottle, my friend.”
“Please don’t remind me. Why is it I can drink shitloads of spirits and cocktails on a night out and not feel this rough, but yet wine makes me feel like I have been in a few rounds with Mike Tyson? I’m gonna die, Nixie.”
I roll my eyes. She is so dramatic, honestly. I start to make another sandwich, because I know exactly what’s about to happen. Right on cue, Darcy eyes up my sandwich, grabs it off the plate and runs off with it back to her room, mumbling her thanks in between bites.
I hear her chuckling in her room.
“Bitch!” I shout after her.
The alarm on my phone goes off, waking me from an extremely good dream. Groaning, I turn it off. How the hell is it Monday again? Weekends just go by too fast—especially when you spend them just lounging about eating junk food and reading spicy books. Definitely needed a weekend like that. I roll out of bed and get ready for another week in the library. I wonder what this week will bring. Can’t be worse than last week, surely.
Bert comes into the back room whilst I’m putting away my things.
“Miss. Nixie, I”d like to introduce you to our new security guard, Blake. He’s here for a few weeks. He will be working alongside me.”
I turn to get a better look and introduce myself.
Holy hell. What I’m seeing can only be described as literal perfection. This guy has been carved by the gods themselves. Easily over six feet tall. Tattoos on his hands. Looking closely at them. They look similar. Maybe even the same as the guy I bumped into last week. I move my gaze to the stubble feathered across his strong jaw line. He should be a model, not a security guard.
The new guy smirks at me like he can read my thoughts. He nods his head and follows Bert out of the room.
Wow.
The old ladies are going to love seeing him when they come in for their weekly book club meetings. Chuckling to myself, I go about my day.
Throughout the day, I felt this tingle through my body, like someone is constantly there in the shadows, watching me. It’s unnerving. I’ve looked around, but I could see nothing out of the ordinary. Although, come to think of it, I haven’t seen Malcolm today, which is strange, as he never misses a day of work. I won’t lie, though, it’s been nice not having him breathe down my neck all day.
From where I’m standing at the counter, I can see the new security guy talking to Bert. He has turned a lot of heads today—especially Edith’s. When she walked in to return some books, she said, and I quote, “Oh, I would like to climb that tall tree of hotness.” Honestly, that lady has no filter, and it’s only getting worse with all the new books she’s reading.
I have a very strong feeling that we are going to be seeing a lot more of Edith and the rest of the ladies who take part in the book club every Thursday.