44
I arrive home just in time for dinner, surprised to hear my father’s voice echoing through the dining room. It’s been ages since he’s come home from work this early and joined us for a family meal.
“Alma, we don’t just come home to sit down and have dinner served to us. You could help your mother from time to time.”
My mother’s eyes tell me not to take the bait. Basile and Lily, already at the table, seem as nervous as I am. There is something in the air. I take a seat, and my father immediately starts speaking again.
“Your mother—who is an angel, as everyone here knows—has asked me to bring this family back together. So, your presence is required at every single dinner, unless—in exceptional circumstances—you have been given permission to be absent.”
Edward Lancaster, expert in “do as I say, not as I do.”
“Furthermore, I have decided to take a closer interest in your lives. Basile and Alma, you’re practically adults. You can make your own choices, as long as they respect the values we’ve instilled in you. Lily, my darling, your turn will come. For now, you do what Mom says.”
I suppose he thinks he can bring us closer together by being a tyrant.
“Basile, I took the liberty of calling Isaac Sanders’s parents so that we can meet them soon.”
“Dad!” Basile exclaims, horrified.
“No need to raise your voice. They were delighted by my invitation. They’re coming here for dinner on Thursday evening. With Isaac, of course.”
“Lily, I swear I’m going to cut your tongue out,” my brother mutters.
But I can see that Basile is trying not to smile. He is probably silently thanking our little sister, who always has her ears pricked up and can never manage to keep a secret. If Lily knows the truth, she can’t help but shout it from the rooftops. For better or for worse.
“And lastly,” my father continues, “I met with Keith Johnson, Vadim’s caseworker, to find out a little more about the long-haired rebel in a leather jacket who seems determined to steal my daughter away from me.”
My whole body tenses up.
“He was extremely honest, and unfortunately, it seems that your boyfriend is a lost cause, Alma.”
I must have misheard.
“According to his own caseworker, he is unpredictable, impossible to manage, unable to handle any kind of structure, and still has pending issues with the law.”
“That’s a load of crap. He was innocent!” Lily butts in, confirming that she basically knows everything about everyone.
My blood is boiling. I feel a wave surging inside me, but I try to hold it back.
“It is out of the question for my eldest daughter to date a young man who does not respect the law and who is capable of putting her in danger. I will not tolerate such a thing.”
The wave gathers speed.
“Your mother might have been charmed by his charisma and pretty face, but that won’t fly with me.”
It threatens to flood everything…
“Alma, I hope I make myself clear when I say that I forbid you from seeing him.”
…wash everything away.
“And my decision is final.”
The tears come straight away, along with an anguished scream.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. You have no idea who he is!”
“Alma, I’m choosing to trust the word of the person who has been responsible for taking care of him for years—”
“And my word? Doesn’t that mean anything to you? You’re blinded by your prejudices, Dad! You know what? I preferred it when you only cared about yourself!”
I jump to my feet and storm upstairs, where I lock myself in my room.
Below, I can still hear my father’s deep, booming voice.
It’s clear he’s instructing my mother not to come and comfort me.
And he’s probably justifying his appalling behavior by saying everything he does is out of the unconditional love he has for his children.
Yeah, right.
My world is crumbling again, just like it did seven months ago, in the early days of You + Me. When the whole world was trying to tear us apart.
But this time, it’s different.
This time, they can keep trying. I’ll see Vadim in secret. I’ll run away. We’ll move thousands of miles from here.
Anything, but being deprived of him.
[I need to talk to you right now.
Can you come online?]
[Can I call you? Can I come see you?
What’s going on?]
[No, message me on the platform. Hurry.]
I dry my tears with the back of my hand, turn on my computer, and wait, biting my thumbnail.
Arcadius: I’m here.
Alma_from_paris: My dad met with Keith…
Arcadius: Seriously? What for?
Alma_from_paris: To find out more about you.
Arcadius: I don’t like that. And?
Alma_from_paris: He trashed you.
Arcadius: Really?
Alma_from_paris: You’re supposedly a lost cause, unpredictable, unmanageable… You get the picture.
Arcadius: Are we talking about the same Keith? About my Keith?
When he writes those words, my heart aches for him.
Alma_from_paris: I’m sorry, Vadim. You don’t deserve this. I know who you are…
Arcadius: I’m going to kill him.
Alma_from_paris: He also claimed that you were still in trouble with the law.
Arcadius: I swear I’m going to kill him!
