Chance Encounters

twenty

Dedicated to @triloree for her constant support on this story. Thank you so much!

Chapter 20

There was loud pop, followed by a hiss. I straightened in my seat just as Austin cursed under his breath. Then, almost mockingly, Georgina slowed to an uneven stop. The telltale rumble of the engine died and as soon as the car stopped moving, smoke billowed out of the hood.

"Shit," Austin said, moving quickly. Without thinking twice about it, he removed his seatbelt and got out of the car.

I followed suit, half-worried Georgina might explode, and got out as well. I scrambled out of the seat and stepped out, shutting the door close, as I walked over to the front. Austin had just opened the hood when I got there, making the smoke rise from it.

He leaned away, waving his hand in front of his face, and started coughing. I covered my nose immediately, taking one step back.

"What happened?" I asked him, my voice slightly muffled by my hand.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "Something's wrong with the engine."

"Can you fix it?"

The smoke was starting to clear. He leaned over and reached for something, but quickly removed his hand. "It's hot. I need it to cool down a little first. Can you go get the toolbox in the trunk?"

I fought back the urge to complain, feeling almost immune to our bad luck, and went to retrieve the toolbox. I should have seen it coming, now that I thought about it. Georgina was old, and no matter how much I've grown to tolerate her, I should have known that something like this was inevitable.

We were just around a five-minute drive away from Tyler's, but on foot, it would take us probably around fifteen minutes. And leaving Georgina in the middle of the road at such a late hour didn't exactly seem like a good idea.

There were muffled rattles when I lifted the toolbox to take it to Austin's. I carried it with my good hand and slammed the trunk close with my other.

"How long will this take you?" I asked him.

He was busy looking at the wires and whatever, examining the engine in the dim streetlight, as if he was trying to figure out what the problem was. "Not too long."

I had just finished telling him about my father—telling him about the things even Tori had never heard of—and he was about to tell me a secret of his in return. I wondered what it was going to be. I wondered if it concerned the redhead or if it had anything to do with his fear of blood.

Bringing up his end of the deal now, however, didn't exactly seem like a good idea. He looked so focused—brows slightly creased, lips turned down into a slight frown—it was almost funny. I watched him silently, recalling the conversation we were having before Georgina interrupted.

Even though I was curious, I decided to keep my mouth shut.

I heaved a sigh and looked around, surveying our surroundings. There was an empty lot across the street. There was something creepy about seeing an empty lot with overgrown weeds, like anything could jump out of it, so I quickly looked away. My eyes landed on the small building just a few steps away where Georgina had stopped.

There was a purple and gold sign that read Madame Aurelie's in a fancy script, along with a logo that resembled a tarot card inscribed in a six-pointed star.

I vaguely remembered Tori telling me about it once, saying one of her cousins got her fortune read by some local psychic.

I wondered, for a moment, if Tori had perhaps gone here over the course of the night. It definitely seemed like something she would do, especially on a night where she was determined to find her "soulmate."