29. Be Aware

AUTHOR POV

Lyra is in the basement with Martin with the catalogue of the books that came yesterday in her hand. "Let's start from the kids section Martin" she said to him looking at the stacks of new books wrapped in a plastic packages. Checking the number of books and their types, she wrote down each data while Martin just followed her around answering her questions.

Meanwhile, Eline is texting mark to know what happened yesterday at the park after she left, when a guy around her age came inside with his hoodie pulled upto his neck, wearing a face mask and with the hat on his head, not letting others see his face clearly. He dashed through the front door into the library and looked around the store. Eline raised her head as the bell connected to the door rang violently. She saw him look around and try to get inside the library without hesitation. Eline stood up from the seat in a rush to stop him from going any further.

"Excuse me sir? May I help you?" She said politely to avoid any conflicts. But the guy had other intentions.

'so she doesn't know who I am. Good' he thought in his mind and walked towards the desk.

"Where is your owner?" Leo asked in a deep voice to scare her. Eline stayed calm and tried to answer him casually. But there is an internal chaos inside her brain.

'Is this someone boss is trying to protect Lyra mam from? Oh my god what do I do? ' she decided to cover up for Lyra saying she is not available now.

"I am afraid she is not here now sir. Please leave your details I will let her know about your arrival when she is available" Eline tried so hard to keep her cool. It would be an understatement if we say she is not panicking. Not because she is scared of him, but if Lyra comes up at this moment, it would be such a mess.

"Ha! Do you think I believe you? I know that she is inside. Call her now" leo decided to play with her sometime. 'looks like she is new here' he thought as he grinned inside the mask.

"You are mistaken sir. She is not here" Eline prayed to God that Lyra wouldn't come out of the basement so soon.

"Listen madam. Call her at once if you want to save your life" he bumped his tightened first on the desk to scare her more.

"I am telling you she is not here. Please leave" adrenine rushed into her blood making her talk boldly with him. Her survival instincts kicking in, she walked out of the desk and stood before him.

"Ha ha bullshit. I will go find her myself" leo turned to leave when Eline held his arm as tightly as possible.

"What? No wait" Eline shouted so loudly that the other three staff working inside looked towards them. They just went to their works sighing after realising that Eline is arguing with the tornado.

"You touched me? You dared to touch me? Do you know who I am? " Leo turned his head and looked at her hand holding his arm and then looked at her eyes smirking. "Did you ever heard of Bubs? The Norlona Mafia's president? "

Eline is confused after hearing him. She never heard of that. Being the training spy on Norlona, she never heard of that name before. She shook her head casually while taking a step ahead moving closer towards him. She noticed his skin as she is so close to him. The soft skin that feels just like hers, is what made her realise that he is faking it. Any mafia doesn't have the skin that soft and additionally, he is saying he is the president? He would be double his age by the time he achieves mafia president position. There is no way she doesn't know the Mafia's name. She was made to learn about all the details about underworld when she started training as the security team.

Eline looked up at him inching closer making him step back in hesitation and said " You're the mafia? Tell me which clan are you from?"

"Uhh...umm...th- the Norlona?" Leo stepped back again as she kept taking steps forward.

"I am not asking about the clan" Eline said narrowing her eyes.

" Oh!! The clan...I think it's something like gregory?"

" Who are you?"She finally stopped taking steps and asked him seriously.

" I just told you" Lyra is still not out of the basement so they kept talking.

" I will ask one last time. Who are you?"

" I am your owner's brother" leo said sighing as he found there's no way she will be scared of him. He removed the mask and cap to show her his face.

" Ha! Do you think I believe that?" Eline scoffed at his reply. " That's so dumb of you to say that. Even though you're good looking, I am sure Lyra Mam's brother is more handsome. So stop with your games and tell me who are you"

" You think your owner's brother is handsome?"

" I didn't see him clearly at the park yesterday. But I am sure he is handsome. Now remove your mask" Eline crossed her hands without even realising. Leo raised his eyebrows and looked at her hair colour. He finally figured out who his sister was worried about yesterday at the park. He noticed that Lyra was calling the library and asking for someone while checking the pictures he took, repeatedly.

"You saw him at the park?" Leo asked once again to confirm it.

"Yes and he was like....this tall" Eline gestured her hand placing it above Leo's head showing him how tall he was yesterday. Her hands couldn't reach the height she is trying to show, so she had to get on her toes to reach the measurement. "see? That's so much taller than you. So shut up and stop this drama. Who are you?"

"I came for a membership in the library" Leo just blabb Eline started walking towards the desk to hand him the form.

"See? That's not so hard sir is it?" She said as she passed the membership form to him.

Leo placed the sheet on the desk and rested his elbows on it "Woaahh..who are you calling sir?"

"Do you see anyone behind you? No right!? Then it's obviously you" Eline said smiling sarcastically and added "be gentle with the form. I won't give another one if it rips"

"I am younger than you madam. You should call me young boy" he said smirking, not removing his hands off the sheet.

"What do you mean by madam? I am younger than you sir and remove your hands from the sheet"

"Okay tell me. Is your owner's brother your secret crush?"

" What? No!! I just saw him from far. I didn't even see his face"

" You didn't see his face? I am pretty sure that I look more handsome than him"

" Would you please leave? Don't cause a disturbance here. This is library"

" Oh really!? I thought this is a place where people confesses their crush on someone "

" No this is not what you think it is. Please leave sir"

Lyra came back from the basement and was taking to Martin when she heard some noises. She frowned in confusion and walked towards the main entrance. Her frown grew deeper when she saw Leo at the front desk, talking with Eline. She couldn't hear what they're talking about.

