"Mademoiselle Caulfield? A word, please?"
Max froze a few feet from the door, and reluctantly watched everyone else leave the classroom. She'd tried to leave as fast as she could, but unfortunately, not fast enough.
Dammit! After making a show of myself in class, the last thing I need is one of those teacher support speeches! I'll try to make it quick.
Once she was alone in the room with Monsieur Lacroix, she turned around and headed back to her teacher's desk, dragging her feet, holding an elbow with her other hand.
"Yes, Monsieur? I don't have much time, I have drawing class in five minutes."
"I know. Do not worry, this will not take long. I was very impressed by your picture. Obviously, Chloe meant a lot to you."
Max nodded. "She did, yes. Oh, uh, before you begin, I need to tell you not to worry, obviously I'm not quite okay but I have therapy, and medication, and my friends are all very supportive."
The teacher raised an eyebrow, confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, I guess you're about to give me the 'concerned teacher speech' I've had from everyone else since Monday, so…"
"Oh. I see… why, it is commendable of my colleagues to care about your mental health, and obviously so do I, and my door is always open if you need. I… have lost dear friends as well, I know the feeling. Grief is a long and painful process and you need all the support and love you can get in this difficult time. We have known each other for three days only, but in these three days I had the opportunity to see how your friends care for you. You are very lucky to have them."
Max nodded. "Thank you, Monsieur."
"Now, you made it clear you do not want to talk about this at the moment, and as a matter of fact, it is not the topic I wanted to address with you. As I said, I was very impressed by your picture, and by your enthusiasm in my home last night, and I think you have what I am looking for…"
Max felt a shiver of anticipation run down her spine. "Wh-what do you mean?"
Monsieur Lacroix smiled at her, rose, put a hand on her shoulder and dropped the bomb:
"Maxine Caulfield, would you like to become my assistant?"
The world shut down around Max. She was still conscious, but felt like her brain couldn't register anymore what her eyes were seeing, what her ears were hearing.
A fatal exception 0E has occurred in [Brain]. The application will be terminated.
"Mademoiselle Caulfield?"
Rebooting device…
"Mademoiselle Caulfield?"
"I, uh… I…" she tried to articulate pitifully. "I'm s-sorry, Monsieur, I was… daydreaming, I guess? I thought you said you wanted me to be your assistant?"
"Then you were not daydreaming, for it is exactly what I said. I want you as my assistant, or protégée, if you prefer. Disciple."
"Are you cereal?"
The teacher looked puzzled: "What does cereal have to do with it?"
"Oh, uh, sorry, just a thing I say… I meant serious."
"Ah, I see, serious, cereal… comical. But you seem… astonished, did I say something wrong?"
"No! I mean, no, there's nothing wrong, just… I… I'm really honored, but I'm surprised, that's all. I thought, if anyone, you'd ask Victoria."
"Why would I choose Victoria Chase?"
"Well, you're friends with her parents, so…"
The teacher chuckled. "Mademoiselle Caulfield, as I told you last night, it is now time for me to choose a disciple to perpetuate the tradition, and this is not a decision that shall be taken lightly. And certainly not on the basis of who I am friends with. Mademoiselle Chase is very talented and surely has a brilliant career ahead of her, but you… you just have something she does not."
Max tried to react to this, ask him what it was, but in her state of shock, the only thing that came out of her mouth was pure gibberish, which seemed to greatly amuse her teacher.
"Tell you what," he said. "I will let you go to class, and we can talk about it later when you have processed this, if it is alright with you? My home at nine, tonight, what do you think?"
"Um, yeah, k-kay… g-goodbye, Monsieur Lacroix."
Like a zombie, she left the room and headed for her next class.
Dog, Life Drawing went on forever! Still stunned, she couldn't concentrate on her work. She wished she had Kate to talk to, but her friend was excused from Life Drawing when the subject was nude. Which was kind of unfair, thinking about this. Why would Max have to put up with drawing a naked guy's wiener just because she wasn't religious? Of course, Blackwell had a policy of not making the students uncomfortable, and everyone had the right to skip drawing class when it was nude time. But try doing that without the excuse of religion, and you'll be labeled a prude or a chickenshit for the rest of the year.
Victoria, sitting next to her, elbowed her and whispered: "Earth to Max! Where are you, you don't even know what you're drawing!"
