Owen had just burst into the cottage. Smiling, he scanned Brooke's body from bottom to top before moving forward. Her face, her eyes, her mouth... Brooke found all the markers known and yet so appreciated at the time... Seeing him again strangely didn't have the desired effect on her... But, despite that, she obviously let him approach her. It was now his body odor that infiltrated her nostrils... This odor that she knew so well. It was clear that his eyes seemed less captivating than in her memory, his face less harmonious. Owen moved his head forward to kiss Brooke greedily while his tongue was already forcing her lips open. His mouth and lips seemed to Brooke also less fleshy and delicious than before ... Without doubt it was the effect of time, the effect of resentment, and certainly also the effect of Lucas just before ...
Brooke let herself be carried away by this kiss which was not unpleasant at all. Owen moaned with desire in her mouth.
OWEN : Mmmhh ...
His hands then came to firmly grasp Brooke's buttocks ... a little too quickly for his taste, moreover. Owen took the opportunity to push her against him by rubbing himself harder against her and his hand went up to her chest.
OWEN : I missed you so much, baby ...
Brooke would like to tell him that it was the case for her too, but the words couldn't get out of her mouth. Tim, for his part, didn't hesitate to interrupt their reunion.
TIM: Damn man, there are rooms for that!
Owen then briefly moved away from Brooke's mouth just long enough to say:
OWEN : Tim, don't be a pain and give us some privacy!
Brooke took advantage of this reply to move away from Owen a little, he frowned as he held her back.
OWEN : You're in a hurry to go to the bedroom... Is that it, princess?
Even more uncomfortable, Brooke felt Owen's hand take hers to pull her with him towards the bedroom.
BROOKE : No Owen. I'm sorry but I can't stay.
OWEN : Huh!? Why!?
BROOKE : Well because it's too risky if they find me here!
OWEN : It's risky for all of us, my dear! But the place seems safe to me, we're not in any danger tonight.
BROOKE : You don't understand... I'm supposed to go eat with the Nuns, they're interested in what I'm doing here. I remind you that I'm here to serve a work sentence, me... So, I have to answer to someone.
Owen's gaze softened, he seemed to be trying to understand her point of view and what was bothering her.
OWEN : I understand, sorry, my dear. You don't even have time for a quickie!?
BROOKE : A quickie!?
OWEN : Well it's not very classy I know, but damn Brooke I've been waiting for this for weeks!
Despite his inelegant proposal, Brooke couldn't help but be flattered by his want and need for her.
BROOKE : I'll try to come back later, okay?
Sensing her leaving, Owen took Brooke's other hand and pulled her against him.
OWEN : Don't try... Do it, please. You have no idea how much I want to see you naked, to feel you and be inside you, baby. I know it wasn't easy and you've been through a lot, and I wasn't there... But I'm here now, next to you, for you... Do you hear!?
Brooke's lips quirked into a discreet smile... She would really like to believe it but a big doubt remained, despite everything.
BROOKE : Mmmh... I'll send you a message on your new number... The recharge is in the bag, by the way.
Owen turned his head to the bag of groceries and then turned his attention back to Brooke as she was already opening the door.
OWEN : I'll be waiting for your message then, babe.
TIM : Could you bring some cigarettes when you get back too!?
Meanwhile...
After driving several kilometers, Lucas finally arrived at his destination and entered the church. He took a seat in the voting booth and waited for the priest to join him on the other side. A cough signaled his presence.
LUCAS : Bless me, my father, because I have sinned.
PRIEST : I bless you, my son. Enter without fear and in the trust of confession.
Lucas already paused as if to structure his thoughts before beginning.
LUCAS : I came to confess recently but I am coming back to do an act of penance. I always invoke my right to anonymity.
PRIEST : Good. Speak without fear, my son. God listens to you and loves you.
LUCAS : I succumbed to temptation, Father. But that is not the sin that brings me to you today. I hurt that person... I blame myself and I regret it terribly. My words have harmed the person who perhaps means the most to me. I fear she will never forgive me; I think I would die if she did.
PRIEST : Guilt and remorse are not feelings that are easy to shake, my son. But your mind may return to them stubbornly, and they will overwhelm you if you do not repair your clumsiness.
LUCAS : Except I meant every word I said, Father. Well, almost every one of them. There was something I did say, though... That it was his fault I had finally snapped. That was completely hypocritical of me! It may have accelerated what was ultimately inevitable, nothing more.
PRIEST : Have you ever expressed your regrets or apologized ?
LUCAS : No, the opportunity has not yet presented itself. But I am already dreading it.
PRIEST : You must assume your responsibility, which could be enough to free you and heal this wound. Besides, nothing is more useful than an opportunity to talk with the person to whom you have been unfair.
LUCAS : The words I said... They are so selfish, so unfair from his point of view. She trusted me, well I hope she did... But I broke that bond of trust.
PRIEST : Nothing is immutable, my son. God always forgives if we want his forgiveness, of course... Humanly, however, we need a gesture or a word to restore the joy of my newfound trust...
PRIEST : Nothing is immutable, my son. God always forgives if we wish for his forgiveness, of course... Humanly, however, we need a gesture or a word to restore the joy of renewed trust...
LUCAS : A gesture?! What gesture could compensate for the cruelty of my words!? I could ask her for forgiveness... I dream of hearing her forgive me. But what would my forgiveness be if I can't change my speech? It's a fact, I have nothing more to offer her...
PRIEST : So your reality absolutely cannot be reconciled with hers, is that it? If that's the case, renunciation is sometimes inevitable. But is that really the case?
LUCAS : Should I give up? I think I couldn't bear it... Give up on her?! Unless that's the only solution... And right now?
PRIEST : This seems to pain you greatly, my son... Can your incomprehension really not be resolved in comfort and reconciliation?
LUCAS : For that... For that, I would have to confess something to her that I can't tell anyone. Something unspeakable... Something essential to understand why I act like this... But when she finds out, she will feel betrayed again... Because everything is a lie.
PRIEST : Is the affection you feel for her also a decoy? Or would we even dare to talk about love...?
LUCAS' THOUGHT : Could it be love?
Brooke was finally on her treadmill running at full speed to clear her head. She would really like all her worries to magically disappear... But her brain was agitated!
BROOKE'S THOUGHT : I don't know what to think... Why is Owen here? Is it really and only to see me again? I like to think so, but if that's the case, why come all the way here with Tim?! If he wants to give us a real chance, then we have to leave... Far from here. He's wanted and will end up, sooner or later, being arrested... This is our only chance. If he came all the way here, it's because he really cares about me, and he imagines our future, together... But what kind of future!? No longer will I take the risk of ending up in prison... At least, he talks about the future... Not like Lucas.
Her words echoed in her head again... And her heart and throat tightened together.
BROOKE'S THOUGHT : He wants to live and enjoy this romance in secret but it will be over the day I leave. Why would he take this risk for the duration of my stay here... Then we disappear for each other? It's incomprehensible. If he had wanted to stop everything, I would have suffered but at least I would have understood! And then, I know that I am not of the greatest morality... But still! How can he believe that I would give myself to a man for a few weeks... Without hoping for more!? I don't understand him, that's what makes me the most angry in the end...