Chapter 1
He looked at her.
She looked so much like her.
His own daughter.
She had the same ice-like blue eyes, that could stare of in the distance, always calm and yet so warm and comforting.
The same nose, mouth, lips, neck... Even the same character. The only thing he could see in her that reminded her of him was her hair. The same white hair as his.
He followed her fragile posture with his red eyes. She looked up from her book, right at his face.
"Dad."
He looked at her. "What?"
"Why exactly are you staring at me like that?"
'Always calm. Typical.' he thought. ". . . No reason."
"Then why are you doing it?"
With a slight sigh, he stood up. "I'm going to make dinner." he said as he walked to the kitchen of their house.
'Again.' she thought. 'Why does he always deny it..?' She sighed and returned to her book.
3 quarters and a dinner later they were talking to eachother. A calm conversation between father and daughter.
"Dad..."
"Yes?"
"Can i ask you a question?"
"About what?" He sipped from his beer.
"About mom."
". . ."
She knew she would get that reaction. She always got it. All though she seemed to know a lot already, she knew how to loosen him up. She wanted to know more, about the woman who carried her and gave birth to her.
She stared at him with her blue eyes. "Please dad. I want to know more."
He sighed.
"What do you want to know..?" he said reluctantly.
"I already told you you look a lot like her, she gave birth to you when she was only sixteen (he regretted that, for sure), she was one hell of a good singer and that she's dead right now. I don't really know what i can tell you about her for the rest."
"Don't you have any pictures of her?"
He had a whole pile of them. He only never told her.
"No." he said hesitantly.
"Why not?"
"i don't know."
"I think it's pretty normal to have pictures from someone you loved."
"Is it?"
Of course it was. He knew that. Better than anyone else. He just didn't want to lose his memories of her. He looked back at her and wasn't surprised to see her looking straight in his eyes with that dry look of hers. She sighed and stood up, taking her plate and cutlery to the dishwasher and setting it in. After that, she returned to her room to make her homework for tomorrow.
He stayed at the table for some time, trying to remember things.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
"And why exactly do you love me?" She said, smiling.
"Because~ You're perfect and I can't live without you. You know that Lacie."
She giggled and kissed him again. "Yes i do. I just love to hear it from you."
"That's because the awesome me is saying it, of course~."
She laughed with that adorable eyes of her. "Probably."
"Dad."
His memory popped away from his eyes. He didn't even notice she came back. He didn't even hear her footsteps.
"What?"
"Can you help me with my math?"
"Of course." he said, standing up.
Alice looked at the new girl. She had gold blonden hair, shining blue eyes and a skinny posture. She had heard there was going to come a new girl in her class, but everyone thought she'd probably be asian (that were the rumours though). But she looked... German. Alice knew she wasn't German, she was Belgian, because they told her and her class mates that she was. Her name was Aurélie, a french name, although she was from the dutch part of Belgium. Alice thought she looked nice. And her intuition said they were going to be friends. And her intuition had never lied before.
At lunchtime Alice sat togheter with her friends at a table in the cafetaria. They talked for a while when Sophia suddenly asked something out of the blue.
"Say, what do you think of that new girl?"
Chapter 2
Little warning: This part is written in the point of view of Alice. Thanks for your comprehension.
"I think she looks nice." Xíulán said.
"Me too." Sophia said.
The rest just nodded in agreement. They all looked at me with eyes asking for an answer.
"Uhm.. I think so too."
"And what about your intuition?"
"It says we could be friends."
"Let's invite her to our table then."
Sophia stood up and practically dragged me with her. Heck, she didn't even give me the time to properly stand up!
"There she is." Sophia said and pointed to another table.
We walked to the table where the new girl, Aurélie, was sitting and sat down next to her. She looked confused when she looked up at us.
"...hey." she said.
Assertive as always, Sophia immediately took the word.
"Hi." She said, smiling at her, "We noticed you're new here, and we were wondering if you wanted to come and sit with us. We can give you a tour afterwards, if you want to."
Aurélie was speechless for a moment, but then, finally , answered.
"Sure." She said happily. She smiled brightly at us while she stood up.