Max startled and looked at her easel. Definitely didn't look like a naked guy. Definitely didn't look like… anything, really.
"You okay?" Victoria asked. "Either you're a million miles from here, or you're entering your Jackson Pollock phase."
"Uh, yeah, guess I'm getting tired… was a tough day."
"Like hell it was. Wanna get some shots after class?"
"You mean alcohol? Yuck, no way!"
Victoria chuckled: "I'll never make you cool if you drink nothing but tea, Caulfield."
Max shrugged: "I can't help, I'm a tea-totaller."
"Did you just make a very lame pun here?"
"Nope, don't know what you're talking about." Then she slowly waved a hand in front of Victoria's eyes and said: "You didn't hear anything."
"The Jedi Mind Trick only works on the weak minds, you dork!"
This made both girls laugh, but a scolding look from their teacher quickly forced them to calm down and focus on their work. Which didn't prevent them from casting glances at each other once in a while and breaking into hushed giggles. Max was starting to really like Victoria, but could she talk to her about her dilemma? Probably not. Victoria would probably yell at her for even considering refusing Lacroix's offer, insisting it would be a fantastic kickstart for her career to be the disciple of a renowned photographer, and all the things she would learn, not to mention he was so cool, and smart, and chic, and imagine Max, he could take you on working trips to France! Those were pretty good points of course. But on the other hand, Kate's wariness from last time was still on her mind. What if Lacroix really hid some sketchy shit from them? What if this offer, and wanting her to come to his place tonight to talk about it, what if it was all a trap?
She still hadn't solved this dilemma when classes ended and she returned to her room, leaving Victoria to have drinks with Taylor and Courtney and prepare the upcoming Halloween party. On her way, she passed by Kate's room and stopped when she heard the sweet sound of her violin. She was playing again! Delighted, Max gently rapped at her door.
"Come in," Kate said.
"Hi, Kate," Max said as she entered. "Just wanted to say I'm happy you're playing again. I've missed your violin."
"Why, thank you," her friend said with the sweetest smile in the world. If there really was such a thing as a divine light that can heal all the pain in the world, it would probably look like the smile of Kate Marsh. "I know it's not perfect, I got a bit rusty, but it'll come back soon enough."
"It's perfect for me, Kate."
"Want a cup of tea?"
"Sure."
Kate put her violin down and invited Max to sit down on the couch while she turned on her kettle and prepared the tea, but Max couldn't resist going to pet Alice instead. She was just the cutest bunny in the world! When the drinks were ready, Kate sat down on the couch while Max sat cross-legged on the floor, facing her.
"I liked your photo," Kate said. "It was very sad, but at the same time very touching. I imagine it was hard taking it."
"Thanks. It… was tough, yes. Luckily, I had support."
She gave Kate an account of her time with Victoria, which seemed to please the Christian girl a lot.
"I'm glad you two are getting along so well," she said. "You know, I think the more we know her the more likeable she is. At least, our ordeals gave her the strength to shed her bully character and be herself. I'm sorry, Max, I wish I was there for you this afternoon."
"Hey, don't be sorry! You had other things to do, you can't always be there for me, Supermarsh!"
Kate giggled: "That nickname will follow me for the rest of my life. But I can get used to it…"
"So how was your lunch with Dana? You know, I was surprised she wanted to hang out with you, I didn't know you two were friends. I mean, Dana's friendly with everyone, but…"
"Yes, I see what you mean… it… was okay."
Max frowned. Kate avoided her face and played with her mug. She looked nervous. Hiding something?
"What was this project she wanted you to work on?"
"Oh, nothing… much."
"Kate, is everything alright? You sound like you're not telling me everything."
"Yeah, it's… don't worry, it's nothing."
"No, Kate. I know when you're worried, and you look hella worried now. Sorry for the H-word. There's something on your plate, I can see it. You know you can talk to me, right? If you have any problems, I'm here for you."
Kate was looking down at her cup, trembling and biting her lips. Finally, she sighed and said:
"You're right, I can't carry this burden alone. And you're my best friend, I can trust you to keep a secret. I'm… I'm worried about Dana."
"Why? What happened with her?"
"She… came to me yesterday asking all sorts of questions about religion and church. Like, how often I go to church, pray, these kinds of things. I was happy to chat with her, you know I don't preach but I'm always willing to share when I'm asked. Then she asked me if I could take her to church. She wanted to try."
"She wanted to visit a church? Or attend service?"
