Connected Lives (a Les Twins FanFiction)

Chapter 25

Sarah tapped her foot as she stood in front of the hotel. Having checked out, she found herself committed to following through with her offer to help. I could always just get a taxi instead, I could go...where? I have nowhere to go. That thought upset her because, unlike her recent actions, she was a woman who engaged in deliberate and sensible decision-making. This allowed her control and structure, and authority over her life course. None of which she felt as the black Mercedes glided to a stop in front her. A kind faced man stepped out and walked over.

"Mademoiselle Ember," he said in a soft, melodic voice, "I am Arnaud. Are these your bags?" He looked to her small suitcase and Bohemian-style shoulder bag. She nodded.

"Yes, thank you, and please call me Sarah" responded as he hoisted the luggage into the trunk. She thanked him again when he opened her door and beckoned her to the car. When they eased away from the hotel Arnaud caught her eye in the rear view mirror, her face a picture of nervousness.

"Try not to worry Miss Sarah, you are not going anywhere unsafe."

She offered a tight-lipped smile. "Oh yes, I know that. It's many things. Everything I have been doing has been, well, driven by some very, uh, unusual circumstances."

"There has been much unusual happening here too. The Misters Bourgeois are anxious to meet you."

After that they both remained silent for the rest of the short trip. Sarah's eyes wandered over the Parisian streets they drove, taking in the beauty of the ordinary. The well-to-do ordinary anyway. Well-to-do or not though, she enjoyed peering out to a world that did not leave her unbalanced and without direction. This was all the more poignant in light of her current destination. She was struggling mightily to get a logical hold on the events that led her to this backseat. It was not an issue of memory. She could recount every moment. The struggle was the understanding of it all. She wanted an explanation of what happened, and why, and how. Why was she burdened with this? Why was her world disrupted making her feel like a supporting role in her own life? Despite her anger and frustration, she was no closer to a satisfactory answer than she was three weeks ago. Or even two years ago when she woke up and was told nothing would ever be the same again.

The car slowed to a crawl, allowing a small girl to sprint across the street. Out of her window, Sarah's gaze came to rest on an old woman sitting comfortably on a stool next to her cart of fresh breads. The old woman looked back at Sarah and her eyes crinkled with a smile. Suddenly Sarah remembered something her great-grandmother would say: A thing of beauty needs no explanation, we happily accept that it simply is. Life needs no explanation, all we must do is accept beauty in that. Right MeeMaw, I know you were right, but you never mentioned how long it took for you to learn that, she thought testily. The car accelerated and she looked one more time at the old woman. Or maybe you had to learn it all at once.

She was so lost in thought she didn't realize the car had stopped until a tap on her window jolted her back into the present. Thea stood on the other side, a tight smile filtering through the tinted glass. She opened the door with unexpected enthusiasm and immediately leaned in close to Sarah.

"Hey. Act like we're old friends and you're coming to visit." Sarah lifted a questioning eyebrow. "The fanarazzi had reappeared, their boys have been missing for too long," Thea stated bluntly. Then she pasted on a dazzling smile and pulled Sarah out of the car and into a fierce hug. Sarah had no trouble playing along, in large part because something about Thea's hug was so desperate yet so thankful. She was genuinely happy to have this stranger walk into her life and the lives of these two men she loved.

So Sarah said the only thing she could think of, "I can't believe I am finally here!" Then she laughed, no truer words had been spoken.

Thea promptly ushered Sarah through a majestic entry to a wood panelled elevator and punched three. Thea had been talking since they entered the building, giving Sarah the rundown so to speak, but she had only caught a few words here and there: "top two floors," "he's not convinced," "Laurent's decision," "let me know." Her mind kept pulling back to what awaited her three stories above. She didn't want to admit it, but she was terrified. It felt as if every step she had taken since Daniel had told her to go had been dangerously irrational and had culminated in her walking into this wildly unknown situation to commit to helping - to living in the home of - two men that until minutes from now had existed only on YouTube. No, this did not seem at all like a wise idea.

"Sarah?"

Thea's voice intruded into her thoughts. A quick blink and she reoriented herself in the present. She looked at Thea.

"Ready?" Thea asked.

Here goes nothing.