Lost and Found

Chapter 18

"So what are the plans for tonight? All Anthoine told me was that we were going to spend the night in Paris. Sara shook her head. Despite Anthoine being one of the sweetest people she knew, he could be quite stupid sometimes.

"So you just decided to come? Fully trusting his judgement you were going to like what we were going to do?" Sara asked, looking like she was impressed, which she was. She wouldn't have trusted Noah to do the same. Especially not after he had dragged her along to a fun night out with his friends in which he had been drunk and flirting with at least three different girls that night. None of them had been Sara, his fiancée at that point.

"I'd trust Anthoine with anything."

"Even your life?" Now Pierre was teasing. "I'm pretty sure if you'd put him in charge of that, he would let you starve."

"I would not!"

"Remember your hamster? He died."

"Don't bring him up." They laughed but Julie looked confused. "I accidentally killed my hamster."

"How do you accidentally kill a hamster?!" Julie asked, slightly shocked.

"Well, apparently those things start to hibernate when they are too cold and they seem dead when they do. I thought the freaking animal was dead, I had had it for a month or something. It was winter and I like to keep my window open at night for some fresh air, so it was cold. I buried it in the garden."

"Alive."

"I thought it was dead. And it turns out a lot of people accidentally bury their hamster alive, so I'm not that stupid."

"It depends on how you look at it." Julie laughed and Anthoine sighed in defeat. He realised he would have another person against him in the fight of being completely innocent of the murder of his hamster. On the other hand, Pierre and Sara high-fived, knowing they had succeeded in annoying their best friend.

"But to answer your question, we were planning on having a quiet night in. A movie, some games, a walk through the streets when it gets dark. I even took the liberty of asking some advice from Anthoine's maman to make a healthy dinner.

"You did?" Anthoine asked. "How?"

"Instagram. I sent her a dm asking what she makes whenever you are home, so I could cook that." Both the looks on Pierre's and Anthoine's faces were soft and looked like they were about to melt into a puddle.

"So you do love us." Pierre's look had quickly changed into a grin.

"Incroyable." Pierre and Sara looked at each other, bursting out into laughter. Only the two of them managed to get Anthoine annoyed enough to get him to say 'incroyable' in the way he did when it was directed towards his two best friends. Then again, no one managed to get under his skin like the two of them. Not even his brother.

But he loved them with all of his heart. There was nothing he wanted more than to have them close at all times. Well, maybe one thing. To have Juliette join them as well, but with the fight between Sara and Juliette still unresolved, there was a very slim – almost zero – chance of them making up any time soon.

"Julie, why don't we let the two of them do whatever they do when no one is around and us get dinner ready?" Julie nodded and both women got up.

"I thought tonight was going to be about us spending more time together before I'm leaving for Canada?"

"Blame Anthoine for messing that up. He brought Julie." The women got up and walked to the kitchen.

"But all jokes aside, there is nothing between you and Carlos?" Julie was gentle in asking. It felt safe to talk to her about it, but not safe enough just yet.

"Promise to never talk to Anthoine about this. I love him and I know he means well but he is going to meddle. He is going to want to make sure I am happy and he is going to set us up."

"So you do like him?"

"Please promise?" Julie nodded. "Yes, I do. I think. I don't know." Sara nearly sounded defeated. "I suck at understanding my feelings. I think I do, but I don't know. And I don't want to hurt Carlos' feelings, so I want to be a hundred per cent sure." Julie nodded understandingly.

"But what I've heard from Anthoine, Carlos is pretty sure of how he feels about you." Sara shrugged.

"At times, I feel like he is just very cocky." She chuckled. "But then he shows he is very kind and stuff and I nearly melt."

"Sounds like he is trying to sound tougher than he is to impress you."

"If he is, the softer side is working better." Julie laughed.

"I'll have Anthoine-"

"Do nothing, because you promised you wouldn't tell him." Julie laughed.

"Too bad."

"Either way, that's how things are now."

"Maybe discuss this with Carlos. Just tell him that you feel there could be more, but you are not quite sure. He'll understand. You are both adults and I believe that in a conversation, the two of you can work this out."