A/n: I'll update a new story soon. I hope you all enjoy that too.
WARNING: Lichtenberg burning or Fractal burning mentioned in the chapter is a dangerous process that should not be tried by readers at any cost. It's an industrial process and not meant to be a life hack or DIY. It will result in death (7/10 cases ended up in instant death). I strictly suggest Readers to just read the chapter and forget about the process. And Never try to practically perform it.
**********
Journey of Lou Miller from 2016, 11th anniversary night, the fateful night
Lou was devastated. She never ever thought Debbie would cheat on her. Yes, Cheat! When she first saw Debbie naked next to Peter and Natasha, she thought Debbie was forced by them. But nope. Everything was consented.
But Debbie always said one cannot have consented sex with other person while in love with the partner. Only when love vanishes, you go for someone else and have consented sex. It was Debbie's theory and she firmly believed it. And now, Debbie had consented sex with these two. Does that mean Debbie no longer loves her?
That broke Lou's heart in so many levels. Lou couldn't speak or listen to anything happening around. She was in shocked state.
She could see Debbie speaking to her but not a single word entered her ears. Not a word was understood by her. She was blank.
She saw Peter and Natasha leaving. She saw Debbie sitting on the floor, still talking, along with crying. She even saw the picture of her and Debbie hanging on the wall. Everything seemed a big fooling game to her.
The clock ticked. But Lou didn't move. She stayed awake, her face more lifeless than a dead man. She felt her life just got over.
Around 4 am. She saw Debbie falling asleep. Lou looked at her face. There was no way Lou could be angry seeing Debbie's face. She went close to her and knelt.
Why? Why Debbie? Wasn't I not being a good partner? Was I treating you bad? Why?
You know what, I get it. I remember you said if I stop loving you, I need to speak out and end the relationship. But I never fell short in loving you. Then why?
What made you fall out of love? What did I do wrong that you stopped loving me? Why?
But I want you happy, Debbie. I don't want you to be in a relationship that doesn't make you happy. I'll go away, Debbie. I will go away from you. I won't bind you in this relationship anymore
And Lou got up, quickly packed her luggage. Not much. Her usual packed luggage was always ready. She just added some more things to it. The proposal ring being the one among them. And the diary which had an undeveloped story written by her. It was a book she planned on gifting Debbie for their 15th year. Their love story said in 16th century fictional land. The essence of their love was the base of the story. A story of a man and woman who love each other a lot! Lou took that book along with her. And some cash she had in her locker. Maybe 5000 dollars at the max.
She took all the legal documents and property papers. She had them ready last year as a precautionary measure. If anything is to happen to her, then everything will be inherited by Debbie. Debbie herself prepared the papers after much protest. Lou left the papers along with a note.
She then went to parking lot with her luggage, hopped on her old bike, and rode far away from the city. While going, she quickly paid visit to Ann and her father, well not face to face. But from far. Ann was an early person who jogged every morning around 5 along with Aron. Lou saw them while jogging. Her dad and Florence usually are asleep at that time. Lou had quickly entered their apartment without making any noise, looked at them one last time and left.
She rode her bike at high speed, got out of New York City and then the state itself. She needed closure from Debbie. And closure from Debbie wasn't exclusively limited to her. It extended to her family too. She can't be in same city and have closure with Debbie. She loved her too much to not see her everyday. And if she stayed in contact with her people, then one or the other day, they will speak about Debbie and she won't be able to forget her.
She didn't stop anywhere except for gas station. On her first day, all she had was water. However, she spent few bucks on food on second day. She crossed the states one by one, reached Illinois. All the while, she was sad, broken and disappointed.
She was having her quick lunch in a cheap diner when a luxurious car stopped. A woman, probably in her 40s got down. Lou looked at her. She wore weirdly stylish outfit, all branded, heels that helped her short form look taller, two glasses, one obviously for her eyes, other one on her head, hair dishevelled, nor because of wind, but because it was styled that way.
The woman tried to open the bonnet of the car but couldn't. Lou realised the car was broken. The woman was alone and also, the streets had no people. It was an isolated area anyway.
Lou decided to help. She went to that woman and offered help. The woman replied, nervously stammering. Lou however guessed the accent. Irish.
"Why don't you wait inside the diner while I fix your car? Do you have the toolbox inside your car?"
