Maelle hardly knew what she was doing. It felt like she was sleepwalking, watching herself do things, but not having an opinion on what she should be doing.
It was Sunday, but she was still forced to get out of bed and go outside to get groceries. Luckily, there was a coffee shop along her path to their local grocery store, which she desperately needed.
She was intensely exhausted, probably from staying up almost all night watching Netflix, which she couldn't let onto in her house, so she needed to fake some energy so that Paul and Coralie didn't become suspicious.
That was how it felt when she walked into the coffee shop, only to see the face of the person she least wanted to see.
She had put so much blame on the man in front of her for so long, too long. She had blamed him so much, yet nothing had been his fault. All those minutes that she wasted when she was busy hating him, yet she should have been blaming herself. Her mother had committed suicide. It was her fault for not seeing it sooner. Maelle was the only one that could have possibly helped.
She came face-to-face with JP Allard, right in the middle of Tim Hortons.
"Maelle Vaillancourt," He breathed out, his hand tightening around his coffee cup, as if in an effort to not drop it, "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize that you would be here. I never would have come in,"
Despite her prior hatred towards this man, she managed a small smile, "How would you have known I would be here? It's not your fault, you did nothing wrong," She said, emphasizing the last sentence. She wanted him to not only know that she had forgiven him, but for him to forgive himself. She could sense it in the way that he was shocked when he saw her, terrified. He hadn't forgotten about the accident, he never would.
He nodded silently, though she could see his expression become lighter, less stressed and tense, "Thank you. I really am sorry,"
Maelle wasn't sure what to say. She needed him to know that she had forgiven him and that he had done nothing wrong. But, she also wanted answers. So, she made a decision and braced herself for the emotional impact that would come later, "Would you like to have coffee? I see an empty table over there," She said, causing JP's eyes to widen.
JP hadn't seen Maelle since the trial, and even then, she looked less than friendly - which was completely understandable. He didn't want to make her feel worse, but, also, he didn't want to feel worse himself. Arthemise Vaillancourt's death was something that neither of them would ever forget, which, in turn, became something that they both had in common.
"Sure," JP said, doubting his choice as soon as he made it. He wasn't absolutely sure why she wanted to have coffee with him, but it couldn't hurt, "lead the way,"
So, Maelle led them to a table on the other side of the room, away from the mass public in the coffee shop, "I like to sit by the window," She explained, choosing a seat next to the glass, "my mother always did too." She relished in the happy memory of her and her mother sitting in Tim Hortons by the window. She always said that she liked to be in the sun, but Maelle knew that her mother was a active people-watcher. They would talk and laugh the whole time, while they both drank their coffees. Maelle had gotten stuck in her own world, almost forgetting that JP was sitting in front of her.
He was uncomfortable. How could you not be? Ever since he saw her at the trial, crying for her mother, the accident haunted him. The woman who jumped in front of his truck was no longer just a random stranger on the street, she was a mother, a wife, a friend. Hearing stories about her only worsened it. He knew, though, that it was beneficial to both of them to remember her as happy, and not suicidal. JP had never known her to be happy, he had never known her at all. All he knew was the sadness and despair in her face before she jumped in front of his truck.
Seeing that he was uncomfortable, Maelle attempted to switch to a lighter topic, "So, do you have any kids?" She asked, remembering the teenagers around him at the trial.
He smiled softly, "I do. My son, Simon, is thirteen. Just barely a teenager. Danielle, my daughter, is fifteen," He told Maelle, his face lighting up as he spoke about his family. Maelle wished that she was still like that. Instead, her family brought an air of dread to any conversation.
Then, Maelle realized that she was still like that. Whenever she spoke of Paul, Coralie or of Max, her mood lifted significantly. They may not have been her birth family, but they were family.
"Do you still think about it - the accident?" She asked him quietly.
He nodded, "Every single day. Then I dream about it, too," He admitted.
"Me, too," She said, "it was awful, wasn't it?" She asked him. He had been one of the only people to fully witness the scene. He was one of the only people she could get the story from. Maelle was desperate for the information that he had, and he was willing it give.
"It was absolutely awful," He nodded, agreeing with her. He wasn't sure what she wanted him to say. Should he comfort her? Should he tell her about the accident? This was a situation he had never dealt with before. This entire thing was alien.
Soon enough, she found that she had talked to JP for an hour and a half. She felt that she had gotten the closure she never knew that she needed. They talked about anything and everything, light topics and deep ones. It was something that not only she needed, but he did also.
After her mother's death, she felt like there was a piece of her that was missing. Her visit with JP helped mend her. She felt like there was less that was left unknown about her mother's death. She felt better.
So, she went home.
+
a/n: second last chapter. yeehaw!!!
-danz
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Adopted by Stromae
Fanfiction-this story is written in english- Maëlle Vaillancourt, left parentless by an accident that claimed the life of her mother and a drug addiction that claimed the liberty of her father, had no other options. In hands and under the protection of social...
