The next day, Bryan didn't have much to do. He dropped by the bar in Raymond Street and had a drink. His main aim was to check on the girl who had given him the familiar feeling back then.
Unfortunately, Emily wasn't there.
Bryan wasn't disappointed; after all she said she was only filling in for a friend.
He wanted to know where he had met her before and so far he couldn't remember. He felt that by meeting her again or interacting with her more often would he be able to grasp the underlying cause of those feelings.
After leaving the bar, he visited his rented house. He didn't go there for any particular reason; he just wanted to drop by.
While there, he took out his phone and played the video from the other night. It was when he had that frightening nightmare.
He watched as he twitched and turned in bed with his eyes tightly shut. It went on like this till he fell off the bed….
It was the camera he had set up that recorded this.
After watching the video, he didn't think too much about it. He pushed all the thoughts to the back of his mind and began focusing on some other things.
Whatever happened to Anna, he couldn't reverse it. All he could do was hope that she would someday forgive his mistakes.
….
At noon, he arrived at the station. The investigation of Gael had already commenced but the full results weren't available to him yet and he didn't want to interfere just yet.
After writing a few stuff at his desk, he went over to the coffee area to get a drink.
"Where have you been these days?"
"I've been here." Bryan answered simply. It was obvious that Jason was trying to play his silly pranks of words again.
"It seems like you've been gone for too long!" He said gesturing with his arms to indicate how long he meant.
"Well, I haven't seen you for days though we basically work under the same roof."
"Don't be so remorseful, I know you wouldn't miss me even if I were to disappear!" Jason placed an arm around his beck.
What's wrong with this guy?
"Did something happen to you?" Bryan asked. Now that he had a careful look at him, he seemed to have lost some weight and his hair was messy.
"I don't want to talk about it," Jason gulped down more tea, "want some of my hand made tea?"
Bryan looked at him again and sighed. If he didn't want to talk about it then it was fine, but he hoped he would open up to someone, like the chief; the two were quite close….
"Maybe later." Bryan hurriedly drank his coffee and left. He would've loved to drink the tea considering that it tastes way superior to what he had before but he didn't want to drink anymore.
He went back to his desk and sat down.
What should I do now? He kept asking himself.
After a few minutes of thinking, he was distracted by the noise that came from the entrance. He looked over and saw Bernadette talking with the other officers.
She's back? Doesn't she have another day left?
Bryan decided to also welcome her.
Bernadette was pulling a little suitcase behind her. She wore a loose T-shirt and tight fitting jeans. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, she looked pretty and refreshed.
"I didn't know you'd come back so soon." Bryan said.
Bernadette dropped her suitcase and offered a broad smile, "I finished my task earlier than expected."
"It's a good thing that you're back, I was bored to death." Bryan felt relieved. At least with her around, the mood around here will be less stressful.
"I've been gone for three days yet you've missed me this much?" Bernadette punched his shoulder playfully.
"…" Bryan cursed his big mouth for betraying him again. Why did he just say that?
"What's up with the suitcase?" Bryan changed the topic.
"I haven't gone home yet, I need to meet the chief ASAP." She said with a worried tone.
Bryan nodded.
"So, what have you been doing?"
Bryan didn't know what the question implied. Was she asking about his activities or just merely asking about the case?
"I actually…" Bryan trailed off. His mouth almost betrayed him again. He had wanted to say that he met someone who almost equalled Bernadette's beauty, but thankfully he stopped himself. That didn't sound like a joke right? And he also didn't want to put himself in a difficult situation.
Bryan couldn't help but compare Maria and Bernadette in his mind.
Maria was a very pretty and delicate girl; she had an angelic face and perfect shape. He had to admit that she was one of the most beautiful women he had set his eyes on.
Compared to Bernadette, Maria's beauty was dimmed a little. This girl in front of him had an unrivalled beauty…
"What did you say?" Bernadette asked seeing that Bryan was lost in thought.
"Uh…" Bryan scratched his head, "I was going to say that I bought an action figure for you but I didn't bring it here…"
Bryan almost puked blood due to his shamelessness. Now he had to buy an action figure to cover up.
"Cool." Bernadette gave him a thumb up. She will add that to her collection and play with Walter.
"Are you free tonight?" Bryan asked after a slight hesitation.
"Are you officially asking me out?" Bernadette winked at him and smiled brightly.
"What? No, I just wanted to take you to the bike race."
That was the truth, but why did it seem like it was still a date?
"Relax, I was only joking around." Bernadette laughed some more. "But no. I won't be available tonight or tomorrow, I want to use these two days to play around with my brother."
Bryan nodded. It was fine. He still had a lot to do anyway.
"But after tomorrow, you'll buy me coffee, I missed three days and you owe me a lot!" Bernadette reminded him.
"Right, I almost forgot." Bryan pinched his face and made a sorry face.
"See you around, I have to see the chief." Bernadette didn't wait any longer; she pulled her suitcase and went towards the chief's office.
Bryan decided to continue with his work. Regina wasn't here today and he would have to wait till tomorrow to get the result of the "hacking".