Alma_from_paris: Why is he doing this? Doesn’t he want things to go well for you? I don’t understand…
Arcadius: I suspected he couldn’t be trusted. He’s a born manipulator who wants to control everything and everyone.
Alma_from_paris: But you are under control! You’ve never been so restrained!
Arcadius: When I’m with you, I feel like he’s a little further away, Alma.
I reread his words, tears welling in my eyes.
Alma_from_paris: Everyone wants to tear us apart, don’t they?
When I only want one thing: to be close to you. As close as I can be.
Arcadius: I’m going to go have a word with him. Felix just arrived. He says he’ll back me up if things get heated.
Alma_from_paris: No! Don’t go getting yourselves riled up, you two! Who cares what he said? It won’t change anything…
Arcadius: You want to start seeing me in secret again? Always having to go home early, constantly checking who’s around until you become paranoid? Do you want to have to think up a new lie every time? This changes everything, Alma!
Alma_from_paris: I’ll convince my dad. I’ll do whatever it takes.
Arcadius: You’d do anything?
Alma_from_paris: Yes.
Arcadius: Then use Clémentine.
Alma_from_paris: What?
Arcadius: Ask her to make Keith talk. What he really thinks of me, my relationship with you, my friendship with Fe…
Alma_from_paris: Vadim, I can’t do that to Clem. I don’t want to interfere in their relationship. She’ll be so mad at me if he leaves her…
Arcadius: He’ll do it anyway. I can guarantee it. What do we have to lose?
Alma_from_paris: A sixteen-year friendship!
Arcadius: Alma, you didn’t even flinch when you went and put Cheyenne in her place.
Alma_from_paris: What’s the connection? And how do you even know that?
Arcadius: I know everything… You’re not gonna be scared of your best friend, are you?
Alma_from_paris: I’m not scared of her. I’m scared for her.
Arcadius: Exactly, so we have to open her eyes: Keith is gonna break her heart. We need to know what he’s up to! D’Aragon is online. Talk to her, please.
Arcadius: Do it for her if you won’t do it for me…
Arcadius: Do it for us too, Alma.
I hesitate. Everything knots together in my mind, creating a tangled-up mess.
I remember Keith’s scathing words and my father’s final verdict. Clémentine’s joy and pride when she confessed the identity of her secret lover. Vadim’s past, the injustice that follows him everywhere, the bad reputation that clings to him. He doesn’t deserve to be subjected to this again.
I find myself torn between family, love, and friendship. But it’s not a fair fight, and I know in advance who’s going to win.
Alma_from_paris: Juicy, are you there?
Clemy_juicy: No, the keyboard is typing by itself… Ernfkjdfusgtvox.
Alma_from_paris: Can you tell it to put my best friend on?
Clemy_juicy: What do you want from her?
Alma_from_paris: To talk to her. About Keith.
Clemy_juicy: If it’s to tell me he’s too old for me, forget it right now.
Alma_from_paris: No, his age is just fine. I love his age!
Clemy_juicy: Me too.:)
Alma_from_paris: Okay, so Vadim might be imagining things, but he has the feeling something isn’t right…
Clemy_juicy: What’s your boyfriend taking these days? He sees evil everywhere. Soon he’ll be seeing dead people like the creepy kid from The Sixth Sense.
Alma_from_paris: Keith told my dad that Vadim was a danger to me.
Clemy_juicy: No way. Why would he do that?
Alma_from_paris: That’s exactly what we’re trying to find out.
Clemy_juicy: I mean, it’s true that Arcadi’s no saint. Maybe Keith just talked a bit about his past, and your dad jumped to conclusions.
Alma_from_paris: Maybe. But the next time you see him, could you ask him discreetly why he’s trying to keep Vadim away from me?
Clemy_juicy: I’m not your private detective!
Alma_from_paris: No, you’re my best friend.
Clemy_juicy: Can’t promise anything. Okay, I gotta go, see ya!
Alma_from_paris: Delete the chat—
She disconnects before I even have time to finish typing my sentence.
Vadim has disappeared from the platform, too. Probably to go let off some steam with Felix and hatch a plan to get revenge on Keith.
I feel exhausted. Why does happiness always pack its bags just when it’s just gotten settled in? Why is being nineteen so complicated?
Right now, I dream of being thirty. Of saying no to my father and yes to Vadim. Of smiling because life brought us together, and because we overcame the hardest part: the twists and turns, the bumps, and the dips.
Everything that made You + Me so precious.