Although Seth lived in Davenport now, he came back to Buffalo from time to time. It was a short ride, his family still lived there and he actually owned a house there that not many people knew about. A house he never used and now he was there with Dean. Renee had said she didn't wanna stay in the hot Vegas weather for another Summer so Dean was interested in maybe buying Seth's old house since it just stood there unused anyway.
However, Dean and Renee and the potential house sale couldn't be further away from his mind as he walked downtown and saw Augusta. She had been his crush for such a long time in his younger days even though she never knew about it. She was the shy one while her two year older sister Dottie was the outgoing one. Also the one that had introduced Seth to Augusta in the first place.
She was still as beautiful as back then. Her hair was long and chocolate brown while her eyes were cornflower blue. He had always loved those eyes. He loved when they looked into his and he loved when he caught her watching him or when she caught him watching her. That happened more times than he could count. He was always watching her just like he was doing now. However, the beautiful woman didn't smile or look happy. She looked troubled and almost kind of scared as she hugged her bag of groceries and hurried forward. He crossed the street and walked over to her.
"Augusta," he said.
He gently grabbed her arm and she yanked it away as if she thought he was gonna hurt her. She let out a deep sigh when she saw who it was.
"Seth? What are you doing here?" She asked.
"I'm just home for a little while. Why are you all jumpy like that?" He asked.
He didn't wait for an answer since he caught sight of an old high school friend walking on the other side of the street.
"What's up, Henry?" He yelled.
"Welcome home, Seth! Ditch the bitch and come find me down at the pub tonight!" Henry yelled back.
Seth frowned and turned his head to look at her again. She just looked down ashamed as if that word was something she had earned.
"Bitch?" He asked. "Why does he call you that?"
"It's fine. It's one of the nicer ones," she said.
"What else does he call you?" He asked.
"Murderer, slut, whore, witch, bimbo, cunt. Do you want me to go on?" She asked.
"Why would he call you that?" He asked shocked.
"They all do," she answered.
She shrugged and started walking but she didn't get many steps before he stopped her again.
"Why, Augusta?" He asked.
"You seriously don't know?" She looked at him surprised.
"I wouldn't be asking if I did," he said.
"Because of what Dottie did," she said.
"What did she do? Do I need to have a talk with her like when we were younger and she was being a real bitch towards you?" He asked.
Her jaw dropped for a second but then she managed to gather her composure again.
"She's dead, Seth," she said.
"What? How?" He asked.
"She killed herself afterwards. Didn't you follow the news?" She asked.
"Afterwards what?" He asked.
"Where have you been?" She couldn't believe it. "The shooting last year down at the subway station."
"Oh, I heard about that. Someone killed eight people and then killed herself afterwards," his eyes widened. "What the fuck? That was Dottie?"
She didn't need to answer that. He knew the answer before asking the question. Her eyes turned incredible sad and he pulled her into his arms for a hug.
"Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Mom told me about the shooting but I never asked who it actually was. I was so busy in my own little world," he apologized.
"It's not your fault," she said.
"But why is everyone harassing you then?" He asked.
"They needed a scapegoat. You know how these things are. People want someone they can blame and hate, and since Dottie had enough brain to kill herself afterwards, only I was left," she answered.
"That's not right," he said.
"Maybe not but that's how it is," she pulled out of his arms. "I'm used to it. I don't interact with anybody if I can help it. I go and buy groceries, I take in every little word someone might throw at me and then I go home."
"Augusta," he took her hand. "You shouldn't let them walk all over you like that. It's not okay."
"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do but it's really not your call. I haven't seen you in years. You roll in and out of this town and not once have you been by to see me. You don't owe me anything. Our friendship died years ago. We grew up and now we have to face life and reality and whatever is thrown at us," she said. "It was really nice seeing you though. You look good. I gotta go."
