So Close

Gabriel’s POV

We went to at least six or seven hotels that were near my hair salon. It was pointless. She could have gotten on a bus and could be anywhere by now. Maybe she wasn’t in the city at all. She could have had a big bag because she was leaving the city and not just arriving here. Nick’s theory about her being in a hotel near where I last saw her was good and promising, but he could be completely wrong. We know nothing about her, and we are basing this theory on Nick’s eagerness to find her.

He wanted to find her maybe even more than I did. Probably because I was afraid to know her. He kept lifting my spirits and rushing me around. I kept frowning and grumping. I wanted to punch every receptionist that said her description didn’t match any of their guests. It shouldn’t be hard for them to recognize her based only on my description of her. There weren't many guests in any of the hotels we went to. People weren’t really eager to come and stay in the city that was the center of a new inquisition. People were running away from here, not coming and staying for a city tour. What could tourist guides show them? Oh look, this was our fortress that dates back to the Middle Ages and if you look to your right, you will see people being burnt on a pole, a gruesome way to murder someone that also dates back to the Middle Ages. Fuckers.

It was 3:20 pm and I was ready to just give up and go home.

“Come on, Gabe. There is one more we haven’t been to,” he said looking at a map on his phone.

“It’s pointless, Nick. Let’s just go home,” I grunted looking out the car window.

“Stop moping. We are going to one more and if we don’t find her there, we can go home. Tomorrow we will widen our search,” he said, starting his car.

“Fine,” I sighed. “One more. But I’m not coming back tomorrow. If she isn’t there I’m done.”

He didn’t say anything, but I saw him frowning.

“What is the name of the hotel?” I asked him.

“Moontel,” he said smiling.

I laughed. I’m betting a werewolf owns it. Or just someone who really loves our city’s name and thought it was funny. My money was still on a werewolf though. Their obsession with the moon was funny to me. Moon was important to warlocks too. There were certain potions and spells that could be made only under a full moon or a blood moon. But werewolves have a special connection to it.

After a short drive, we parked in front of the hotel and got in.

There was a man maybe a few years older than me standing at a reception desk. I saw a small hint of nervousness when he saw us, but he smiled politely. He probably sensed our power, but not enough to know what we were.

“Hello. How can I help you?”

“Hello…,” I said looking at his name tag, “Ian. We are looking for someone that might be staying in this hotel. Could you help us?” I asked him and put him under a small spell.

I need him to cooperate.

I was aware they shouldn’t just give away information about their guests. So, we had to think of a good reason why we needed to find her. But Nick and I couldn’t come up with a believable story. We thought about saying something like her being our friend and she told us she was staying in this hotel or her being lost and in need of our help, but we didn’t even know her name. So, we decided I would put them under a small cooperation spell that didn’t require much of my magic and didn’t expose me. I had to be careful.

I saw doubt in Ian’s eyes. He wasn’t going to share anything. But the moment my spell hit him, the doubt was gone, and he smiled.

“Of course. Do you know her name?”

“Unfortunately, no. But we can describe her,” Nick said.

“Well, that will be a bit harder. Luckily, we don’t have many guests,” he said. “I will try my best. What does she look like?”

I took a deep breath and told him about her. I tried to remember everything I could about her. I had a pretty good description after talking about her all day.

“She is short. Maybe 5’3. Skinny, but she has nice curves. She has long brown hair. It is slightly curly, and it falls down to her waist. Round lips and a small nose. Her eyes are green,” I spoke slowly, allowing him to think.

“I know her,” he said immediately.

My heart skipped a beat and then raced. Nick smiled brightly.

“Is she here?” Nick asked him.

“She left the hotel about an hour ago,” he said, and I have never been more disappointed in my life.

I found her, only to lose her again.

“Do you know where she went? Did she leave the city?” Nick asked.

I couldn’t speak.

“No, she is still here,” he answered, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “I told her how sorry I was that she was leaving the city so soon. I have a crush on her and want to ask her out. I was sad I wasn’t going to get a chance to if she left the city,” he continued.

