Chapter 21
It was a sunny Saturday morning. Scarlett was wearing her favourite costume for their day out from the rehab. The girl she met on her first day had told her that they would be going to the library for starters and then to the museum which was recommended by somebody. Scarlett thought that the museum was a great idea. She had been there only a few times with her real parents. She sighed and cleared her mind of the unwanted thoughts.
" We'll be leaving in another 30 minutes, so please be ready by then." She heard a voice announcing from the speakers. She was actually excited, she had a feeling that something great was going to happen that day. She got that vibe and couldn't wipe the smile from her face.
She spoke to a few people during the sessions which were helping her to come out of her shell and talk to people. One person that she met in the rehab was someone that she least expected. It was the drug dealer who was selling the drugs to her. Marvin was equally surprised to see her in the rehab. She learned that he was there because he was about to lose his wife because of his job and drug obsession. she felt pity for him and supported him in whatever he did. They had become friends, how awkward could that even get?
" Are you done, Scar?" Marvin asked her as his hands rested on his chin. He gave off major bad boy vibes with his tattoos and long dark hair. His beard added to his mystical aura. " Yea! Let's go." She answered and walked in front of him as he followed her to where all the people assembled.
" We are trusting all of you. Don't misuse this opportunity of getting out of this rehab to get drugs or escaping, because we have trained men watching over with gears to get you if you try. Don't make it hard, you are also working with us to get over your obsession over drugs, so please cooperate." The voice from the speaker finished and murmurs broke out.
The library was spacious and Scarlett collected a few books that she liked and took a seat in one of the tables. It was empty and she liked it that way. After finishing one of the smaller books, she found that it had a second part to it. so she got up in order to search for it. She went through the old wooden shelves which were still strong enough to hold all those books. She found the book that she was looking for and pulled it, but it didn't budge. She thought that it was stuck and let go of it to inspect where it was stuck. Once her hands left the book the book was pulled to the other side and she was startled when she was met with somebody's eyes. It was of a different colour. Was it brown or green? She didn't know and didn't want to know. She looked away and felt a tug in her heart when she did so.
What was that feeling? She had never felt a tug like that. She dismissed it and walked back to her previous pile of books. When she sat down, she drowned herself in a science-fiction book. She was enjoying the book so much that she forgot to keep track of the time. A tap on her shoulder brought her out of the scientific world that she was in.
" We have to go to the museum. I see that you literally fell into the book." Marvin said with a smirk. " I'm sorry. Let's go. I'm not that late, right?" She questioned and he didn't answer her, instead, he told her that she could issue the book and take it with her. She was excited to finish that book and did just that. She took 5 books and wanted the librarian to issue all of them. " Child, I see that you love reading, but you may issue only 3 books to the maximum. Once you finish those, you can get more." The librarian who was a sweet grandmother figure told her. Her smile faltered a little but she took three books with her. She didn't have a backpack with her, so she held on to the books against her chest as her hands caged them.
Marvin was walking about 10 feet in front of her and she didn't care to join him. She was more interested in looking around. After a few more minutes of walking around, she reached a building. It was a college. The structure of the building was so alluring. She would love to know if this college had art, she wanted to do art and become an artist.
She spotted the museum far away and started walking towards it. People from the rehab were walking around the place and she did notice some bulky men who were walking around. They were wearing normal clothes, probably to blend in, but she was sure that they were the trained men the voice from the speaker warned them about.
She was almost in front of the museum gate when she collided with someone and fell down. Her books spilled on the floor and she was in an awkward position. The person she had collided with was already crouching in front of her, picking up the books. He had brown hair which was shiny from the sunlight. The person looked at her with an apologetic smile. " I'm so sorry! I hadn't been planning on that..." He said and his cheeks turned a shade of light pink. " I'm sorry too," she said and noticed that his eyes were familiar.
He was the owner of the eye who stole the book in the library! He handed her 3 books and took two of his books and apologized once more before entering the museum. She stood there and dusted herself before starting to walk into the museum herself.
While people were looking around the museum, Scarlett sat down and looked for the book that she had been reading. Only, she couldn't find it. Her mind started to panic and then she remembered that the thief collided with her. She looked at the book which wasn't hers. She knew it was rude to open a book that belonged to someone else, but she did just that and opened the first page of the notebook. 'Zander Alexis Miller' the name was engraved in bold and neat handwriting. So that was the thief's name she thought to herself. She had to give it back and get her book back.
She had been searching for this guy for about 45 minutes and he wasn't anywhere to be seen. She was getting tired and sat down. Her head started hurting and she started massaging her temples gently with her fingers. " Hey, are you alright?" A voice came from beside her. Thief! Her mind shouted and she held back a giggle. " Yea. I think our books got exchanged. I need my book back." She held out his book and he looked at her with a wide smile. " Yea. I was searching for you as soon as I found out." He replied and exchanged the book. " So do I get to know your name?" The thief asked her and she looked into his eyes. She felt the weird tug in her chest again. She ignored it and shook her head.
His smile widened. " Scarlett! What are you doing here? We're going to be leaving soon!" Marvin's voice called out from about 1 a yard away. " I'll be there soon!" She said and looked at the thief. " So Scarlett..." She bit her tongue and wanted to slap herself for giving her name unknowingly. " Yes... Mr.Miller." She smirked and got up. " You can call me Zander, you know. I'm not that old!" He said and Scarlett had a feeling that she had heard that somewhere. " Alright, Mr.Miller." She answered and walked away.
Zander watched as she walked away without even glancing at him. Once she was out of his sight his eyes teared up. All he wanted was to pull her into a tight embrace and tell her how glad he was that she was alive, but he couldn't. It made his heart skip a beat that she called him Mr.Miller. He still had hope, to get his Letta back.
Scarlett was laughing quietly once she was out of his sight at what he said. She had a weird feeling and that tug in her chest. She didn't know why, but she wanted to cry when she turned away from him. Had she ever come across this person in her life? A question that hanged in the air. An answer only she didn't know... Who was this Mr.Miller aka Zander?