was.
CHAPTER THREE
Thus should all your faithful pray in times of distress.
Though flood waters threaten, they will never reach them.
Psalm 32:6
Saturday was a day with a routine ground in so hard I was sure that the three of us could do it in our sleep. We always dressed quietly, meeting out front after I had grabbed us an on-the-go breakfast. Today was no exception. We stealthily left the house, not wanting to wake up our parents, since they slept in late on the weekends; they stayed out late as well, occasionally bringing the party home with them, if the noises in the rest of the house were any indication.
And then we were off, walking as we rubbed sleep from our eyes and adjusted hastily thrown on shirts and socks. We began the long trudge up Broad Street, with a right on Grant, to the main branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. We all had our backpacks, since this was homework time. But when we were done, it easily turned into play time. Books and stories were something that could provide an escape from life, from the present, and that was something I had taught Colton and Grace. Though young, through my tutoring and determination, they both read at a level far above their age group.
“That new Rick Riordan book is finally in on our reserve list,” I told Colton cheerfully. “We can finally continue the saga of Percy Jackson!”
“Ca-an’t wait,” Colton said through a jaw cracking yawn.
I ruffled his hair, pulling him against me and taking Grace’s hand as we crossed the street. I loved having them near me, around me. But even as we reached the middle of the long crosswalk, I felt my skin prickle and the hairs on the back of my neck begin to rise. My senses felt as if they had been switched to hyper-alert, and I looked around uneasily. It felt as though someone was watching me. But aside from a few other early birds, though it was already past nine, there was no one else taking an obvious interest in us. I looked behind us as well, but there was no one there.
Calm down, I told myself. Its broad daylight. Even if someone was following you, nothing is going to happen.
And it was true. It was a beautiful, crisp fall day. Dry, fallen leaves skittered and skated along the street, whispering in their own language, while the light breeze cooled the still-intense September heat. I watched the sidewalk as the shadow of a large bird flew from one building to the next in front of the bright sunlight.
Maybe it was because of Austin’s attempted attack on me a week before, or maybe it was just because I was so protective of my siblings, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. No matter how beautiful and clear the day was, no matter how many times I looked over my shoulder to confirm that there was no one behind us, I couldn’t reassure myself.
It was a relief to finally reach the big library and walk quickly inside, where the hushed whispers and strong scent of books made me feel safe and welcomed. Nothing could happen to us here. But even so, I kept Colton and Grace close to me until we finally reached our table and settled down, me and my flood of oversized textbooks and papers on one side, Colton and Grace on the other. It was a familiar routine as we quietly settled into our work, and I took comfort in it and allowed it to put my mind at ease.
For a long time there was only silence at our table, the rustling of papers and squeaking of pencils. I grinned to myself when I saw Colton reading silently, his lips moving to form the words, and when I caught Grace wrinkling her nose and scrunching her face as she encountered something she didn’t fully understand right away. We had a solid hour of quiet time to work before Colton and Grace both began to fidget uncontrollably, and I looked up in relief when story time was called from across the room. I turned to my
CHAPTER THREE
Thus should all your faithful pray in times of distress.
Though flood waters threaten, they will never reach them.
Psalm 32:6
Saturday was a day with a routine ground in so hard I was sure that the three of us could do it in our sleep. We always dressed quietly, meeting out front after I had grabbed us an on-the-go breakfast. Today was no exception. We stealthily left the house, not wanting to wake up our parents, since they slept in late on the weekends; they stayed out late as well, occasionally bringing the party home with them, if the noises in the rest of the house were any indication.
And then we were off, walking as we rubbed sleep from our eyes and adjusted hastily thrown on shirts and socks. We began the long trudge up Broad Street, with a right on Grant, to the main branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. We all had our backpacks, since this was homework time. But when we were done, it easily turned into play time. Books and stories were something that could provide an escape from life, from the present, and that was something I had taught Colton and Grace. Though young, through my tutoring and determination, they both read at a level far above their age group.
“That new Rick Riordan book is finally in on our reserve list,” I told Colton cheerfully. “We can finally continue the saga of Percy Jackson!”
“Ca-an’t wait,” Colton said through a jaw cracking yawn.
I ruffled his hair, pulling him against me and taking Grace’s hand as we crossed the street. I loved having them near me, around me. But even as we reached the middle of the long crosswalk, I felt my skin prickle and the hairs on the back of my neck begin to rise. My senses felt as if they had been switched to hyper-alert, and I looked around uneasily. It felt as though someone was watching me. But aside from a few other early birds, though it was already past nine, there was no one else taking an obvious interest in us. I looked behind us as well, but there was no one there.
Calm down, I told myself. Its broad daylight. Even if someone was following you, nothing is going to happen.
And it was true. It was a beautiful, crisp fall day. Dry, fallen leaves skittered and skated along the street, whispering in their own language, while the light breeze cooled the still-intense September heat. I watched the sidewalk as the shadow of a large bird flew from one building to the next in front of the bright sunlight.
Maybe it was because of Austin’s attempted attack on me a week before, or maybe it was just because I was so protective of my siblings, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched. No matter how beautiful and clear the day was, no matter how many times I looked over my shoulder to confirm that there was no one behind us, I couldn’t reassure myself.
It was a relief to finally reach the big library and walk quickly inside, where the hushed whispers and strong scent of books made me feel safe and welcomed. Nothing could happen to us here. But even so, I kept Colton and Grace close to me until we finally reached our table and settled down, me and my flood of oversized textbooks and papers on one side, Colton and Grace on the other. It was a familiar routine as we quietly settled into our work, and I took comfort in it and allowed it to put my mind at ease.
For a long time there was only silence at our table, the rustling of papers and squeaking of pencils. I grinned to myself when I saw Colton reading silently, his lips moving to form the words, and when I caught Grace wrinkling her nose and scrunching her face as she encountered something she didn’t fully understand right away. We had a solid hour of quiet time to work before Colton and Grace both began to fidget uncontrollably, and I looked up in relief when story time was called from across the room. I turned to my
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