We led her to our table and introduced her to the rest of our close circle of friends. Our thoughts were confirmed; she really was a nice and fun person to talk to. She told us her mom was still in Belgium and that she stayed here in a small studio that she rented. I figured it must be tough for a 15-year-old to live in a city you don't know all alone. We had the same age, we were in the same class and we were sitting next to eachother in class, so i had more time to get to know her better than the rest. After lunch, Xíulán, Sophia and i familiarized her with the school. It was fun, and it felt like i've known her for all my life already. We immediately were best friends. And neither of us did mind. I felt like i had never had a friend like her before. My intuition was right. Again.
After school i invited Aurélie to come over, but she couldn't. She said she still had to pack out some boxes and she thought of doing it now. We walked home togheter (we didn't live far away from eachother and all the rest was headed to the other side of town, so it was easier) and we talked some more. About different things mostly, the city, the events that happened here, the market every Tuesday, school, even pets. When we had to part ways from eachother, we agreed to meet up here tomorrow morning at eight, so we could walk to school togheter. We waved goodbye and i went home. It didn't surprise me when i saw that dad was already home. In fact, he was going through a big pile of papers. I didn't want to bother him, so i immediately went upstairs, to my room. I still had a bunch of homework i should finish. I sat down at my wooden bureau, sighed and started working.
After a few hours, i went downstairs and saw that dad was sleeping on top of a few papers. I wasn't surprised, but i didn't want to wake him either. I was hungry, so i just took some food out of the fridge, warmed it up and ate it. I sat down in the couch and watched T.V until he woke up. He came to me and looked at me with sleepy eyes. He sat down beside me and i felt the urge to pick up a cushion and place it between us. I resisted it, of course.
"Did you make your homework?" he said without looking at me.
"Yes. When you were sleeping."
"Ah."
He was thinking about something, i know him good enough, so i could tell. I couldn't tell what he was thinking about, obviously. It sometimes bothers me. He looks like he's always thinking, and i can't tell about what. I sighed and looked at the screen. I didn't bother to actually follow the show on T.V, i was too concentrated on my thoughts for that. I looked at my dad and i almost jumped out of my skin of the surprise i got. Was he... Crying?
"...Dad..?"
He looked surprised at me. "What?"
I could see it more clearly now. He did have teary eyes."Are you... Crying?"
He smiled his typical smile at me, but i could tell it didn't come straight out of his heart. It was fake.
"I'm sorry. I had something in my eye."
'Yeah right. Get someone else to believe that.' i thought.
Chapter 3
This chapter tells more about Aurélie, the new girl in school, hence the fact this chapter is written in her point of view.
I sighed when i came home. I was glad i already made friends. I'm not timid, but still... It was quite scary. New school, new class, new... Evrything. It's hard to be the 'new girl', you know... But it doesn't matter anymore, since i got Alice in school now. I smiled at myself as i put my backpack down on my desk and grabbed my laptop. I sat down on my bed and turned it on. I checked my twitter, facebook, youtube and lots of other things before i started writing about my day on my blog. When i finished that, I checked if i didn't get anything from my mum. And there i got it.
Hello sweety
Are you having fun there? How did the first day at school turn out? I hope it went well, i went to the same school, so i know a little about it too. (If it didn't change too much at least.) I hope you're already making friends there. It's empty here without you. Not that i don't enjoy the silence, but still. I look forward to the weekend. I hope you do too. I'll help you cleaning up your studio in the mean time. We can talk then too.
Until Friday. Love,
Mum.
I noticed i smiled while reading this. She missed me, i did miss her too, but i showed it, she hardly showed her feelings. I only ever saw her smiling. Even in hard times. I can't remember her getting mad at me. Ever. Of course i did things that i couldn't do, like every teen in puberty, but she never lectured me for it. Probably because she knew i would feel bad about it if she didn't. She would just laugh it away. That is why i am so attached to her. And because i never knew my father. My mother couldn't remember him either, not because she was a whore or something, but because she got in a car accident when she was 16, and could barely remember anything from the time before that. I don't know what to think about my father, but nobody, nor my uncle, nor my grandparents ever thought of telling me. I didn't even care anymore. I only knew i looked like my mum, a lot, but not a single thing of her character resembled mine. I am spontanious, she is rather timid, i talk to everyone, she likes to keep things for herself and figure out things on her own, i like to rule over a big group of people, she likes to work alone, and much other stuff like that. Sometimes she tells me i'm the most arrogant person she has ever known. I just laugh at that. Maybe my character resembles my dad more. But i don't know him, so i'll never quite figure that out. I thought about my mum, about her long, blond hair that would almost reach her legs even if she put it in a high ponytail, what she always did. It looked really nice, and it curled so funny at the tips of her hair. It was always soft, i loved that, it resembled her a little, soft and sunny, it really stood her. I admired her, i couldn't deny that. And i think she knows. She knows a lot of things, she always has an explanation for things. Sometimes i feel like she sees right through me. Or those are just her eyes. She sometimes has this ice-like expression, and her eye color doesn't help with that. God, am i happy she doesn't do that often. I was almost forgetting to answer on her mail.