I wanted to kill him. Nick put his hand on my shoulder sensing how that made me angry.

“She said she isn’t leaving the city and she promised to come by and say hello,” he said, smiling brightly.

“Do you know where she left?” Nick asked again.

I was too angry to say anything. I don’t understand this. I don’t want to have sex with her but thinking about him going on a date with her made me furious. What the hell is wrong with me?

“She was with a friend. She said she was staying with her,” he answered.

Nick opened his mouth to ask another question, but Ian interrupted him, “Before you ask, no, I don’t know where her friend lives, but I know her name is Annie.”

“Great. Thanks, man. You have been very helpful. Can you tell us the name of our mystery girl?” Nick said and fist-bumped him.

“Aria,” he said, and I felt a warm sensation around my heart.

Aria. Her name is as beautiful as she is.

Ian opened his laptop, and he was searching for something.

“Aria Walker,” he said finally.

“Thank you, my man,” Nick said, gave him a hundred-dollar bill and winked at him.

We quickly left the hotel and got in Nick’s car.

“I bet you are happy we didn’t go home,” he smiled at me.

“Yeah man. At least I know her name now,” I smiled back.

“Hey, check her social accounts. Maybe we can find a picture. It will be easier to look for her,” he said while starting the car.

It was a long shot. Most of us, supernaturals, deleted our accounts from social platforms. It was just a precaution. It made it a little bit harder to find us and know we exist.

I checked I*******m, F******k and Twitter. No Aria Walker on any of them. I Googled her name and found nothing. Just as I thought.

“Nothing man. She doesn’t have any accounts,” I said, putting my phone in my pocket.

“She probably deleted them,” he said, pulling up his driveway.

“I don’t know where to look next,” I sighed.

“We will think of something. We know her name. And her friend’s name,” Nick said while unbuckling his seatbelt. “But I need to eat something first. My brain is shutting down.”

I laughed and stepped out of the car.

His mom was in front of the house, and she greeted us warmly.

“Hello, boys. Are you hungry? There is some leftover pizza in the kitchen.”

I loved her homemade pizza. I smiled brightly at her. For the first time in a couple of days, I felt a little bit of peace. Nick hurried inside and I stayed back to give his mom a hug.

“Thank you, Mrs. Black. I would love to have some pizza.”

“Go on then,” She smiled at me. “Nick, put it in the oven to warm it up a bit,” she yelled after him.

I followed him inside and sat at the table. He put the pizza in the oven and got us a couple of beers from the fridge.

“I know you are 24 years old, but I still don’t like you drinking in my house,” his mom walked in and frowned.

He laughed. “Do you want a beer mom?”

“No, thanks sweetie,” she said, sitting opposite me. “There was a girl here today. She was looking for Claudia,” she said, looking at me.

I was just about to take a sip of my beer, but I stopped and stared at her.

“A girl?” Nick asked her, getting plates from the kitchen cabinet.

“Yes,” she said, turning to him, “she said her grandma knew Claudia and she wanted to say hello. She was surprised when I told her she died.”

“Did she say anything else?” I asked, intrigued.

I never met any of my grandma’s friends. There were a couple over the years, but she never invited them to our house. Over the last few years, she was close to a woman named Sandra. I heard her talking to her over the phone a couple of times and she went out for coffee with her. I thought it was strange that she never had her over, but my grandma never wanted to explain. Maybe it was Sandra’s granddaughter that came by.

“Not much. I told her about you. Asked her if maybe she wanted to talk to you.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she will come by if she has time before leaving the city,” she said. “She is very pretty, you know,” she added and winked at me.

“Did she tell you her name?” Nick asked while getting the pizza out of the oven.

“Yeah. She said her name is Aria.”

My heart stopped beating.

Aria’s POV

I was getting my clothes out of my bag and putting them in the wardrobe when Annie walked into my new room.

“Hey, roomie. What do you want to do for dinner?” she asked and sat on my bed.

“How about pizza? I haven’t had pizza in ages.”

