Esperance || Paul Lahote

.xxx.

Ezra followed her up a thick set of stairs with a ramp in the middle for the wheelchair-bound members. In his head, he replayed his and Paul's argument, the words echoing in his head on a loop.

"Diarmuid found me with a foster family that was just getting kids for the money. I was about eight when he got me out of there and I've been here for eight years." Ilan explained brightly, almost like her past did nothing to bother her as they passed through a long hallway.

Candles lined the wall, creating a soft glow against the deep purple wallpaper as the wood underfoot creaked in certain spots.

"There's a healthy mix of witches here, it's sort of a melting pot but the leaders are exclusively Eastern." She shoved her hands deep in her pocket. "You know, you're kinda famous."

Ezra's eyes lifted from the scuffed wood. "Why?" Upon realizing his mistake when he didn't get an answer, Ezra tilted his head back and repeated his question. "Why?"

Ilangani laughed loudly before slapping her hand over her mouth. "Sorry, it's just, you turned a vampire to dust. That's kind of amazing!"

Ezra's mouth went dry at the mention of his 'amazing' feat. It had taken so much out of him that he was trapped in his own mind for weeks and confined to bed the moment he woke up.

"How do you know about that?" He accused with narrowed eyes as Ilan shifted nervously under his stare. The Cullens weren't exactly the gossiping type and Bella didn't have the opportunity to talk with witches.

"I don't really know, I guess. Stories travel fast, especially about the rare ones. You're a part of some grand prophecy, it's hard not to hear about one of the only Eastern witches in the world." Ilan explained as she finally came to a stop. "This is our room." She pushed open the door and hurried inside, scooping her things off the nicely made bed, clad in a maroon comforter and matching pillows. "Sorry about the mess. I wasn't expecting a new roommate yet."

"Don't worry about it." He dismissed as his eyes scanned the room.

The walls were slathered in a midnight blue with yellow swirls like stars decorating it. Underfoot was worn almond carpet, pressed down from hundreds of footsteps.

Two full beds were pushed on opposing walls, Ezra's being the furthest from the door in the right corner and Ilan's was pushed in the back left corner, having just enough room for the door to swing open and not hit anything.

A large cherry wood dresser pressed against the fair wall accompanied by a matching bookshelf that had only the top three shelves filled.

A small door was slightly ajar, giving glimpse to the clothes inside hanging from the bar and cluttered on the rack above.

At the foot of Ilan's bed was a wicker basket with spools of yarn and knitting needles and beyond that were yarn creations that looked as though they had been vomited from a machine.

"My last roommate and I had an arrangement that I got the closet and she got the dresser but we could switch or share if you'd like." Ilan offered, flopping onto her bed. The metal frame groaned slightly but as she wriggled to shove the knitting materials under the bed it didn't make a sound.

"The dresser's fine. I prefer it." Ezra confessed, watching as the girl sighed with relief.

The dresser had accumulated some dust and creaked from disuse when Ezra slid open the drawer. He poured his things into it, not bothering to organize anything as he shut them.

"Thank god. I mean, I would have switched if you wanted but it woulda been a real hassle." Pads leaped free from his seat in Ezra's jacket, prowling around his new room rather indifferently.

Ilan cooed as Pads leaped onto her bed, nearing the girl cautiously until Ilan began to pet the spoiled girl. She purred loudly, shoving herself eagerly into Ilan's affections.

"She's so cute. What's her name?" Asked Ilan as she looked up at Ezra.

"Padfoot when she's bad, Pads for short," Ezra answered, running his hand absently over the dresser top. When his fingers came up dark with dust, Ezra wiped them on his shirt and grabbed his bag, cramming it and the books and papers inside under the bed.

"She's precious," Ilan declared eagerly. "You know, you can have the bottom half of the bookshelf."

"Don't worry about it, I don't have that many books." Ezra dismissed, glancing toward the covered window.

"What about all those papers? You can put those up there if you'd like. "What are they anyway?" She offered and his head snapped over to her.

"Don't ask about what you don't understand." He snapped, guilt immediately clenching his chest as her face fell. "I'm sorry, Ilan."

"No, you don't need to be sorry. I should learn not to be so nosey." Ilan retracted, still attempting to maintain a smile but ii appeared as more of a grimace.

"You weren't being nosey, I promise. It's just not a good subject for me. It's not your fault I snapped. The past few days have been rough." Ezra promised, relief flooding him as a genuine smile returned to her face.

"Okay, I'll make sure to be more careful. I promise." After a moment she spoke again. "I usually go to bed pretty early because I like waking up to watch the sunrise. I can sleep with the lights on but I'd really prefer if you used the lamp. Either way, it's alright. Breakfast is at eight in the morning, lunch at noon, and dinner is at eight. The bathroom is three doors down on the right and unfortunately, we have to share with the entire floor but everyone's very respectful and you can just use the soaps provided." Ilan explained, glancing over at Ezra as he began to get ready for bed.

He slipped under the covers and Pads immediately ran over, curling on the pillow beside his owner. "Ilan, thank you so much."

She was silent for a moment, in a sort of shock before a grin overtook her face. "No need to thank me, Mr. Pierce. It's a real pleasure."

Esperance is now on the Wattys Longlist! I'm so excited and thankful for all of your support and I know I haven't really won anything but I am just so excited to be on the list. I've never had a story make this much of an impact and I really am so happy. Thank you all for support this story and voting and commenting!

Also, I was thinking of publishing a small story about Nik what she went through, with her parents dropping her on Billy and her struggling with her parents, a crippling fear of abandonment concealed with really vulgar jokes, and falling in love with Rosalie, a vampire that clings the normality of immortality. If that's something you'd like to see, comment or whatever, just let me know.