Chapter six
1821 Words
In the morning I was attacked by the rays of the sun again. I woke up much earlier than I wanted to; nine o'clock. I was groggy. Last night I fell asleep fully dressed. I tried to get my arms out of the covers, I was stuffed in the quilt. Apparently, I still managed to wrap myself in it.
Grumpy, I took off my clothes and went straight into the bathroom.
I had spent a hellish evening. I saw Jacob's mad, angry face again. And that kiss... A shudder of disgust ran over my shoulders. I lifted my face under the water as if to erase the invisible traces of the insult. I was sure that if he had kissed me that morning on the boat, I would certainly have appreciated it because it was a magical moment. But there, like that! No way!
I quickly swept away the mental image of Jacob.
It was the dark stranger who replaced him. I didn't even know his first name. He had really troubled me. His voice, his hands, his hair, his eyes... Argh... He never left my head. I found myself imagining that he might come back here. For me. To see me again... (Sigh.)
But of course... give me a break! As if he had nothing else to do.
Annoyed, I turned off the water and roughly wrung my hair. I heard a few knocks on the door and jumped violently. I hurriedly put on my bathrobe and, my hair still dripping, I rushed to open it. I expected to see my mother or May, but I was speechless at my visitor.
“Jacob! What are you doing here?”
He looked terrible—worse than me—his lower lip was swollen.
“Hello, Scarlett. I came to bring you your coat. (He handed it to me.)”
“And that's why you're knocking on my door? You could have left it downstairs!” I said sharply.
“I also came to apologize.”
“Come in, I don’t want everyone to hear, I saw Millie in the hallway. I’ll be back in a minute.”
I grabbed my duffle coat, threw it on the bed, and scooted into the bathroom to grab a towel and dry my hair. When I returned, Jacob was standing by the window with his hands in his pockets. He was looking at his feet.
If I hadn't been so angry with him, I would have found the situation funny.
“I'm listening.”
“I'm sorry, Scarlett. I had a lot to drink, I wasn’t myself...”
“All I hear is blah, blah... Why did you drink so much? Why did you kiss me like that? Why were you so... pathetic?” I snapped.
“You're right. I was pathetic. I don't know why I drink so much. Evenings always end like this when I go out to the pub with friends. I drink, I drink and then I do things that I regret.”
“That’s what’s pathetic. You're worth more than that, Jacob. You’re ruining everything with alcohol.”
“Scarlett...” he said embarrassed. “I don’t think you’re a stuck up goody-two-shoes.”
“If you said it, you meant it.”
“No, I don't think so. It's just… (He sighed.) I was frustrated.”
“By what?”
“By the fact that at no time, for two weeks, have you shown if you like me.”
“And I should have?”
“I don't know. I would have thought so.”
No, I'm dreaming...
“Don’t make that face, Jacob!”
“What face?”
“The one of the little wounded animal who wants to make you feel guilty because he went under the wheels of your car, while he wasn’t even looking before crossing! You still kissed me by force!”
“And I don’t regret it!”
“What?!”
“Well, yes, but, I mean that I really wanted to... Anyway, you understand, now!”
“Yeah...”
“I'm so sorry, Scarlett. Can you forgive me?”
“Hmm ... I don't know, I'll think about it. In any case, if you haven't had your breakfast yet, ask Millie to make you some coffee. Considering your face, you need it! I’ll get dressed and join you in the kitchen.”
I closed the door, smiling. What an i***t this Jacob was! And I must have been even dumber than him. I couldn't blame him. I knew so many good things about him that it was hard to cross him off the list of people I loved being with. Only, in the future, I should avoid going with him to the pub when his friends were around.
Dressed, my hair dry, I went down to join him. He was sitting in the kitchen, stuffing himself with cream and jam scones. He looked a little better. I settled down next to him, rubbing my fist against his skull.
“Does that mean I'm forgiven?” he asked, his mouth full.
“Yeah. But you better not do it again!”
“And if you ask me?”
Was he joking?
“That's right... you can always dream.”
