Page 65 of Make You Wish You Were Dead

"Because she can move anywhere, kill anything, and people try to protect her, not the king. The king can only make one move so that's why people protect the queen ‘cause she is more powerful than the king."

"What's the point of you telling me this?"

"Don't ever let the fucking pawns bring down the queen, Jane."

Thirty Four

Rowan

"What are we doing?"Jane says with a small smile on her face as I push open the door making the bell ring.

"You'll see," I say as I pull her inside the store.

"Welcome," a lady scanning a book says as we pass by her.

She knows why I am here. I made a deal with the owner of the store so that I could surprise Jane.

I take Jane towards the section I know she will like.

She is looking around the bookstore, admiring all of the decorations on the wall. Seeing her face light up makes my heart happy. I feel my heart rate increase from seeing her eyes fill with love and adoration.

"Why are we in a bookstore?" she asks as we start to enter the Romance section.

Most of the books I have seen Jane read are either thriller or romance. I took a guess, hoping Romance would be her favorite.

We stop and Jane is still waiting for me to answer her question.

"Well, we never really went on a date before so I wanted to take you here." She says nothing, making me look down at her. "Is that okay?"

Jane smiles and I notice her cheeks turn a shade darker. "Yes. I love it. Thank you." She lets go of my hand and walks towards the bookshelf, looking at all of the books. "What is this place?"

"The Ripped Bodice. I found it on the internet and wanted to take you here."

"It's so dark out. Why is it open?"

"I asked a favor from the owner."

"It's so beautiful, Rowan," Jane says as she looks everywhere.

I lean against a shelf and admire her.

She is so beautiful. The way her face lights up when she looks at something that makes her happy.

Books.

Books make Jane happy.

Along with me.

"Why do you love reading?"

Jane looks at me. "After my accident I needed something to distract me. I picked up a book where the girl was mute like me and after that I couldn't stop reading. Reading takes you to a different world without you actually moving. It feels like magic but it's not. In books you can escape your problems and forget about everything for a little while."

"When was the last time you read a book?" I ask Jane, walking closer to her.

Hearing her talk about books like this makes me so happy because she is happy. Hearing about her passion is amazing.

I never want her to stop talking.