Page 15 of Deliver Me

It was something that had been tumbling around in her head for a while now. She was worried her father would be disappointed if he found out that she wasn’t living up to her mother’s precedent when it came to church involvement, but Lilly deserved more credit than she was being given. Maybe she could talk to Mrs. Mitchell about making Lilly an official co-leader for the group. If that wasn’t a thing, then Mia was sure they could make it one …

She set the thought aside when she swung open the heavy doors that led to the blessedly air-conditioned sanctuary of the library. She was sweating through her T-shirt from the short walk and paused gratefully just inside the large well-lit room, letting the cool air blow over her as she looked for her friends. She should have sent a text to ask if they’d be here, but she doubted Lilly would check her phone inside the library.

The large room was lined all around with shelves of books, with sections on the interior that divided the space into further book storage, rows of computers, and neat little tables that provided comfortable study space to a few dozen students. Mia passed several that seemed to have fallen asleep in their books, and she chuckled as she walked by.

Next to church, Mia had always thought that libraries were the most likely place to find God. There was always a feeling of quiet contemplation, an atmosphere of knowledge and wisdom and peaceful rest. Even though every library was different, thesmell of books was always comfortingly the same. It was like an infinite number of homes waiting to welcome you in with the turn of a page.

Lilly and Bryce were already seated at a table, talking quietly as they leaned over an open textbook. They both looked up expectantly when she dropped into a chair across from them.

Mia leaned forward to whisper, “I had to stay and talk to my professor. She wanted to talk to me about my final paper.”

“She asked you to stay behind for that?” Lilly asked, peeking around to make sure no one was looking before stuffing a piece of chocolate in her mouth. “Isn’t it a little early to be worried about finals?”

She pressed a chocolate into Mia’s outstretched palm and Mia popped it into her mouth before answering. “I guess she also wanted to suggest that I look into changing my major and doing something law related, instead of teaching.”

Lilly laughed and shook her head. “You’ve never wanted to be anything but a teacher.”

“My dad wants me to be a teacher.”

“But isn’t that what you want, too? To be a teacher like your mom?”

“I’m not sure.” She pulled out her laptop and looked at them with a frown. “I figured my dad kinda knew what was best since I didn’t know what I wanted to do.”

“Law is pretty cool, I guess,” Lilly said. “Lots of years in school, though, and I’ve heard it’s very competitive.”

“Do you think I can’t get into law school?” Mia paused at that—she hadn’t considered the possibility that she might not be successful if she did decide to pursue it and she bristled a little at the thought.

“That’s not what I meant,” Lilly said, oblivious to the tumult going on in Mia’s mind. “I wonder if the motivation for lawschool will still be there, once you aren’t writing to Gabriel anymore.”

“What does Gabriel have to do with law school?” Mia asked, and Bryce turned to look at Lilly, also clearly wanting her to explain the connection she saw between the two.

“I assumed that’s where this sudden interest came from,” Lilly said, looking to Bryce for confirmation that her assumption made sense. He nodded and she sat back in her chair, appeased that he agreed with her.

“Maybe some of it,” Mia admitted, “but why would I stop writing to him?” She knew her tone was surly, but she had gotten tired of these conversations.

“I didn’t think you were gonna write to him forever because it was a charitable gesture, not a real friendship.”

“Itisa real friendship,” Mia said defensively.

“Okay, maybe it isfornow, but what are you going to do when you get a boyfriend that doesn’t want you writing to a convicted murderer that’s serving life in prison?”

“I wouldn’t want Lilly doing that,” Bryce said as he placed his hand protectively over Lilly’s. “It sounds dangerous.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have a boyfriend,” Mia snapped, loudly enough to have heads turning in the quiet room.

Lilly leaned forward to whisper, “Not yet, but you want one, right?”

“I’m not interested in dating,” Mia insisted stubbornly, ignoring that she had seen plenty of attractive men on campus that shemighthave considered dating if they had asked prior to this very irritating conversation.

“Yeah? What about James Prescott?”

Mia leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “What about him?”

“Oh, come on!” Lilly prodded. “You’ve always been interested in James and surely you’ve noticed how much he’s been at your house lately?’

“Talking to my dad—” Mia began.

“And looking at you.” Bryce said, wiggling his brows suggestively. “I thinksomeonehas caught his attention.”

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