“Great idea. I will call and order, you finish up and get downstairs,” she said, getting out of bed.

“Deal,” I smiled.

She walked out and I got back to folding my clothes. Annie gave me a guest room. Said this was my home now. Neither one of us wanted to be alone. And we had nobody but each other.

The room was cozy. White walls with a couple of Annie’s paintings on them and a big TV. Double bed in the middle of the room, a small balcony that overlooked the forest. I had my own bathroom with a tub. It was heaven. I would have to come up with a way to properly thank Annie for this. It was more than I could ever ask for.

I finished folding my clothes and sighed. I lost most of my clothes in the fire. I would have to buy some more. But that can wait.

I took my grandma’s letter and all the items that were in a safe under the floorboards of our living room. When we were driving back from the hotel, I told Annie a little bit about why I was in the city and the letter my grandma left me. I promised to tell her everything and show her the letter once we got home. Maybe she could help me figure out what to do now that Claudia is gone.

Annie was sitting on the sofa watching TV.

“Hey. Pizza is on the way,” She smiled at me.

“Great. I’m starving.”

I sat next to her and put all the items on a coffee table.

“Is that the letter?” she asked, sitting up straighter.

“Yeah. Read it,” I said and handed her the letter.

She quickly took it from me and started reading it.

“Who the hell is Claudia Richardson?” she asked when she finished reading. “What prophecy?”

 “I wish I knew,” I sighed. “I actually found Claudia. Well, sort of,” I frowned.

“What? Where?”

I told her how I stumbled upon her house by accident and found out she died.

“Fuck,” she mumbled. “What are you going to do now?”

I sighed and leaned back on the couch.

“I have no idea. That nice lady said Claudia has a grandson. He lives there. Maybe I could talk to him. Maybe he knows something.”

She started thinking and then she grabbed my hand, her eyes wide.

“Is her grandson Gabriel Richardson?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t tell me his name. Who is he?” Her reaction surprised me.

“Well, only the hottest guy in the city,” she smirked. “But he is terrifying. Has a bad reputation though. He is a warlock. A powerful one.”

I opened my mouth to ask her a question, but the doorbell interrupted me.

“Pizza is here,” she said and jumped off the couch.

I hurried after her and grabbed my wallet.

“I’m paying,” I told her.

“No, you don’t have to.”

“I want to,” I smiled and opened the door.

A cute human guy smiled at me.

“Hello. That would be 13 bucks please,” he said and handed me the pizza box.

I smiled and handed him the money. “Thank you very much.”

I closed the door and went back to the living room. I put the pizza on the table and we each got a slice.

Annie moaned and I laughed. “What? It’s really good,” she said.

“So, what is so terrifying about this Gabriel guy?” I asked while chewing.

She’s right, pizza is delicious.

“Well, they say he is not very forgiving. He tortured and beat the shit out of a couple of people because they have done him wrong. I don’t know if he killed somebody, but there are rumors that he did. Using his magic. He is powerful, very powerful. And they say he has a unique magical power. I don’t know what it is exactly. But he is scary. He just looks cold and unforgiving.”

I gulped. He didn’t sound like someone who would help me.

“What do you think he would do if I asked him for his help? I don’t want to end up being tortured.”

“Well, you are pretty. And hot. Maybe you could use that to your advantage,” she shrugged. “And maybe he could torture you in a much more pleasant way,” she smirked and winked at me.

“Oh my God, Annie,” I blushed. “You are horrible,” I laughed.

“So, he lives nearby?” she asked me after we stopped laughing.

“Yeah, on the Spring Alley. It’s not that far. It took me maybe 15 minutes from his house to yours.”

“If you want, we could go there tomorrow. You could talk to him. I will not leave your side, I promise,” she suggested.

“Maybe…” I sighed. “I’m still not sure. But I will think about it. Thank you, Annie,” I smiled at her.

“I’m glad I can be helpful, girl.”

We found a movie we both wanted to watch and got comfortable on the couch.

Tonight, I would watch a movie, relax and laugh with my friend, tomorrow I would go find this Gabriel guy.