Hi mum,
My first day went rather well, and yes i already got some friends. I'll give you the details this weekend. I also look forward to it.
I miss you.
Aurélie
That's that. And now... Homework. I sighed as i sat behind my desk, pulled out my books and started working.
Chapter 4
It was Friday-afternoon as Aurélie sat on a bank in the nearby station. She was waiting for a certain train, the train her mum had to be on. She was way too early, mostly because she didn't like to be late, but then, her patience wasn't the best either. She had already been waiting for over 20 minutes and it had felt like eternity to her. She sighed, as she crossed her legs again for the fifteenth time now. 'Where is that stupid train?' she tought. Just as she thought that a train arrived. Typical, especially for her. She stood up to wait on the platform.
Only 5 minutes later, the certain person she was waiting for stepped out. Aurélie immediately recognized her.
"Mum!" She ran towards her, glomping her with all her might.
"Easy, easy.." She laughed a little and smiled at her. "Hey there." She kissed Aurélie's forehead as Aurélie let go of her. "I'm so happy that you're here!" Aurélie said, more like shouted. "Me too." Lacie smiled at her daughter, whom she hadn't seen for a good two weeks. What seemed like an eternity when you're always togheter normally. She had missed her, and she was certain she had missed her too. She was very keen on her daughter, she was the one she could always talk to, and the other way around. To most people they didn't seem like mother and daughter, more like... Best friends. And Lacie was determined not to lose the relation they shared. She would do anything for it.
The weekend flew by as they were talking, shopping, going to restaurants and nice pubs and various stuff like that. But of course, Sunday evening, Lacie had to leave again. They hugged for a long time before Lacie had the chance to get on the train. She didn't mind though. Aurélie looked after the train before going back to her new 'home'. She never called it 'home' because it didn't really feel like a new home to her. More like just a 'house', (it was just a studio with a small kitchen and bathroom and a bedroom though), where she lived. Her mum had helped her to clean it up and give it a more 'home'-like feeling. She felt a lot better by that. Arriving at her house, she immediately went to bed. It was late and it had been a long weekend. But it was fun. And that was all that mattered.
–
A few weeks later.
Another test. Yay. Ugh. Honestly, Alice hated tests more than anything in the world. Who wouldn't when you're 15 and in the middle of puberty? Right, no one. Everyday, there was at least one test or assignment they had to finish at home. Another thing like that, homework. Not that she didn't do it, she just hated doing it. And for once, there was someone who shared the same ideas as her. Aurélie hated tests, homework and basically school as much as herself. Great, now at least there were two of them.
"Okay everyone, times up. Hand over your papers, please."
Alice sighed loudly as she gave her paper to the teacher. It's like they enjoyed giving them too few time to even finish there tests. Those ugly bastards. Alice hated them with a passion. Of course there were good teachers and teachers who in her point of view just were too evil in her liking to even be teachers. Just like the teacher of Math. This teacher in other words. She let her head fall on her desk in frustration. She only put her arms in front of her just in time to cushion her head. She looked sideways out of the window.
"Damn, that test was hard." She heard Aurélie say beside her.
Alice looked at her. "Ya think?"
