Chapter 54: Is This Serious Enough For You, Vicky?

TERESA.

I had disappeared without a trace, as I didn’t want anyone’s company, not even Caroline’s. I didn’t punish anyone, but I really wanted to talk to the only person who could give me some piece of advice about my situation.

“Can you help me with some information, please? I’m looking for Witch’s Brew, where Victoria Gallagher works. Do you know her?” I timidly asked a local.

The atmosphere was oppressive. Probably because of what Vicky had said was happening here.

“Hey, who doesn’t know Vicky Gallagher? Go straight ahead and at the crossroads, turn right. Walk straight another three hundred meters or so and you will see the pub on your right side. You can’t miss it!”

The good passer-by shook his hand as he walked away. My dear God, I was going to talk to the most important person in Bash’s life, his sister. They were so close to each other that I felt like by talking to her; I was betraying him.

Then I remembered how he used me, and my guilt disappeared. It made way for anger, regret. I had become so used to this feeling these days that it seemed impossible for me to live without them.

What would happen in that pub only God knew? Vicky, from what I realized at that meeting, was a one-piece woman. If you did something wrong with her, she didn’t turn the other cheek.

She never complained about anything, and if you respected her, she would become your best friend. She would make quick and smart decisions and say things the way they were, whatever the outcome.

I liked to think that I could read people or I could just read their souls so well that I feared what I might see. In my 25 years of life, I have not experienced so many feelings, so many changes that have taken place all at once. Now I lived on the edge of this abyss, and every decision I made affected me.

Witch’s Brew, a rather large pub located in a well-defined urban area, with a paved alley right next to the front door. Also outside on a board was the menu of the day. I was starving. I had left Bellingham at dawn, still undecided whether this would be my next step to get here.

Its medieval facade was so majestic that you could get enchanted just by looking. The color mimicking the deep blue of the sky made it even more imposing.

I glanced upstairs at what appeared to be another space above the pub itself. As I arrived upon evening, a few street lamps lit up discreetly in front of the bar. This place was a dream. It gave me such inner peace, exactly what I needed right now.

I had stopped a few feet away from the entrance, my eyes fixed on the open door just like a cordial invitation to cross its threshold. There were voices inside. It was Vicky’s too. Firm, determined, just as I remembered it.

“Hey, shall we work a little around here?”

Instantly, a brief smile appeared on my face. There was no way this amazing woman could go unnoticed. It was time to put the fear aside and go in.

Appearing in the door’s frame, saying nothing, I just watched her every move. It was the first time I had seen her in person and she was exactly as I had imagined, commanding, combative, confident in everything she said and did. Her hands were so restless doing millions of things at once.

Now she was making a cocktail, then she was pushing a tray on the counter. After finishing the order that had just arrived, she threw in the towel and cooled off with a cold beer placed right at her fingertips. It wasn’t until she put the mug down before her eyes met mine.

A pleasant warmth enveloped me beautifully, like two protective arms. Her enormous eyes widened when she probably realized who I was and that I had come alone.

“Teresa? Is that you?” she asked out loud and a few heads turned voluntarily, as if waiting for my answer.

I lowered my head on the ground, ashamed of my spectators, like seeking refuge from those curious eyes. Understanding immediately, Vicky hurried out of the counter, gesturing to the few customers left in the bar. “This is it, good people, the fun is over! We are waiting for you tomorrow! Come on... come on!” she shouted, collecting all the bottles left on the tables and showing them the exit.

People were getting up, not upset, but worried. They must have respected her a great deal. It was the same sort of respect people showed Sebastian back in Bellingham.

“Is everything ok, Miss Vicky?” a man inquired in a low voice, approaching her.

She motioned for him not to worry. “Everything is fine. I just have an important visitor, that’s all!”

“Okay, call us if you need anything!” the man with the mustache concluded, looking dubiously at me before leaving the pub.

“Don’t mind him. He is harmless. Now tell me, what are you doing here? And why in the world are you alone, girl? Why isn’t my brother with you?”

Her question after question weakened me and suddenly, I lost balance, almost falling to the ground. But Vicky reacted immediately. “Whoa, this is not good. Let me help you…”

And in a few light movements, she placed me on the same chair that had been occupied just a few seconds ago. Even seated, I staggered. “Okay, let’s try this another way. Does Bash know you are here?” the tone of her voice changed abruptly.

She had become harsh, worried perhaps?

“No ... Yes ... I don’t know!” I was trying to be consistent and if I would say now that the road to here had tired me, I would shamelessly lie to her.

I closed my eyes for a short time and took my face in my palms and then stared into her dark blue, sky-colored eyes. Her grimaces showed she was struggling to understand me, but at the moment I was so hard to decipher.

“Okay, make up your mind then! Are you okay or not? You’re really worrying me, you know?” The mist in her eyes disappeared, leaving room to a clear blue. I inhaled deeply, letting my words come out one by one.

“Is your brother so mean as to take the lead of a situation to his advantage?”

My question seemed to confuse her in the beginning and then infuriate her, and for a good reason. She was his sister, his tween. She was the one feeling all his anxieties and joys.

She was the one linking with him every time something went wrong. Why didn’t she do it yesterday? Why didn’t she feel his turmoil, his almost dying being? Oh well, I was nobody to judge his sister.

Her reaction was as normal as it could be. She rose abruptly from the table, pushing the chair hard, making an unbearable noise for my headache. My temples jerked at its contact with the ground, and I retreated an inch without getting up. I sighed, waiting for an answer.

“What the hell are you talking about? The man you’re describing is not my brother, so you’ll have to be more convincing than that, Teresa! Try another approach.” She barked and, pacing the room a few times, she came back to the chair next to me.

After all, I was talking about her brother, not a stranger. “Ok, start over, this time try using some other words!”

I looked at her, confused, trying to put my thoughts in order. I would not choose my words just because she didn’t agree. The wound in my heart was so deep that if UFOs had attacked this pub, I really didn’t care.

“I am afraid I don’t have other words ... I just came to look for some answers…” I continued in one breath, holding her gaze. “And I figured you were the best person to give them to me.” I ended my plea by leaning back slightly in my chair. “Maybe it was a mistake coming here. I’m sorry I bothered you, Vicky…” and just as I got up, I felt a firm hand stopping me. Not forced, but determined.

“You came here to my pub, you dropped this bomb about my brother, and now you get up to leave? Now, what kind of sister would I be if I didn’t ask? I can see that something is troubling you, otherwise, you wouldn’t be here. But my patience has also a limit, and you almost reached it. We started with the wrong foot. What would you say if I took one step back and started from the beginning? It’s clear that something is bothering you, and it’s related to my brother. One more thing becomes obvious though if our mother couldn’t help you or maybe you didn’t even go to her, and you came here. So, I tend to think it’s something very serious. “

It wasn’t hard for her to read me now. I was vulnerable, hurt. She didn’t have to be a scientist to see that my eyes were so swollen and red from crying. I weighed my decision to come here. If there was one person in this universe so well connected to Bash, it was his sister.

“It’s so serious that my life is being threatened ... and Bash has tickets right in the front row to watch the show! Is that serious enough for you, Vicky?”