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“What’s up, Viv?” Arch asks, cheeky as can be.
The look she sends him would level a normal person, but Arch just slips his hands in his pockets and smiles at her. “I need you both to go to the library where the storage area is. We’re looking for a couple of boxes full of old photos and I haven’t had a chance to try and dig them up yet.”
I’m surprised she hasn’t asked my dad to grab the boxes, but his duties are mostly outside so maybe that’s why.
“What do you need the old photos for?” Arch asks, because of course he does. He has no qualms questioning things because this institution is his heritage. His family.
Me? I would’ve just done what Vivian asked with no questions.
“The school website is being redone and the web designer wanted to use old photos. I knew we had a bunch and thought they were somewhere in here, but Miss Taylor said they’re probably stored away in a couple of boxes in the library. But she’s too frail to dig through them,” Vivian describes.
“Miz Taylor is older than dirt,” Arch agrees, earning an annoyed glare from Vivian.
“She knows far more about this campus than anyone else here,” she says. “You could probably learn a thing or two from her.”
“I already do,” he says solemnly. “We chat every day during sixth period.”
“You’re in the library during sixth period?” I ask him.
He turns his gaze on me, and I lock my knees so they don’t wobble like they want to. “It’s a free period for me. So I hang out with Taylor every day. We talk it up.”
I find that hard to believe. The woman is slightly terrifying. Always shushing students even when we whisper. She barely tolerates us. Imagining her chatting away with Arch doesn’t seem possible.
“Daisy, I trust you to carefully look inside the boxes and find the ones with the photos. Arch, you’re going because you’ve got the brawn to carry the boxes and this is your family’s school so you might discover a thing or two going through everything,” Vivian explains.
I’m surprised she’s letting us do this—alone. Hasn’t she noticed the tension growing between us? It’s quiet and private in that old room. We could get up to whatever we wanted and no one would know.
From the dark look Arch sends my way, I’m guessing he’s thinking the same exact thing.
I’ve been in that back storage room in the library only once in all the years I’ve gone here and lived on campus. Dad took me there when he had to drop off a couple of boxes and I was surprised at how large the room was. At one point it was a part of the library and was even used as a classroom, but eventually, they shut it down and kept it as storage. Something about the wall of windows being too distracting.
Sounds like an excuse but whatever. That expanse of windows is pretty impressive. It overlooks the entire gardens.
“Let’s go,” Arch says, his gaze only for me before it slides to Vivian. “We’ll be right back.”
“Don’t bother returning here if you can’t find any photos today. Take your time. You can look tomorrow if you need to, but we need those photos—at least a few of them—by Friday,” Vivian says, handing me a keychain with only a single key on it.
“Will do.” Arch salutes her and I roll my eyes, yelping when he grabs my hand and drags me out of the office along with him, never letting go of my hand the entire way as we walk across campus.
If he gives me nothing for my birthday—and I don’t expect him to give me a single thing, we barely know each other and my birthday is tomorrow—I will be satisfied with this. Him holding my hand and smiling at me, his fingers intertwined with mine.
This is more than enough.
It’s everything.
TWENTY
ARCH
We makeour way through the aisles of bookshelves in the library, Daisy’s hand still in mine as we head for that door in the very back, the one she has the key for. Excitement sizzles through my veins and I remind myself to calm down. We’re on a mission and Daisy is a good girl. She won’t want to mess around in the cavernous storage room, no matter how badly I want to persuade her.
We come to a stop in front of the door, Daisy slipping her hand from my grip as she takes the key and shoves it in the lock, turning it slowly, like it’s difficult. I step closer, my body brushing hers, helping her shove the door open and we walk inside. I shut the door, shrouding us in darkness, a tiny beam of light in the distance the only thing allowing us to see.
“Come on,” I tell her, taking over the situation as I once again take her hand.
She walks with me not saying a thing and I realize I’m so damn grateful she doesn’t feel the need to fill the silence with nonsensical, pointless chatter. Any other girl I’ve ever known would do exactly that but not Daisy. She’s so damn quiet. I’m curious about her but she doesn’t reveal much.
I wish she did.