Aurélie looked at Alice, but didn't say anything. She already knew Alice wasn't in a good mood today. She looked back at the blackboard as the teacher moved further to the next assignment. Great, even more exercises. Alice honestly didn't know why she was in a bad mood today, she just was.'Probably didn't sleep well.' She thought, as she reluctantly returned her attention to the blackboard. 'Only one more hour...' That fact was probably the only thing thet kept her from running away. Plus the fact that the next hour was history. She couldn't help it, but it was her favorite class. She liked to learn about all the wars, the kings and queens of the middle ages, she loved it all. But apparently, she was one of the only ones. She already noticed that Aurélie was intrested in it too, but Aurélie liked geography more. She coudn't blame her. They were different after all. They looked like each other though. If it wasn't for Alice's long silver hair, some teachers woudn't have been able to tell them apart. Aurélie had rather short, blond hair. They both had the same eyecolour, but Aurélie's eyes showed just that more of a mischievous look. Alice had softer eyes. Sure, they could be hard as ice, but normally, if noting was irritating or annoying her, they were soft. A first glance at Aurélie and you could tell she was more rebellious and had her own will wich, due to her obstinacy, almost always came true.
"Alice, can you answer the question?"
Alice's head snapped up. She was so abruptly awoken from her thoughts, that she didn't even know what the teacher had asked.
"Uhm... Sure..." She glanced at the blackboard hoping to find the question written on there when suddenly...
RIIIIIIINGG-
"Alright, we're coming back on this Monday."
"What they call, saved by the bell." Aurélie smiled at Alice. "You know you're very lucky now, right?"
"I guess so..." She coudn't hide how relieved she was. "What did she ask actually?"
–
Aurélie had agreed on Alice's invitation to go home with her and eat dinner and stuff. After all, it was Friday, so they didn't need to worry about school right now. And a bit of deserved relaxation after a tough week wasn't too much to ask, right?
As they arrived at Alice's house, Alice gave a quick tour around the house before dissapearing to her room. Alice sat down in the chair at her desk while Aurélie made herself comfortable on Alice's bed.
"Your house is really big, you know. Our home in Belgium is bearly as big as this." She knew she was lying a bit about that. But Alice's house was at least a little bigger, she was sure of that.
"Yeah, we got everything we need here. By 'we' i mean my dad and I, there's no one else here."
"Mother?" Aurélie asked her.
"Never known her. And my dad refuses to tell much about her. But i guess i learned to live with that."
Aurélie only nodded. "Believe me, i know how it feels."
Alice looked surprised at her. "Really?"
"Uh-huh. Well i can't blame my mum because of it actually, she doesn't know anything about it."
Alice looked astonished at her, even with a glint of disgust.
"It's not what you think it is," Aurélie quickly added after seeing her reaction, "She got in a car-accident before she gave birth to me. She barely remembers anything of the time before that. I can't deny i want to know something about my dad, but i can't blame her because of it."
"Do you have any other family besides your mum?"
"Yes, why?"
"Can't they tell you?"
Aurélie sighed before replying, "They refuse to tell me. They probably think that if i know something about him, i want to know more and because of that I would turn my mum into an emotional wreck." She laughed without humor at that. "Seriously, i don't understand them. I mean, my grandmother should know something about her own daughter, right? She doesn't seem to know her at all. It's like she doesn't want to see that even after that accident mum didn't turn into a wreck of some kind. She can take care of herself. And of me. It's like she doesn't understands or wants to understand that."
"That's awful..." Alice looked down at the floor, motioning to Aurélie to go further.
Aurélie nodded. "I know. I once overheard my grandmother and my mother talking before mum coudn't take it any longer. She just snapped at her." Aurélie sighed before continuing, "I really don't understand my grandmother on that point. She doesn't know anything about us. We're fine by ourselves and she just doesn't want to see that. I sometimes can't believe that she is supposed to be the mother of my mother. From the outside, maybe, but from the inside? Definitely no."
Alice looked up at Aurélie. "Are they that different?"
Aurélie nodded once again. "Mum understands a lot of things, even things that she herself never had to deal with. My grandmother just doesn't understand anything. I really can't stand her."
Alice noticed a few tears in the corners of Aurélie's eyes. She stood up swiftly and promptly gave Aurélie a hug. Aurélie hugged back as she let it all out.
"I mean... Seriously! Can't that woman see our feelings? Or does that witch just don't want to notice?" She let out a quiet sob as Alice hugged her friend tighter.
"Maybe she just wants to protect you by not saying anything about him..?" She replied.
"No. She just doesn't want to notice how we feel about it. I mean, she's family, that's the least you could do right? Even for your own granddaughter.." She tightened her grip on Alice's jacket. "I really can't stand her." Alice let go of her as Aurélie did the same and looked at her friend.