"Uh... Toolbox. Roight. It's there"
"Okay then, be inside. I'll fix this"
"Roight"
And the woman walked inside the restaurant, ordered diet coke, coffee and hot chocolate. The waiter/cook (the owner/worker of that diner) was surprised. They hardly had business and no one ever asked for coffee or other drinks except water. And this woman just ordered three drinks at once.
********
It took just 7 minutes for Lou to fix the car. She went near the woman.
"I have seen you somewhere, but don't remember", the woman said.
Lou chuckled, not really with cheerfulness though. "Lou", she held her hand.
"Rose. Rose Weil", Rose caught Lou's hand with both her hands. "I really don't remember where I saw you before? Are you an actress? Or a sports person? Oh, model?"
"I'm Lou Miller, twin sister of Ann Miller", Lou said.
"Roight. Ann Miller. Uhm... Who is Ann Miller?"
Lou was amused by this woman. Really, she never met someone like her for sure.
"Ann Miller, chairman of Millers group"
"Roight. Millers group?"
Now Lou couldn't stop from expressing surprise. "Yes, Millers group"
"Oh. So, are you an actress?"
"No"
"I remember... There is an actress who looks like you"
"Cate", Lou said, not able to believe how can this woman be so... Adorably awkward.
"Cate, roight. Cate who?"
Really, Lou laughed wholeheartedly! After so many days of sadness, she now laughed.
"Well Cate Blanchett is an Australian actress and I look a bit like her"
"Oh. So, you are not the actress?"
"No, I am not. I am a businesswoman"
"What business? Oh yeah, you mentioned. Millers"
"Well, no. I have my own business. Phoenix furnitures, carvings, interior designing"
"Oh. Sounds interesting. So, what are you doing here in this... Diner?"
"Well... Life got me here. What about you?"
"Whenever I get tensed up, I need relaxing. So, was on my way to Lorien"
"Lorien?"
"It's a small secluded town in Minnesota"
"Oh, I never heard of that place"
"Not many people know the existence of Lorien. But it is beautiful, quiet and a must visit place"
"Oh. Sounds interesting"
"Yup"
Lou finished her food while Rose finished two of her drinks.
"Okay, just really can't hold this question to myself. Why three drinks?"
"Uh?"
"You are having three different drinks at once"
"Oh, yeah. Coffee to refresh. Hot chocolate to give me strength. And diet coke flushes down everything"
"Oh", Lou was amused. "You are really... Something"
"Uh? I'm the chief editor. I own a publication house"
"Oh. Wait, are you... Weil's publication?"
"Roight"
"You have published so many amazing books. I read all of the books published in last decade"
"Oh well...", Rose awkwardly smiled. She wasn't good at taking praises. Also, for last two years all she got was criticisms for mediocre books. "This decade ruined everything"
"Don't say that"
"Haven't you read the reviews? The authors produce mediocre books. The publications are pressurised to publish autobiographies of unworthy people. It's horrible"
"Oh yeah, true"
The talk continued. They had a common interest. Books. They talked for two hours sitting in that diner.
********
Only when the diner lady told it was time to close for today, Lou and Rose got up. They walked outside together.
"You are an interesting person. I wish I could talk more"
"Well, I wish too", Lou said, straddling her bike. "But you are busy"
"Actually, I am not"
"Wanna hit a bar?"
"We can"
And they travelled some distance and found a bar. Again, being in such isolated place, they didn't have many customers in the bar. Lou and Rose spoke a lot. As they got drunk, the inner words came out. Lou started blabbering about her life. So did Rose.
Rose went through bad breakup two years ago that affected her focus on professional grounds. As a result, she approved two mediocre books which got negative criticisms. From there, bad choices continued. She wasn't stable enough to bounce back. She was in debt and dire need of a blockbuster novel.
Lou told about her life, how without knowing she might have hurt Debbie, thereby resulting in Debbie finding love somewhere else. Lou blamed herself. She blamed herself for Debbie not loving her anymore. If only she knew the truth!
As they spoke in drunken haze, Lou told about the half written story. Rose got interested. She wanted to read. So, both went to the nearby motel, riding their vehicles awkwardly, booked a room and decided to read. Well, within two pages, both passed out. Not that the story was bad. It was their tiredness.
Next day, around 12 in the afternoon, Rose woke up. For a second she was shocked to see Lou next to her in bed. But they were fully clothed. So, possibility of anything happening was less. Also, there was the diary.
