Apparently, Ava the clairvoyant was the nice surprise that Sabine had in store for us. And to be successful, it was successful. How did I not see this coming? No idea. Was I so focused on my little person that I forgot to go snooping around my house?
aunt ?
I almost sent her away. But by the time I got over the shock (she could see Riley, do you realize?), Sabine showed up and invited her in.
I’m glad you could come. You have already met my niece, I see, she adds, leading her into the games room, where a table has been specially set up.
I’m sticking around in case Ava dares to talk about
Riley. But Sabine asks me to go get a drink for our clairvoyant and, when I return, Ava is drawing cards from someone.
You should get in line, because there might be a lot of people, my aunt suggests, leaning against Frankenstein’s shoulder.
This one, with or without his hideous mask, is not the cute guy who works in the same offices as her. Nor the financial tenor he claims to be. In fact, he still lives with his mother.
Having no desire to ruin his evening, I keep my secrets to myself.
See you later, I said as I walked away.
I’m glad to see Sabine having fun for once. Plus, I found out she has a bunch of friends and apparently she
becomes interested in the opposite sex again. I have a lot of fun watching Riley dance with unsuspecting people, overhearing conversations that aren’t her age. Suddenly, I feel the need to isolate myself from all these wandering thoughts, these auras that vibrate everywhere, this phenomenal energy, and, above all, from Damen.
So far I’ve done everything to keep my distance and play
indifference when meeting him at high school. But to see him arrive at
unexpectedly, this evening, in a disguise which is obviously the counterpart of mine, I don’t know what to think anymore… Lately, however, he seemed to be interested in his redheaded friend or in Stacia, and not in me. He played the seducer with his star looks, his
charisma and his incredible magic tricks.
I plunge my nose into the bouquet he brought me: twenty-
four red tulips. Tulips are not known for their fragrance, but they exude a sweet, intoxicating fragrance. With my face in the bouquet of red petals, I confess that I like Damen. A lot. I can’t do anything about it, that’s how it is. And no matter how much I try to pretend otherwise, it doesn’t change the reality.
Before him, I had resigned myself to living alone. It was not
cheerfulness of heart, but I tried to convince myself that I would never have a boyfriend again, that I would never be close to anyone again. Did I really have a choice, when even the slightest touch was so painful? I would know everything about my partner’s thoughts. There would no longer be anything secret or mysterious between us, no more reason to torture our minds, to try to guess the other’s feelings.
Being able to read people’s minds, see their energy or
deciphering their aura seems joyful, at first glance. In reality, this is far from the case, believe me. I would give anything to go back to my previous life, to become normal and ignorant again, like everyone else. Because even your best friends can sometimes think of uncharitable things, and you have to know how to forgive when you don’t have the “pause” button.
That’s what’s great about Damen. He’s a bit my
“pause” button. The only one I am unable to read, the only one whose voice imposes silence on others. With him, I feel
extraordinarily good, safe, warm, and as natural as can be, except I can’t help but think there’s something very weird down there.
I sit on a deck chair near the pool and arrange my skirt around me, hypnotized by the changing globes.
color as it slides on the surface of the water. Lost in my thoughts, absorbed by the grandiose spectacle unfolding before my eyes, I did not see Damen arrive.
He smiles at me, and instantly my body catches fire.
Hi ! Nice party! I’m glad I got in there. He sits down next to me, and I turn my head away. I know he’s teasing me, but I’m too confused to respond.
With the tip of his finger, he caresses the long black feather that I stuck in my wig at the last minute.
You make a magnificent Marie-Antoinette.
I purse my lips, nervous, feverish, very tempted to run away. And then I take a deep breath, relax, let myself go. I have the right to live a little – even if only for one night.
And you, a magnificent Count of Fersen. He’s laughing.
You can call me Axel!
I point to a slightly damaged spot on his shoulder.
Did they charge you extra for the moth hole?
It’s not a moth hole. It is the consequence of an artillery fire, minimal damage, as they say.
I’m trying to find the girl I was before, the one for whom seduction was second nature.
If I remember correctly, it’s in the scene where you’re trying to please a young brunette woman, right?
He giggles.
There was a last minute change. You didn’t get the new script?
I lie down on my deck chair, smiling. It’s so nice to let go, to behave normally, to flirt like everyone else…
With the tip of his index finger, he follows the line of my neck, leaving a delicious tingle in his wake, lingering under my ear, before following the hem and gently caressing my cheek, his lips so close mine that our breaths mingle.
It’s a new version just for the two of us, where you, my
dear Marie, you earn the right to keep your pretty little head. By the way, don’t you want to consult this clairvoyant?
I shake my head. I wish he would stop talking and decide to kiss me!
Are you skeptical?
I want to scream in frustration.
No, I… I don’t know.
Why is he constantly talking? Doesn’t he realize that this might be my last chance to have a normal experience with a boy? That the opportunity will perhaps never arise again?
And why don’t you go there?
It’s a waste of time ! It is impossible to read in the
people’s thoughts or predict the future, right?
I turn my eyes towards the pool, where the globes have turned pink and form a heart on the surface of the water.
Gently, he grabs my chin in his hand and brings my face closer to his.
You seem upset…
That’s something else. Sometimes he talks like a Californian surfer
basic, and then, without transition, it looks like it comes straight out of Wuthering Heights.
I chuckle despite myself.
No not at all.
What’s so funny?
I cringe when he slips his fingers under my bangs. He drops his hand and looks at me with such a kind expression that I almost want to tell him the truth.
What happened to you ?
I don’t answer. Because tonight is the only time to
the year when I have the right to be someone else, when I can finally relieve myself of the responsibility for the disappearance of everything I held dear. Tonight I have the right to play, to please and to take
spontaneous decisions that I might regret. Because, tonight, I am no longer Ever, but Marie. And if Damen is a worthy Count of Fersen, he will eventually shut up and kiss me.
I don’t want to talk about it.
In the pool, the globes turned red.
What would you like to talk about then?
His eyes are two bottomless pits that attract me irresistibly.
I don’t want to talk at all.
I hold my breath when his lips finally touch mine.
