Face Your Fears

Chapter 21

Rain was hitting the windshield in a steady rhythm as I steered the SUV up a hill and then down onto Boonsboro's main street.

After that four hour car ride, I was anxious to get out of the car and stretch my stiff limbs. My stomach was grumbling and I wanted to eat, as well. All in all, it had not been a very pleasant trip. Although I think that had more to do with the prospect of why I was now in Boonsboro.

Over the past few months I had been trying my hardest to keep my nerves under control, and maybe I had been doing a good job, but it was proving difficult at the moment.

I kept up a mantra of I can do this as I drove down Main Street, trying to keep my hands from shaking the steering wheel too badly.

I managed to find a small parking space against the sidewalk to park the SUV, outside a homey little bookstore called Turn The Page. I saw a cafe stand in the place, and I could definitely go for a coffee and a pastry.

I flipped my jacket hood up as I stepped out of the SUV, locked it, then quickly sprinted up the sidewalk through the rain to Turn The Page. The place smelt like insence and the pages of books, a smell I had always somehow found comforting.

"Hi, welcome to Turn The Page," the girl behind the coffee counter said as the door swung shut behind me.

I did my best to smile as I pushed back my hood and ran my fingers through my damp hair.

"Can I get you anything?" the girl asked as I approached the counter.

"A large house blend with room for cream, and then a blueberry scone," I said, gesturing to the pastry case.

The girl quickly nodded, looking at me with flushed cheeks, before she got to making my coffee.

What, did I have something on my face?

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and quickly tapped in Hadley's number. I'd promised I'd call her once I got to Boonsboro, and I did not need her wrath if I forgot.

"Archer?" she answered the phone breathlessly. "Are you okay? Are you there? Are you - "

"Yeah, I'm here," I said. The girl making my coffee shot another glance towards me, like she was waiting for me to tell her who I was talking to. Which was weird. So I finished off the conversation in Italian.

I told her that I was planning on eating something before I asked around about Carter and Irene, and then face the inevitable and go speak with them. I had no expectations about how it was going to pan out. It just had to be done and over with.

"Here you go," the girl said, shoving a to-go cup and my blueberry scone across the counter towards me.

I passed over a ten dollar bill, got my change, then pocketed it and walked around the place, sipping at my coffee. The titles on the shelves really weren't out dated. The place definitely had the feel of a small town business. It was...nice, an escape from reality.

I finished off my coffee and my walk through the first floor of shelves, then took a seat at one of the small tables by the cafe to eat my scone. Even if that teenage girl behind the counter kept shooting me furtive glances. It had been a long time since a girl had acted embarrassed around myself because she thought I was cute.

Weird, again.

I glanced around as I munched on my scone, hoping to distract myself from what was going to be happening shortly.

I saw one of those bulletin boards tacked up to my left and looked over all of the ads hanging there. Yoga lessons at Fit In Boonsboro, an upcoming Easter egg hunt at St. John's, someone looking for a baby sitter. On the corner of the bulletin board, there were a series of red, white and blue stars hung up over the words Our Local Heroes!