"No, she wanted to… confess."
Max raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Confess?"
"Yes, confess. She said she'd often seen that in the movies and was wondering what it was like in real life. She wanted to try new things. So she asked me to come with her so I could brief her on… like, how it works, what you're supposed to do… it's simple, really, but I guess it can be intimidating for people who're not used to going to church."
"So that's what you two have been doing at lunchtime."
"Yes. But… she didn't look like it was just for trying new things. She looked really nervous when we entered the church. I left her in the confessional and went to pray, read the Bible a bit until she was done. Then when she came out, her eyes were red, and puffy, she gave me a hug and thanked me for being there for her, and apologized for not supporting me more when I needed. She looked so distressed it hurt. She's been crying in there. I don't know what she told the minister, she wouldn't tell me and I didn't want to be nosy, but I'm afraid she's not doing alright. I think she wanted to confess because she's in real trouble and needed to soothe her soul. I wish I could help her, but I don't know how because I don't know what's torturing her…"
I can't believe how strong Kate is! She's been through Hell with that video, and finding out what Nathan and Jeffershit did to her, yet she still finds the energy to care about other people!
"Do you want me to try and talk to her?" Max asked.
"I don't know, do you think she'd get mad at me?"
Max shrugged: "Well, it's not like you were eavesdropping on her confession, you just had a feeling something wasn't right and told your best friend about it. I won't pry, just let her know that she can talk to me, or you, if she needs to."
Kate nodded, relief: "Thank you, Max."
"Anytime. Kate… would you mind playing again?"
This made Kate grin with joy as she grabbed her violin and started playing again. Max enjoyed the concert for a while, then decided to go grab her guitar in her room to jam with her. They kept playing like this until it was almost dinnertime.
"How about dinner and a movie tonight?" Kate asked.
Max raised an eyebrow and smirked: "Kate Beverly Marsh, are you asking me out?"
Kate burst out laughing at that and playfully shoved her friend. "You're silly, Max!"
Max laughed with her for a while then said: "More seriously, I'm all for dinner but I can't watch a movie with you tonight, got lots of homework to finish."
"Oh. Do you need some help?"
Max shook her head: "Thank you, but I have to get some work done by myself, once in a while." Then, seeing her friend looked disappointed, she added: "But I promise, tomorrow we'll have a movie night together, how does that sound?"
This made Kate smile: "Deal!"
"Great! Now I need to lie down for a while, defragment the day, how about I come back in half an hour and we can go get dinner?"
"Okay, I'll see you later then. Enjoy your nap!"
Max left and returned to her room. She didn't actually need to rest, nor did she have homework to do tonight. She hated having to lie to her best friend like that, but after what Kate told her, no way she'd tell her about Lacroix. This would only get her worried sick, and after her lunch with Dana she was already under enough stress as it was. But this musical interlude had helped Max process and evaluate the situation more clearly, and now she knew how to handle tonight's appointment. She grabbed her phone and texted:
Max Caulfield: u there?
Warren Graham: always for u, Maxwell Silver Hammer!
Max Caulfield: -'
Max Caulfield: charmer
Warren Graham: yup, that's my middle name :D
Warren Graham: whats up?
Max Caulfield: I need ur help 2nite
Max Caulfield: can u drive me to Lacroix's place?
Warren Graham: need a driver? What happened 2 ur panzer?
Max Caulfield: trucks fine, but I need a bodyguard actually. Have u polished ur shiny armor, my knight?
Warren Graham: Sir Warren de Graham always ready to help the damsel in distress! But why do u need protection?
Warren Graham: he threatened u?
Max Caulfield: na, dont worry, just being cautious. Tell u more about it on the way, got 2 b there at 9, good 2 u?
Warren Graham: sure, see ya!
Max Caulfield: oh, and not a word 2 Kate please. Dont want 2 stress her out
Warren Graham: got it
Relieved, Max put down her phone. Now she had a plan. Just one thing left to do before dinner. She left her room and went to knock on Dana's door.
"Be right there!" a voice called from the other side, and a few seconds later, Dana opened her door, beaming at her visitor.
"Hey there, Mad Max! What's up?"
"Hi Dana, just dropped by to say hi. Mind if I come in?"