I quickly swallowed a cup of tea and some toast, peering through the patio door that looked out onto the grounds.
“Jacob, how about a walk in the woods?”
“But it's raining!”
“So what? It doesn't matter, we just have to take the coats.”
He sighed and shrugged.
“Okay, okay. I’ll go with you.”
We cleared the table and did the dishes. I took the opportunity to splash him with foam and take some revenge. Millie was furious, her kitchen was flooded. When we tidied up, we made our way to the entrance to put on our coats.
The manor's forest was very pleasant, even when it was raining. It filtered the rain and let only very fine drops, like drizzle, pass through.
I felt relieved to have been able to explain myself to Jacob. Our friendship mattered a lot, although I didn't quite see it the way he hoped. I would be lying if I said I didn't like him—he was really cute—but I didn't think he could ever become my boyfriend, we were too different. It would end up going bad at some point. And besides, he was studying in Philadelphia... staying as a friend was the best thing.
“Jacob?”
“Yep.”
“I'd like to ask you... uh, about last night.”
“Do we have to talk about it again?”
“Yes. There’s something I would like to know.”
“Okay?”
“You know, that boy, the one who... uh, you know him?”
He had stopped. His eyes were shifty. He seemed extremely uncomfortable.
“What? You know him, don't you? He called you by name.”
“Yes, I know him,” he admitted.
“What is it? Why do you look embarrassed?”
“His name is Elgin Sutherland.”
“We had already seen him at Sinclair Castle, right?”
“Yeah...”
“So? Where do you know him from?”
“This guy is weird, Scarlett.”
“Yes?”
“Not like everyone else!”
“What do you mean, not like everyone else?”
“We did most of our schooling together. He's… a special guy.”
“Special, how?” I got annoyed. “I don’t understand.”
“He never really had friends because he scared everyone. When he was about ten, he started to act weird. It seemed like he had some abnormal psychic abilities. Anyway, it's mostly a story we told at school.”
“Abnormal psychic abilities? You mean like powers? (I chuckled.) That’s absurd.”
He shrugged his shoulders.
“For example, when he had a problem with someone, he would stare at the person and they would become unwell or run away. Things like that!”
“Do you think he's capable of doing that?”
I was caught between fun and dismay.
“No... well, I'm not sure. But I swear he's creepy. And did you see his eyes?”
I remembered his face perfectly. Yes, I had seen his eyes, all too clearly...
“But what happened last night? He put a spell on you? If so, I better understand why you looked so scared!” I mocked.
“Don't talk nonsense, Scarlett. He just stuck me a good right and with the amount of alcohol I had drunk, I was completely out of it.”
“Yes, but you were bent in half. I guess he didn’t just stick a good right on you!"
He paused before answering me.
“Well, yes, precisely, and the next second I had a stomach ache as if I had been hit with a baseball bat.”
“It's probably because you had drunk too much!”
“Yeah... let's leave it at that.”
“What? No, but are you joking? You aren't going to tell me that you think he hit you with telepathy or whatever? You’re crazy, Jacob!”
But he was frowning and not laughing at all.
“I don’t believe it! Come on, Jacob! You know what? You have to be a guy to fantasize about stuff like that. Superhero stories… (I shook my head.) Give me a break!”
“Hey, I never said I believed in any of this. I just said this guy was weird and there's something wrong with him.”
“Yeah... well, it's all the same!”
I lifted my head to look through the foliage.
“Shall we go? It's starting to rain a little hard, isn't it?”
Jacob nodded, glad I ended the conversation.
“You’re not staying?” I asked when I saw him going to the Audi.
“No, my mother is waiting for me to return her car.”
“I'll see you soon?”
“Yes, I promise. But I'm going to have a lot of things to do in the next few days. My dad has to pick up some cattle from Ross and Cromarty. I’m thinking of going with him. We’ll stay there for at least four or five days. I’ll see you when I get back if you want?”
“Ok. See you soon, Jacob!”
Before closing the door of the manor house, I looked at the sky one last time. It was raining heavily.
- Writer
