burning me up

“Well, during the day I am a mechanic, and then for a few hours at night, I work at Amazon. I swear the dude is an idiot.” She admitted. “Amazon, apparently, or just the department we’re under.”

“I would’ve thought Amazon would have better employees. Like, lay the law down more or somethin’. Then again...” He shrugged. It wouldn’t be surprising if a billion dollar company overlooked one or two bad seeds from time to time. “Wonder how he got to be a supervisor in the first place. Shouldn’t you have at least half a brain to hold that position?”

Naia sat waiting for a bus as the rain began to fall, the smell of the fresh rain against the asphalt of the road made her smile.  The cool breeze caused her to pull her light cardigan around her as she turned to a person nearby. “ Did you know there is a word for the smell of rain its called petrichor.” She murmured with a small smile. “ Its meant to evoke memories of good times.”

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“Had no idea, but it’s always been one of my favorite smells. It’s something no one can really recreate. Really special.” Charlie nodded, then closed his eyes and inhaled the scent that was slowly engulfing them. “You always a walking thesaurus?”

a giggle sounded from her lips , one of solidarity from a girl that had also had to deal with irritating siblings throughout her entire life . “ older brothers are the worst for that stuff . tyler used to always try and freak me out , but i’d always get him right back – i’m the second oldest so i can both be the annoying little sister and the obnoxious big one , “ as much as she agreed with the teasing being rather mean she couldn’t find it within her to deny that charlie’s brother was probably right . “ i don’t think it’s a bad thing if ghosts watch you while you sleep . who knows , maybe they’re just looking out for you , “ 

“I’m the second oldest too,” Charlie added. “Definitely get that. I’m pretty sure my older brother will be perpetually annoyed by me, but my little siblings like me alright.” He laughed; his siblings were nowhere near little anymore, but he somehow always still pictured them being kids no matter how old they got. “I guess the scary part is not knowing their intentions. But ghosts can’t hurt you anyway, right?”

“Literally the ONLY reason I am here right now is because Brendon Urie is about to preform onstage and all my 2000′s emo phase dreams are coming true.” Callie said laughing as she looked at the person next to her. She had made sure that her shift ended before the Panic at the Disco set. Looking at the person next to her, Callie shielded her eyes from the sun wishing she had brought her sunglasses. She should of known honestly, growing up in Atlanta the woman knew how hot the summers got. 

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“Yeah, I couldn’t tell you who any of the people on stage are,” Charlie laughed. “Guess I’m stuck somewhere in the nineties as far as music goes. Sounds a little familiar at times.” He squinted, glancing up at the stage that was in transition between artists. “Which band is he in?”

“Wait married? Oh that’s awesome news.” Naia beamed and ordered them both a coffee. “ So how is life with you? I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages. Which is my fault as all I ever do is watch Mr Robot and work.” Naia  said with a light laugh. “So when’s the big day? I wanna get married but I guess I have to find the right person first.”

“Married,” Charlie repeated. He beamed at Naia, obviously excited to be sharing his good news. “Life’s been all kids and wedding planning lately. And work, but that’s nothing new. Our date’s something we haven’t really decided on yet. We have to pick a time that’s good for Aoife’s family to come from Ireland so it’s a little more difficult than just flipping through a calendar.”

Noah nodded, he considered himself in fairly decent shape, but he thought it was always best to start out small with something completely new so he knew what he was getting into before completely diving in, “That sounds like it might be interesting, I’ll have to check it out.” he said, “Do you go hiking a lot then?”

“You should!” Charlie smiled, happy to help. “I used to do it a lot when I was in college. Getting out helped me clear my head when I got stressed.” Which was  a lot. “Then when I opened my restaurant and I had a kid I stopped going as often. I think it’s been about two years since I went on a good hike now that I think about it.”

maybe mariella had these experiences because her mind was already open to such things , or perhaps she’d just been lucky ( or unlucky , some might argue ) . as spooky as some of her encounters may have been they soothed her , if anything ; it meant she trusted that her mother was right there watching over her , if not in body then in spirit . “ well i didn’t mean to scare you , i’m sure you can fight off any shadow demons if they come knocking – some sage and smoky quartz will do the job nicely too , if you don’t trust your own fighting chance , “ his reaction caused her to giggle , a light and airy sound juxtaposed to her darkened sense of humour , “ i feel like dreams have a lot of reality built into them . i mean , how can your brain manifest something that it’s never seen before ?? “

“Glad you’re confident with all of this stuff. I don’t know...it’s always interested me but I’ve always tried to avoid it at well. The paranormal,” he said, as if he needed to specify. “The first time I ever went to Savannah I couldn’t sleep because my older brother convinced me that a ghost was going to be watching me in my sleep. He ruined me for a little while.”

