Falling from the Top

Epilogue

"You're joking," I told Etienne. "Jamie did not say that."

He laughed and nodded at the same time. "I swear. The other guy like 'Do I even know you' and that's when Jamie threw the first punch. The cops arrived a bit later and luckily he got off with just a warning. And that's how everyone in town knows not to talk badly about Ava."

"And how did she take it? She hates violence," I pointed out.

"Pretty well, I think. It was time someone shut the dude's mouth anyway." He shrugged.

I laughed because damn I had missed some amazing things that happened back home. Etienne and I were sitting casually at a small table in a small restaurant. We had lunch and had suddenly started talking about home. He told me recent stories about our friends and I told him about old times. A sharing moment really.

"And there was this time," Etienne started again. "Where I was with Allie and two girls from high school..." He stopped abruptly. He raised his gaze and met my eyes, unsure.

I had only then realized that he had mentioned Allie. Not I didn't care about her, but more because he was here with me, looking at me with those tender, emerald eyes. I guess I was too enticed to notice.

I rested my hand on his reassuringly. "Go on."

He glanced at my hand, my ring, and let out a small, shy smile. "I don't want to talk about that anymore. Tell me about you. I want to know everything."

I rolled my eyes and flipped my hair back. "Fine. What do you want to know?  Everything is kind of vague, you know."

He laughed and the mood lightened once more. I told him about my cohabitation with Alice and about how messy she was (it sometimes drove me insane). I explained how the Paris nightlife was (amazing, really) and how I tried to stay in contact as much as I could with the girls back home. I explained how my mother's health had improved and how she had started going out again. She even joined a book club! He was curious about my university and how the teachers were. I asked him about his studies but he stayed very vague. I pushed the subject a bit.

"Ava told me you're uni was close to hers. You guys meet up for lunch or something?"

"Meh, not so much anymore. At first, we hung out because she didn't know many people but now she knows nearly every single soul in her uni."

I squinted. "Is that the only reason you don't see each other as much?"

He nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on his glass of water. "Yup."

I lifted my eyebrows, sceptical. "Etienne." He raised his gaze to meet mine. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

And just like that, he deeply exhaled and sat up straighter on his seat. "Ok. Fine. That's not it." He looked at me gravely. "But if I tell you, you cannot tell a single body about this."

"I swear."

He held out his pinky. "Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

Still holding my pinky with his, he said gravely. "I dropped out."

I felt like all the strength had suddenly left my body. I was flabbergasted. Him, the brain of our school, dropped out? It was impossible to conceive. "What?! Why?"

He looked at our intertwined fingers. "It wasn't for me, you know. Only my mom knows. I don't even think my dad has realised it, he's never at home. I couldn't tell the others because I don't know why I did it. It just felt right."

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "Well, then I guess it was a correct decision." I breathed in. "I don't know what to say. I mean you looked so sure of what you wanted to do. It had always frightened me because I had no clue."