Gabriel’s POV
“What did you say?” Nick was the first one to respond.
I was frozen.
He sat next to me and looked at his mom, pizza long forgotten.
“I said her name is Aria,” she said looking confused. “What is going on boys?”
Nick looked at me with a bright smile on his face. “Do you think it’s her?”
“Do you know this girl?” his mom asked, looking at us.
“What does she look like?” I finally managed to ask.
“She is very pretty. Short, small. She has brown hair and green eyes,” she said.
“Oh, fuck it is her!” Nick yelled.
I was frozen, my heart beating in my chest. She was here.
“When was this mom?” Nick asked.
“I’m not telling you anything more until you tell me what is going on. Gabriel looks like he is going to pass out,” she said, frowning.
Nick elbowed me. “Tell her.”
“I don’t know who she is,” I sighed. “I saw her a couple of days ago in front of my hair salon and I felt this connection to her. She ran away before I could speak to her. And it has been bugging me since. I feel something for her, but I don’t know what it is. And I have been trying to find her.”
His mom was in deep thought.
“Could it be a mate thing?” she finally asked me.
“No. It can’t be. We warlocks don’t have mates,” I said, shaking my head.
“I know. But you never know. Maybe you would be the first couple to discover it,” she shrugged.
I don’t like this idea. I don’t want a mate. I had a couple of werewolf friends and I saw what a mate bond does to you.
“It’s not a mate bond. I’m sure of it. It’s something else,” I said looking at her. “I don’t feel the need to, sorry for my language Mrs. Black, fuck her.”
Nick laughed at my apology and his mom started thinking again.
“I don’t know what it could be,” she said. “I hope she will come back so you can talk to her.”
And then it dawned on me.
“Wait, you said she is leaving the city?” I asked, feeling the anger coming.
“Look, mom, Gabe told you everything. We need you to tell us exactly what happened,” Nick spoke slowly.
Mrs. Black looked at me and took my hand. She must have sensed how tense I was, and she wanted to comfort me. I was grateful to her, but I needed her to start talking.
“Of course, I will tell you everything, Gabriel. I see this is important to you,” she said looking at me with love in her eyes.
“It happened around 1:30 pm. I was in the kitchen making coffee and I looked out the window,” she finally started talking. “I saw this pretty girl standing in front of your house, staring at it. I thought she would knock on your door, but she didn’t move. I got out and asked her if I could help her. She asked about Claudia, and I told her she died.”
My heart tugged painfully at the mention of my grandma. I nodded for her to continue. Nick was all ears beside me.
“She looked surprised, and I asked her how she knew Claudia. I have never seen this girl before. She said her grandma was friends with Claudia and told her to come and look for her. I told her about you and said if she wanted, she could speak to you. She said she would come if she had time before leaving the city. But she never said when she was leaving. She left after that. Said her friend was waiting for her.”
I felt anger, sadness and a small glimpse of hope mixing in me. Could I wait for her to come to me? She said maybe. Could I live with maybe? I don’t think so.
“Did she have a car?” Nick’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“No. She was on foot,” his mom answered.
Nick turned to me. “She can’t be far then, dude. She went to her friend. The one who came to the hotel with her. She has to live nearby.”
Hope grew stronger in me.
His mom was confused again. “What hotel?”
“No time, mom. Do you know if any of our neighbors have a daughter named Annie?”
I was lucky he was here with me. He was able to think more clearly than I. My emotions were clouding my thinking.
She was in deep thought when she finally spoke.
“Well, they are not our neighbors, but there was a couple living on Summer Alley. They had a daughter named Annie. The woman worked with me at my law firm. But they were killed by inquisitors six months ago. I don’t know what happened to their daughter.”
“Do you know her last name?” I asked quickly.
“I don’t remember…,” she sighed.
I was disappointed. But I was ready to knock on every door on Summer Alley and ask if Annie lives there.
“Wait. Her mom and I worked on a case together. I have files somewhere. Her last name is on them,” she said, getting up and running to her home office.
I ran my fingers through my hair and took a sip of my now warm beer.
“Oh fuck,” I said. “Get me a cold one, would you?” I said to Nick.
He got up and grabbed two beers from the fridge.
“Man, I really hope she is there. This has become personal for me. Now I need to find her,” he said emphasizing the word I.
“I’m giving up looking for her if she is not there,” I said.
“What? Why?” Nick asked, surprised.
“You heard what your mom said. She might come here. I will wait,” I shrugged.
“Yeah, but what if she doesn’t?”
“Then it’s not meant to be. I’m a tired man. I don’t know what is happening to me. I’ve never felt like this before. I want to resolve this and go back to not fucking caring about anything,” I said, getting angry.
“I think you are wrong,” he said. “There is something or someone out there that wants the two of you together. This is some higher power man. Maybe the Moon Goddess.”
Here we go with the moon again. I smirked and wanted to protest when his mom came back holding a file in her hands.
“I found it. It’s Powell.”
Nick and I jumped up and ran to his car.
His dad was pulling up the driveway and waved at us. Nick waved back and hurried inside the car. Before closing the car door, I heard his dad ask his mom why we were in a hurry.
Nick sped towards the Summer Alley. We decided to walk and check every door and mailbox.
We parked at the beginning of the Alley and started looking. We tried to be casual about it because we knew it looked weird.
We were almost at the end, and I was getting frustrated when we saw it. A mailbox with Powell written on it. This was it.
