A Pocket Full of Posies (Book 2)

Chapter Eighteen (Part 1)

Fifteen minutes later, the six of us are sitting in a pub a stone's throw away from the university. Arguably the opposite of somewhere private, but the place is pretty busy, and nobody is paying us any attention. I sure have no complaints about Connor's choice of venue. He's clearly a man after my own heart. He's currently at the bar after offering to buy us all a drink, and I can't stop staring. It's him. It's the stranger in my visions, the person who was nameless for so long. My brother. I have a brother.

"Felix, are you okay?" Ava's voice steals my attention away from Connor for a moment. "This must be, whoa, really weird. If you want us to leave you two--well, three including Annabel, of course--alone for a bit, you can say."

I shake my head. "No, no, it's fine. I'd have probably passed out by now without you lot."

I catch Carmen's eyes on me as I speak, and she gives me a subtle smile. I'd almost forgotten about what happened on the drive here. She still hasn't said much since I almost accidentally killed her, but the smile reassures me. I lean back in my seat and let out a huge sigh. It's not even four in the afternoon, and this day already has me emotionally drained.

"Are you sure you don't need to be somewhere? I hardly want to get you sacked," I say as Connor returns with our drinks.

I've opted for a whisky and coke because I bloody need it, but I'm not going to get drunk. I'd not be that much of an arsehole to Annabel at a time like this. She and Lucy are sitting on the large windowsill at the end of our table. I've not had a chance to ask her about any recovered memories yet, but I don't think she's taken her eyes off Connor for a second since we found him. I'm not too sure what that means.

"You're kidding, right?" Connor laughs as he sits down next to me, and hands out people's drinks. "I've never cared so little about getting sacked in my life. Besides, I text the fella who's leading the meeting I'm supposed to be in about a family emergency."

That's an understatement if I ever heard one.

I can't stop staring at the guy. There's an unmistakable air of confidence about him, even in the way he casually sits with a pint of beer in his hands, and one leg crossed over the other. Whereas I'm sitting here, fidgeting as my scrambled brain tries to make sense of everything that's happening, he's just so calm and collected. And cool.

By the time we've finished our drinks, I've explained every single thing that's happened since I saw that first Tracker at uni all those months ago. Connor didn't say much throughout, but he was nodding along the whole time. As I finish off the story, I throw in one final detail.

"Guess who stuck around after she clocked it?"

I catch Ava shooting me a glare. I give her a look to say what? but her response is just a subtle shake of her head. Granted, I may not be the best at phrasing things when I drop bombshells, but I try my best, okay?

"Who?"

"Annabel."

Connor's face falls for a moment. He quickly picks it back up, but his guard is dropped long enough for me to notice. That's not a good sign.

"Really?" His face has paled slightly. "Is she... How--Does she--" He runs his hand through his hair with an awkward laugh. "Sorry buddy, let me try that again. She isn't... uh..."

"Tell him to spit it out," Annabel suddenly interjects from the windowsill. She's looking at me, but she won't meet my eyes. "I can handle it."

"Was she dark?" I ask.

Connor doesn't say anything in response. It's so small that I could miss it if I wasn't looking hard enough, but ever so slightly, he nods his head.