Chapter 17
Valentina didn't think Remy was particularly angry at her. But he did look like he was fed up with her.
As she explained why she gave up her spot, his eyelids twitched and she wondered if it was because of her. He didn't interrupt her once as she explained that it looked like the man needed much more help than she did and when she was done he just sighed.
"Remy?"
She called out and he ignored her.
"Remy?"
"Remington?!"
She tried again, calling his name in full and he glanced at her
"I'll try and set up another appointment."
He murmured as he walked past her. She didn't know whether or not she should feel relieved that he wasn't lashing out on her.
She sighed as she watched him walk back inside the building. She followed him a while later, then stood at the side while he talked to the clerk again.
The man Colin was nowhere to be found in the waiting room. He must be talking to the doctor already.
Good. That's good.
She thought as she nodded her head. Even though she had given up her spot she wondered if Dr Ramirez would have rejected him, since she didn't know him and he wasn't the patient she planned to see.
The doctor could have easily turned him away and told him to leave, but it seemed like she didn't.
Remy came back to her
"What did she say?"
She asked and Remy sighed.
"She'll see you. Apparently she was really touched by your kind hearted gesture. So she cancelled her next session for you."
Remy's voice was dripping with sarcasm. Valentina ignored it as she smiled.
"Okay. That's good."
"What time is my own session?"
"In the next one hour. Let's go to the cafe nearby, maybe get something to eat while we wait."
Remy added as he pointed to the cafe.
She nodded her head in agreement, already thinking about the smell of coffee and croissant that seemed so familiar.
Together they left the office. It was a short walk to the cafe, but Valentina noticed that Remington was deep in thoughts.
"Who called you?"
"You looked angry."
She added and Remy shrugged.
"Someone I work with."
"Someone you work with work with or a werewolf like you?!"
"Keep your voice down!"
Remy said through clenched teeth as he quickly looked around.
Valentina smirked.
"Do you think anyone who actually hears us would think you're really a werewolf?!"
She scoffed.
"They'd just look at us and think we're crazy."
"I don't care if they think we're crazy. Be careful when you talk about stuff like that. It's not a joke."
"Well I wasn't joking. I was only asking a question because you looked really angry."
Remy sighed. They got to the front of the cafe and he opened the door for her, letting her go in first. Valentina noticed that he had a habit of opening doors for her.
She would have swooned at that if it was from any other man, but coming from him she feigned ignorance.
"Is that concern I see on your face. Were you actually concerned about me and what I do?"
Valentina rolled her eyes.
"It was just a simple question."
The quaint little cafe was even better than she had expected. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and delicately baked and assembled pastries filled her nostrils as she walked in. She walked right straight to a corner seat at the very end of the cafe, almost as if she had been there before.
Remy followed, wordlessly sitting across from her as he did a sweep of the cafe with his eyes. Valentina knew enough now to know that Remy's stares and glances were not ordinary. He would always scan the people and objects in any new environment before fully relaxing. This time, it didn't look like he was going to relax any time soon.
"This town is crawling with all sorts of the otherworldly."
"Really?!"
She replied as she leaned in.
"It is."
Remy said as he turned his nose.
"A lot of dark energy here. It's slightly sickening."
"Are there any werewolves like you? Or it's just other stuff?!"
"Werewolves like us."
Remy corrected and Valentina shrugged.
"Are they?"
He shook his head.
"Not one since we got here. But like I said I can feel a lot of dark energy. Especially in here. We should leave soon."
He warned but Valentina frowned at him. Leave? She wasn't ready to leave yet. She liked the cafe.
"No. We should wait here till the doctor is done."
He was about to protest when a waitress approached them. With a notepad in her hand and a bored look on her face she greeted them.
"Can I take your order now?"
She asked as she brought out a pen from her apron.
"Some croissants would be nice."
Valentina said eagerly. The woman nodded.
"Okay. And what else would you be having?"
"That's all really."
Valentina murmured.
The waitress turned to Remy who firmly shook his head, gesturing that he wasn't hungry.
"Oh wait! Can you bring me some maple syrup with the croissants?"
"Maple syrup?"
The waitress repeated and she nodded her head.
"Yes. Some maple syrup with it please."
The woman froze for a bit, then regained her consciousness and nodded her head. She scribbled on her notepad.
"Is that all?"
"Yes."
She replied and the woman nodded and walked away from them.
"Maple syrup?"
Remy scoffed as the waitress left.
"What?"
Valentina shrugged as she looked outside the window, watching the cars go by. A small smile crept on her face.
Remy's phone rang again. He let it ring for a while before letting out a deep sigh and excusing himself again.
"Excuse me."
He murmured as he left the table again. She rolled her eyes as she watched him leave. He wouldn't tell her what was going on, yet it was clearly important enough to rattle him.
The waitress came with her order and Valentina beamed at her. She slapped some butter on the warm croissant and then drizzled the maple syrup on top of the croissant, blissfully unaware of the waitress's eyes on her the entire time, even as she took a bite.
She was so distracted by her meal that she didn't see the man walk in.
The man from Dr Ramirez's office, Colin Lockwood.
He walked into the cafe and walked directly towards her.
Valentina was shocked to see him. She looked at the time, it was barely time for the end of his session. He must have spent less than fifteen minutes with the doctor.
"Did something happen? I didn't expect you to be back so early."
She said as she looked at her watch on her wrist.
"I wanted to thank you for what you did earlier. And no, nothing happened. The Doctor was able to see me."
Valentina nodddd.
"Oh don't worry about that. I'm happy to help."
"Can I sit for a bit?"
He asked as he pointed to the opposite chair.
Valentina nodddd, briefly checking to see if Remy was still occupied. He was.
"Yes. You can."
"I'm not usually like this."
The man murmured.
Now, looking at him closer, Valentina could see that he was very handsome. He just looked tired. Really tired. Like he had not been sleeping well for the past few days.
"Did something happen?"
She asked and he nodded.
"I lost my best friend. Not long ago... I came to town because of her funeral."
"Oh. I'm so sorry."
The subject of grief and loss was an uncomfortable and unfamiliar one for her, she couldn't remember losing anyone. Or particularly grieving for anyone.
"That must have been hard on you."
The man nodded.
"It was. I was supposed to see her for her birthday, but I kept postponing... I thought we'd have more time together."
"I don't think that's your fault..."
She said carefully. She didn't know what to say... but she was picking her words carefully.
Colin sighed and then looked around.
"We used to come here a lot as teenagers. You're sitting in her favorite spot. She'd order a coffee and a croissant here if we came here in the morning."
Valentina smiled nervously and pointed to her croissant.
"I also ordered one. It's really nice."
Colin smiled sadly.
"She used to drizzle maple syrup on her croissant. It freaked me out."
Valentina chuckled and glanced at her own croissant. She decided it would be best not to let him know that she also drizzled maple syrup on her own croissant. Although she was unsure if she had always done that. Remy didn't particularly look surprised or shocked when she asked for it, but then again, he was very preoccupied at the moment.
"Is that why you went to see the Doctor? Because you miss her?"
Colin shook his head.
"No. It's not that."
"I've been having these dreams. These vivid dreams. Almost as if I can feel her and touch her. Every night... they've been driving me crazy... I came to the doctor for an explanation... for a reason why."
Valentina was curious too.
"Was she able to help you? Did she tell you why you might be having these dreams?!"
She asked and Colin scoffed.
He shook his head.
"She wasn't helpful at all. I just ended up feeling worse."