No Body No Crime || Bad Omens || Noah Sebastian

I was enchanted to meet you

Lisa was a young woman full of dreams and hopes. She had recently became a psychologist and had decided to go into business with a friend from her university days. Half the costs, and someone to lean on when things didn’t go well—just what she needed at that moment.

Her office was in a busy area, and she enjoyed grabbing a coffee at a nearby café before work. That day, all the tables were taken, but she had managed to snag one by pure luck. She noticed a guy looking for a place to sit. Lisa had her laptop on the table, working on some documents, and motioned to him that he could sit with her if he wanted to.

"Thanks," the guy said as he sat across from her, setting his cup of coffee on the table. "Normally, I’d just leave, but I’ve got a work meeting in an hour, and I don’t know where else to wait."

Lisa thought he was really handsome. His body was almost completely covered in tattoos, even his neck and his long, slender fingers were full of designs. His voice was warm and friendly.

"No worries, I have some work to do too before starting my day," she said with a smile, as she began organizing the files on her computer.

"What do you do?" he asked.

"I'm a psychologist, and if someone had told me I’d spend so much time on the computer, I might’ve chosen something else. What about you?"

"I’m a musician. I have a band, and we’re meeting with the record label guys soon, but my bandmates are running late."

Lisa was impressed by his response. "Cool! What kind of music do you play?"

"Mostly metal. I’m not sure if it’s your thing, though."

Lisa unbuttoned her shirt cuff and showed him the small tattoo of a stylized owl on her right wrist.

"It’s the Deftones’ owl! So, you know your stuff!" the guy exclaimed in surprise.

Men, always ready to downplay women’s knowledge, even in something as trivial as music genres.

"Yeah, I liked the meaning. 'A messenger of death'. I was a bit emo in high school and regretted it, but hey, owls are cute, so…"

The guy smiled. "Totally agree, owls are cute," he said, looking at her tenderly, never taking his eyes off her face.

Lisa opened her mouth to say something, but she was interrupted by the vibration of the guy’s phone. He answered urgently, getting up from his chair.

He had to leave.

"It was nice meeting you," the guy said after hanging up. "I hope I’ll see you again. I was enchanted to meet you. My name’s Noah," he introduced himself, extending his hand.

She smiled. "I’m Lisa."

She was definitely enchanted to meet him.
___________________________________________

Noah sat on the red couch in the middle of Lisa’s apartment. Maybe she wasn’t home, but she would come back sooner or later. He felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and answered without looking.

"Lisa, babe, where are you?"

"Sorry to disappoint, pal, but I’m not Lisa," Jolly’s voice replied. "She’s not home?"

"No, she’s not. She’s not answering her phone either. I don’t know what to do, man."

"Have you tried calling her office?" Noah ran a hand through his hair. Why hadn’t he thought of that sooner? Lisa was a psychologist and held her sessions in a small apartment converted into an office that she shared with a colleague. Jolly was better than him at everything, especially when it came to managing stressful situations.

He ended the call with his friend and called the office where his girlfriend worked. After a few rings, he heard Nancy, Lisa’s colleague, answer in a detached tone.

"This is Dr. Cooper. How may I help you?"

"Nancy, it’s Noah. Listen, I’ve been trying to reach Lisa for a couple of hours. Can you tell her I’m at her place and that I want to apologize?"

"Noah, I’m sorry, but Lisa didn’t come to work today. She left me with all her patients without saying a word. I’ve been trying to keep things under control all morning. If you hear from her, tell her to come here right away 'cause I can’t hold on much longer."

Nancy hung up on him, and Noah leaned back on the couch, his head spinning. Where had she gone? Was she so upset with him that she didn’t even go to work?

He got up from the couch and headed to the bedroom. There had to be some clue as to where she might have gone. He saw her laptop on the desk and decided to check it out. The screensaver was a picture of the two of them, taken during a romantic weekend. Noah was kissing her cheek, and Lisa was laughing at something he had said, something he couldn’t even remember now.

Could all that love be lost? He hoped not.

He looked at her search history and saw a train company’s website. The preferred destination was her hometown. Lisa was thinking of going back to her parents, but she hadn’t mentioned a word to him. Not even a hint. There was no record of any payment on the site, but that didn’t mean anything. Maybe it had been just a thought until the night before, and that morning she had bought a ticket directly at the station.

He had hurt her deeply, that much he realized. But why hadn’t she told him? Why not just break up with him?

He grabbed his phone and dialed Holly’s number, Lisa’s mother.

This wasn’t just a fight anymore; his girlfriend was hiding something from him. Maybe she had wanted to leave him for a long time.

He heard an elderly woman’s voice answer the phone.

This whole story would end that very day.