Seraphina's Awakening

Chapter Eighteen: Divulgence

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."