I force myself to accept it and somehow manage a nod, my “thank you for your time” barely more than a whisper. As I turn away, the door doesn’t close, and the silence tells me she’s still there, watching. But part of me already knew; I can feel her eyes on me. The attractive woman, who looks about Cody’s age, is probably trying to ensure I leave.
I remember clearly that at one point, I suggested Cody should try to find himself a French woman who’d have sex with him. Back then, he told me he wasn’t into women. Was that a lie? Or has it changed in the meantime? Perhaps I drove Cody straight into that woman’s arms with what I did. And now she’s taken the place that was supposed to belong to me. I walked away because I didn’t want him to hurt me, but I ended up hurting myself in the process. I could have had a chance at love, and I lost it.
I could have been happy right now if I’d admitted it sooner. If I’d had Cody, Maxime kicking me out of the house wouldn’t have been a problem, the prospect of my father treating me like a disappointment would have been no bother. Cody would havefixed it all, just by being there, by saying a few words. I know he could have.
Unless, of course, I was lied to from the very beginning. People say love isn’t always faithful, that temptation comes easily, that sometimes even good men look for something on the side. Maybe that’s true, but Cody never struck me as that kind of man. And me? I’ve never wanted to be anyone’s secret. Yet perhaps that’s all I ever was to him: a distraction, an adventure, something to pass the time in between. Maybe I was right to walk away.
In the end, only two possibilities remain: either I gave up too easily on love, on what could have been a life with a wonderful man... or I was lied to and used by the first person I’ve trusted in five years.
I honestly don’t know which truth would hurt more. All I know is that either way, my heart is broken.
Chapter 13: Luc
I don’t have time to dwell on it, which is probably a good thing. Who knows if I’d be able to pick myself back up otherwise? Now, whether I like it or not, there are other things I have to focus on. As of this coming Saturday, I won’t have a place to stay. And given that Cody won’t be the solution, there’s only one person I can turn to: my father.
He’s not going to make this easy for me. Because even though I hate admitting it, I brought this upon myself. When I moved out of his house, I made a big deal out of it, telling him I was going to live somewhere more central, have loads of space, and be accompanied by a person who would give me much more freedom than he ever did. I’m pretty sure I bragged about it, and I regret that, because now I have to go crawling back, begging to get my old room back. It’s about the last thing I want to do, but I see no other alternative. I need a place to stay, and I need it fast. Three days are not nearly enough to find a new rental apartment. Maybe if Maxime had given me more notice, I could have looked for other options, but how am I going to move somewhere else in such a short time?
It’s going to cost me; I already know that. I’m sure my father will give me extra shifts or new tasks at the shop in exchange—all the annoying ones—and no doubt the conversation will cost me a piece of my dignity. He might even start criticizing my life choices.
I think I know where to find him at this hour. Seeing as he’s had to cover my shifts, he’ll probably be at the cake shop, so that’s where I’ll go. But when I arrive, I’m surprised to find it’s not him standing behind the counter. It’s a woman, working my job, wearing my apron.
Merde, what is it about today? Why do I keep finding unfamiliar women in the places that should belong to me? First with Cody, now this. It feels like I’m being edged out of my own life.
“Who are you?” I hear myself asking her in French, and to my discontent, it already sounds like a repetition of the conversation I just had at Cody’s house. Not this again. “Did my father hire you?” I quickly add.
She gives me a searching stare. Claire, it says on her name tag. “Are you Pierre’s son?” she asks me in French. I nod. “Oui, he hired me.”
“When? For which shifts?”
“Last week. I work most of the afternoon shifts.”
I let out a deep sigh. That makes it official; my father replaced me, just like everyone else did. First Maxime, then Cody, now him. I’m without a place to live, a job, and a potential boyfriend, and it doesn’t feel like I have anything left.
“Those are my shifts. He wasn’t supposed to give them to someone else!”
Claire shrugs. “He said you disappeared, and he needed to keep his business running.”
“I did not disappear! I only took a break, and now I want my shifts back, so you can leave.”
Claire looks determined. Not a good sign. “I don’t want to leave! I like this job, and I need the money.”
“Too bad, this is my job! I can pay you for the remaining hours of this shift, but you need to go. This place belongs to me and my dad.”
She crosses her arms in front of her chest. “He told me the store is his, so maybe we should ask him.”
“Fine, let’s see whose side he chooses. That of his son or an employee he met only a week ago.”
Truth be told, I’m less confident than I sound. My father is nothing if not practical. If for some reason he thinks Claire’s more efficient, more reliable, he won’t hesitate to let her steal my job from under my nose. He’ll fire me and consider it a lesson I needed to learn. I hope I’m wrong, but if I’m not, I don’t think I can forgive him for that.
While trying to keep a neutral face to hide my worry from Claire, I quickly pull my phone from my pocket and dial my dad’s number.
“Allô?” he says when he picks up. The calmness of his voice is in such severe contrast to my stress that it frustrates me already.
“Dad, can you come to the store?” I blurt out. “There’s a problem.”
For a moment, there’s a silence on the other end of the line. “I take it you met Claire?” he eventually asks.
“I sure did.”
