Torneró

10

Third Person POV:

The next day, Carter and Sylvie both do their usual morning routine separately. They angrily slam their alarm clock against the table, hop out of bed, stomp towards the bathroom, and aggressively take a shower. Once finished with wrapping their towels around their bodies; they enter their closets and carefully pick out their outfits. While Carter selects a black three-piece suit and white button up, Sylvie chooses a nude skirt, black long-sleeved shirt and thin black tights. They then spend the next hour continuing to prepare for their day with Sylvie doing her makeup, and Carter doing his hair - making sure each strand is perfect and in proper shape.

Finally, after what seem to be an eternity, it's their time for coffee. Carter and Sylvie go to a cafe. The same cafe.

"Seriously?" Sylvie sternly expresses as she comes face to face with the tall, dirty blonde man towering over her. "Yeah" he comments, before bending down to collect the silver key Sylvie had previously dropped by her shoes. He passes it over to her from below, "thanks" she mutters, staring down at the ground as he stands back, she pushes past him to make her way to the counter.

Carter and Sylvie stand awkwardly, counting seconds, as they wait for their orders to be called. Attempting to cover up the tense air between them, Carter speaks up, "So, what are you doing today?" he asks. "Working, that's something normal people do during a weekday" she eyes him down, clearly implying something. "I do work" he defends, offended. "Mhm" Sylvie hums in return, teasing Carter. "I do! I'm working right now!" He continues to defend himself offensively. "What?" Sylvie snaps her head towards Carter's direction, "what do you mean you're working right now?" Carter searches around the room desperately for clues, "I'm... getting coffee for my boss?" He answers, unsure.

"Are you an assistant?" Sylvie questions, Carter cringes but responds nonetheless, "in a way". Sylvie forces a smile and turns back around towards the man making her coffee, impatiently tapping her foot against the brown wooden flooring.

"What are you?" Carter continues his interview. "A psychologist" Sylvie answers Carter's question bluntly while turning her head back towards him over her shoulder. "Why" he questions, Sylvie hesitates before answering. "So other people don't have to go through what I did alone", she answers, her tone of voice and her eyes glued to the wall distantly.

Carter pauses in confusion, mentally going over her response in repeat. "What did you go through?" He pushes, Sylvie takes a deep breath in, saved by her name being called, "I need to go", she collects her coffee from the counter and pushes past Carter, practically running out of the stuffy cafe that seemed to be caving in through her eyes.

Carter's POV:

"So other people don't have to go through what I did alone"


Her dim voice rings in the back of my head repeatedly the whole drive back to the safehouse, what did she go through?

I have to know.

"Did you find anything out?" Dominic questions me as I enter through the tall oak door, I place my car keys down on the circular table decorated with a glass vase of colourful lilies which I assume Hope had selected, in the middle of the hall, opposite the door. "She's a psychologist" I respond dully, raising my eyebrows and making my way towards Dominic; who is surrounded by Kyle, Cole, and Hope.

"Is that it?" He asks. "Well, she said something else but I don't know how to take it" I buffer, "what did she say?" Kyle asks me, taking a sip of his drink. "She said she became a psychologist so 'other people don't have to go what [she] went through alone'" I repeat her exact words making quotation marks with my fingers. Dominic's eyes narrow closed as he attempts to brainstorm ideas. "Well, she became a psychologist right?" Hope questions, finally swallowing her bite of her burger. I nod my head, "something traumatic must have happened to her and she had nobody there to help her. Maybe it was a death or it was just a horrifying experience for her. Maybe, just maybe, she doesn't actually have anything to do with the French and it was a coincidence?" She suggests. Everyone stays silent, processing what Hope had just revealed, "everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt, try starting again with her". With that, Hope gets up and leaves to the kitchen.

"She's right, try again. But try faster, they have a plan and they won't think twice to move on it" Dominic orders, I nod my head in response - agreeing with him. I get up and reach for Sylvie's thin file, opening it. Reading over her work address, I grab my keys and drive towards her, coming up with a plan on the way.

