Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Noah
It’s about time I visit Tyler.
Time has flown since my date with Xander at the lake. And I still find myself giddy with a stupid smile smeared across my lips. I’m even humming far more frequently, like back when I was in high school. I’d always have some kind of music playing, and if I didn't, I was singing.
After the many tumultuous years with Richard, who had made it very clear he liked peace and quiet, I'm only now getting comfortable humming around Xander or singing quietly in the shower.
Yet with the knowing smile Xander usually gives me when I'm walking down the stairs with my hair in a towel wrap, I know he can hear me. And not once has he asked me to stop.
In fact, he’s made it blatantly obvious that I have his heart. With a new bouquet of flowers for each one that's begun to wilt, Xander has managed to fill my room and the living room with all the things I could wish for.
Like a bookshelf teeming with all of my favorite authors and some I'm yet to discover. As well as a brand-new writing desk and chair in my room that’s been decorated with all kinds of plants and knick-knacks.
Yet I still haven't sat at it. It’s not because I don't want to but because every time I pull the chair out, I simply look at it wondering if it really is mine to have.
I’d asked him why he’d ordered such a thing, and his reply left me speechless.
“Because you sighed in discomfort,” he replied.
I shake my head at the memory as I stride into The Oracle’s Roast feeling more alive than ever. The cafe is bustling with customers, and the showcase has been freshly topped up with colorful pastries and tarts.
As I line up at the end of the short queue, I catch the first glimpse of my friend who is rushing around the counter, taking orders and restocking cupboards and shelves.
His apron is dusted with powdered sugar, and his hair looks like he’s running his fingers through it as it spikes up at a strange angle.
The queue moves quickly, and before I know it I find myself standing before Tyler. His smile is sheepish, and his eyes carry a slight darkness that is different from the last time I saw him. I shiver at the memory of how they rolled into the back of his head.
“Noah!” Tyler bends down to pull out a few raspberry tarts and plates them before tapping away at the screen in front of him. I know he’s ordering me the same as last time. “How have you been?”
I pull out my wallet to pay. “Good. Great, actually. I wanted to come by and see how you’re doing?”
His smile falters, and for a moment his eyes glaze over before they snap back into focus. It’s so quick I nearly miss it. Yet without another word, Tyler turns to look over his shoulder to ask his co-worker for a break. With a nod of approval, he undoes his apron and turns for the kitchen.
“Let’s find somewhere to sit.”
My stomach plummets at the coldness in his voice.
It’s like he’s a completely different person, and I swallow back the bubble of worry.
Taking a breath, I take my plate of tarts and my coffee and find the nearest table.
But before my ass can touch the seat, a cloud of darkness blurs in the corner of my eye.
Instinctively, I find myself looking in that direction to find a brooding, hulkingly large man with tattoos covering every inch of his exposed skin sitting at a corner table. Dark lines mark his forearms and reach all the way under his chin. And his ears are decorated with tiny barbells and hoops.
His eyes are dark as he watches me with hooded brows and a shiver of fear runs down my spine. Despite his clearly obvious presence, not a single customer seems to notice the strange man aggressively skulking in the corner.
The door to the kitchen opens as Tyler strides into the cafe with a wrapped sandwich in one hand. I manage to find my seat as he takes one opposite me, blocking my line of sight from the man. It makes my skin crawl. But the look Tyler gives me has the sounds of the cafe disappearing around us.
“I wanted to apologize for the night at the club.” He bites his lower lip. “I need to tell you something, and you’ll need to swear not to tell a soul beyond this town.”
I nod and swallow against my dry throat.
With shaky hands, Tyler undresses his sandwich, pulling the bread apart and picking at a slice of tomato before removing it entirely and pushing it to the side, before closing it up again.
“I’m clairvoyant. I can see the past and the future.
Mainly the past, but at the club I had this vision of your future…
” His voice breaks, but his eyes burn with determination. “I needed to warn you.”
My brows furrow. I’ve heard of clairvoyants before, yet the more I look at Tyler, the more I realize just how truthful he might be.
From knowing my order without asking the very first time we met to the way he looks at me now.
As if he’s looking right through me. I guess if it weren't for knowing Xander is a vampire, I'd probably think he was lying.
“What did you see?” I ask, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
Tyler lowers his sandwich, his face grows pale, and an audible growl erupts from the table behind him. Tyler’s eyes dart over his shoulder, and he physically relaxes as a subtle smile creeps across his lips.
