Later that night, Sera finds her parking spot in the front of Jack's Coffee Bean is occupied. She reluctantly parks in the back parking lot. With a deep breath to calm her nerves, she exits the car. She's walking toward the front door when an icy cold breeze filters through her jacket. There's that feeling of being watched again. She lowers her head and quickens her pace until she finally reaches the entrance. She almost tumbles inside as she trips over her own two feet coming through the door. It takes some of the anxiety out of her, replacing it with slight embarrassment.
She has to take a few steps inside before Jack pops up from behind the bar.
"Hey, Sera," he calls over his shoulder as he packs the shelves with coffee grinds. "Take a seat. I'm just closing up."
She nods in response heading over to her favorite chair in the corner. Her eyes peer out the window scanning the parking lot looking for anything out of the ordinary. When she can't seem to find anything, she takes her jacket off and watches Jack as he closes up shop.
He finally walks over to the door and flips the sign to 'Closed.' The backs of his shoulders rise and fall before he turns around finally walking over to her chair. Sera keeps switching positions to ease her nerves, secretly glad she stopped home to change into jeans before she arrived.
Jack sits down across from her after she has settled into a position with her legs folded across each other. She's trying to appear casual, meanwhile inside she is nervous for what he's about to reveal.
"Sera," he starts hesitantly, "I want you to know, I'm really sorry for last night. I didn't mean for anything to happen to you, but sometimes I can't control things." He confesses never meeting her gaze.
"Jack, I have no idea what you are talking about." He finally lifts his blue-green eyes to meet hers before continuing. She uncrosses her legs placing them firmly on the ground now.
"I don't even know where to start..." Why does that sound so familiar? "I've never told anyone my secret, but I owe you an explanation. I hope you can forgive me."
"Ugh, still no clue what's going on?"
He looks down again before beginning, "It all started when I was about seventeen. I started hearing voices. My rich parents, of course, took me to shrink after shrink; I was put through test after test. They inspected, prodded, probed, and studied. But, they couldn't find anything wrong with me. It wasn't until my sixth doctor that I began hearing the voice of a woman during my session. The encounter was different; I could actually see the shadow of her beside me. She was almost translucent like a ghost, but her features looked as though she were real. The woman told me she was my therapist's grandmother, even though she didn't look a day over twenty. Her deep, calm, wise voice made me believe her and told me she was older than she appeared. The lady continued to tell me that she had passed without telling anyone of her Will kept in a secret deposit box under her maiden name. I remember the interaction to this day. I kept fighting her, because I thought my parents would have me committed.
"The woman argued with me, pleaded, until I finally spoke. I told the therapist everything. Even down to what her grandmother was wearing. I'll never forget her face. The therapist was so calm and collected. One of those stiff as a board people, once the news hit her she turned to sobs right in front of my eyes. She informed me the family was involved in a huge legal battle over her grandmother's estate. Finding this Will would settle everything once and for all, and get her family back.
"She looked up at me from her tear-strewn face. Reading my mind, she told me that I wasn't crazy. She told me I had an incredible gift."
He lifts his face up to Sera's to gauge her reaction before continuing, "My parents didn't seem to think so, they pretty much disowned me, and I've been on my own ever since."
Sera closes the gap between them, placing her hand over his. "Sera, a lot has happened since then." He starts playing with her fingers, "Something led me here. I came into some money from a happy customer, and I had this overwhelming urge to start a business. Next thing I knew, I saw a sign on a coffee shop window a few towns away that there was a business for sale in a small town called Angelica. Something in me told me that this was it." His other hand reaches for his heart, "So, I bought the shop, fixed it up, and on my very first day, you come wandering through those doors. I will never forget it because you were wearing that polka-dot dress of yours. Your hair was pulled back into a bun and your smile brightened up this whole place. I just knew I had made the right decision."
"Oh Jack."
"But, then strange things started happening."
"Strange?"
"Yeah, I've been getting a lot more spirits as the days go on and my sight—as they call it—has gotten stronger. They aren't just voices anymore, I can see things. I've also developed weird senses and other inexplicable 'things' that some can call intuition, but everything I see seems to come true. I think it's much more than that."
"Okay, but what happened to me last night?"
"Well," he gets flustered now, his hands grow sweaty inside mine, "The spirits, they like you, too."
"They like me?"
"Yeah, they flock to you for some reason." He confesses, "There are so many around here, it's getting hard to control them. They seem to know what I want, and I'm the only one that can get them what they want... so they do things for me. I didn't ask them to, but last night one of them..." he pauses.