The cheerleader stepped aside and motioned to Max to come inside, then closed the door behind her. Max took a look around: pink couch, pink bedsheets, posters of bands and her cheerleading squad on the walls, various trophies on her desk and table… Dana's room was an exact representation of her character: lively, optimistic, full of energy. It was no wonder Dana was the head of the cheerleading squad and one of the most popular students at Blackwell: she was a human ray of sunshine. But looking at her now, Max could see something was off: something in her eyes betrayed her and revealed the sadness behind the smile.
"So," Dana asked cheerfully, "how you doing?"
"Fine, thanks. Dana, I wanted to talk to you about something, but I… just, promise you won't get mad at Kate?"
Dana sighed. "She told you about our trip, right?"
Max shuffled her feet, uneasy. "Yeah…"
"Max, it's okay, I promise. I might have freaked her out, sobbing like that, and I'm sorry, but I was just… surprised? This confession thing, it's pretty intense, and I think I got overwhelmed for a while."
"Oh, okay… so that's it?"
"Yeah, that's it. Nothing to write home about."
"Kay…"
Max paused, thoughtful. She's lying, I can see that. There's something on her mind that she doesn't want to talk about. Well, can't force her but I can at least sow the seeds…
"Okay," she resumed, "I'm relieved then. Kate and I were afraid there was something serious going on. Just so you know… I know we never really talked much, my bad, but I really like you. You were one of the few people to be really nice to me since day one, and even if we're very different, I… I care about you."
Dana smiled warmly, her eyes bright. "Why, thank you Max! To be honest I always thought you didn't really care about people, staying in your room and not talking much…"
"Yeah, I know, I do care, it's just… anxiety issues. Had them since... since forever. But I'm trying to change. So, if you need to talk, you know, my door's always open."
Dana nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Mad Max."
Max left her room, feeling even better and, for the first time in a long time, proud of herself. I feel like with my friends, together, we can make Blackwell into a nice place after all!
Now, dinner. And then…
The drive to the town center started silently. Anxious, Max was clenching her hands between her thighs, trying not to anticipate what could happen. It was very dark already, the sun now reduced to just a faint glow in the horizon. Fall, already… she decided she needed some conversation to keep her mind busy:
"So," she asked, "have you found your date for the Hammer marathon?"
Warren blushed at that: "Oh, yeah, didn't I tell you yet?"
"Nope," she replied cheekily. "You must have forgotten. But, word has it that one Brooke Scott…"
Warren startled with surprise, then sighed: "Kate?"
Max giggled: "You didn't really thing she'd keep that from me, did you?"
"Right, I should have known. So yeah, we had a talk about movies the other day, she told me she loved old-fashioned vampire flicks, so I… well, I asked her out. Didn't think she'd say yes, to be honest."
"Really? So how do you feel about it?"
"Honestly? Terrified. I'm not used to going on dates, and Brooke's been my friend for a while, I never thought we could… well, she's pretty, and we have a lot in common, but I never thought she'd be interested in me that way. So, uh, what should I do?"
Max raised an eyebrow: "Are you asking me for dating advice? Boy, you're so screwed!"
Warren snorted: "Hey, I know you don't have much experience, but you're a girl!"
"Okay, well… I'll tell you what I didn't like about you, back when you tried to take me out, maybe this will help. You… tried too hard, that's the thing."
"Tried too hard?"
"Yeah, you know, I like the funny Warren, the geek Warren who knows everything about movies, and science and stuff, I like the nice Warren, but I didn't like the Warren who turned constantly on flirt mode. It wasn't like you, and it made you look weird. So, when you're with Brooke, just relax and be yourself. If she said yes, it means she likes you the way you are, you don't need to try too hard to impress her. And, when you're at the drive-in… don't try making a move on her. If you're thinking about it, you'll get nervous, she'll feel it, and you'll have an awkward time. So, yeah, I'd say be yourself, be cool, have a good time with her, and everything will be fine."
"Got it. And if things turn awry, I can still text you for emergency advice."
This made Max laugh. "Okay, I'll be sure to keep my phone close and turn on my 'Dr. Max, Dating Advisor' mode."
"We're there," Warren said, suddenly growing serious as he parked the car in the street where Monsieur Lacroix lived. He took a deep breath.
"You sure you're okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. I think so." She tried to sound a lot more confident than she actually was. "Remember the plan?"
"Sure. If you're not back here in twenty minutes, I call you. If you don't answer or you answer and say the word 'pizza', I call the cops. Easy-peasy."
