After lunch, when the cafe was quiet again, Dean let out a big yawn and sat behind the counter, propping his chin in his hand. Bianca walked over to him.
"What's wrong? Are you sleepy?" she asked.
"Yeah, because you guys were talking until midnight," Dean replied.
"Hehe... sorry, but it was fun," Bianca replied.
"Cling," the bell on the door rang, and Dean and Bianca turned to see three men in suits and sunglasses walk in, smoking cigars. They sat down at a table, and one of them snapped his fingers to get a waiter's attention. Claire started to walk over, but Dean grabbed her arm because he had a bad feeling about the three men who had just walked in.
"You stay here. I'll go," Dean said, looking at the three men.
"Okay," Claire replied, backing away.
Claire handed Dean the menus, and he immediately stepped out from behind the counter to serve the three men. Claire, Bianca, Ruby, and Lily watched from a distance. When Dean got to the table, he handed them the menus and pulled a notepad from his apron.
"Here are your menus," he said.
One of the men looked up at Dean, took off his sunglasses, and Dean's jaw tightened. The man studied his face.
"Hmm... I've seen you somewhere before, haven't I?" the man asked in a deep voice.
Dean's hands immediately clenched at his sides because he recognized the face and voice of the man, who was around 50's. Dean knew him from his past life, the man was just a very young man back then, maybe around 19 year old. This was the man who had killed him in prison: Zack Marley.
Claire, Bianca, Ruby, and Lily saw light beginning to form in Dean's clenched hands. They rushed over to Dean and pulled him away. Ruby quickly stepped in to take his place.
"Sorry, please call us when you're ready to order," Ruby said with a smile.
"Okay, get lost," Zack said, waving his hand to dismiss her.
Ruby walked away but not before glancing back at the three men, who seemed arrogant and cruel. She then went over to Claire, Bianca, and Lily, who were still holding onto Dean.
"Let me go," Dean said in a heavy voice, his pupils beginning to turn red.
"No, come inside with me," Claire said. She glanced at Lily. "Lily, can you get their order ready later?"
"Got it," Lily said in Claire's head, giving an "okay" hand signal.
"Me, Ruby, and Lily will be out front. We can handle it, so you don't have to worry," Bianca said.
"That's right. I'll watch the front counter," Ruby said, looking at Claire. "Please take care of Dean."
"Yeah... come on, Dean," Claire said.
Claire pulled Dean into the staff room. Meanwhile, Ruby went back to the front counter to get ready to take orders. Lily was at the barista station, and Bianca was at the cash register. Once inside, Claire led Dean to a chair. "Haaah... haaah," white vapor escaped his mouth. His eyes turned back to their natural blue but then immediately changed back to red.
"Calm down, Dean," Claire said, sitting next to him.
Claire pulled Dean's head to her chest and hugged him tightly, stroking his hair. She glanced at Dean's hands. They were still clenched and trembling, and a faint light was coming from his fists.
"What's happening to you, Dean?" Claire muttered to herself as she continued to stroke his head.
A little while later, "Cling," the bell rang again. "Blam," the door to the staff room opened. Claire looked over to see Bianca standing in the doorway, holding the door open with her arm.
"They're gone," Bianca said.
"Oh... they're gone already?" Claire asked.
"Yeah, they didn't order anything. One of them suddenly got a call, and they just left," Bianca answered.
"Thank goodness," Claire said, looking at Dean and patting his back. "They're gone, Dean."
"Guh... uguh," Dean mumbled.
"Oh, sorry," Claire immediately let go of him, and Dean pulled his head away from her chest.
"Ugh... I thought I was gonna die," Dean said.
"Are you okay?" Claire asked nervously.
Dean was silent. He looked at his palms, which were now red, and clenched his fists.
"I don't know," Dean said slowly.
"Ruby's closing up the cafe. She started as soon as those three guys left," Bianca said.
"You... you know those guys, don't you?" Claire asked.
Dean was quiet, looking thoughtful, and his jaw hardened again. This time, however, he took a deep breath and let it out.
"Yeah, I know one of them," Dean said.
"Okay, but why did you lose control like that?" Claire asked.
"Since that gym class... and then last night... there's been something churning inside me. Maybe it's just my teenage emotions, haha," Dean replied with a bitter laugh.
Claire glanced at Bianca, who slowly shook her head, then Claire looked back at Dean.
"I get it. If you want to talk about it, I'm here, and so are the others," Claire said, stroking Dean's hair.
"Yeah, thanks," Dean replied.
"You're welcome," Claire replied.
Dean fell silent again and lowered his head, covering his face with his hands. Claire stayed seated next to him, stroking his hair, but she didn't say anything. Bianca came in and sat next to Claire. "Bang," Ruby, who had finished closing the cafe, came in with Lily and sat right next to Dean, while Lily crouched in front of him, holding his knees. Not one of them asked a question because they were respecting Dean's feelings.
"I... I'm changing. It started with the fight with that dumbass Ethan on the basketball court, then last night in that restaurant, and today... it's like the person I am now is fighting against the person I used to be. If it weren't for Claire, Bianca, Ruby, and Lily, I would have killed that Zack bastard. So he's still alive... he's a ghost from my past... I can't lose it. I already let go of my past last night... but seeing that guy right there... it drove me crazy and made me almost snap... No, I didn't almost snap, I did snap," Dean said to himself.
Dean wiped his face, then looked to his left and saw Claire and Bianca watching him with worried expressions. He looked to his right and saw Ruby and Lily were also looking at him anxiously. Dean stood up, turned to face all four of them, and clasped his hands together in front of his face.
"I'm sorry. I'm being a hassle for you guys. But I'm okay now... thank you," Dean said, closing his eyes.
"Gyuuut!" Claire, Bianca, Ruby, and Lily all jumped to hug Dean at once, pushing him back against the lockers.
"Ugh... my back hurts," Dean thought to himself.
Suddenly, all four of them looked at Dean at the same time. "Um... what's wrong?" Dean asked, pulling his head back.
"Don't do that again," they all said in unison.
"Okay... I promise," Dean replied.
["Remember, in this life, you're not alone."]
"I know," Dean said in his head.
"Ding," a notification came through on their smartphones all at once. The five of them took their phones out of their pockets and looked at the screens. A notification from the app had come in. When they opened it, their eyes went wide, and they all looked at each other.
======================================
Request data:
Name: Natalie Garcia
Age: 26
Race: Human
Status: Dying
Soul value: $9,000,000
Target: Oliver Dalton.
Accept: Yes / No
======================================
"This... is this for real?" Dean asked.
"Is she... special soul?" Claire asked.
"Wow... she's using our app, are we having a big sister and a cop now?" Bianca murmured.
"Um... her status is 'dying.' Maybe we should hurry?" Ruby asked, reading and pushing up her glasses.
"Let's go... let's go... let's go," Lily said in their heads.
Dean tapped "Yes." Then a map popped up, and he saw that Natalie was at the harbor.
"Let's go," Dean said.
"Right," Claire, Bianca, Ruby, and Lily replied.