"I cannot believe you made me do that!" Georges' screech was barely heard over the intense laughing of the surrounding girls. He desperately tried to shake the flour, which he was forced to dump on himself as a dare, out of his hair. He eventually gave up and sat back down, groaning. "I'm never playing truth or dare with you again."
The group was seated at a table in the middle of the bakery. Adrienne de Lafayette closed the shop twenty minutes ago and the group of teenagers took it as an invitation to relocate downstairs for more space.
Fanny patted him on the shoulder in sympathy, though the gesture turned more mocking as she couldn't stop laughing. "Get over it, Georges! It's your turn anyway."
"Fine." Georges huffed. "Susan, truth or dare?"
After witnessing the crazy things her friends were forced to do as dares, Susan decided to play it safe. "Truth."
Georges thought for a moment. "Okay… what is your greatest fear?"
The colour visibly drained from Susan's face. That was definitely the worst question she could have been asked. She bit the inside of her cheek, pretending to think the question over when in reality the answer was clear to her. She knew what her greatest fear was since she was a little girl.
James Reynolds.
"Heh, that's a tough one." Susan stalled. She made eye contact with Theo across the table, bringing a palm to her chest and then up to her forehead.
My dad.
She knew Theo took a sign language class last year and hoped she would remember.
Theo's eyes widened in realization. She pointed a finger to Susan and repeated the second sign.
Your dad?
Susan nodded, thanking every deity she knew that the rest of their friends didn't notice the exchange.
Please, she signed, distract them.
"So, who's hungry?" Theo interjected, laughing nervously. "I'm starving! How about we get some snacks and move back upstairs?"
Susan facepalmed. Theo was never the subtlest of people but her poor attempts at distraction were absolutely ridiculous.
The group jumped from the sound of the bell ringing through the bakery. The glass door opened and the school P.E. Teacher trudged in, carrying a very drunk Monsier Lafayette over his shoulders.
"Bonsoir, Monsieur Mulligan." Marie started unsurely. "Is Papa okay?"
"He's fine." Hercules Mulligan grumbled. "Go get your mother, sweetheart."
A minute later, Adrienne came rushing in from the kitchen, rolling her eyes at the sight of her husband. She brushed a stray hair from his face, cooing softly in French.
"What did you do to him?"
"Calm down, Adrienne, it wasn't my fault. Alex mentioned Laurens and the rest was history. You know how he gets." Mulligan forced his way to the stairs. "Help me out, will you? He's your husband."
"Raise a glass to freedom, something you can never take away, no matter what they tell you…" Lafayette slurred from Mulligan's side as he was practically carried up to his bedroom.
"Oh, I'd take away your freedom if I could," Adrienne grumbled under her breath as she followed Mulligan upstairs.
"Please excuse our Papa, it was his birthday last week and he always goes out with friends the weekend after. You heard what Monsieur Mulligan said, Monsieur Hamilton brought up… their late friend and that always hits hard for him." Georges explained apologetically, throwing a cautious glance in Frances' direction.
"You can stop dancing around the issue." Frances leaned across the table. "Mr. Lafayette got shit-faced drunk because Mr. Hamilton brought up the death of my father."
"Frances-" Marie started but was quickly cut off.
"It's the truth, Marie. My father died eleven years ago and this is why your father is in that state. It happens every year on this exact day. Don't try to deny it."
"I wasn't going to. I wanted to say that you don't have to talk about it. I know it still hurts you."
The blonde relaxed at the soft comforting words of her girlfriend. Tension seeped out of her body as her shoulders slumped. She beckoned Marie closer with a finger.
The French girl walked over and nestled in her girlfriend's lap. "Je t'aime, ma chérie."
"I love you too." Frances leaned down and kissed Marie on the lips. Marie kissed back, pushing up closer to the blonde. Frances' freckled face tinted with a blush as the kiss deepened, her hand running through the black curls.
"Okay, lovebirds, break it up!" Angie laughed. "There are children present!"
"I'm only a year younger than you!" Fanny protested.
The young couple finally broke apart, though Marie showed no sign of wanting to move from the taller girl's lap.
"Hey, Susan, are you alright?" Fanny asked, noticing the uncomfortable look the Reynolds girl had on her face.
Frances blushed again, this time for embarrassment. "Sorry, we got a bit carried away with the kiss."
"No, no, it's not about that." Susan squirmed in her seat. "It's about Monsieur Lafayette. I don't mean to intrude into your family life but I was just wondering something. Does that… does he come home like that often?"
"Like what?" Georges raised an eyebrow.
"Well,,, in that kind of state." She answered vaguely.
"What kind of-" Marie seemed to realize the implication. "No! No, of course not! I told you, it was his birthday last week. He's clean as glass usually, I swear."
"Oh, yes, alright, of course he doesn't." Susan tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything."
Marie shrugged. "Eh, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Can I ask why you would think that, though?"
"Oh, well, um, it's kind of a hard thing to-" Susan took a deep breath. Better to come out with the truth now instead of having it forced out of her later. "My dad used to come home drunk. A lot. He would get all red in the face and yell and throw things. My mum used to hide me in the laundry hamper when I was little so that he wouldn't take his anger out on me. Once I outgrew the hamper I'd hide in the closet, behind the storage boxes. He only found me once, the day the Reynolds pamphlet blog was published. That was the last time I ever saw him."
"Susan, you don't have to answer that truth, you know?" Theo crouched in front of Susan's chair, her voice dropping to a whisper. "It's just a game. You owe no explanation to anyone."
"I know that, Theo, but they deserve to know." Susan turned to face all her friends. "You guys are the first friends I've ever had and I think you need an explanation to all the weird things I've been doing. So, if you don't mind... I'm gonna tell you everything. Why I'm used to not eating, why I flinch at loud noises, why I'm scared of drunk people…"
Georges decided to prompt Susan to continue, seeing as she trailed off. "Does this have anything to do with the question I asked you in truth or dare?"
Susan nodded. "You want to know my worst fear? I'll tell you. It's… it's my father. I'm deathly afraid of my father."
The atmosphere in the room changed immediately. Fanny pressed a hand to her mouth to mute the shocked squeak that came out of her. Frances sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively held Marie, whose jaw had dropped open, closer. Angie fiddled with her hair, not knowing how to react to the revelation, while Georges' face contorted into an apologetic expression, showing his clear regret about asking the question in the first place. Meanwhile, Theo clutched Susan's hand, rubbing small circles onto the back of it with her thumb, a sad look on her face.
"Can we move upstairs?" The Reynolds girl spoke up.
"If you'll be more comfortable talking about this upstairs, then of course," Fanny responded timidly.
A minute later, Susan was wrapped up in a blanket on Marie's bed, leaning into Theodosia's warm and kind embrace. All her friends were around her, keeping their distance as not to crowd her. Sympathetic looks were permanently etched onto their faces. Susan took a deep breath and began to tell her tale.