"Going around the stores and claiming that you're owner's brother is your job? "

" You didn't believe me right? Wait till your owner comes"

" There's no way I would tolerate you until she comes. I would have to call someone to take care of you before she comes. So it's better to leave by yourself" Eline said to Leo. Her face full of irritation and annoyance.

Leo is grinning wide like a fool as he is enjoying her irritation.

" Bubs!" Lyra called him from distance to stop him from his silly games. Eline held her head with her palms as she couldn't get rid of him and didn't hear Lyra calling him. He turned his head and looked at Lyra. His smile getting wider after seeing her. She got closer to the desk and asked what's happening.

Eline lifted her head after hearing Lyra.

" Mam he is creating a scene here claiming he is your brother. Please tell him to go away"

" Eline.. he is really my brother" Lyra said to her in a casual tone as she thought leo would have blown her brain away with his foolish and goofy talks. Eline's mind collapsed the second she said that sentence. "What?" She asked her in horror. 'I just said to him that I was at the park yesterday. And she is saying he is her brother??!!!!' her mind voice concluded as she stood grounded at the same spot.

"He is my brother Leo" Lyra said again frowning at Eline's reaction.

That one sentence is enough for Eline to open her mouth in shock and her eyes wide. She looked at Leo who's now smiling cunningly at her. Lyra looked at them puzzled and asked " what's wrong with you two?"

"Vivi! Yesterday -" Leo started to talk but Eline interrupted him by saying "uh nothing mam. He is just playing with me. I didn't believe when he said he is your brother. That's all" Leo just looked at Eline and smiled widely in a mocking way before saying "yeah Vivi. That's all"

Lyra looked at them both as she is not satisfied with their answer. She looked at the clock and recognised it's not the time he should be here.

"What are you doing here? Did you skip classes again?" She narrowed her eyes at him scanning his face, searching for any lies.

" No. The teacher is absent today. So we all are told to go home from afternoon " he said nonchalantly without hesitation.

" Okay" Lyra believed him as she didn't find anything strange in his face. "Will you go home?"

" No I will stay here. We can go together after your work ends" he said with a smile convincing her that he wouldn't mind staying there. Lyra went back to her work after assigning Eline other tasks. Leo sat at the first table where he can see Eline clearly and dug out his phone playing random games. He took sml glances at her while she just sat at the counter mumbling something in a very low voice that no one could even hear her.

Lyra got back to her work at the computer filling the details that need to be recorded.

"What the fuck did you do you fool! You stepped into a trap yourself that too, you are the one who dig that trap. I've never such an idiot like you Eline. What should I do now? What if he tells his sister that I was there at the park yesterday, following them? Aahhhh she would definitely kill me this time. Think Eline think. What would a wise human does in this situation? Think!!" She was mumbling nonstop when Lyra noticed her and asked if something's wrong.

Eline shook her head and smiled nervously as she made her way towards the back of the bookshelves. Lyra just minded her business ignoring her behaviour. Eline is a casual and easy going girl. She knew her for a week now and has been reading her personality. Eline just acts out of picture randomly and she jumps here and there like nothing happened. If anything would describe Eline, an emotional rollercoaster would be perfect. A teenage girl who seemed like a student came into the library and reached Lyra for some recommendations on books she might need for her exams. Leo grabbed the chance and stood up from the bench he was sitting.

Leo followed Eline to the shelves and saw her talking to herself standing behind a cupboard. He walked to her as she is drowned in her selftalk. Eline raised her head when she heard someone coming close to her and startled after seeing the person she was talking about infront of her.

"Hi!!" Leo said with a smile on his face.

" Why did you come here?" Eline looked absolutely terrified of him now. He knows her ugly butter secret. And the vital point is, she herself got struck in this situation with her ranting mouth.

" This is my sister's library. Therefore, mine too. I have the right to be anywhere inside "

" Do what you want. I'm leaving " she said in a rush and turned back to leave but her forehead met with handle of the cupboard making her help in pain. "Aaahhhwww". Running the bump with her forefingers, she turned to him again and saw him smiling widely.

" I guess that's a wrong turn?" Leo said mischievously. Eline scoffed and started walking away from him but stopped after hearing leo talk.

" My sister is a spy. You know that?"

Eline turned her head to look at him with a frown and her lips slightly apart while her fingers rubbed the forehead. She shook her head not letting him know she knows about Lyra so much that she knew Lyra is a spy.

"She killed hundreds of people and that's just her hobby. What do you think will happen to you if she found that you were following her?"

"Excuse me!! I was not following her" she lied. Obviously she was following her.

"Oh yeah? But I saw you behind us in most of the pictures. How do you explain that?"he asked glaring her with narrowed eyes.

" I was not following her okay? I was just...I just came to the park to see how it feels. I didn't know where to go and at that moment, I saw both of you and decided to be close you. That's all "

".....Even kindergarten children say that you're lying " he squinted his eyes.

" Wh-...Please trust me. I don't have any ill intentions"Eline complained frowning.

" I will have to check for that. If I find anything suspicious about you, I can't help but inform my sister" he tilted his head to show that he is helpless.

" No! Please don't do that. I really did not have any bad thoughts. Please don't tell this to Lyra mam" her eyes almost pleading him.

" You must gain my trust then. I'll watch you. Be aware" Leo raised his fist with index and middle finger open pointing to his eyes and signalled her that he is always watching her.

"You don't have any qualities to be a stalker" leo rolled his eyes as he turned to leave.

"Whom are you calling a stalker?" She walked fast behind to catch him but he was too quick and reached the way where Lyra could see him Eline stopped in her track stomping her feet in frustration.