"You know, you and tears don't fit togheter." She said as she wiped away a few tears of Aurélie's face.
Aurélie laughed a little. "Thank you, i guess."
"You're welcome." Alice smiled at her. "Do you like baking?"
Aurélie only nodded. "Come on. I still have enough ingredients for muffins. They'll make you feel better."
"Thank you.." She replied weakly as she stood up from the bed. Alice took her to the kitchen and grabbed the ingredients for chocolate chips muffins before she looked around. "That's strange.." She muttered. "What is?" "Dad doesn't seem to be home yet. He normally is working at his desk or watching tv by now. I still haven't seen him." she replied. "Maybe he's in his office?" Alice nodded. "Probably. I should expect that at least. But then, he's old and wise enough, so i guess he's alright." She couldn't hide a glint of worry in her voice though. "He'll be fine." Aurélie said reassuringly.
–
When Gilbert came home, the whole house was filled with the delicious smell of chocolate chip muffins. He followed his nose as he pulled off his jacket and shoes, leaving them behind in the hallway. "Chocolate chip muffins with a little too much sugar in them." he said, eyes closed as he came in the kitchen.
"Exactly~!" Aurélie answered enthousiastically, looking at him.
Gilbert opened his eyes at the unfamiliar voice. He smiled before saying, "Hello there. I'm Gilbert, Alice's dad."
"Hello Gilbert." Aurélie replied. She stood up from her chair sticking her hand out, "Aurélie, Alice's best friend and classmate."
Gilbert smiled at her enthousiasm and gently shook her hand. "Mind if I steal one of those?" he said while pointing at the muffins. Aurélie replied before Alice ever had the chance. "No, go ahead."She smiled widely as Gilbert picked up a muffin before putting it high in the air, walking backwards. "Thanks girls! I'll be in my office if you need me." He pointed in the direction of his office before walking off. 'She looks so much like her' he thought while taking a bite of his muffin. Really, sometimes he wondered if he wasn't being overly paranoid.
–
Lacie stepped out of her car and looked at the house. She thought it would be a nice surprise for Aurélie if she picked her up without her knowing it. She stepped towards the door and ringed the bell. Waiting for someone to open she turned around and looked at the skyline.
As Gilbert heard the bell, he stood up from his desk and walked towards the door. He only saw the back of a woman with long, golden, wavy hair. He opened the door as she turned around. He couldn't believe his eyes whe he saw her.
"Hi." Lacie said and smiled at him.
Chapter 5
"H-hey..."
"I'm here to pick up my daughter. I thought she should be here."
"A-aurélie?"
"Yes." She smiled at him before sticking her hand out. "I'm Lacie, Aurélie's mother. Nice to meet you ..."
"Ah. Gilbert." he said before shaking her hand. "Uhm... Come in." he opened the door further to let her in.
"Thank you." She smiled kindly before stepping inside.
'No way... It can't be... She is.. Still alive?' Gilbert closed the door behind her as Lacie went farther in the house. "I-i'll call them down.." "Okay." Lacie said as she looked at him. Was it her or did he seem nervous? Probably just her.
Gilbert walked upstairs, taking the turn to Alice's room. He opened the door and saw them sitting opposite from eachother staring intently in each other's eyes. He only just now noticed they looked like each other. They were different, but oh-so alike. "What are you doing?"
Alice was the first to look up before she realised she just lost the game. "Shit-!"
"No shit." Aurélie smirked at her. "I won – Again."
"I'll repeat my question. What are you doing?" Gilbert said, still confused.
"Just playing a game. 'Look-in-each-other's-eyes-without-blinking' thing." Alice said as she stood up. "But what is it?"
"Ah." Gilbert snapped out of his thinking process. "Aurélie, your mother is here to pick you up."
"Mum? She shouldn't be here.." Aurélie said although she quickly stood up.
"Well, she is. She's downstairs" Gilbert said before stepping away from the door, letting them out.
Aurélie quickly ran downstairs. She couldn't believe it! The moment she came downstairs, Lacie turned around and faced her. "Mum!" Aurélie practically glomped her. Lacie stumbled backwards a little. "Hello there." Lacie said as she smiled at her. Just at that moment, both Gilbert and Alice came down. Alice didn't seem to think anything was wrong, but Gilbert was still confused, not to mention speechless. Alice just sticked to his side. She didn't know why she suddenly felt the urge to cling onto her dad. She did stand a little closer to him as Aurélie let go of Lacie.
