Henri Beck & the Hidden Library | 📖

5

The inside of Simon Beck's study looked like a museum exhibit. High bookshelves filled to the brim with completed encyclopedia collections, one-of-one history textbooks, and some of the most famous novels in the world made up the long walls. The entire collection might've cost more than the house it lived inside. Uncovered lightbulbs hung from the sloped ceiling. Thea flipped the switch near the entrance. Moments later, the shadows in the room were banished to the far reaches of the attic.

"Sheesh," Malik said as he wandered across the polished floors. "This place is bigger than my high school's library."

"Your school must've sucked," Henri said flatly. Westminster had a decent collection on its campus. He often spent many sleepless nights studying for exams within their library's walls. He couldn't imagine attending a school that didn't even have more books than his family's attic.

Malik tensed at his comment. His jaw clenched as he struggled to maintain a neutral expression.

"Hey, you never told us where you're from," Thea said.

"You never asked."

"Well...we're asking now." Henri followed behind him as he approached a shelf holding all thirty-two editions of the last printed edition of the Britannica.

Malik pretended not to hear him and instead chose to examine the numerous amounts of book spines facing them. "Your dad some kinda secret librarian or something?"

Henri frowned at his pathetic dodging of the question. "Malik—"

"I'm from nowhere special. Just some poor neighborhood in DC you've probably never heard of. You live in a place like this. I wouldn't expect you to."

"Ouch," Thea said from behind them. "Judgmental much?"

"Am I wrong?"

Henri's frown deepened. Since the moment they'd met, there seemed to be a hint of jealousy hidden behind the boy's words. It wasn't a mystery why it was there, and Henri couldn't say he wasn't used to hearing it. The second anyone found out who Henri was, their brains created an image of who they thought he and his family were. But they didn't know him—or the Becks. Not really.

"We're just trying to get to know you," Henri said after taking a deep breath. "I mean, we just went through something traumatic together."

Malik faced him. "My entire life has been a series of traumatic events. This ain't anything new to me."

Henri studied his eyes, allowing himself to sink into their deep, murky depths. Malik quickly broke eye contact, though, and chose to stare at his shoes. Henri tried his hardest not to look crestfallen, but he'd never been the best at hiding his emotions.

"Once I get my truck working, I'll be out your hair and on my way home," Malik grumbled.

"I'm not sure where you got that idea," Thea interjected, "but you're not bothering us. Not in the slightest. You saved our lives."

"If I didn't, you'd have never even given me a single thought. You wouldn't even know I existed." Malik's words were colder than an Antarctic ice cap. The muscles in his face were taut, and his hands were balled into fists at his side. "Look, I've met people like you before. Lots of money. Big house. Famous parents. The one thing I learned is that you're all the same."

The statement felt like a punch in the face. Henri squinted at Malik. Where's all this coming from? All Henri wanted to know was where the guy was from. He opened his mouth to retort, but Thea was quicker.

"Alright, well he's clearly projecting. I'm not sure what internal issues you've got going on, but they don't involve us." She moved toward the other end of the study, which held Simon Beck's workspace. "Henri, don't you have some looking around to do? You said this place would have some answers."