"Right. And don't try to burst in to save me, okay? Let the cops do it."
"I get it, I'm not a super-hero. But seriously, do you really think this is some kind of trap?"
"No… I don't think so, but Kate had such a bad feeling about him, I… you know what, actually I don't know if I'm more afraid of this being a trap or not."
"What do you mean?"
"If it's not a trap, it means I'm really going to be his assistant and it will launch my career. And that's… terrifying. At least, being just a shy photography student with dreams of going big, I stay in my comfort zone."
"Oh, come on, if he's serious about it, it means he's seen you have talent and deserve it. I know it's scary to go big, but don't doubt your worth, Max Power!"
Max giggled. "Okay, thanks for the pep talk. Here we go, wish me luck!"
"Break a leg!"
Max got out of the car and slowly walked to Monsieur Lacroix's house. Her legs felt like rubber and her throat felt like sandpaper. She swallowed hard.
Come on, girl, have some guts!
She stood in front of the door, raised her fist to knock… and suddenly the door opened, as if Monsieur Lacroix had seen her come. Except there was no Monsieur Lacroix, nor anyone else. The door had opened by itself to an empty lobby.
Weird, but it's probably just the wind or something, the door wasn't closed…
She walked in, and jumped out of her skin with a yelp when the door slammed close behind her.
Just the wind, just the wind…
She clenched her fists and struggled to return to a normal breathing. There was a strange, deep rhythmic sound like a drum echoing in the hall. No, in her ears.
Gosh, is that my own heart I hear?
Struggling to put a wobbly foot in front of the other, she walked on to the living room. Same dim lighting, same old English furniture, same walls covered with daguerreotypes… but no-one to welcome her.
"Monsieur Lacroix?" she called, and felt ashamed at her own voice, coarse and feeble. She took a deep breath, cleared her throat and called out louder: "Monsieur Lacroix? It's Max. Max Caulfield? You asked me to come. The door was open, so I got in… are you there?"
No answer but a little squeak that made her jump again. She quickly turned to the source of this sound and saw a black rat on the floor, looking at her.
"Hey, you! You're the little one that spook Kate last night, aren't you? Now, have you seen the human that lives there?"
The rat didn't answer, of course it didn't. Her photographer instinct temporarily taking over her fear, she took out her camera and aimed for the little rodent. She had a strange feeling of déjà-vu. When had she already tried to take a snap of a rat? It felt like not long ago but she couldn't remember…
Before she had time to shoot, the rat suddenly turned and ran into a hallway opening on the opposite side of the room.
"Oh no you don't!" she said as she followed it into the hallway, just in time to see it disappear behind a door ajar. Without thinking, she went straight for the door and opened it before freezing. The door opened to a brick staircase leading down to the cellar. It was dark down there, save for a faint blueish glow. She tried the switch but it wasn't working.
Maybe that's where he keeps his secrets. What will I find down there? Lots of body bags containing his victims? A torture dungeon complete with a rack and whips and chains?
No, actually, she was sure it wasn't any of it. She suddenly had the gut feeling that whatever was down there, in the dark, was nothing her overdriven imagination could conceive. Something… other, something that shouldn't be here, something so deeply wrong that just gazing in its direction without seeing it froze the blood in her veins. She put her foot down on the first step.
What the fuck am I doing? Get the fuck out of there, Max!
But she put her second foot on the second step, and kept going down, slowly. Her mind was yelling for her body to turn around and just leave and never come back, but her body simply refused to obey. Whatever was downstairs, it was calling her with such force that she could not resist. She reached the end of the staircase and found out, surprised, that she could see. The lights were off but the floor was covered in a thick, luminescent mist that diffused a ghastly blue light around. It was… a wine cellar, a simple wine cellar, in the shape of a narrow hallway that took a sharp turn a few feet ahead of her, like an L. The walls were covered with wooden shelves on which were laid dusty bottles of wine. Loads, loads of bottles. And amidst these bottles, running and climbing and squeaking around, completely oblivious to her, were rats. Hundreds of them.
Okay, one rat is cute, two rats are adorable, but a gazillion of them? Now it's getting creepy…
From where she was, she couldn't see the end of the hallway, beyond the sharp turn. She put her foot down into the mist, half expecting to fall into some kind of ethereal foggy dimension, but no, her foot met nothing but a solid stone floor. She took one more step. The mist went up to her ankles so that she could no longer see her own feet. She shivered hard, and hugged herself. It was hella cold in there. So cold that the plume of condensation that escaped from her mouth at each expiration was as thick as that mist.
