Page 103 of The Haunting of Lockton

“Don’t worry,” Julian told him. “We won’t be going back to the library.”

“Thank god for that,” Skyler responded.

“According to Callum, we wouldn’t find much anyway since all mentions have been redacted and memories wiped.” Julian blew out a visible breath in the cold night air. “Let’s plan on going back to Lockton tomorrow.”

“Will you come with us?” Skyler asked me.

I shook my head. “I have to work, but you guys can go without me.”

Skyler pouted. “Without our amazing tour guide? How will we survive?”

“I’m sure you’ll be fine,” I said. “Just don’t burn the place down.”

He smiled and tilted his face to the starry sky. The clear night and crisp air made everything so much brighter. Vivid. A lot like him. “Night’s still early. We should do something.”

“You guys wanna go out for drinks?” Taylor asked. “I’m not ready to go home.”

“Sure,” Julian said.

Skyler nudged me. “What do you say, Ichabod?”

I rolled my eyes at the nickname—that I secretly loved. “Why not?”

Alan would be proud of me—going out with friends on a Saturday night instead of rushing to the solitude of my house.

“Hell yeah.” Skyler rubbed his hands together. “Boys’ night out.”

***

“This is bullshit.” Skyler looked around. “When you said ‘go out for drinks,’ I imagined something… well, not like this.”

Taylor had taken us to a small bar not far from the downtown area. From the outside, it looked like a dive bar. To be honest, it looked that way on the inside too. However, the people were friendly, the drinks were cheap, and it wasn’t too crowded.

“Give it a chance,” Taylor told him. “Believe me. Everyone always heads to the other bars in town, where it’s crazy loud and overpriced. I love this place.”

The place clearly loved him, too, judging by how the bartender knew him by name, as well as a few of the men sitting at the bar, who were probably regulars of the joint. One in a trucker hat tipped his head to him before taking a swig from his beer.

“What can I get for you boys?” the bartender asked. She was five foot nothing and had short purple hair that was longer on top and buzzed on one side. Silver studs lined her ear, as well asone in her nose and another in the little dip below her bottom lip. She was ripped with muscle too, more than capable of taking care of herself if an unruly customer dared cross her or anyone else in the bar.

“Hey, cutie pie,” Taylor said, sidling up to the bar with a flirty eyebrow wiggle. “I’ll have my usual.”

She bopped the top of his head with her closed fist. “There you go.”

He snickered and turned to us. “First round’s on me. Order whatever you want. My girl Jovie here will take care of you.”

“Your girl?” Jovie arched a brow. “You wish.”

Julian smiled. “Vodka Sprite, please.”

“Just like last time.” She returned his smile.

“Last time?” Skyler looked between them. “Ah. This must be where you guys hung out that one night. When I was… preoccupied with a certain someone.”

As was becoming a daily occurrence with him, my cheeks felt like they were on fire. The asshole. I wasn’t much of a drinker unless it was wine. When I asked if they served it there, Jovie laughed.

“It comes out of a box. Definitely nothing fancy. But yeah. We have it.”

“You’re so prim and proper,” Skyler teased me. “With your little glass of boxed wine. Will you stick your pinky out as you drink? I’m gonna need you to do an accent on top of it, just like—”