Arsonist's Lullaby

Chapter 21 - Sam

I took a deep breath prepping myself to make the call.

With the help of Casey whose many hidden talents include what she liked to call "investigating", I had managed to track down my sister and get a hold of her phone number.

"You can do this, she's your sister right? It won't be hard." Jesse encouraged, letting me squeeze his hand as tightly as I could. I nodded and dialed the number, bringing it to my ear.

I nervously eyed Jesse who offered me a smile of assurance before turning my attention back to the phone. We were standing on the small terrace of his apartment and I looked at my bare feet, standing on my toes against the cold and slightly damp wooden surface making Jesse cringe.

I forgot he hated it when I did that.

"She not picking up." I mumbled feeling somewhat relieved but also disappointed. We had gotten the time zone differences right so either it was the wrong number or she simply wasn't answering.

"Try again maybe the connection is bad." Jesse said. I hung up and waited a couple of minutes before trying again. it kept ringing and I sighed deciding to just try another time when I heard a voice on the other end.

"Allo?"

I widened my eyes, choking last minute.

"Allo? Est-ce que quelqu'un là ?" She repeated.

Seeing my panic, Jesse took the phone and started speaking to her.

"Uhhh, salut. Est ce Claire Bourgeois?" He asked. I couldn't hear the other end of the line but from the looks of it, it seemed to be her. Jesse seemed to struggle as he tried to explain the situation to her before he gave a sigh of relief.

"Yes! I speak English." He said happily before continuing on explaining again. He handed me the phone and nodded. I bit my lip taking the phone.

"Hello?" I cleared my throat.

"Clementine? Is that really you?" She asked. Her voice sounded delicate with a slight accent in it.

"Uhh, yeah. It's me....Clementine." I frowned at Jesse who was already frowning back.

"Oh thank God! I thought you had run away for good and that I was never going to see you again!" She sounded like she was crying.

"Are you alright? Are you safe? Who was that man on the phone? Where are you? Have you spoken to mother or papa?" She kept firing question after question at me and I tried my best to answer them all as well as I could but started feeling hot despite the chilly Seattle breeze and my mouth began to feel dry.

Seeing my distress, Jesse took the phone and led me back inside.

"Are you okay?" He quietly asked sitting me down on the couch.

"Hello?" Claire's voice called from the other end.

"I'm fine, I just need water." I closed my eyes beginning to feel dizzy. He left and came back with a glass of cold water while speaking on the phone with my sister.

"She's not feeling well but she'll call back tomorrow." He tried but I could hear her demanding to speak to me.

"I'm okay now." I nodded and reached for the phone. Jesse reluctantly handed it back and sat on the coffee table in front of me.

"I've already gotten our tickets for this Friday. Yes he's coming with me. Because I want him too." I began to frown as she kept asking me questions about Jesse.

"He's just..." I glanced at him and he raised an eyebrow back, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"He's a good friend of mine. He's helped me a lot. No Claire!" I blushed as she kept interrogating me. I avoided making eye contact with Jesse who was smiling now.

"Thank you. I'll see you soon. Bye." I clicked the end button and let out a sigh of relief.

"What did she say?"

"She's going to tell our parents that I'm okay and that we're coming to Paris this weekend." I explained to him.

"She was awfully curious about who I was."

"I didn't want to tell her too much. I mean, I thought I was playing it safe by saying we were just friends you know?" I squirmed feeling hot again.

"Just friends....hmmm." He smiled teasingly making me groan.

"I don't mind being just friends. You were right, no need to complicate things and have your family hounding us." He shifted to the couch and sat right next to me. I leaned over and rested my head against his shoulder, careful not to hurt him.

"Jesse?" I asked softly. He hummed a reply taking my hands into his.

"Promise me one thing." I asked. He looked down, slightly worried.

"What is it?"

"Promise me that no matter what happens, nothing is going to change between us in Paris, okay?" I asked tightening my grip. He brought our hands to his mouth and kissed each one of my fingers before kissing the side of my head.

"Promise."

I smiled happily and rubbed my eyes suddenly feeling exhausted.

"You should get some rest. You look tired." He said and we stood up to go to bed. Once I had changed, I walked into his room only to find him stuffing pillows in a line as if he was creating a barrier.

"What are you doing?" I laughed seeing him finish his task.

"Making a wall between us." He said as if it were obvious. I slipped under the covers, staring at the pillow barrier  between us then at him.

"Why?"

"Because friends don't sleep in the same bed together. Especially in each others arms every night." He said before giving me a high-five and turned of the lights.

"Are you serious?" I asked not believing this.

"Goodnight Sam." He chirped. I could see his teeth gleaming in the dark and brought a pillow to smack him on the side of his head for being so childish.

"What was that for!" He chuckled sitting up.

"Because friends have pillow fights. Goodnight Jesse." I replied trying not to laugh as I slipped back under the sheets. It was quiet besides the distant chirping of crickets coming from outside and the soft whooshing of the wind as rain patted against the windows.

"I don't like being just friends." He grumbled quietly after a couple of minutes. I pretended to not hear him and closed my eyes trying to fall asleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night having to pee only to find Jesse's arm circling my waist, the pillows lying on the floor now. With a smile, I forgot all about having to use the bathroom and snuggled more comfortably against his chest.