Roslyn

3

C H A P T E R  T H R E E - A B E L

Alicia walks in a daze to her parked vehicle. Nicks words still replaying over and over again in her mind. As she slowly retrieves her car keys from her purse, a familiar face catches her eye. Halting her movements.

"Michael." She calls.

Michael walks towards Alicia and she gives him a small smile. She moves a few strings of her hair behind her ears and looks up at him. Her smile slowly fading when he stares at her with almost no emotion.

"I-I just wanted to make sure that you're okay."

Michael looks over Alicia's face and shakes his head. He sensed that she'd be here and was worried to see her coming out of the hospital.

"I'm okay. Physically anyways." Alicia awkwardly chuckles.

She pauses and thinks over wether or not she should air out her private thoughts to Michael. This is a man that she barely knew, yet here she was. Debating with herself on whether or not she should tell him about the troubling thoughts that clouded her mind.

She stares into Michael's icy blue eyes and sighs tiredly. Her eyes watering slightly. She leans her side against the car and rubs her sweaty palms down her jeans.

"I feel like I'm going insane." She sighs. "I could've sworn I was shot. I felt the bullet hit me. I know I wasn't shot but that's not how I remember it. My mother was insane you know. She'd see things that others couldn't and I always feared that I'd get that from her. Her illness." Tears start to roll down her face. "I'm afraid I might be just like her."

Her eyes meet Michael's face and she frowns slightly. She doesn't know this man and he doesn't know her. She didn't really know what kind of reaction she'd get from him, but she didn't expect him to seem so...nonchalant.

"There's nothing wrong with you Alicia. You're in shock. It's perfectly normal." He sighs frustratedly.

Michael reaches out and palms her cheek with his hand, rubbing his thumb over her tears. She stares up at him and squints.

"It's so crazy, but I really feel like I know you from somewhere. You just seem so familiar."

Michael quickly takes his hand off her face and steps back. He places his hands in his pockets and his face hardens.

"We don't know one another Alicia. I think you're just fucking insane like your mother." He snaps.

Alicia's eyes widen at his sudden outburst. Michael quickly turns and heads down the road as Alicia watches him in complete confusion. What was that all about?

His words cut like a knife. Alicia shakes her head and uses her car keys to open her car door.

"What an asshole." She mutters to herself.

Overwhelmed, Alicia finds herself pulling up into a parking garage of an all too familiar pub. She huffs and exits her car, already feeling intimidated as she sees a couple on the curb glance at her.

She timidly makes her way pass the couple and enters the pub. Heads fly into her direction and sighs. She hoped that the pub wouldn't be so full, especially since it was a Wednesday. That seems to be the norm in Roslyn. Weekly drinking.