Chapter 9 #2
and the teenage boys teasing her the night she slept in the library. What about the books people returned that seemed connected
to the library sightings? Could all of it be part of something extraordinary?
What if the man before her really was Jack Mathis?
Quick, delicate flutterings, like leaves rustling in a breeze, shivered through her.
She remembered the initial excitement she’d felt when she and Wade had first stumbled into a relationship.
The bubble of anticipation rising within her now was similar.
How many times had she daydreamed about Jack?
Embarrassment flushed her cheeks. Hundreds, probably thousands of moments.
She might have swooned if she wasn’t so hesitant to believe this could all be true, that some sort of magic existed in the library.
The kind of magic that brought dreams to life.
Her palms started to sweat. With one more lurch toward reality, she asked, “Who are you? I mean, really. Did Arnie find you somewhere and ask you to dress up? To pretend to be from one of my favorite novels? You can be honest
with me. I don’t know how much he’s paid you, but I’ll keep it a secret. I don’t want you to be out the money, but this charade
doesn’t have to keep going.”
Jack leaned back in the chair and slid his palms down his thighs. “You want this situation to be logical. You want all the
answers to fall into place and make sense, but why? What are you afraid of, Stella?”
“I’m not afraid,” she said defensively. Insecurity stabbed at her solar plexus. She closed her eyes, trying to find a place
of safety within herself but hearing only the echo of her dishonest words. “Afraid isn’t the right word.”
Jack sat up straighter and waited for her to continue.
“Yes, I want this to be logical, and yes, I want this to make sense, because those things are safe and ordinary.”
Jack’s gaze focused on her. “And you want ordinary because that’s what you are?”
“Yes!” she said and immediately added, “Well, no.” A small smile tugged her lips when their eyes met. She glanced at the floor.
“My own weirdness I can handle. I’m not sure I’m ready to accept that some kind of great big magic exists.”
“But wouldn’t it be fun if you did?” Jack asked. His smile unknotted some of the tension in her muscles. “What if it’s time
you stretch your willingness to believe in the extraordinary?”
Stella turned toward the desk, away from his piercing gaze, and cupped her hands around her coffee mug.
Her sweaty hands felt slick against the ceramic.
“You want me to accept that you and the other people I’ve seen in the archives have stepped out of books?
That people from fiction are here and alive, just walking around the real world? ”
“It’s temporary, but yes.”
Stella shot a glance at him. “What do you mean by temporary?”
“We’re not here permanently,” Jack said, pushing one hand through his dark brown hair. “We’re not able to come and go as we
want whenever we want. There’s a process, and it’s a temporary one.”
Her chest felt as though it were being buried beneath a pile of reference books. If she wanted to believe Jack Mathis was real, now he was telling her he was only here temporarily? Long enough to raise her hopes and
then smother them? A red flag rose quickly in her mind, whipping in the windstorm of her thoughts. “How long are you here?”
“Two weeks. But I’ve already been here eleven days.”
Two weeks? Only three days left. Fuchsia words, appearing in an ever-widening spiral, emerged over his shoulder and drifted down his arm. Hold on. Enjoy the moment. Be here with me. Jack glanced down at his arm and then back at her. Could he feel their presence?
Stella looked away and fiddled with the mug’s handle. “And then what happens? Poof? You turn to ashes in sunlight?”
Jack laughed quietly. “We’re not vampires, Stella. But I don’t know what happens exactly when my time is up. It feels like
being filled with sunlight and warmth and air, like every part of my body becomes wind and light. I’ve never asked Arnie what
it looks like to him.”
The front doors of the library whooshed open, and Ariel rushed into the small entry alcove.
She caught sight of Stella behind the circulation desk as she hurried across the main floor.
Ariel’s blond hair was parted in the middle and braided down both sides, with the left side striped in bright pink.
She lifted one hand in a wave and then pointed toward a white to-go bag.
“Stella!” she said, sounding out of breath. “I’ve been texting you.”
Stella stood and looked around for her cell phone. “You have?” She found her phone hidden beneath a stack of books she needed
to check in. As soon as she lit up the screen, she saw she’d missed a series of texts. “Sorry.”
Ariel plopped the bag on the counter. “I brought breakfast. I was worried. How’s Arnie? Oh—hello,” she said, noticing Jack,
who stood beside Stella.
“Good morning,” Jack said.
Ariel looked him up and down and passed a questioning glance toward Stella.
Stella motioned between the two of them. “Ariel, this is Jack. Jack, this is my best friend, Ariel.”
“New hire?” Ariel asked.
“No,” Stella and Jack said simultaneously.
Jack tried to mask a chuckle by clearing his throat. “I’m only visiting.”
Total understatement. According to Jack, he would only be “visiting” for three more days, and then what? He would sparkle
his way back into his book?
“He’s a friend of Arnie’s,” Stella clarified. “Thank you for breakfast and for checking in.” She relayed what she’d learned about Arnie’s condition. “Vicki and Dan are coming in soon, and when everything is settled here, I’d like to head back to the hospital to catch visiting hours.”
Ariel pressed her hand against the garnet pendant hanging from her necklace. “I’m so sorry, Stella, but the good news is that
it sounds like he’s stable. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.” Her gaze drifted to Jack. “Where are you visiting
from?”
