Page 33 of Breaking the Sinner

Fuck it.He needed to get out of the apartment, high or not.

Cobra splashed water on his face, as if it might help, and then he bolted into his bedroom, scooping up the bare necessities. House key, wallet, his knife. Then out the front door before Klay could even ask where he was going.

Thrust into the bright bustle of LA traffic, Cobra drowned his thoughts in hip hop music. The unceasing sunlight tempered his high. Part of him wanted to still be on the couch at home. His idealism had gotten the best of him. Wasn’t it always better to stay home, stay comfortable?

Traffic moved slow, and he got there ten minutes late. The library was a grand old structure, something that looked more like an old courthouse. Cobra parked in a neat lot lined with palm trees. Before he could open the door, Gen trotted up to the side of his car.

Relief blossomed deep in his chest at the sight of her. She pressed her nose against the window, twisting her lips into a funny shape. Red hair flowed around her—she was like Ariel, his own little mermaid turned into a human. Through the window he could hear her girlish giggle.

Damn.This was nice.

Cobra poked his fore and middle finger against the glass where her eyes were. She giggled again, tugging open the door.

“Beat you here,” she teased.

“You don’t give a guy time to even take a shower,” he said, stepping out of the car. She wore a simple cream tank that showed off her cleavage a little too well. The shirt was tucked into jean shorts embroidered with flowers near the pockets.

“Is that why you smell like incense?” she asked, peering up at him.

He smirked. Every time they talked, she revealed new depths of her innocence. “Yep.”

“Well, I like it.” She flashed him a grin, grabbing at his hand. “Come on, let’s go!”

He let her lead him to the grand entrance of the library. Wide stone steps led to an underwhelming front door. Even still, childish excitement burbled up inside of him. This was…fun, sorta.

“Why are your eyes so red?” She peered back at him.

“Um…” He searched for an excuse and found nothing. “I’m really fucking high.”

He watched her for a response. His words didn’t seem to register. They entered the cool, sepulchral air of the library.

“What do you mean?” she asked in a whisper. They stood in the middle of a foyer the likes of which he’d never seen his entire life. The black and white tiled floor stretched ahead of them, with golden light spilling from sconces on the wall. The walls arched upward into a dome, where a chandelier hung like an overseer.

“I smoked a lot of weed,” he said in a low voice. Her eyebrows shot up.

“Oh. Yeah. That’s…I totally knew that’s what you meant.”

He couldn’t hide the chuckle. “Sure you did.” Library patrons flitted around them, quiet as ghosts. “Where should we go?”

She quirked her lips. “Are there any book you need to take out?”

He looked at her like she’d spoken in French. “Uh…have you seen me? I don’t read.”

“Isn’t it time to start, then?”

Something obvious and sweet passed between them, like a sudden lilac breeze. She had a point. Even when he was trying to show her how wrong he was for her. How undeserving.

“That ship has sailed,” he said.

“Then why’d you come to the library?” Her words were full of simplicity. Full of honesty. Talking to Gen was devoid of the snark and doublespeak he was used to on the street. She wanted to fuckingknow.

“I wanted to see you,” was all he could say.

She grabbed his hand, smiling up at him so sweetly it was impossible not to return it. “Well, now you can see me and pick a book. I’ll take it out for you on my account. You just have to promise to return it on time.”

Her offer left the smile lingering on his lips. He followed her into the main section, through aisles marked with letters and numbers and decimal points, observing the world around them in slo-mo. He should have been coming here high all along. It was like he’d stepped into an alternate universe.

“Have you ever taken out a book before?” Gen’s fingertips tripped over the spines of books as she maneuvered through the aisles, on a mission all her own.

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