Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
Morning came too quickly, as it always did, but today it carried the scent of peaches, lychee, and... berries?
I rubbed my eyes while the sleepy haze lifted from my head and I could make sense of the morning.
Faye was sleeping soundly in my bed, curled up against me as the tiny spoon.
It had made sense for her to stay over after the heavy conversation we had and she looked adorable in my oversized comfy shirt.
It was nice to wake up with her in my arms but something felt not quite right and I couldn't put my finger on what.
I turned on my back, careful not to rouse my sleeping girlfriend, and my hand landed in something sticky and wet.
Oh-oh.
I lifted my hand slowly, frowning when there was a purplish liquid on my fingers. And seeds.
What...?
With much less care, I sat up so I could examine what was going on, only to hear a suspicious squelch from where I put my arm down. It took my sleepy brain a moment to register what was going on.
Blackberries. There were blackberries in my bed, almost all of them squashed and leaving purple splotches on my sheets that made the whole thing look like a crime scene.
"What the heck?" I muttered, wiping my hand on my shirt, only to realise there was blackberry pulp there too.
A grumble came from the cat bed. "Some of us are trying to sleep here."
Of course.
Whenever something strange happened in my life, there was always a clear culprit.
"And some of us are trying to work out why there are blackberries in my bed," I hissed, trying to keep myself calm but failing.
This was a huge mess and I didn't even know if blackberry juice was easy to wash out of my sheets and clothes.
Not to mention, this was not the cute morning I wanted to have with Faye.
Faye let out a sleepy sound and turned towards me, her eyes fluttering up. "Morning?"
Some of my frustration subsided by how cute she was. "Morning. Don't move."
"Why?"
"Someone put blackberries all over my bed," I said, realising how insane that sounded.
"Huh?" Faye said, and I didn't blame her.
Balthazar had done many confusing things in the time I knew him but this really took the cake. What was he thinking? Was this his way of showing displeasure over Faye staying the night?
Nothing even happened.
Faye sat up, the confusion on her face only growing when she saw the massacre on my bed. "I'm so confused."
"You and me both," I said, glaring at the royal orange cat. "You better have a good explanation for this. You did this, didn't you?"
Balthazar yawned and snuggled back down in his bed. "Yes."
"Why?"
His tail flicked up. "No idea. I just felt like it and I don't question my impulses."
The audacity of this cat!
What was it with blackberries and brambles recently? It felt like everywhere I looked, they were getting in my way or calling for my attention. It was starting to feel like the universe was trying to tell me something.
My head suddenly felt lightheaded and the sensation felt oddly familiar, like I was forgetting something obvious. But what was it...?
My gaze went to my altar, to the empty spot next to my copper sound bowl and everything clicked into place.
The constant repetition of the blackberries and brambles, the feeling that my attention was being drawn.
Not to mention, familiar were supposed to aid their guardians with magic and make them stronger.
Could it be?
Excitement and hope sparked in my stomach, together with a feeling of wonder.
After all this time, was there a deity trying to reach out to me?
Thank you for reading The Coffee House Witch & The First Date.