Kisses and wounds

Eighty-five

Shawn's POV
Ottawa, Canada

I grunt.
It's been three hours since I came here and the woman hasn't come yet. Isaac is going to court in two days ahead. I dial Abigail's number for the fifth time and this time she picks it up.

"Hello, madam! It's Shawn."

"Oh, dear! I missed my train so I had to take another one."

I furrow my brows, grasping harder on my phone. "It's okay, madam! I can wait." I am tired of fucking waiting. I've been sitting in this damned coffee shop for long now and my patience grows weary by the minute.

One of the waitresses walks up to me. Black, short hair and almond eyes. She reminds me of someone I know. But who?

"Sir, I think you should leave. The clients are complaining because the seats aren't enough."

I ignore her, however I lean back into the chair, licking my lips and glaring up at her. Her apron is longer than the shorts she's wearing and it's kind of cute on her.

"Madame! Je ne comprends pas votre langue!" I say, teasing her.

She raises her brows and traces the inside of her cheek with her tongue.

"D'accord monsieur! Je disais que tu dois sortir d'ici immediatement!"

"Fascinating! I didn't know a pretty girl could speak French in Ottawa." She rolls her eyes in frustration. "Nice to meet you, I'm Jerry."

She walks away, leaving my hand hanging in the air. I smile.

In less than a moment, the door swings open revealing a woman in a blue sweater and a yellow long skirt. She has a scarf around her neck and some snowflakes on her square-shaped glasses. Her lips and hands are pale from the cold. I can't help but wave her over. She's most likely to be Abigail judging from her black hair with some gray strands.

"You're Shawn?" She asks, staring at me from a distance.

"Yes mademoiselle. It is me!"

She walks over to me and I wave the waitress over and she rolls her eyes before coming to our table.

I help Abby sit by pulling her chair back and hanging her overcoat behind her chair.

"What can I do for you?" The waitress asks, drawing my attention to her apron in search of her name. Tina.

I look at Abby, waiting for her to order.

"I'll have regular coffee. No milk and no sugar. I'm lactose and glucose intolerant." She says, offering a genuine smile at Tina as she notes down her order.

"And you sir?"

"I'll take an espresso, Tina."

The sound of me saying her name startles her a bit but she rolls it away with her eyes.

"It'll be ready in a minute." Tina says smiling at Abby. She dares not to look at me. She's pretty though.

I look back at the lady and smile, to make her feel at ease.

"Hello, Abby! I'm Shawn. One of Chanisse's oldest friends."

"Oh!" She gasps, and exhales roughly. "She was such a beautiful young woman. I remember her."

I nod, in understanding.

"So, do you have any idea of what she would've been through the night she died."

With a long sigh; she glares at the ceiling pushing her tears away.

"Chanisse's husband was in love with another woman, I suppose you know that and um...it was hard for her to let him go, least not because of a child they hadn't met yet."

She sniffles and I offer her a handkerchief to blow her nose. She murmurs a soft thank you before continuing.

"I was later interviewed and that's when I heard that she'd died. An autopsy was carried out and what was found is that she was shot." She pauses and coughs a little, then clears her throat.

"What pills did she ask for?" I ask, intertwining my fingers on the table.

"She asked for some mifepristone and when I talked to her, she looked like she'd been using drugs."

"...interesting!" I think for a moment.

Isaac's fingerprints were found on the gun but Chani's were found on the trigger. And if an autopsy was carried out, we can tell if she was on drugs or not and we could tell if Chani struggled or not. We need autopsy results!

"Where was she taken for autopsy?" I ask, watching Tina come back with our orders. She offers a smile that Abby returns and her face changes when she puts the espresso in front of me.

"A sticky bun for you mister, it's on the house!" She says to me.

"Thank you Ti!"

She glares at me with disgust and walks away.

"It's a hospital in Miami but I can call my friend to send copies of the autopsy. I'll email them to you." She says, looking down at her freezing fingers and sighs as she wraps them around her own mug of coffee.

I take the first sip.

"Please do tell her, Madam. I'd be more than glad to get the copies."

She nods, swallowing a gulp of her own coffee.

"Is her husband okay?" She asks, pushing her glasses further on the temple of her nose.

"He isn't, I'm afraid."

She cocks her brows in confusion.

"He really loved Chanisse . She was just too insecure to settle with that. Isaac had been into a lot even before he met Chani but he really tried so much, to recover. Chanisse must have felt bad but Isaac would never cheat on her. He still loves her."

She gasps lightly. "I wish she could've seen that."

"Yeah...he had to leave the continent to move on, and he went in a rehab for almost four years. The first two years, he couldn't even talk to anyone. And up to now, he still gets these nightmares but he's recovering."

"(Long sigh) I hope he does."

The rest of the conversation is awkward and almost calm. Abigail soon finishes her coffee so I walk her to her Uber ride and wave her my goodbyes.

"I'll help if I can." She says, buckling her seatbelt.

"Thank you Madam."

I return to the coffee shop to finish my espresso and find Tina cleaning up.

"Ma'am!"

"Thought you'd left... I'm sorry for your coffee. My friend can make you another one. It's on me." She says, her cheeks flushing on a hot red shade.

"It's okay! I'll eat the bun instead."

"It's...spicy! You're gonna need an iced coffee for that!"

"I can handle your attitude, spices don't stand a chance." I say taking a bite.

She rolls her eyes.
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A/N: Shawn + Tina😊😊😊