Naia looked up from her phone and saw the person she was in the middle of texting. “ Oh there you are. I was just about to send out a search party.” She said with a light giggle. “Fancy a coffee and some cookies? Apparently they have chocolate chip cookies that have fortunes in them.

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“Coffee yes, cookies no,” Charlie said. It was odd for him to turn down sweets with a sweet tooth like his, and it honestly pained him to do so. Chocolate chip fortune cookies sounded amazing. “You know, just tyrin’ to watch the figure since I’m gettin’ married now.” He smiled and patted the stomach that was a little less defined and poked out a little more over the span of the past year.

Noah nodded as he considered those suggestions, “That actually sounds really interested.” he said, he hadn’t done much hiking before but it sounded like something he could get into. “Any hiking trails you would recommend for someone new to hiking?”

“Yeah, there’s a few actually. I guess you’d want something easier if you’re just starting?” Charlie could recall the first few hikes he’d been on and how they could quickly turn from being leisurely to challenging in a few steps. “Sweetwater Creek State Park is a good one. A lot of people go to see the old mill that was burned during the Civil War.”

Hodaya laughed at the man’s reply. She commented, “Oh yeah, even before I came it today, I was staring at my computer screen, at the paint selection online, to narrow it down because there’s like 70 shades of it. My husband said he wanted grey. Like what shade,” as she held up her paint chips. “I really like Storm Cloud, as it reminds me of my favorite water color paint, but then again, I think it may be a little too dark for a bedroom, probably close it in.” She contemplated the other two paint chips for a moment, and then narrowed it down the one shade, “I think I would have to agree with you. Plus, it will go with whatever duvet set we choose.” 

“Guess it depends on how you want your room to feel. I’ve always heard dark colors are sexy or somethin’ like that, but I’m no interior designer. My fianceé and I have a nice, airy room. We always have kids in bed with us so I’d say it’s nice and welcoming. Good choice though.”

a breathy giggle left her lips with a shake of her head , tucking a strand of fried blonde behind her ear as charlie continued to speak . “ i’m not trying to test you !! it can be anything . i know my thing is that there was a shadowy figure at the end of my bed when i was nine , i think . tall , pale faced .. i saw him and then he vanished and never came back . our dad wasn’t around too much , so it couldn’t have been him .. “ over her life mariella had experienced some pretty strange occurrences , some indescribable ones , which was one of the reasons why she was so interested in investigating them . EMF readings , seances , burning sage .. getting to the bottom of the unknown just seemed to just make sense to her . “ oh yeah !! yeah , i know those .. that’s creepy how so many people suddenly misremember the same things . something spooky must be going on , right , when it’s hundreds of people thinking the same thing . did you explain it to your mom ?? “ 

“You’re going to keep me from sleeping tonight. That’s terrifying!” Truthfully, Charlie could recall instances like that from his own childhood. Were they simply figments of the imagination or something more? Charlie always wondered. “One time when I was a kid I woke up and sat up in bed because there was a shadow peeking in through my doorway. I sat there and looked at it for the longest time until it left. I like to tell myself it was a dream but now that you mention that...jeez.”

“I guess I could travel, maybe even just do some day trips. Or honestly just do some of the attractions in the area, I haven’t been to much beyond museums.” he admitted. He had stuck mainly to educational areas while studying here, but the point of the break was to get beyond just his studies. “I mean, I feel like most of my goals have kind of been education related so … I guess I’m just trying to figure out some things beyond that.”

“There are a lot of great hiking trails in the area if you’re interested in that kind of thing. There’s Stone Mountain, Kennesaw. A lot of television shows film around here too, if you wanna do any kind of film tours. Hollywood of the South and all that good stuff.”

Isaac frowned slightly, “I mean, she’s not doing anything involving heat. Just spreading frosting on cookies or piping basic swirls on cupcakes. And she likes to put sprinkles on … well, everything. And it’s only when nobody else can watch her. But I’m sure she would like to play with Em sometimes though.”

“I definitely couldn’t trust Emma with icing or sprinkles. There wouldn’t be any left.” That could have something to do with the fact that she’d watched her dad steal icing and sprinkles every time they ever decorated any kind of dessert, but no one had to know that little detail. “Especially with summer coming. We’ll have plenty of time.”

“Is it against child labor laws to let my seven year old help ice cookies and cupcakes?” Casey asked as he sat down, “School’s out, and I’m a single dad so … if there’s nobody else that can watch her that day, she ends up at the bakery and she wants to help.” he explained. If they had covered this back in his business classes he had clearly been distracted. Abby was ready and willing to help, and for simple tasks she was already pretty good at decorating, but he wasn’t exactly sure where the lines were on that.

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“I mean, as much as Emma would love it I probably wouldn’t have her helpin’ flip burgers at the diner, you know? If you need some help I’d be fine with takin’ her for a day. I bet Em would love to play with someone her age instead of havin’ her brother and sister tug at her hair all day.”