TWO

~Luella 

“You have no idea how sorry I am.”

Dumping my handbag on the table, I slide into my seat, trying to recover my breath. David sits in front of me, leaning back in his seat. I can’t believe he even agreed to meet up with me after everything that has happened this morning. I missed our original date by two hours, yet still, he was kind enough to forgive me, and meet up regardless. 

“It’s okay. It happens,” he says as I settle into my seat. I’m embarrassed at how flustered I am. At least all this stress and rush has taken my mind off the real issue. 

I’m actually on a date right now. Della has been pressuring me to go on a date, or even go out to make more friends, but sitting at home and getting my work done is more important. What could be more interesting than my own characters and the view from my window? 

“I slept in. I never sleep in,” I assure him.

He smiles tightly. By now he should guess that I’m being truthful. After I woke up, I insisted it was a mistake, and that I would still love to have lunch with him. Thankfully, it seems to have worked. Already, from that, I like him a lot, and we haven’t even gotten to the date part of this just yet. 

“Quite a sleep in,” he comments, before motioning in front of me. He ordered me a coffee, which I might have mentioned to him I liked. I smile gratefully at him. 

“Yeah I got...Late night last night,” I tell him, changing my tact. No point telling him about my strange dreams just yet. I know for a fact that it would scare anyone off, so I just tuck that knowledge in a part of my brain that isn’t allowed out yet. 

“Work? Your profile said you were a writer,” David says. 

I nod, smiling warmly. This small talk is boring, I’ll admit, but so far, I like David. He’s kind, smart and conventionally handsome. I somehow doubt he’s been single for long. Could I see myself with him on further dates though? Maybe. I’ll have to give him more of a chance than this first impression crap. 

“I do. I write romance funnily enough,” I tell him. I can see from the corner of my eye, a waiter approaching, but I ignore them. I need to give David my full attention so he knows that I didn’t want to be distracted this morning.

That is, until I look up at my waiter…

I’m struck still in my seat for a moment. It’s almost like when they say if you see yourself, you most likely recognise yourself. Instead, I’m seeing a spitting imagine of my dream. 

I swear, I saw this exact guy last night. He has distinctive tattoos all up his arms, right to the collar of his shirt, making out a pattern of swirls that’s completely unfamiliar. And of course, that burnished brown colour I swear I’ve never seen on anyone else but on the man in my dreams. And those eyes. Those silvery, magical eyes. 

“Can I take your order?” He asks. I blink a few times, as David orders flawlessly before looking at me expectantly. I hadn’t even had chance to look at the menu and decide, but I’m more stunned by the waiter then anything else. 

“Can I have a few more minutes?” I ask, trying to force my tone into its normal rhythm, not letting it shake uneasily, despite my complete and utter shock. 

The man nods, before turning to walk away. 

Before he does, I take a single glance at his name tag. Brad, it says, which is a name that doesn’t suit the man in my dreams to any degree. Maybe this is all in my head and I’m going crazy. There is no way he’s the man from my dreams. Unless I’ve seen him before and he just happened to translate into my subconscious thought. I somehow doubt that, though…

“Everything okay? You look a bit flustered?” David notices, looking between me and Brad the waiter with confusion. “That isn’t your ex or something, is it?”

I look at him stunned. “No, sorry. Not at all.”

I’ve unnerved him now, and I couldn’t feel worse. He probably thinks I’ve taken a glance at this waiter and decided I want to take him on a date rather than David. I cast my eyes quickly down menu, before I can’t contain myself any longer.

I need for all about this to someone. 

“It’s just, I swear I’ve seen him before. And not like, I’ve run into him or I’ve seen him work here before, but I swear I’ve dreamt about him or something,” I comment, leaning forward across the table. David frowns at me, as if what I told him is the strangest assumption he’s ever heard. When I think back? I suppose it’s not what anyone wants to hear. 

“A dream? He’s a pretty average looking guy, so I guess you could have been mistaken,” he comments, sipping on his coffee thoughtfully. 

Normal? There’s nothing normal about him. Never have I seen such strange tattoos and eyes as silvery as those in real life. For once, I’m starting to believe the therapists idea of magic, as crazy as it is. 

“But those eyes. Tell me one person you know with silver eyes like that? And the tattoos...I don’t know who did them but they are not normal,” I tell him. 

David is looking at me as if I’m insane. 

“I’m confused. What silver eyes? Our waiter had brown eyes, and no tattoos. At least that I saw,” he says. Blinking a few times, I trying look for Brad again, but I see nothing. He’s disappeared into the kitchen. Something doesn’t feel right about this…

David is clearly having trouble believing me. The way he keeps glancing down at the phone on the table suggests he’s looking for an excuse to get out of here. I don’t blame him. From what he’s seeing, I’m an insane, delusional girl going through some kind of paranoia. He must be regretting taking the second opportunity for a date. 

“Have you had time to think about your orders?” I hear from behind me, making me flinch. When I look over my shoulder, it’s not Brad, but a girl. 

“I don’t think we are going to get anything now,” David says uneasily. 

The waitress walks away promptly. That is my que to leave. David is over this date, and is over me. I can’t believe I messed this up so bad, but I can’t get the thought of that waiter out of my head. He was in my dreams, I swear, and now that David admits he doesn’t see what I see, I know now I need to investigate. 

“I might just go to the bathroom,” I excuse, standing up from the table. I’m giving David a chance to get out of here before he has to make up an excuse that will hurt both of our feelings. But I’m not going to the bathroom though. 

I have bigger issues to deal with. 

Walking up to the counter of the diner, I lean over it, looking around for Brad. Another waitress I haven’t seen appears in front of me with a raised brow. I’m sure I look suspicious right now, but I need to know where he went. 

“I’m looking for Brad. He’s my boyfriend,” I tell her, hoping she believes me. She rolls her eyes, before loosening a dramatic sigh. 

“Brad just ended his shift. He goes out the back way everyday, which you would know if you were actually his girlfriend and not some crazy admirer,” She says, to which I ignore, thanking her swiftly before darting out of the diner. Of course, David has made his exit very quickly, not sticking around to see if I were to come back. 

Brushing past people and murmuring my excuse me’s, I walk down the side of the diner, looking down the alleyway it backs onto. 

I see the figure of someone walking away. 

I know this is probably not the best idea, but it doesn’t stop me for making a brisk walk down the alleyway, following him. This is probably illegal, too, but I can’t stop myself, even coming to a jog until I catch up with him. 

He turns around before I have a chance to make it to him, and I see that this is the man David described, and not the man I saw earlier who I swear haunts my dreams. It’s as if his hair has lost that golden tinge, his arms have been washed of all tattoos, and those eyes...well, they aren’t silver. 

“What do you want?” He questions, clearly startled that I had snuck up behind him in a random alleyway. 

“Sorry, I thought you were someone else,” I comment, taking a few steps backward. 

He frowns, before walking away quickly. Everyone is starting think I’m crazy recently. My sister, my therapist, David and now some random kid I chased down. This is becoming a serious issue I need help with, but I’m not exactly sure where to find that help. 

“Was that someone, me?” I hear, making me whirl around. 

And there he was, standing there, staring at me. With silver eyes and tattoos and golden brown hair. 

I’ve never been so scared in my life.