Now, Rose took it in her hand and read every page. The book was really amazing. The way Lou wrote, with careful blend of 16th century cultures and traditions, along with the fictional details of her fictional kingdom was extraordinary. Also, the emotions and love expressed by the man and woman was so well written.
Rose looked at Lou. She recalled some of the things Lou said yesterday before they got drunk. Not much of an information. So, she googled Millers. Well, that gave her all the information.
*******
When Lou woke up, Rose was sitting on the couch. Lou smiled and greeted her. It was the first day since she left New York she slept through night, thanks to alcohol.
After she was fresh and had coffee, Rose asked Lou about the book. She told she never ever read a book like that. She also said she was curious about the story and desperate to know what happens next.
"Nothing's going to happen. The love is dead", Lou said sadly.
Rose cheered her up, knocked some sense in her, use French quotes on love and told Lou to continue writing. She told Lou needs to give justice to her love. This book is the symbol of her love. She needs to own it.
Lou, after a lot of convincing, agreed. She told she will write but she doesn't know when she will complete. She is currently a wanderer. No place to stay. Nothing to live on.
Rose told her to join her journey to Lorien. Lou hesitated at first but then agreed. Both travelled to Lorien, a small isolated town with beautiful countryside scene. Rose's place was on a hill, at least 8 miles away from Lorien's town. Also, the countryside was surrounded by hills as if it was a fort. Population was very less, most of them migrating to city. Only handful lived there.
Rose's cabin was medium sized, situated on the man-made flat region at the hill slope. Lou was in awe seeing the surrounding. One side of the cabin had farming land made by flattening the ground by humans, of course, another side had steps leading down to the lake nearby. Behind the cabin was woods leading up to the peak of the hill. The whole land owned by Rose was surrounded by wooden fence, which was broken at certain points.
"This is... Amazing", Lou said, looking at the place.
Rose smiled. "I came here few years ago and loved this place. I wanted to have a property here. But I couldn't buy anything else other than this cabin. It took good amount of money to restore and also have those steps made. And I restarted farming too, you know, as a hobby. But couldn't continue"
"Who maintains this place?"
"Well, no one. That's why the place is ruined"
"No one? You could hire someone"
"Well, there aren't many people in this town. And those who are here, have their own farming and small scale business to look after. So, it's hard to find a person to look after my cabin"
"Interesting"
Rose told Lou to rest while she went to town for shopping. After almost two hours, she returned with necessary groceries for a week. Lou until then cleaned the cabin to the best of her ability. She had toured the cabin. It had two bedrooms, one on the first floor and one on ground. First floor room was in bad state but the ground floor room was good. Living room, beautiful kitchen covered in cobwebs, bathroom. Also, there was a smaller cabin, more like a garage next to the cabin. Lou cleaned the kitchen, bathroom and living room.
"Oh, you cleaned"
"Well, had to", Lou smiled sheepishly.
*********
The week passed by with both Rose and Lou talking, walking around, trying to fix things etc. In between, Lou tried to write, but she couldn't. She was suffering silently. She cannot forget Debbie. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Debbie. Every second her pain increased. But she didn't show it out loud. She needs to stay away from Debbie so that Debbie can have the life she deserves.
On their last day of stay, Rose proposed an idea to Lou. She asked Lou to stay at this place and continue writing. Lou was hesitant to stay without Rose.
"Look, you have no destination anyway. Why don't you make this your destination? Also, look how you changed this place", Rose said, referring to Lou fixing the fence, roof etc.
"But Rose... This is your place"
"So? You can stay"
"I can't... I mean... It's like taking advantage of your goodness"
"Don't think that way. We are friends. Also, I need this book badly. In one way, I am taking advantage"
"But... I'll pay rent?"
"You don't have enough money, Lou"
Yup that was true.
"You know, you can stay here, look after this place, do whatever work you want to, or don't, doesn't matter. I will pay you", Rose said.
"But Rose, that will be... You are my friend. Business with a friend..."
"As long as we don't mess up, it will be fine. You need money. I need a book as well as a person to look after this place. Also, you want to be away from your past life, isn't it? What better place than this to hide? Start your new life here, Lou. Stay here and complete the book. And I am sure your book will be a sensation. That will get you money too"
And that's how Lou ended up being in Lorien.