"Jack! What is it?" Sera pulls her hand from his.
"They possessed you." His voice comes out softer than a whisper.
Sera's mouth drops.
"I'm so sorry, Sera. I never meant for that to happen. I would have tried to stop them but that guy, Nate, started with me and things got heated and... "
"You let them possess me?" She hisses, shivering at the memory.
"I didn't let them, they do it on their own. I can't control them anymore. Something is coming, or happening and they are all riled up." His hands reach for Sera again desperately. She slips from his grasp, up on her feet before he can grab hold of her.
"Jack. What about the kiss the other night? I wasn't in control then either."
"You weren't?" The hurt shows on his face.
"No," she admits softening her tone.
Shaking his head, those curly blond ringlets bounce. "Sera, I need to tell you, I've never seen anyone push a spirit out of themselves before. It was amazing."
"What do you mean?"
"When a person is possessed, they are under the control of the spirit, you have no choice in the matter. But, somehow you took control back and pushed them out of you."
"Hmm, how did I do that?" She wonders rhetorically.
"That's what I was hoping you could tell me." He takes a step forward closing the gap between them.
"I really don't know. I just kind of ... fought for my mind back."
"That's incredible. I have a feeling you're stronger than you think," he whispers. His hand reaching for Sera's cheek, she shies away taking a step backward.
"Sera, what's wrong?" She hadn't realized she was shaking her head until his words.
"I just don't know how I'm supposed to take all of this." She takes another step back. "Everything is happening too fast. First Nate's confession, and now you are... what? Some kind of medium?" he shrugs with a nod, "It's like I'm getting a crash course in a world I didn't know even existed."
"What did Nate tell you he is?"
"I don't want to get into it, Jack. I just don't know what to believe anymore. It's as if anything is possible."
Jack leans in a little closer, "Can I tell you something?"
Sera meets his eyes. "Yes."
"Ever since I met you, I've been feeling the exact same way."
Too many confessions for one day. Sera finds herself staring into those blue-green eyes she has seen every day for the past few months. Only they're looking back at her with a look she's never seen from him before. A look she knows she can probably never replicate, so she glances away. With so many questions and thoughts swirling around in her head, she doesn't want to add love triangle to it as well. On top of that, she gets the feeling Jack's still holding something back from her.
"Jack, I think I'm going to go. I have an early day tomorrow."
"Really?" he looks down, disappointed, "Okay, but are we okay?"
Sera pauses, maybe the possession wasn't his fault, but keeping secrets from her is. There's definitely more to this story than meets the eye. She can't exactly figure out if she has to start avoiding him. Plus, where would she get her coffee if that does occur? "Yeah, just don't let it happen again."
She turns to leave when he grabs her arm and spins her pulling her firmly into his rock hard chest. Damn, who knew pouring coffee could make one so... buff?
His voice is warm in her ear, "I promise I'll do anything in my power to protect you from this world, but I have a feeling you're already involved in it somehow."
He pulls away maintaining eye contact. Those blue-green eyes call to her, Sera almost divulges every secret she's ever had to him before the lights flicker and his hold is seemingly broken. There's something about Jack, she still doesn't trust.
Sera walks out of the coffee house alone, heading around back toward her car. The night is colder than she remembers only an hour or so earlier. Pulling her jacket closer, she picks up her pace. The parking lot is darker than it was before too, it seems all the street lamps have gone out. That's odd—too odd. Chills start to rack her body. Someone's watching her. The hair on the back of her neck stands at attention. All her senses seem to be on high alert, some internal alarm has just gone off. Something here is wrong... all wrong. She can sense something evil afoot.
Her feet pound the pavement. Only a few more steps and her car is right there. The door handle is centimeters from her now, her fingers reach out to grab it.
Something jerks her back. Arms wrap around her tight, too tight. They enclose around her in a death grip. The bicep at her throat tightens.
"Hey there, Red." He breathes into her ear. Sera thrashes against him. "I told you I'd find you." The more she struggles, the tighter he holds her, "I'm not letting you out of my sight again. Didn't I tell you I get what I want, Angel."
She coughs; the agony in her lungs is like fire as they search for air. He sniffs the air. Reaffirming it is still the creepiest thing she has ever experienced. His grip tightens and her head lightens as the world around her goes hazy at the edges.
Something twinkles against the night sky like a star. Slowly, at first and then brighter, and brighter. It's the only thing keeping her mind from falling into the darkness. It can't be a star; it's glowing brighter... brighter. It's coming from... her necklace.