Out of nowhere a red-hot sensation exploded in Stella’s chest and expanded so quickly that it stole her breath. She wobbled
sideways, buckling against the desk and gripping the edge to keep from falling over. She heard herself moan, but it sounded
like it came from somewhere deep in the earth. Jack and Ariel both called her name.
Two Jacks stepped into view, then bright violet liquid pushed out of his shorts pocket, like goo squishing from the fabric.
Pulsating letters the color of ripe plums and outlined in lavender wriggled down his leg. Tendrils dragged behind the letters
and circled the floor at Jack’s feet like a creature from a fantasy novel.
Stella croaked the words, “‘Tell you that?’” Instantly the burning in her body stopped. She inhaled a shaky breath and straightened.
Jack’s hand was on her arm.
Ariel’s panicked voice asked, “Stella? Are you okay? Is this that word thing again? What’s happening?”
The intense purple words rushed into the bottom drawer of the desk where Stella’s purse and notebook were stashed. She moved
away from Jack, wondering briefly why the words had come out of him. Then she pulled open the drawer, grabbed her notebook,
and flipped to the page where she’d been cataloging these particular words. Including the new additions, the page now read:
I fell in love once. Did I ever tell you that?
Stella slid the notebook toward Ariel while shaking her head and rubbing one hand across her chest. “I don’t know how much more I can stand. If these words are supposed to mean something to me, I’m failing at knowing what.”
Ariel frowned. “Maybe it’s a story.”
“Nothing I’ve ever read,” Stella said.
“You’ve read thousands of books,” Ariel said. “What if it’s one you’ve forgotten? They have to mean something, like clues.”
“Clues to what?” Stella asked.
“I’ve never seen words like that before,” Jack interrupted, startling the women.
Stella gaped at him. “What do you mean?”
Jack shoved his hand into his pocket as though making sure nothing else was in there. Then he pointed to the notebook. “The
purple words.”
“You can see them?” Ariel blurted.
“Can’t you?” he asked. “Stella’s always had words around her.”
Stella gasped. What does he mean by always? She leaned her hip heavily against the edge of the desk. Unsteady and shaken by Jack’s awareness, she pressed her hand to
her forehead. Was she going to faint?
“No,” Ariel said.
Jack touched Stella’s arm again. “Why do those words hurt you?”
Stella met his gaze. “I don’t know. But how . . . how can you see my words?”
Jack looked momentarily confused. “I just thought it was part of you. I’ve seen them for years.”
“Years?” Ariel asked, her voice pitching higher than normal. “I thought you were visiting Arnie. Have you met Stella before?”
“No,” Stella and Jack said together.
“Not formally,” Jack added.
“Not in person,” Stella said.
A cell phone alarm went off in Ariel’s bag. She plucked it out and silenced the alarm. “I gotta get to work, but are you going to be okay? I feel weird leaving you here alone.”
“She’s not alone,” Jack said.
Ariel glanced at him and bit her bottom lip. “That’s not helping. No offense, but something eerie is happening, and I don’t
know you from Adam. You’re giving off a vibe I can’t describe, but it’s making my tummy feel funny, and, you”—she pointed
at Stella—“I don’t know what you’re—”
Stella lifted a hand to stop Ariel’s flow of words. “I’ll be okay. I’ll text you later. Vicki and Dan are coming in, remember?
They’ll be here soon. Wait, why is Jack’s vibe making your stomach feel off?”
Jack looked above and around him. “Vibe?”
“You’re hiding something,” Ariel said plainly to Stella. “That’s what I’m feeling about you. Want to elaborate?” She pointed at Jack. “Figured it out. Your vibe means you’re a love interest—”
“Say what?” Stella asked, feeling her heart rate escalate to a rapid pace. “I’m not hiding, well, not exactly— Listen, I’ll
text you later. I promise. Right now, there’s a lot going on here, and I need to get my head straight.”
“You text me 911 if you need me for anything,” Ariel said as she dug through her shoulder bag. She placed a milky-white stick
of selenite on the counter. “This absorbs bad energy, just in case.”
Jack smiled. “Am I the bad energy?”
“Or Stella,” Ariel said with a one-shoulder shrug. “It’s not biased.”
Stella sensed her best friend’s increasing worry, so she said, “Ariel, I promise I’ll text. Get to work.”
“Carry that with you,” Ariel said, picking up the selenite and handing it to Stella. “It works.” She looked pointedly at Jack
and then rushed out of the library.
Once they were alone, Stella looked at Jack. Why did Ariel think he was a love interest? Or was she picking up on Stella’s infatuation with the fictional Jack? Just the idea made her feel unstable. She placed the selenite on the desk out of sight from anyone.
“What did you mean when you said you’ve seen my words for years?”
Jack’s hazel eyes never left her face, and he gave no indication of deceit when he said, “This isn’t the first time I’ve visited
the library. Arnie’s brought me here before.”
“How many times?” Stella asked, surprised by how dry her mouth had gone.
“Ten to twelve, probably. Not every year, and I didn’t always see you when I was here, but I think you were eight or nine
when I first saw you.”