********
Rose went back to New York while Lou stayed behind. Before going, Rose arranged new bank account for Lou in her own name, not Lou Miller's. She however gave complete access of that account to Lou. Also, she gave power of attorney regarding the cabin and the land to Lou.
Lou took good amount of time studying the place. What else can she do? All her time otherwise was spent thinking of Debbie. To reduce her pain, she roamed around, distracting herself with nature. Though she wasn't able to distract herself from thoughts of Debbie, she found unexplored shortcuts from her hill to countryside farmlands. Also, a shorter walking route to the town which would reduce the travel time to just 15 minutes. She befriended the people in one particular street of Lorien which was close to her hilly cabin. All were around 40-80 year old. They wholeheartedly welcomed Lou to their beloved Lorien. They weren't like New Yorkers. They were different. Life was seen in different perspective there. They enjoyed nature, enjoyed relaxation, simple living. Lou wanted that in her life. And so, she tried to fit in. Also, to keep her identity safe, she never told her last name to anyone.
Though most of the people were adults, she also met youngsters Daphne, Constance and Nine. After meeting them, she learnt that natives of Lorien, mostly younger generation are migrating away, while outsiders, or more likely, people running away from their past, settled here. This place more was a retreat facility to outsiders.
Meeting these three girls happened in unexpected way to Lou. Constance and Nine were gamers in New York, who got into bad debts after losing back to back gaming challenges. They ran away from the big city to escape from loansharks, reached this place. A good old man gave them shelter. After a month of being incognito, they started their gaming career all over again with new screen names, a YouTube channel and freelancing. Daphne was a child artist who got rejected by Hollywood and that led her to Lorien. She now was a social influencer, mostly speaking about women's makeup and outfit styles.
Meeting Constance and Nine was really a life-changing moment for Lou. It was a funny moment too. Lou met them on her 4th week in Lorien. She was sitting at the table in one of her new friend Douglas's house when she saw two girls trying to perform Lichtenberg wood burning on a piece of wood, that vaguely looked like a skate board. Lou walked outside and stood at the distance, observing them. The girls didn't pay attention to her. They were looking at their mobile phone for YouTube video regarding the procedure and trying to mimic it.
The electrodes connected, a high voltage step-up transformer ready and plugged in. The switch was now ON. There were sparks but the burning wasn't happening. Lou went closer to look. She realised the mistake. The board wasn't conductive. It had no conductive media.
"I guess the electrode is not properly connected", Constance said and bent to touch the electrode. Danger!
Lou quickly caught Constance's hand and pulled her back before she touched the electrode.
"What the hell, woman. I am working", Constance yelled. Nine too wasn't happy with Lou.
"No, you were about to die", Lou said calmly, turning off the transformer and even unplugging it.
"What?"
"The transformer. It's not a toy, kid. 12 kilo Volts. That's 1000 times more voltage than your regular outlet. You would burn and die even before you hit the ground, had you touched the electrodes"
"It didn't burn the wood", Constance argued, being ignorant to the danger.
"Wood is insulator. You need conductive media for it to burn. You are trying Lichtenberg burning. It's not as simple as it is shown in the video. You have no idea about the danger that comes with it. It's not for kids. It's for professionals in industrial settings, with high grade protection"
"Lichten what?"
"This process you are trying, it is called Lichtenberg burning. In layman's terms Fractal burning. It's not something you want to have your hands on. Literally. You will die a horrible death"
"But... This video makes it seem so easy. You don't know anything"
"I've worked on this for ages, in industrial environment, kid. Trust me, without any proper knowledge if you follow this video which itself is not clear on instructions, you'll die"
"But..."
"You are a professional, you say. Can you show us how to do it?", Nine spoke, cutting Constance's words.
"I don't think you should even witness. You kids... I don't know... your decision making ability is questionable. You've purchased this set up without knowing. I don't think I should show how it is done and thereby negatively encourage you to do more. No"
"But we need to do this. This is a necessity", Constance spoke, kind of whinging.
Lou looked at the girls. "I am not convinced"
"We've invested in it. We need to get something out of it"
"By something you mean death?", Lou spoke sarcastically.
"We really wanted to perform this. We... I mean, this is my skateboard and I want those patterns on it. It is so cool. Every one of my friends have it", Constance spoke, clearly acting. Lou rolled her eyes.
But she knew these girls might try the equipment in her absence. They are too curious. The only way to end this curious is if they see the process done by a professional.
