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Maan Coffee shop was thankfully not too far from where we were, so the swirling questions didn't last too long.

I stepped forward, grabbed a hold of the door, and held it open for him to step in first.

He froze for a minute, his brows pinched together.

"What..."

"Another first for you?"

He chuckled. "You could say that." he paused and walked in. "Thank you, but let me take that next time, yeah? My mom would have my hide if she ever got wind of that."

My lips twitched just as a jolt of ache sneered through me. I stepped through the door, letting my eyes flutter shut for a second as my hands found their way to the pendant hidden underneath my jacket. The whiff of the soothing smell of coffee wafted to us at the entrance, along with various conversations of people who'd come out to get their energies revived. It was just the place for that momentary break of bliss.

"I can't make promises I might not keep," I said, turning slightly to him. "But if you really want to get it next time, you might have to be a bit faster."

"Duly noted."

We made our way further inside, searching for an empty booth. Once we found one, I couldn't help the laugh that poured from my mouth as Avondré stepped forward to pull out a chair for me—a smug look on his face.

"Faster."

"Good job."

A server walked up to us right away. Another feature Gail loved so much about there, they had perfect customer service. After we placed our orders, Avondré settled back into his chair, folding his hands, after adjusting his scarf a lot better around his neck.

"You're staring," I pointed out after a minute and he hadn't said a thing.

He blinked and sat back up. "My apologies. I'm just trying to figure out the situation we're in for one and the very best place to ask questions. Before we get to what, we would consider the right type of questions?"

The thoughts that we were indeed running through my head, too. I opened my mouth to reply, but the server picked the perfect moment to bring our order.

We both took a sip of our cups of coffee, savoring the taste and letting the heat drown out all the remnants of the chill in our bodies. After taking a sip of the drink, did I finally feel ready to face the elephant that stood in the room?

There was really no better place to start than from the very beginning was there. I could feel my palms getting wetter by the minute as I turned to my bag by my side and pulled out the sketch pad I'd taken out with me earlier in the day. I took in a deep breath before turning back to Avondré, who'd been watching me in silence.

"There really are so many questions that I have for you like I think you have for me, so I've decided to start at my beginning. Maybe that could help you work out your own questions."

His eyes flicked to the sketch pad in my hand before returning to my face. Those eyebrows squished together again.

The surrounding air seemed to be still, taunting the unexpected change that could happen in both of our lives. My hands shook around my sketch pad as I stretched it to him, holding onto it even when he reached to collect it from me.

"What I'm about to show you is going to seem really crazy, but please don't ridicule it. I'm not sure I would be able to handle that."

He straightened, his eyes narrowed at me. "If what you want to show me are your drawings, I would never do such a thing. As an artist myself, I know just how much a piece of art means to the artist. But that aside, we've already concluded that everything about this situation is beyond bizarre. I'm sure there's nothing that could make me think any of this is crazy," he paused. "Or crazy enough that I'll dismiss you cos it's all definitely crazy."

I cracked a smile, releasing the book to him. He paused for a minute, an unspoken question for assurance that I was okay with him opening the book. I nodded, and he settled back into his chair.

The music that swept through the restaurant wrapped around me like a comforter as I watched him open the very first page to the very first drawing of him I'd ever made. I didn't pay much attention to the strange man in my dreams until I had seen him three consecutive nights in a row, so it wasn't as detailed as the following others. That was when I'd gone out to get a sketch pad just for that purpose.

I'd tried to remember what I could for all the first three nights, but it'd all been fuzzy.

As he flipped through, his eyes narrowing further with each flip, I wondered if he had something like that too. Or did he not think much of the woman who appeared in his dreams? And then there was that thought... what if he didn't even have those dreams about me or know me?

My chest tightened, and my mouth suddenly felt too dry. I picked up my cup of coffee, trying to keep my hands busy and my mind away from the dreadful thoughts. No matter what, I'll deal with it. I had to.

There were so many emotions that ran through his face as he went on, never stopping or looking up even once, that I couldn't exactly pinpoint what he was feeling. Not until he turned to the last page and released a heavy breath, looking up.

"Wow," he let out, blinking a couple of times like he couldn't fully process his words just yet. "That's a lot. How did...? Where did you get...? Since when...?"

I took in a deep breath, prepping myself for whatever reaction he might have to the answers I had for his questions. "I dreamt about them," I said, ripping the weird bandage right off.

He gulped, his forehead creasing.

But I kept going. "Every day for the past two years."

He sputtered, choking. I really would have laughed at seeing him really taken aback if the reality of what that meant didn't make my stomach plummet.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized instantly. A pained expression on his face. "I didn't mean to react like that. I just... I really wasn't expecting that."

Tears were already welling in my eyes. I gulped as I tried to keep it at bay because I knew whatever reply he would give to the question at the tip of my lips could cause the entire room to fall on my shoulders. Even though I wasn't even sure what it would all mean.

"So you haven't been..." But even preparing myself for it didn't help me finish the question or ask it without my voice cracking up.

He blinked off his dazed expression and his eyes softened with so much understanding that it was a miracle I didn't just break down in front of him. Considering the messy way we met, that wouldn't have been so out there, would it?

"I haven't been dreaming about you for two years, no."

My heart sank.

"But..."

And it skipped a bit, my fingers curling into each other, not wanting to show how that one word had released so much tension in my body.

"Yesterday, after getting here, I wanted to lose myself in my art for the first time... in a while. And I did. By the time I was done, I realized I had drawn this unknown woman who held so much mystery in her eyes as she stared off, letting the highlights from the sun's rays make her chestnut eyes glow. And then earlier today, I painted her, you, again. Here in this very town," he said, reaching into his bag as I had done earlier and bringing out a camera.

My eyes shone as he said his story. I'd never really thought about the paintings being real-life happenings, but if they were, what exactly did that mean?

"It's not anything close to yours but..." he stretched his camera forward to me.

What tied us together? Why did...

Everything around me froze as my eyes locked onto the bracelet on his hand, or rather, the pendant that hung low on it. I gripped his hand instantly, trying to get a better look at what I was seeing. There was no way. It couldn't be the same one.

He stiffened at my sudden movement, but I was oblivious to any of his movements from there, only focused on that pendant and the fact that my throat was clogging up with every second I looked at it.

"What are you do...?"

"Why do you have this?!" I finally stared up at him, my hold on his hand tightening.

"What?" His puzzled eyes searched mine.

"Why do you have this pendant?"

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𓆩♡𓆪 𝕎𝕆ℝ𝔻 ℂ𝕆𝕌ℕ𝕋: 1467

𓆩♡𓆪 𝕋𝕆𝕋𝔸𝕃 𝕎𝕆ℝ𝔻 ℂ𝕆𝕌ℕ𝕋: 8813

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