Heiress in Distress

•Chapter 13•

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"Noway!" I squeak, truly shocked but equally happy for her. She only nods eagerly, a smile of pure happiness stretching her lipstick clad mouth, eyes gleaming so hard that the skin crinkles at the corners.

"Congratulations Joe. I'm so happy for you, honestly" I tell her with my arms outstretched, readily taking her into a congratulatory embrace -fierce squeezing and all.

"Thank you" Her voice breaks ever so slightly, as she wipes a few tears.

"Well who's the lucky one ?" Bijou asks, joining us at the main site after changing from working attire back in the staff room. How I miss this place.

It's become ritualistic that I came here to spend some time with Joe and Bijou on weekends; often going shopping, which I happen to despise, but manage through with the reminder that it's the point of spending time with them more than the idea of shopping itself. In other times, it's either skating or just lazing by at my place.

Surprisingly, Bijou and I have developed some bond of familiarity, especially since she decided to abandon her antagonism.
After learning her backstory of growing up in an orphanage, I stopped blaming her for the hostile demeanour; I understood her inability to accept new people into her life.

"I would've shown you guys a picture of him, but my phone is dead" Joe says, frowning. She presses the home button on her phone a few times, before giving up with a shrug, knowing it won't help.

"At least tell us more about him" Bijou urges and I nod in accord, eager to know more about the person who'll be marrying my best friend.

"Well, for starters, his name is Drew" She says, fighting a faint blush that climbs up her cheeks at the mere mention of his name. Cute.

She goes on about how and where they met, with her eyes widening slightly and her voice going a pitch higher whenever she's excited.
Just like that, I allow myself a taste of normalcy before I have to make that much needed trip in the evening.

•••

40 minutes. That's how long the cab has been driving; it's also how long I've been sweating profusely, and how long my heart has been attempting to lunge out of my chest.

My looking out the window at the passing trees that line the length of the road divider is meant to calm me down, but alas, the silhouetted trees only make my head spin further and my stomach angrier.

I'm actually surprised I made it past Elias's men stationed by the alleyway.
After a few futile attempts at sneaking at night to take the trip to the address my father encoded, I finally made it tonight, making use of their brief preoccupation as the pair from the day shift hand the watch over to the night pair; their exchange playing in my favor as their distraction.

I jumped through the window at the opposite side from where they often dwelled, knowing that taking the door was definitely out of the table.

As the time rolls into an hour, I find myself back to surveying my surroundings, looking out the window, I take note of how Strasbourg's dull streets morph into captivating sceneries that make me wonder if we perhaps crossed the border to Italy, specifically since we're driving over a canal now.

I'm still staring at the couple on a boat ride disappearing under us, when I lean over to ask the driver where we are.
He tells me it's a historic town called Colmar, which I already knew since it was stated in the address the sophomore wrote me, and proceeds to tell me tales of the medieval times.
I, thankful for the distraction, surprisingly find solace in his storytelling.