Why the fuck do you keep walking, Max? Why don't you turn around and run off? Is this curiosity? A death wish? Something else? Goddammit, you stupid bitch, just run the fuck off already!
But her body wouldn't listen, drawn by an inexplicable and irrepressible need to see what was beyond the sharp turn. In horror, she watched herself walk closer and closer to it, screaming internally but unable to do anything about it. She jumped and yelped when something brushed past her foot and through the blue haze she could make out the figure of a rat running away. More goddamn rats on the floor. She kept going with extra cautious steps. Finally she reached the sharp turn and could contemplate what was hiding beyond it.
A coffin.
A white coffin with silver handles, resting on a dais of purple velvet. She drew closer to it, fascinated. What was that doing here? What was inside? She knew she had to look inside, she felt it. She reached out
Bad idea, bad idea, BAD IDEA!
and with one hand, she opened the lid, her arm outstretched above her head to keep it open. Inside
Holy fucking shit!
was the body of a woman. A young woman in a black funeral dress, her hands crossed on her chest, her eyes closed in an air of peaceful sleep. Her hair was blue, her right arm was heavily tattooed, and her face was one that was burned in Max's memory forever.
"Chloe?" she called weakly, choked by an overwhelming wave of emotion. Her eyes instantly started to fill up with tears. Chloe was so beautiful, even in death. Max couldn't resist reaching out to her with her free hand, caressing her smooth, cold cheek.
Chloe opened her eyes, suddenly, lifeless blue eyes that stared at the ceiling without seeing it. Max gasped and jumped back, releasing the lid that dropped shut with a frighteningly loud bang.
What the fuck!
She covered her mouth with her hands, gasped, she felt like she was going to suffocate, for she breathed so fast she felt she didn't draw in any air at all. Her vision felt blurry, with only the coffin staying in focus, and she couldn't hear anything save for her gasps and her pulse pounding.
Calm down, that's a panic attack, but you know how to handle those!
She closed her eyes, forced her breathing to slow down. It was okay. It was going to be okay. It was a hallucination. It couldn't be anything but a hallucination.
Let's be real for a second, what would Chloe be doing here? And even if Lacroix's some kind of sick fuck who, for whatever sick reason, has stolen her body to store it here, you just can't have seen her open her eyes, cause she's dead, Max!
But I saw her!
You didn't! You're terrified and you're tripping balls, that's all! You want proof of that? I dare you to open the coffin again and see there's nothing in there!
Hell no I won't!
Double dare you!
No fucking way!
Double dog dare you!
Max clenched her fists, mustered all the courage she had left, and sprang forward to open the coffin again.
It was empty.
"Mademoiselle Caulfield!"
Max yelled and dropped the lid again. She turned around to come face to face with Monsieur Lacroix, who was standing in his usual black suit, looking at her with a somewhat amused look in his eyes. Where the fuck did he come from? The girl took a quick look around and noticed the cellar was now bathed in an electric yellow light from the bulbs on the ceiling. The floor was bare stone. Of the mist and the rats, there was not a sign left anywhere.
Wowser! Did I hallucinate all of this? But the coffin, it's still here!
"Uh, Mo… Mons…" she stammered.
"I am sorry I did not hear you come in," her teacher said. "I was down here looking for a bottle of wine, and I guess you came down looking for me. You did good."
He then turned to a shelf and picked a bottle to examine it. "Château Le Bonnat 2011," he said, "a bit young, but a pretty good one. It will do for tonight."
"Why do you have a coffin in your cellar?" she asked so bluntly she surprised herself.
He shrugged, looking even more amused. "Why do you have a bed in your bedroom?" he asked.
"What? Wait, this… this doesn't make sense! T-t-there were rats, and-and fog, and-and-and in the c-coffin there…"
"Maybe we should go back upstairs, we would be much more at ease to talk, shall we?"
And on these words, he quietly made his way to the staircase, leaving a confused Max to follow him.
"Please take a seat," he said once they were back in the living room.
Max knew she should have taken this opportunity to escape, but whatever kind of spell she was under didn't seem to have worn out yet, for she just sat down on the couch, feeling equally lost, baffled and terrified. Monsieur Lacroix put the bottle on the table, went to pick two glasses, then sat down on the armchair facing her. He poured wine in the two glasses and took one for himself.