"Did you cut your hair?" Aurélie asked her.
Lacie laughed a little before replying. "Typically you to notice immediately. Just the tips."
"Knew it!" Aurélie turned around and looked at Alice before walking towards her and dragging her to Lacie.
"Huh-Wha-HEY!" Alice shouted, astonished.
Lacie giggled a bit at Aurélie's roughness. "Mum, this is Alice, my best friend and classmate."
"Hello Alice. I'm Lacie, Aurélie's mother."
"A-alice." She managed to stutter out. She sure as hell was straight, but even she couldn't deny Lacie was beautiful. She thought her hair was really nice, wavy and even more curly at the tips, and those eyes.. They just smiled with her whenever she did. 'She looks like an angel..' She thought.
Gilbert was astonished, speechless and not to mention, confused above all. This wasn't supposed to happen! If she's still alive... Then why the hell did the hospital tell him she was dead? This couldn't be happening... Yet she was right before his eyes, in his house, talking with his... No, their daughter and... If she was still alive and Aurélie was her daughter and if it really was her, then... Alice and Aurélie were twins? They never told them she was carrying twins! This wasn't real... He needed to sit down. His mind was going crazy. He walked towards the kitchen and sat down in his chair. This is too crazy to be happening! This must be a dream. It couldn't be anything else. Yet it felt so real... It seemed so real... It was real. Gilbert looked at her. 'She didn't change much... Her hair is longer. A lot longer.' It only reached her shoulders last time he saw her... But then, last time he had saw her was 15 years ago... It still had the same shining, golden color though. He bet it was still as soft too. She had become taller too. Not much, but enough to notice. He had noticed a few little scars in her neck from the accident too. He remembered her neck was all tight up in bandages, while you could still see the red of the blood coming through. He didn't like the sight of that. At all. It had healed rather well now, but you could still see it. Though her hair covered most of it. But it didn't cover all of it.
"Hey, Alice. What's your birthday?" He heard Aurélie ask.
"The 15th of may, why?"
Aurélie gasped before continuing enthousiastically. "That's mine too! We can throw our party together!" Aurélie turned to Lacie. "That should be alright, right?"
"Yes, it would." Lacie smiled at Aurélie's enthousiasm. She was used to this, so she knew she wouldn't stop rambling about it for a while. She would find a way to stop her somehow.
Alice turned to Gilbert. "Would it dad?" No reaction. "Hey. Dad. Hey!" "Huh what?" Gilbert had a major headache by the time. Alice sighed. "Mine and Aurélie's birthday is on the same day. Would it be alright for us to throw our party togheter?" She repeated. "Yeah, sure..." he answered absently. Alice walked towards him. "You're not listening to me, are you?" "I am.." "Then what is it?" "Nothing.. Just a headache." Alice flinched. This wasn't like her dad. He had plenty of things, but never headaches. Never, not even once. "I have painkillers with me, do you want one?" She heard Lacie say. Her voice sounded rather worried. "Yes, thank you..." Gilbert replied. That wasn't like him either. Whatever happened, he always tried to handle it himself. He hed never asked or accepted help before. 'Something must be terribly wrong.' was the sentence that kept flying around in Alice's head. As Lacie gave him a painkiller, Gilbert immediately took it and swallowed it without water. "You should drink water with that actually." Lacie warned him. Too late, of course. "It's alright, the awesome-..." He cut himself off just in time. "I can handle it." Lacie smiled a little. It was a worried smile, not one of those he always liked to see. He smiled reassuringly at her.
–
As the evening fell, Alice and Gilbert sat in the couch watching tv. Gilbert was still confused and his headache still wasn't over. Alice turned to him.
"Hey dad."
Gilbert looked at her. "What?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, why?"
"Because. You never had a headache before, and you never accepted help from anyone else before. Is that headache over yet?"
"...Yes.."
"Don't lie to me."
"...No..."
"Has that painkiller even helped?"
"A little."
Alice sighed. "Something is troubling you. You'll feel better when you talk about it." She knew he wouldn't. Not to her. Especially not when he was neglecting her like this.