Sucking in a deep breath, he turns back to me with a determined look. “I saw you die.”
The words don't quite register at first. As if I'm seeing Tyler through a dream lens where nothing makes sense or matters. I’m floating.
But then the sounds of the cafe tumble back into my ears and suddenly the weight of Tyler’s words press down on my shoulders, forcing my spine to compress and my hips to sink into the wooden chair.
“How?” I ask, barely able to breathe.
Biting his lower lip, Tyler looks just as bad as I feel. As he opens his mouth to respond, an ominous shadow falls across the table. I blink up at the figure who towers over Tyler. With those dark eyes burning into me, his tattooed hands creep across Tyler’s shoulders until they cup his throat.
“Are you okay, heartstring?” The man’s soothing voice flows across both of us, yet his words are directed at Tyler, who leans back into him and closes his eyes. For a moment, the man simply holds my friend until Tyler’s gaze meets mine and the color returns to his cheeks.
“Yes, Cole,” he replies.
Ah. Cole. The strange man who took Tyler home from the club. The same Cole who is apparently Tyler’s childhood friend, even though he looks like he runs five underground crime syndicates.
For a heartbeat, Cole simply watches me, but with Tyler nudging at his chest, Cole finally returns to his seat behind us.
“He’s a little possessive since the vision.” Tyler clears his throat. “I haven’t had one that strong in a very long time.”
I nod, but my heart still races as my question lingers between us.
“It wasn’t very clear to see. It was dark and there were so many people moving… fighting,” Tyler sighs. “But you… your neck was broken. And Xander was trying to save you.”
“Xander?” I sit up. “Was he okay?”
A sad smile creeps across Tyler’s lips. “I don’t know, but he was with you. That’s all I saw, I’m sorry.”
My brow furrows as I process the vague descriptions Tyler is giving me. I guess it never occurred to me that I'd ever be promised my future, well… death.
“And how accurate are your visions?” I hear myself asking as Tyler lets out an embarrassed chuckle.
“Not very. The future changes all the time. But what I do know is Xander is hopelessly in love with you.”
My jaw drops. “How do you know?”
Tapping his temple, Tyler gives me a cheeky grin. “Clairvoyant, remember?”
I smirk. “So you know he’s a vampire?”
“Of course! He was close with my dad when I was a kid. Xander would always bring me candy and sneak it behind his back before Mom could catch him.” Tyler giggles. “Most of the coven who grew up here grew up with Xander and the other vamps.”
“Are there other vampires?” I ask.
Nodding, he continues, “There’s a few that live here, but Xander’s friends have moved. But every few years they’ll come to visit. You should ask Xander; I'm sure he’d love to find an excuse to get his group together.”
I sit back in my chair and watch Tyler finish his sandwich. Cole still watches us closely, but this time I see the way he tenses when Tyler coughs, or when someone walks a little too close as they pass our table. I swallow and shake off the shiver that scuttles across my skin.
“Do you know when I'll die?” I pick at the edge of my napkin.
“If,” Tyler responds. “My vision was less visual and more… cursed. It could mean anything and will probably never happen.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. Up until a week ago, I thought vampires, witches, and werewolves were imaginary.
So I can see right through Tyler’s backtracking.
He’s sweet to try to dismiss his vision, but I can feel the table shake as his foot taps away at the stand below us and how his shoulders have been tense since the moment he saw me.
I sigh, feeling a headache forming in the back of my mind. “So what should I do to make sure your vision doesn’t come true? Is it a spell or salt across a doorway?”
Tyler giggles, “You’re clearly not a witch. But the best thing you can do is try to forget I even said anything at all. Less manifesting and more… ignoring.”
I give him an incredulous look but nod my head, nonetheless.
The shadowy cloud Cole emits darkens, and I smirk. “So, you and Cole, huh?”
Tyler’s eyes snap to mine, and he struggles to swallow his last bite of sandwich as his cheeks flush. “I think that’s the end of my break.”
He’s standing from the table without a second glance before hurrying into the kitchen and disappearing from sight.
My gaze turns to Cole, who’s shooting me daggers, his thick, tattooed arms folded over his chest, and my smirk widens. For the next five minutes Cole and I have a silent stare-off as I finish my tarts and coffee.