"Sylvie Maé" I ask the receptionist once I arrive, she taps away at her keyboard before looking back up at me. "There is no Sylvie Maé that works here" she responds with a frown, pushing her thick glasses slightly higher on her nose's bridge, I stare at her with a confused expression - which she can clearly read.

She bends her neck back down and taps away some more, "there is a Sylvie Nova that works here though" she gives me an apologetic, yet hopeful expression. I nod my head and the receptionist speaks up again in order to direct me, "down the second hall and she should be in the large room at the end of it". "Thank you.." I look down at the lady's name tag, "Laura". I turn and follow her directions, the name 'Nova' sounds familiar, I just can't quiet place where I've heard it before.

I reach the large white double doors and knock, patiently waiting for an approval to enter. "Come in", a sweet, high pitched voice shouts from the distance. I open the door and enter the modern looking office. Sylvie is standing by the window, speaking to a young boy in a white t-shirt and jeans, her hand is placed gently on his arm as she speaks softly to him. The thin white obscene curtains flow towards her due to the light breeze coming in from the open window, tapping against her skin softly. It creates a certain angelic glow around her, as if it's protecting her.

Sylvie's eyes leave the boy and land on me, she has no reaction to my presence but turns back to the boy and continues her sentence. An older lady stops by the door next to me and the boy joins her, "hi" he smiles at me, lifting a hand to wave. "Hey" I force a smile back, "I'm Johnny, what's your name?" He questions in a high pitched voice, standing before me and craning his neck up to my height. "I'm Carter" I chuckle lightly without realising and move my hand over to my chest, the lady standing beside me ushers the boy towards her. "It was nice to meet you Carter, bye!" He squeaks, grabbing the lady's hand and being directed out.

With a smile still plastered across my face, I turn my attention towards Sylvie. She's now sitting down on a tall, plush chair behind her desk, writing something down with a pen. "Let me guess; since I found out about your tiny tracker, you found a different way to stalk me?" She reminds me without looking up. "I want to suggest something" I comment, stepping forwards and taking a seat in front of her pale, white desk.

"Sure, sit down" she mumbles sarcastically, now leaning against the back of her chair with her eyes on me, "go on" she pushes with the pen still resting in her right hand. I clear my throat and force myself to appear confident. "Let's start again."

She stays silent for a few seconds, forcing me to continue. "We got off on the wrong foot and I thought we should start over because I really do want to get to know you better", I speak honestly. Sylvie continues to stay silent, though now she looks to be in deep thought.

"Okay, fine" she replies, "I'll let everything that happened between us stay in the past but that doesn't mean I'll trust you, you have to earn that and I expect the same from you" she drops the pen on top of a high stack of papers and crosses her arms over her chest, attempting to appear more convincing. I nod my head, "got it".

I know it's all an order, but I couldn't stop myself from smiling. "Do you want to get lunch then?" I question. She hesitates to answer but looks up at the black and silver clock hanging from the white walls, "sure" she forces a smile and gets up, grabbing her bag on the way out.

"Wait, if your last name is Maé then why did Laura from reception say your last name is Nova?" I ask her while passing both of our menus back to the waiter, she takes a sip of her water and thanks the waiter quietly, "Nova was my mother's maiden name" she responds while placing the glass back down onto the coaster.

"Oh okay, and your father?" I continue. "His last name is Maé, I chose to change my last name to Nova for the workplace as soon as I turned 18, but personally my last name is Maé." I nod my head at her response. "What about your parents?" She asks me from across the wooden table, her arms resting on the cream coloured linen draped over the table, protecting it.

"My father is Italian and my mom is American, I grew up in between both the countries with my friends" I answer, she smiles softly and looks down, analysing the detailing of the cloth.

"Your friends?" She repeats my words, breaking the silence, "yeah, Dominico and Cole" I inform her.