The house was yellow and there was a garden full of flowers in the front. There was a light flickering in the room on the ground floor, but the rest of the house was dark. They are probably watching TV.
I looked at Nick and he was tense. “This is it,” he said.
We walked to the door and knocked. We heard shuffling and the light turned on inside. The doors opened and a pretty girl with blonde hair and brown eyes was standing there surprised.
“How can I help you?” she asked, and I could feel how nervous she was.
I think she recognized me. She probably heard rumors and was afraid of me.
“Hello!” I said, smiling at her. “Is your name Annie Powell?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “Why?”
“Is Aria Walker here with you?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly.
She has to be here. Nick was standing beside me, and I could feel how tense he was. It was a little bit weird, but I cast it aside.
Her eyes widened in surprise before she looked over her shoulder towards the living room, I assume.
“Aria,” she called.
A moment later she came to the door. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a tight black t-shirt. Her long brown hair was tied up in a ponytail. Her green eyes widened in surprise and fear when she recognized me.
Aria’s POV
We were in the middle of our second movie when we heard a knock on the door.
“What the hell?” Annie frowned. “I’m not expecting anybody.”
She got off the couch and turned on the lights. I grabbed the remote and paused the movie.
I heard her opening the door and talking to someone outside. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but a couple of moments later I heard her calling my name. I walked to the front door wondering why she called.
There were two men standing in front of the door. Both tall and muscular, both looking at me with unreadable expressions on their faces.
I instantly recognized the guy with dark hair. He was the one I ran into on the first day in the city. I felt shivers down my spine. Why was he here? Was he going to hand me to the inquisitors? He knew that I was a witch. Did he come for me?
I took a deep breath and stepped forward. I knew I couldn’t run. They would catch me.
“Annie? What is going on?” I asked, looking at my friend.
“They are asking for you,” she said quietly.
I felt knots forming in my belly. I think they can smell my fear.
“Can we come in?” the guy with the dark hair spoke.
“Why?” I asked, taking a step back.
“Because I need to talk to you,” he responded angrily.
“Is this about the other day?” I asked boldly. “I said I was sorry. I should have been paying more attention. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Annie looked at me confused. I didn’t tell her about it because I didn’t think it mattered. Clearly, it does to him.
He smiled at me. “I think you are too small to hurt me,” he said calmly. “Now, can we come in?”
“Are you here to take me to the inquisitors?” I asked, backing away.
The man looked back at his friend, confused expressions on their faces.
“Why would we do that?” his friend asked, his voice trembling.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t even know you and you are looking for me.”
“Look, Aria…,” the guy with dark hair spoke, lifting his hands like he was surrendering. “We are not here to hurt you. We are here to talk to you. You were looking for my grandma today, didn’t you?”
He is Claudia’s grandson? I looked at Annie and she nodded.
“You are Gabriel?” I asked.
“Yes. And this is my friend Nick,” he said, pointing to a guy with dark blonde hair.
I looked at Nick and felt a weird feeling in my chest and stomach. He looked at me with a weird expression. Like he was confused. I nodded at him, and he gave me a little smile.
“So, can we come inside, please?” Gabriel spoke.
“Sure. Get in,” Annie said, closing the door behind them. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Do you have any beer?” Nick asked.
“Sure. Gabriel?” she turned to him.
“Yes. Thanks,” he answered without moving his gaze from me.
“Aria, show them to the living room,” she told me and went to the kitchen.
I turned around and they followed me to the living room. I removed our blankets and piled up cushions from the couch and gestured for them to sit. I took the remote and turned the TV off.
Before I could even sit, Gabriel spoke. “Who are you?”
I turned to him and looked at him confused. “What do you mean?”
“Don’t you feel it?” he asked me.
I think he was getting angry.
“Feel what?” I asked quietly, afraid to anger him even more.
“The connection between us,” he said, taking a deep breath. “From the moment you ran into me, and I saw your eyes I felt something for you. I have been trying to find you since that day.”
I was speechless. This stranger felt something for me. He tried to find me. And he happens to be Claudia’s grandson. Is it just a coincidence?
“How did you find me?”
“We searched the hotels near that place where we bumped into each other. Got your name and Annie’s from that receptionist guy. And when we came home Nick’s mom said there was a girl looking for my grandma. She told us your name and I knew it was you,” he said leaning back on the couch.
Wow. That is a lot to take in. I didn’t know what to think.
“How did you find this house?” I managed to speak.
“I asked my mom if you had a car and she said you were on foot,” Nick said. “So, I knew you couldn’t be far. My mom remembered she used to work with a woman who had a daughter named Annie and lived nearby. So, we came here.”
I was speechless again. It seems they really wanted to find me. Should I be worried they were some creepy stalkers?
Annie finally came into the living room carrying two beers and popcorn. That’s why it took her this long to come back.
“I’m having a beer as well,” she said. “Do you want one, Aria?”
“Yeah, sure. I need one,” I told her and smiled.
She went back to get us a couple of beers, and I leaned back on the sofa to think about what they said. I felt their eyes on me, but I refused to look at them.
Annie came back and handed me my beer.
“Okay,” she sighed and sat on the other sofa. “I heard what you told her, Gabe. About the connection you have with her and trying to find her. Creepy, I must admit, but kind of hot.”
I froze. Was she crazy? He would kill her for speaking to him like that. I looked at Gabriel and he was smiling. I was confused. Smiling? Really?
“We are going to tell you everything we know, and we are going to get to the bottom of this,” Annie continued, glaring at them.