"I'm sorry Alice, but i'm not in the mood."
"When will you be?"
Gilbert sighed. "Look, i'll tell you when i want to tell you, and when i know for sure. But as you know, i now have an appointment." Gilbert stood up and walked to the hallway. "Don't wait for me."
Alice sighed loudly. Now she was frustrated. "Yeah, go to a pub and drink something with your friends, what an appointment..." She muttered softly.
–
Gilbert waited outside the pub for his friends. He already had asked inside but no one had seen them yet. He knew Francis was always too late, but it wasn't like Antonio to come too late. Lovino and Belle were probably keeping him there longer.
"Hola, Gilberto!" Antonio said when he saw Gilbert waiting for him.
"Bonjour, mes amis!" Francis said when he saw them.
"Hallo, meine freunde."Gilbert said in return.
As the threesome went inside, they sat on their usual spots. After a little chattering, Antonio came to the main point of their assembly.
"Why did you ask us to come actually? Our usual meeting is next week. Couldn't it wait a little longer?"
Gilbert rubbed his temples in an attempt to stop his head from the painful throbbing, but in vain. He sighed before he replied his friend's question. "No, it couldn't. You know that there is a new student in the school right?" he waited a little on purpose.
"Yes, Sophia told me. She said she was nice and that she's good friends with Alice already, but why do you bring her up? Anything wrong with her?" Antonio replied after a small pause.
"No, not at all, but..."
"With what then?" Francis asked. Gilbert looked at his two best friends. He knew he could tell them without them telling him he was crazy. They've been friends since elementary school, so he knew them quite well.
"It's about her mother."
"Do we know her?" Antonio asked.
"Yes. If i'm right, quite well actually."
"Are you not sure about it, mon ami?"
"Actually, i am. It's just hard to believe."
"Who is it then?"
"Oui, qui?"
Gilbert sighed and finally replied after an uncomfortable silence. "It's Lacie." He looked at them. He had expected this reaction. They looked at him in disbelief and astonishment.
"Mais... C'est impossible, Gilbert! I thought she was dead?"
"Sí! You told us that yourself!"
"I told you that because i thought she was, because the hospital told me. But, the fact is that i saw her, with my own eyes, and i even talked to her. And it can't be someone else! She looks too much like her to not be her! And then still, she even introduced herself as Lacie, so i'm quite sure about it."
Antonio and Francis both were silent after that. Antonio was the first to lay the link.
"Espere. You said she had a daughter. What age?"
"15." Gilbert replied.
"What birthday?"
"15th of May."
Francis slowly got it. "Twins?"
"Probably." Gilbert said. "It wouldn't surprise me if they didn't tell us she was carrying twins. The problem is, i can't charge them for it now, because the facts are barred by lapse of time. And Lacie doesn't have any memories from the time when we were togheter. She didn't even recognize me..."
It was only now that he looked down absently. His two friends did the same.
"That's awful..." Antonio replied. "Did Alice see her?" He looked at Gilbert.
"Yes, when she came to pick up Aurélie, why?"
"Maybe you should tell her that her mother is still alive."
"But she'll think i lied about everything then..!"
"Tell her the truth. Wouldn't it be easier to tell her first and inform Lacie later?"
"Non, mon ami! What are you thinking? Let him get close to Lacie again first! Let him show her around town again!"
"Warum?" Gilbert said. "I don't see any reason to do that."
"Because, mon ami, it worked the first time, why wouldn't it work now? There's no doubt she'll fall for your charms again! But you have to do un petit peu to help her with that, right?"
"Sí! It's the best thing you can do! I can ask Belle if she'll help you with it, they were best friends in high school too!"
"Will she believe that she's still alive?"
"Sí, amigo! Why not? She knows i don't lie to her! And especially not about things this serious!"
Francis nodded. "C'est vrai, ça. And especially not when you assure her you're certain."
Gilbert smiled at his friends. He knew they would help him out. Even with something as crazy as this. "Danke. I owe you both."
"Pas de problème. You can count on us."
"Sí! De nada! You'd do the same thing for us." Antonio grinned. They both were right. He needn't worry this much.
They drank and talked more untill their plan was all set. They all knew they would need something really bad to mess this plan up. But they were determined to make this work. This could not fail.
Chapter 6