Murder Out By Caster Bridge

Chapter twenty

I headed towards town. I should have headed to work, but I was too caught up in my thoughts and needed some time to calm down. So, after parking, I decided to take a short walk. As I started walking down the sidewalk to clear my head, I bumped into my cousin.

Not wanting to trip, I grabbed a hold of his arm. A mistake on my part. The same whiteness invaded my sight, but my hearing was as sharp as ever. I could hear my cousin's voice and a female getting into a heated argument. Their voices were mentioning things that I couldn't process properly. And if that wasn't enough, strong emotions of concern and rage flooded into me.

"Weston, hey, you okay?" I heard my cousin ask as concern filtered in.

I pulled my hand away.

The pounding in my head grew worse than ever. I placed my hands on my temples, but it didn't alleviate the pain. It was stupid to think it would.

"Weston, cousin, talk to me."

Once the buzzing in my head quieted, I lifted my head to stare into my cousin's brown eyes. "I'm...better."

"What happened?"

"It's a long story."

"Come on," he said. "You can tell me over a cup of coffee. You look like you could use a pick me up."

We walked into Mama Rosita's Caster Cafe. To be honest, I wanted to be outside more. The place in here felt heavier than normal which was odd considering it wasn't even crowded.

"Let's just get our drinks to go," I suggested.

"Why? Is your empathy acting up again?"

"Something like that," I muttered as I kept my hands in my jacket pockets. Ever since my grandmother told me of my real talent and since I touched Carter, I've been nervous about touching anyone else. Objects didn't seem to work. I touched my jeep and touched the door rail.

"You can go outside and wait for me. I don't want you overwhelmed," he said.

"Thanks." I pulled out some dollar bills and handed them to him. "Here. Buy me a hazelnut coffee."

"I thought you couldn't drink coffee?"

I shrugged. "Must have been mistaken."

I left the building only to get stopped by a girl, who strolled up to me. This wasn't someone I had met. She had long strawberry blonde hair braided like pigtails and blue ribbons at the ends. She was also dressed in a black skirt with a red blouse and silver high heels. Looking at her more, I thought maybe I had recognized her.

The closer she drew closer, the more I wanted to get away. In her emotions, I could detect darkness.

The second she was right in my face, I found myself staring into her bright greenish-blue eyes. "Stay the hell away from Hayden."

So that was why she seemed familiar. This was the girl I had seen with Hayden, whom he kissed.

Wait.

What right did she have to come strolling up to me when I haven't seen him in days? I mean, I did miss him and wonder where he was considering our shared kiss.

Instead, I glared at her. "I haven't been near him. He's been spending all his time with you."

She smiled. "That's right. He is. But he hasn't been lately. He's told me all about you. How your his best friend and would do anything. Why can't you just leave him alone?"

"Look, miss, I don't know who you are. I told you I haven't been with him. If anything, he has been leaving me alone."

Just then, the door behind me opened and Carter came out. The second his eyes landed on the girl, his emotions strangely flared to anger. "What are you doing here, Angela? I thought you had morning classes."

Angela smirked. "I did. But they got canceled. The professor got sick."

So this was the infamous Angela. I had never met her face-to-face before. She was more intimating than what Carter explained.

"So, what? You decided to just come and talk to my cousin?"

She nodded. "Something like that. He's a real cutie," she said with flirtation.

This was making me ill.

Her eyes then looked at the coffee cups in his hands and she grabbed one. "Oh, did you get this for me? You shouldn't have."

"That wasn't..."

Angela squealed. "I see. You bought this as a way to apologize, right?"

"Apologize? For what?" he asked.

"From our recent argument, silly. I know I made you mad, but you made me upset too. So, I take it you thought about it and this is your way of apologizing." She then took a sip of the coffee and spat it out. Nearly on me. Luckily, I had taken a step back.

"Uh, this is hazelnut," she said, disgusted. "I hate hazelnut." She then shoved the cup into my hand. When she did, her fingers grazed mine.

That strange heat rushed through me and my vision turned white. Then voices invaded my hearing. It sounded like Angela was on the phone with someone. Though, I couldn't hear the other person. It sounded like she said found the special one. Was she talking about Hayden?

Before I could wonder, the connection was lost the second her hand left mine. Unintentionally, I let go of the cup. It hit the ground and hots contents pilled over her open-toed shoes. "OW! Son of... What the hell is your problem?" she yelled with her fists clenched.

Carter protectively stood in front of me when she tried to advance. "Stay away from my cousin. He has nothing to do with anything. You are the one who stole his coffee. You owe him an apology."

Angela huffed. "Hell no. I'm going to go home and soak my feet in cold water." She turned and walked away.

"Well, that was intense."

"You have no idea," said Carter. He then started apologizing for what happened, but it wasn't his fault. I never met Angela. Now that I had, I wish I didn't. I knew my cousin mentioned her attitude, but I didn't realize how much she reminded me of Zelda.

Afterward our brief conversation, I headed to work even though I was late. Again.

I sighed and walked into Mel's Magic Shop.

I expected Melinda to start yelling, but instead, I found her talking to the receptionist from the apartment building I used to live in.

Melinda's eyes immediately locked onto mine. "Ah, Jessica, there he is."

Jessica, that was her name. I could not believe I never knew that. She turned around and smiled. Her emotions were as bright and cheerful as ever as she stepped forward. "Thank goodness I found you, Weston. Listen, I need you to come to the apartment building later. The people living in your old apartment, well they found a box with your belongings."

"Wait. Did you come here looking for me? How did you know I worked here?"

"Well, I heard you talking about it with your mother before."

She did?

"I know this is sudden, but if you can come after work and pick up the box, it will be much appreciated."

I nodded. "Sure. It's not like I have anything to do after work."