So many things he wanted to say but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. He just stood there watching her go away. His crush from his late teens and early twenties and she had only gotten more beautiful with age. He couldn't believe the town had turned on her like that. She didn't deserve it. Dottie was always the crazy one which she had proved by going on a killing spree but Augusta was sweet and warm and something else. With a sigh he headed back to the house where Dean was sitting with his laptop at the dining room table.
"Where's the beer?" Dean asked when Seth entered.
"Shit, I completely forgot," Seth said.
Dean chuckled a little at how confused Seth looked.
"You go out for beer and you come back emptyhanded. What happened?" He asked.
"I ran into someone from my past," Seth answered.
"Male or female?" Dean smirked.
"Female," Seth said. "And yes, she means something to me."
"Ex?" Dean asked.
"If only. No, we never got together. Her sister would always get in the way and now..." Seth ran a hand through his hair. "This shit isn't right!"
"Wow, calm down. What's going on?" Dean asked.
"Can you run out to get those beers? I could really use a drink right now. I'll tell you everything when you get back," Seth said. "And I'm borrowing your laptop."
When Dean came back, Seth was reading into the massacre the year before. He sighed and downed half a beer before telling Dean everything he knew and what had happened between him and Augusta an hour earlier. That turned into a trip down memory lane when he told Dean how he was secretly in love with her back then.
"I think Dottie always knew. She would do her damn best to keep us apart. We could be in the middle of a conversation and she would literally dump down between us and make it all about her," he said.
"She doesn't sound like the best friend," Dean said.
"She wasn't but she knew how to control people and she was popular. Everyone feared her and worshipped her at the same time. It was better to be on her good side than to be thrown to the wolves," Seth said.
"And you?" Dean asked.
"I didn't give a fuck about her. I just wanted to be close to Augusta. She was shy and she didn't fit in. She only came along because she was Dottie's sister. I would always find my way over to her and we would talk about everything and nothing. She was the sweetest woman I've ever met," Seth said.
"She's the one that got away," Dean said.
"Yeah," Seth nodded. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
He emptied his beer and shook his head.
"I need a distraction. This thing is getting to me," he said.
Dean snickered as he took his laptop, found a webpage and handed the laptop back to Seth. Seth stared at a sight full of camgirls.
"I got a subscription so just pick one to watch," Dean said.
"Why am I not even surprised?" Seth chuckled.
He scrolled down the list of online girls just waiting for men to come into their rooms and hopefully pay them something to get a little extra show.
"Mystique," Seth mumbled.
Dean looked over at the screen and saw a woman wearing a black, lace mask that covered half her face. Her blue eyes were the only thing visible on the top half of her face.
"One of the covered ones. I don't ever watch them. I like to see their faces when they moan, you know," Dean laughed. "And normally they disappear after a month or two. They need money here and now, cover up and do the work while being ashamed. This little bird is the only covered one who has lasted for a longer time,"
"I know her," Seth sighed.
"What?" Dean asked.
"I can recognize those eyes anywhere," Seth said.
He clicked on the picture and the live video started playing. She was in a set of ruby red, lace underwear, smiling falsely while saying some guy's name who had asked for it in the chatbox.
"Augusta, what are you doing?" Seth asked.
"Wow, that's her?" Dean stood up. "Nope, I'm not looking at your girl. I'm making dinner or at least ordering something."
"She's not my girl," Seth said.
"Maybe not the smartest thing if you're looking at her either. It'll only hurt or arouse you or maybe both at the same time," Dean said.
Seth had already clicked away again before Dean said those words. So many times he had dreamed about seeing her in her underwear or naked but he didn't want it to happen like that. It wasn't her. He knew that. The woman he knew would never have chosen to work as a camgirl and he wondered what had driven her to that point.
"You're going to see her, aren't you?" Dean asked.
"Tomorrow," Seth answered.
"Yeah, I can tell. You got that look on your face," Dean said. "Just be careful, Seth. She's not the woman you remember. You might end up getting hurt."