Chapter 3
Annabel's phone started ringing loudly, the latest pop song assailing her ears. Her hand went to her pocket instinctively but found nothing. She opened her eyes and looked around. The phone was closer to her than she remembered. She lifted the phone to her head and asked, “Who is it?” Her head pounded from the night before.
“Annabel? Where are you?” June's voice came through loud and clear. She sounded worried.
Annabel moved the phone away from her ear for a moment. The sound was too much for her right now. She regained her senses and said, “I'm home. Where are you?”
“You're home? I'm here too. Are you in your room?”
“Yes. I'm getting up. I'll see you in a few minutes.” Annabel hung up. She felt horrible. It was too early for her to wake up. She looked at her phone to see the actual time. It was three in the afternoon. Even that seemed too early.
“You left so quick I never noticed until thirty minutes later you were gone. What happened? The guys were looking for you. One of them, I think, could be the guy of your dreams,” June said, pouring both of them coffee when Annabel entered the kitchen.
Annabel took a sip before saying, “I told you I was leaving. I had the weirdest experience on my way back here. Or maybe it was a dream. I’m sure it happened though because there were less celebrities and flying in it than usual.”
“What happened?” June took a sip from her cup as well.
“It was just – weird. There was this big dark shape attacking me and then this guy showed up. He shot flames out of his mouth and was thrown against the wall a few times.”
June looked at her friend curiously. “Are you sure you weren't imagining this? You were drunk last night when you left.”
“I'm not imagining this. It happened. I’m sure.” Annabel said, fairly convinced now. “I can even prove it to you.”
“You took pictures in the middle of a fight?”
“No, I have a phone number from the guy I met last night.” Annabel reached into her pocket and pulled out the napkin. The phone number was there. This time she clearly made out the digits. There was his name which gave added proof she wasn’t making this up.
June looked at the napkin. She raised her eyebrows as she looked to Annabel. “I hate to be one of those people but that napkin is used. It's also from the same club we were at last night. It is possible one of the guys there gave you his number and now you're imagining this crazy dream. It's okay. It happens to everyone.”
“It was real.”
“Then prove it to me. Reverse look-up the number and then you can prove to me that this guy, Crispin if I’m reading it right, gave it to you and he exists. Right now, it's not looking too good.”
“It could be a cell phone. Cell phones can't be reversed looked-up.” Annabel wasn't certain if looking up the number would work but it was a good way to meet her mystery guy again.
June smirked at Annabel in a told-you-so manner. “Imaginary numbers also can't be looked-up.”
Annabel opened her laptop. “I'll prove to you this is a real number.” She typed in a website and put the phone number in. After clicking through a series of ads she wasn't interested in, she smiled. She pressed a button and printed out a copy.
“You found it?” June asked, leaning over Annabel's shoulder.
“The number goes to 409 Highland.”
June wasn't giving up easily. “This could be a random coincidence.”
“I will prove to you it's his number,” Annabel said, strolling confidently towards her room.
“How?”
“I'm going over there. Well, first I'm taking a bath and changing. Then I'll head out there.”
June nodded. “That would be smart. I didn't want to say anything but if you're meeting someone you should change. I'd do something about your hair too. I think you slept on it.”
Annabel patted the top of her head and felt her hair. The gel she used last night had twisted her hair into a jumbled mess. “Thanks for telling me that. I want to look great so I can give him a proper thanks for saving me.”
June gave a thumb up. “I'm sure that's the only reason you’re going there.”
Annabel stuck out her tongue as she got ready. A shower gave her time to think about what she’d say to him. Going to a stranger's house to prove to June she met him seemed odd but at the same time, it could prove to be a fun experience. She needed to keep talking herself into doing it. Otherwise she was remaining home and convincing herself none of this happened.
It shouldn’t be that hard. He gave her his number after all. He wanted her to find him. He must be shy and this was his way of flirting with her. She knew she should call first but it would be more interesting to show up unannounced. It’d show she was spontaneous. Guys liked spontaneous girls.
She picked a cute outfit she hoped made her look as cute as she did last night, or cuter. She wasn't sure how good she looked tripping in the middle of the street and stumbling around like a fool. Yes, this was an improvement. She needed to bring her phone and take pictures or else June wouldn’t believe her. She checked her jean pocket to verify she had her phone with her. There was nothing left to do but get out there and meet her guy from last night.
“I'm going. If I don't make it back, you can have my computer,” Annabel said in a melodramatic voice.
June looked at her from the couch. “Wow, you look nice. Expecting something to happen tonight?”
“Maybe. He did save me from a horrible creature so maybe something should happen.” She smiled at her friend. June was the one person who’d understand her joke.
“Yes, he saved you from a creature no one has ever seen before and doesn't exist. Good luck to you with that. You can call me if you need to and I'll go rescue you from any trouble,” June said before snapping her fingers. “Oh and pictures. You have to bring me proof this guy exists.”
Annabel pulled out her phone. “Somehow I knew you were going to ask.”
“I’ve trained you well, young padawan” June joked as she waved bye to her friend.
Annabel drove to the address. It was only a five minute drive to get to the place she found online. That explained why he was on the street that late. She didn’t expect him to live in another town and save her life by accident. It could’ve happened but she doubted it.
She parked her car on the street in front of the house. It looked like most of the other houses in the area – two stories, wood balcony, and weeds in the flower bed. She double checked herself in the side mirror. She looked pretty enough. She confidently made her way up the driveway to the door.
Annabel knocked. She heard movement behind the door. It opened and a blond haired guy stood there shirtless. “Can I help you?” he asked. He looked around as if worried someone else was waiting. He stepped out the doorway to check even further down the driveway and sidewalk.
“I'm here to see Crispin,” Annabel said, unsure if she had the right address. They’d know him if she was at the right place. She didn’t see Crispin directly in front of her and it made her nervous. Maybe she had the wrong house. Another thought crossed her mind as well, much stronger than before, of it being a dream like everyone else said.
“Who are you?”
“I'm Annabel Wells. Crispin and I met last night. Well, we sort of met.” She hoped there wasn't a Crispin here. She was ready to head back to her car and drive away quick.
He smiled. “Oh really? You met Crispin last night? Let me see if I can find him. Sera?” he called behind him without checking to see if anyone was there.
“We're not interested,” a female voice said from one of the side rooms. Annabel couldn't see where it came from.
“Someone's here looking for Crispin."
“Who is it?”
“A girl named Annabel.”
There was a long pause. “Are you kidding me?”
He laughed. “I'm serious. Do you know where he is?”
“If you are looking for me to say how awesome I am, I'm r
ight – hey,” Crispin said coming down the stairs and into view of the door. He paused on the step he landed and shoved whatever he was holding in his hand into his pocket. A grin appeared on his face.
“She said she met you last night. Amazing isn't it?” The blond haired guy had a large grin on his face. There was some sort of inside joke being shared between them. Annabel had no idea whether it was good or bad. She felt torn between leaving and staying.
“It's a long story,” Crispin said, walking towards the door. He took one step over the threshold before the other man placed his hand on his shoulder.
“Then come in and tell us this story,” the blond haired guy said, helping Annabel into the house before Crispin protested. “I'm Henry, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you, Annabel.”
New Breed (#1) (Dragon’s Fire) Page 3
