𝗞𝗶𝘀𝗺𝗲𝘁 ~ 𝗘𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘀

Nepenthe

Nepenthe

(n.) something that came make you forget greif or suffering.

I was walking across the bustling street in downtown Paris, France when I spotted a blonde woman sitting at an outside table at a busy restaurant. I took my seat and slid my sunglasses on top of my head.

"JJ." I greeted the woman.

"Here are four passports each with healthy bank accounts and drivers licenses. Good luck." She finished explaining and took a swig of her coffee. I nodded and quickly left.

—

Another month had passed and I was living under the name Cassandra Dupont. I had gotten a job at a small cafe that not many people go to, to keep me busy and I lived in a small loft apartment. After a while of thinking I had decided to stay in Paris due to me being fluent in French and knowing my way around but I was thinking of moving to Rome since I could also speak enough Italian to pass.

I was working my shift when a person I had never seen walked in.

"Salut, que puis-je commencer pour vous?"

(Hi, what can I get started for you?)

"Je ne reçois rien mais il y a une personne dehors qui dit qu'elle a besoin de te voir."

(I'm not getting anything but there's a person outside saying they need to see you.)

I looked out the window and didn't see anyone that looked like they were waiting for me and like the man was reading my mind he answered my question.

"Ils firent le tour du coin dans la ruelle. Je suis vraiment désolé que ce soit si bizarre."

(They walked around the corner into the alley. I'm so sorry that this is so weird.)

I told him it was okay and that I would check it out, I took off my apron and thanked him. There wasn't anyone else inside so I didn't see the harm in checking it out. It was a little suspicious so I placed my hand on my sleeve where I kept a knife strapped to my arm.

I poked my head around the corner and I saw a woman in a long black dress.

"Excusez-moi mademoiselle?"

(pardon me miss?)

She spun on her heels and my eyes grew to the size of saucers. My knees became weak and I couldn't move. A string of indistinct noises came out of my mouth, I couldn't comprehend what I was looking at.

"Emily?" I started but she ran at me and covered my mouth.

"Not here." She hissed while slipping a sheet of paper into my coat pocket. There was a screech from the road and I turned to see a car nearly getting into an accident when I turned back all signs of my old friend gone.

I pulled the paper and it had an address, I checked my watch and it was another 30 minutes before my shift would end.

—-

I hopped out of the cab at the address and it was a really old looking building on the outskirts of town, barely anyone was out there. I paid the driver and they left. I walked into the building and was greeted by a perky woman.

"Hello!" She spoke in broken English. She could tell I wasn't native to France and it was nice how she made an accommodation.

"Hi, there." It had been awhile since I spoke English to someone. "I think I'm meeting someone here but-" She cut me off by pointing to a back room. "Oh, thank you." I shuffled back to the dimly lit room. "Hello?" I took off my scarf and small jacket, laying them on the back of a chair.

A strong pair of arms wrapped around my shoulders and I was knocked off balance. I balanced myself on the chair and the person in front of me didn't even flinch. When I realized who it was I tightly hugged back burying my face in the crook of her neck.

"Oh Kira." Emily sobbed.

"Emily it's okay," I rubbed the small of her back while trying to keep my composure. I've been in shambles for the past four months and somehow I was perfectly fine.

"I saw that you died on the news."

"It was fake, Ian tried to kill me with a car bomb. But I thought you were dead for months." I finally pulled out of the hug.

"What?" Emily looked seriously in shock. "I told JJ to tell you I wasn't dead." I returned the look of shock. "By that look I'm assuming she didn't but I didn't ask you to come here to chat about how they lied to you. I need to tell you something more important." Tears were no longer falling down her face and she was now guiding me to two chairs with drinks in the middle she had set up.

"I've been thinking about how I could ask this but I'm just going to ask. Did you mean what you confessed that night? That you loved me?"

"Emily I still do, I never stopped. Before New York I didn't realize it but I loved you then." I sat there and poured my heart out to the woman in front of me. "You know why me and Elle broke up back then? Because I could only think about you.I couldn't lead her on so I ended it." my voice dropped to just above a whisper. "Emily I don't just love you, I'm in love with you. I'm completely in awe of everything you do." She shoved herself out of her seat and walked across the room facing away from me.

"I can't believe this." My heart began to shatter as I trudged toward her. "Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"What?"

"Wouldn't tell me sooner." She crashed into me and before I knew it her lips were brushing over mine. We both pushed away though so it was barely a peck. We hovered centimeters away from each other not knowing what to do next until our eyes finally met and an undeniable spark cracked between us.