So this might be short, who knows, I write until I can't write so idk how long these things are lol

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"So...why are you home so early?"

I looked towards the door, my mom was standing there.

"Because you sent me to work for an asshole." I smiled at her and held up my middle and pointer finger in a peace sign "We only do positive thinking here."

She laughed "Since when do you think positively?"

I frowned "Fair point I guess."

She walked over and sat on the couch next to me "I stopped by to see how you were doing and Horton said you quit."

I was shocked, that asshole! "Yeah! After he told me to!"

My mom raised her eyebrow "Since when do you do what people say?"

I groaned "Why do I have to spend my summer with that ass?"

Mom smiled, leaning back on the couch and pulling her knees up to her chest "He was the Librarian here when we first moved here."

I blinked "So after you and Ryan got married?"

"Before that. I met Ryan here. A month after I left Minnesota."

I grunted "Sadly."

Mom smiled "Hey kiddo, if we hadn't met you wouldn't be here."

I cocked my head to the side "And?"

Mom laughed and nudged my shoulder "Oh shut up."

I laughed and smiled at her "So what was this sob story you were going to tell me about Mr. Orth that is supposed to make me crawl all the way back to his house with a huge heart, willing to give my life for the old fart?"

Mom blinked, her brown eyes wide "Uh...that was very well thought out."

"Thank you."

"Uh...anyway...Horton was the librarian and even though he was a strict man, he was nice to those who cared about his books. The old Library Of Virginia shut down though, about a year after Rachel was born I believe. Horton was sad but understanding, he decided to move to the new library, but they didn't want him, accused him of old style thinking or whatever. He tried to make his own library in his house, set up festivals in the park that he always had me cater. No one ever showed up though."

I looked down at the game controller in my hands, that would explain all the books in the guy's house.

"He started to get kinda pissy as he got older, I think most of it was loneliness after his wife died in 09. Then he locked himself in his house, Bo and I were the ones who got him his nurse, and he's gone through quite a bit with her. He was mobile when she started there but in 2014 he had a stroke and never regained strength in his legs. His eyes are really bad too. He can't read anymore."

I sighed "Does this give him an excuse to be an ass?"

Mom shook her head, her brown hair falling out of the ponytail it'd been in all day "No, but I suggested you for a reason." She stood up "You don't have to go back there tomorrow afternoon but I'd consider it if I were you."

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"Are you going back?"

I played with the ice in my soda while Natalie stared at me, an eyebrow raised "I guess so...I was thinking a lot last night. Maybe he's like me...he's mad and he just doesn't know how to express it."

Natalie nodded while wiping the counter down "Fair point, try telling him that though, it took years for you to accept it."

I laughed "I'm a special kind of stubborn though." She smiled and walked towards one of her tables. I stop up and walked towards the booth in back where Bodanah was currently sitting, eating a burger and reading a huge stack of papers "Can I talk to you for a second?"

She looked at me with her brown eyes and motioned towards the seat across from her "What's up?"

"What do you remember about Horton Orth?"

Bo laughed, almost choking on her burger in the process "He's an angry old man, but he's not as bad as you think."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Patton was the one who broke his window, guy didn't even care. Just told Patton he needed to work on his aim but he had a powerful arm. I put the tarp in the window, he wouldn't let me fix it, said he'd be dead soon and the house would be condemned so what was the point."

"He yelled at me for trying to introduce myself!"

Bo raised an eyebrow "Did he? Or did it just come off that way?"

I sat and stared at her for a moment "Like how I can come off?"

She nodded and pointed at me "There you go. You guys are gonna have a hard time getting started cuz you're so alike but you'll figure it out."

I nodded and stood up "You're actually really good at this advice thing."

She waved her hand at me "Don't get used to it."

I walked towards the door, dropping a few dollars on the counter on my way by. Natalie caught me just outside "So...going back to Grumpy Bastard's House Of Horrors?" She put a hand on my chest "Or are you going to hang out with me today?"

I smiled and tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear "As very tempting as you sound, very tempting, I'm gonna have to choose Horton over you."

Natalie looked shocked "You're kidding."

I shook my head and walked away, turning back around to face her "I guess I feel like I can actually make this work and get into school!"

Natalie put her hands on her hips "What about me?"

I ran back and pecked her on the lips "You my dear, are not going to get me into college."

She smiled and stuck her tongue out "I'll fuck a professor, I'm not afraid."

I laughed and walked away "I'll text you okay?"

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(Not Harvey's POV)

Natalie pulled out her phone as Harvey walked away, a little too much determination in his step for her liking.

"He's gonna ditch us for Hermit Horton. I know it."

"Personally, I think you're insane."

"Personally, I don't give a shit. Harvey could completely regress and decide being by himself is better than with us!"

"Nevermind, I KNOW you're crazy."

"Shut up, I'll keep an eye on him, but we might need some drastic measures."

#_#_#_#_#_#Again, no clue how long this is lol but my arm fell asleep so I can't type anymore. Innocence Of A Child will be updated next, thanks for reading!