"Now," he said, "we have much to talk about and in France, you never talk without a glass of good wine."
Max's eyes grew wide as she saw the second glass move by itself, gliding on the table as if gently pushed by an invisible hand to stop right in front of her.
What the… no way I'm touching this glass!
She picked up the glass.
Fuck you, Max Caulfield! Okay, but don't you dare drink it!
"I am sure you have many questions, Mademoiselle Caulfield. I shall endeavor to answer all of them, in time, but for now you seem a little… confused, so please allow me to do the talking." He took a sip from his glass and went on. "This afternoon, you asked me what made you more special to me than Victoria Chase, or any of your other classmates. As I told you, Mademoiselle Chase has talent, and ambition, but you, you have something she does not. Do you know what it is?"
Frozen, Max could only manage to shake her head weakly.
"I shall tell you, then. What you have that makes you so special. Pain."
His voice came from directly to her right and she startled when she saw he was now sitting beside her on the couch.
"Grief."
Then his voice came from behind, and indeed he was standing behind her. She hadn't even seen him move!
"Anger," he continued, now sitting on the coffee table, his face just a few inches from hers. She was still paralyzed. "You feel you and those you love have been dealt a bad hand, you have a rage simmering inside of you, and unquenchable thirst for revenge, you feel the whole universe has been unfair to you and you are dying to fight it and make things right and find peace, for yourself, and your friends. Those are very powerful emotions, Maxine Caulfield. Emotions that transpire in your pictures and make them so special. But at the same time, these emotions are weighing down on you, preventing you from thriving and reaching your full potential. You must have guessed by now that I am not merely offering you to become my assistant. I have more to offer, so much more. Accept my gift, and all the unfairness of the universe… you will be rid of it. All those emotions will be but memories that you can tap into to fuel your art, but that will no longer have any power over you. I am offering you to be free, free of any limitations and boundaries, free of pain and sorrow, free to be anything you want to be. I can make you an artist. I can make you happy. I can give you a power beyond your imagination, beyond your wildest dreams."
Then he disappeared again to reappear by her side, his mouth very close to her face, and whispered in her ear:
"A power that can defy death itself, and make your dearest wishes come true. All you have to do… is accept it."
She contracted every muscle in her body as she felt his breath, his cold breath, down from her ear to her throat. His cold lips on her throat.
That was too much for her. Suddenly regaining complete control of herself, she turned swiftly and threw her wine at him. But he was here no longer, and the red liquid just fell on the rug. She looked around. No sign of him, anywhere.
Run!
Dropping her glass, she sprang from the couch like a jack-in-the-box and made a dash for the lobby, but froze dead in her tracks when she saw him standing in front of the door, blocking her escape. She clenched her fists. She wasn't much of a brawler, to say the least. The last time she got into a fight, it was in elementary school, and that fight consisted in her getting her ass kicked pretty bad until a mousey blond tomboy named Chloe Price came to her rescue. But she was willing to fight for her life. All she had to do was hold on a few more minutes, then Warren would call the cavalry. Well, she hoped so, at least. How long had she actually been in there? Lacroix didn't move. He just stood there and said:
"You know, a wine stain is very difficult to remove, and I liked this rug. It really tied the room together. But I am willing to blame it on shock and forgive it. I said in class that I would not tolerate any predatory behavior, and I am true to my word, Mademoiselle Caulfield. That is why I will now allow you to leave, but please keep in mind that my offer still stands."
And he stepped aside and the door opened by itself, just like before. Max cautiously walked toward the door, drawing as wide a circle as she could between her and her teacher, not letting her eyes off him, and when she was finally outside, she ran for Warren's car.
"Nineteen minutes and twelve seconds," Warren announced as she opened the door and sat inside. "Hey, you okay? Shit, Max, you look like you've seen a ghost!"
Indeed the girl was pale as death, panting, her eyes so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets, her hair disheveled.
"That's okay," she managed to utter in-between gasps. "That's okay, just… panic attack… his offer… was overwhelming…"
"Alright," he said, not really convinced. "So… we're good to go?"
"We're... yeah, we're good to go."
Monsieur Lacroix stood on the threshold of his house, watching Warren's car drive off in the night. He lit a thin cigarette and stared musingly until the car took a turn and was out of sight. Then he smiled.