Hiding in plain sight

The cafe was buzzing with people, as expected during lunch break. A few police officers came there to eat, as the police station was nearby. Among them were a young and slim woman with glasses and an older gentleman with greyish hair.

"Thanks for inviting me, Allistair." Claire said, appearing gloomy.

Allistair smiled slightly. "Don't mention it."

Allistair was aware of the recent disappearance of Claire's brother. He knew how much it hurt her, and as Claire's senior and mentor-like figure in the ****, he felt like trying to cheer her up however he could.

As they approached the counter, the blonde barista smiled brightly at them. "Welcome. Table for two?"

"Yes, please." Allistair replied.

As she led them to their table, the barista, Angela, looked at Claire and spoke. "Are you alright, Claire? You don't seem so well."

Since Claire was a regular here, she got on friendly terms with Angela, often chatting despite Claire's inherent shyness. They weren't friends per say, not yet at least, but got along quite well.

Claire looked away. "Not really..."

"Wanna talk about it?"

After a short moment of silence, Claire spoke, letting out a depressed sigh. "My brother disappeared a week ago... He... fled town, apparently..."

Angela gasped in shock, not expecting this. "Oh shit, what happened?"

"We don't know. Her brother told her he'd be fine, but refused to elaborate on his reasons for leaving." Allistair replied, placing a hand on Claire's shoulder.

Claire nodded sadly, but didn't say anything else.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Angela said, lowering her head. "I, uhh, hope Edward is safe..."

Claire's brother came a few times to eat lunch with her during her breaks, or whenever she had days off. While not as much of a regular as Claire was, he was still a good person, one who could relate with Angela when it came to work since he was a bartender. He was always polite and friendly, and Angela even found him fairly charming.

Claire gave Angela a half-hearted smile. "You couldn't have known... But thanks, Angela."

"This evening, there's a movie I've been planning to watch at the cinema, would you maybe like to accompany me?" Angela offered, trying to ease the mood.

"I... don't know, maybe." Claire hesitantly replied.

"You should go, Claire. It'd do you good, I think." Allistair chimed in.

She paused for a brief moment before looking at Angela. "Okay, thank you for the offer."

Angela smiled. "No problem. I've been wanting to invite you to hang out for a while, actually."

Claire seemed surprised. "Really?"

It made Angela chuckle. "After all this time, I wanna believe we've become more than just a barista and her customer, don't you agree?"

Angela's answer allowed Claire to relax ever so slightly. "Indeed. Thanks."

Angela quickly wrote down their orders and left the two alone for the time being. Claire stayed silent, looking at her phone. She had received a text from her brother earlier, meaning that he was still alive and seemingly fine, but this sudden separation still hurt her a lot. She missed him deeply.

Angela was observing them from afar. Allistair was talking to her, gesturing with his hands. He was probably talking about fishing, it was something he and his wife liked to do on their free time.

Angela smiled weakly and excused herself, quickly going to the bathroom. There, she leaned against the sink and looked at the mirror, sighing.

I hate seeing Claire so depressed... I need to help her move on... Angela, I'm sorry, but you'll be perfect for this...

After my last meeting with Dahlia, back when I was still wearing Carmen, I took the decision to stick around. I couldn't bring myself to leave Claire, even with Dahlia assuring me that she'd take good care of her. It wasn't like I didn't trust Dahlia, far from it. I knew she'd keep her word, but I just couldn't fathom the idea of being fully separated from Claire. I had to stay by her side.

Thus, I decided that the best course of action would be to borrow the skin of the barista Claire often spoke to, Angela. Claire mentioned her sometimes, wishing she could maybe become proper friends with her someday. She was a cheerful girl, about my age, and the cafe she was working at was a family-run business, owned by her parents, and their own parents before them. She quite enjoyed it, though, not complaining in the slightest about her situation.

In her free time, she loved to swim, watch movies, and draw. She was a talented artist, having made the current logo of the cafe, and also a good swimmer, even if she never cared about competition.

I took a deep breath and looked back at my reflection, smiling as Angela would. I had to get back in character. I'd only been inside her skin for a weekend so far, but it had been a very pleasant experience. Her life was fairly relaxing overall, and it helped me cope slightly with my depressing situation.

I left the bathroom and went back to serving the food and drinks the clients ordered, coming back to Claire and Allistair's table a moment later with their orders.

"Here you go. Enjoy." I said as I served Claire her food, alongside a latte she didn't order.

"Huh, I didn't order the coffee." Claire said.

I smiled at her. "It's on me." I then gave her a small piece of paper with my phone number written on it. "Here, send me a text in like three hours. We'll be able to talk about our evening plans."

She took the paper and slid it into the pocket of her jacket, appearing more sheepish. "T-thanks..."

Allistair smiled, but didn't comment on it, simply thanking me for the food. I then left them again, resuming my work for the time being, being as dilligent as the original Angela was.