The realization brings with it the brightest pulse yet. The man behind her shrieks and the arm at her throat releases her. She crumples to the ground gasping and rubbing her throat. Sera turns just in time to see the blond from the club walking back and forth shrieking in pain. She blinks and almost misses it. His eyes turn red as his entire body shakes and turns black before it poofs into ash that falls to the ground.
Sera stays bent over on the concrete holding her throat and staring in disbelief until Nate comes jumping over the bushes from behind.
"What happened? Sera are you okay?"
She blinks, "How—" She coughs, "What are you doing here?"
"I came to protect you... but I see you can handle yourself. What happened?" he walks to her helping her to her feet again.
"My necklace." Her hands slip from her throat to that vial she can't seem to part with. "It saved me."
"The necklace...?"
"Nate what just happened? Where did his body go?"
"Demons," he shrugs his shoulders, "they return to the ground once killed." He calmly states.
"Demons... wait... what?" She paces frantically now, "Why are Demons trying to kill me?"
"That's exactly what I'm trying to figure out, Sera. I know you are confused, but I am not the enemy."
"How do I know that? How do I know you are not a Demon?"
He looks offended, but he replies, "Your necklace... it only pulses when I am around, it doesn't remain lit."
"Is that what it means?"
"I have a feeling it's more than that," he mutters under his breath.
"How?"
"It's not something I can explain. Many things in my world are just felt."
"Surprisingly, I can understand that."
A calm silence settles over them. Nate is the one that breaks it, "What were you doing here?" his fingers run through his hair.
"Getting coffee," she mumbles switching the weight from one foot to another.
"You came to talk to Jack didn't you?" So totally caught. Can I not keep a secret from this guy?
"Yes." She admits. "And how did you get here so fast?"
He pauses, "Don't get mad..."
"Whenever, someone starts a sentence with 'don't get mad,' the conversation will most likely end with someone getting mad." She glares at him expectantly.
He laughs nervously, "I was following you."
"Okay. Nate, I have to admit, I'm a little mad."
"Hear me out," he places his hands out as he continues, "You feel as though someone is watching you and then the accident—I think you may be in danger."
"What do you mean in danger?" but, as he says the words aloud, she knows them to be true.
"I'm not exactly sure," he admits. His eyes follow her back and forth as she paces in front of him, "but I know I was right." He points to the pile of ash beside them.
Sera swallows hard. "So the deer, it might have been demonic because it disappeared?"
He nods, "Now you're thinking, is there anything else you can remember that felt... off?"
"Uh, Nate." She begins hesitantly, "That's not the first time I've seen this guy." She points to the ash pile.
His face grows serious, his jaw clenches and only one word escapes his lips, "Where?"
"Saturday, Amanda and I went into the city."
"The club?" he asks with a closed mouth.
"So that was you?"
"Tell me what happened?"
"Why did you leave when I was heading toward you?" The hurt must show in her eyes because he changes his tone.
"I didn't want our first encounter to be in a grimy city bar." He glances down toward his toes. "Now, what happened when you saw him?"
"He was at the bar, and he followed me into the bathroom. He sniffed me and he tried to attack me."
"How did you get away? Was it the necklace?"
"Um, no. I had left that at home. It was me, I didn't exactly know my strength at the time." Nate must have caught her drift because a sly smile crosses his face.
"Okay," he nods, "I have just one more question."
"Which is?"
"Just now, why didn't you fight back?"
"Oh, uh. I don't know it all kind of happened so fast... it's kind of hard to think when someone is constricting your air supply."
"I guess it might be." He smirks. "Let me follow you home."
"You were going to do that anyway, weren't you?"
"Yes. Only now, you know about it."
"How many other times have you followed me?"
"All the time, it was my job."
"Was?"
"Come, let's get you home." He deflects opening her car door. Sera sits in the driver's seat glancing up at him. His gorgeous blue eyes focus on her face, her heart starts beating fast in tune with the necklace at her throat. There's something about this mysterious man that she seems to find so irresistible, yet there are still so many unanswered questions floating about.
"Just answer me one question." He nods her to continue. "Have you seen me naked?"
"That is your one question?" he hides a laugh. "It's not like that, Guardians are only there to protect. Half the time they don't even notice such irrelevant stuff as that. They would only move in when the subject was in danger."
Sera glances sideways at him, "Okay."
With those last words, Nate closes the door and protectively watches her pull away and out into the street.
Pulling up to her house, she doesn't notice Nate's car, but she can feel that he is there. She crosses the street and walks up the front steps of her old farmhouse. One last glance up and down the street still shows all is silent.