"Fine. I will show you how it is done. But only if you promise you'll never touch this transformer and electrodes hereafter and also never attempt such dangerous tasks. Got it? Only then I'll show you how it is done"
"Deal", Constance and Nine spoke, although they weren't keen in keeping this promise.
"Fine then. Can you mix water and baking soda in a cup? Or even any fizzy soda and baking soda mixture is fine", she said, addressing the two.
"You are thirsty?"
"No" Lou chuckled. "It is the conducting media we will use to get fractals"
"Uh", Constance looked at Nineball. She agreed and Constance quickly ran inside to get.
Meanwhile, the owner of the house Mr. Douglas came there.
"Okay, what have you two monsters planned today?", he asked the girls.
Lou looked at him, amused. "Douglas, you know them?"
"Yes. Constance and Nineball. Though I don't know who names their child Nineball. Anyway, they are from New York. And now, they live in my basement. Creating nuisance all day with their loud music, 4-5 computers emitting loud noise of games. And now they got another thing here. I don't know how they can earn so much. Whenever I ask, they say YouTube. What is it? Well, nevermind. But you know the funny thing? They hardly pay any rent and also, I pay for their food delivered at my doorsteps. Anyway, what's going on here?"
Lou chuckled. "Well, I am trying to save them from dying"
"Oh", he looked at the equipment. He was interested.
By then, Constance got the liquid mixture. Lou kept the cup aside and asked them for heat and shock proof gloves. They didn't have any which surprised Lou. These girls were about to try a dangerous electrical process without safety gloves.
"I have a shockproof glove pair", Douglas spoke.
"You Doug! That's great. Let me get it", Constance excitedly spoke and ran inside even before Doug could say where he kept them.
Constance returned however within a minute holding a kit she found in his garage.
"There are many gloves in this. I didn't know which one"
Lou was again appalled by lack of safety related knowledge. Doug took the kit and opened, revealing various gloves. Lou took shockproof gloves and wore it.
She then told everyone to stay away from the Fractal burning set up. They obeyed. She removed the electrodes attached to the skateboard, and then thoroughly examined the transformer. She had to make sure it wasn't faulty. Once she was done, she applied the solution in the cup on the board surface and then attached the electrodes back in position she found perfect.
"Okay, you guys, stay far. Let me do this"
Constance and Nine obliged. Lou stood near the transformer, turned it ON and got it to required input voltage. The resulting output voltage was strong, thereby producing sparks and fire on the board, followed by Lichtenberg lightning pattern. Lou repeated the process by placing the electrodes at different positions, very much keeping in mind the safety and switching off the power supply when meddling with it. She created new patterns. Finally, it was done. She switched off the transformer, unplugged it and removed the electrodes.
"Okay, this is done. You can come closer"
Constance, Nine and Doug walked closer. They looked at the impressive pattern while Lou made sure to keep the transformer away from the power supply. She cannot risk anything with these grownup kids.
She then took the tools that were carelessly kept on the ground, cleaned the board.
"Wow! Man! That's awesome", Constance and Nine said. Lou smiled.
"This is how it is done. And never touch the electrodes when the transformer is ON. Never touch the board too. It is conductive. And never ever stay close to the set up while the process is ON. Now, you guys give back this transformer to the person you bought from. Do something that you are a expert in. Not this. Good luck", Lou said and handed back the board. She then walked back to Douglas's house to talk about random things.
"How do you know that thing to do?", he asked.
Lou smiled. "I... Worked in furniture factory for many years. I am basically a carpenter, specialised in wood, metal and almost every construction and furniture related works. Even jewellery making to an extent if I am to brag", Lou chuckled.
"Oh, that's... Awesome. Why did you leave?"
"Life", that's all Lou said. He nodded. He himself was away from his Texas life after his wife died and he no longer could spend time in that house where the memories would hurt him.
"You know, because of migration, we no longer have carpenter here in the town"
Lou was amused. A town doesn't have carpenter!
"Yeah, seems funny right? But really we don't have any. They either try to do on their own, poorly. Or go to big towns to hire one. The nearby carpentry is in the main town of Lorien. You know, miles away from this small town. If you are willing, you can work as carpenter"
"Uh... But I need to look after the cabin too"
"You can work there. You can do both at the same place"
"I..."
"Look, you need to survive too, Lou. How will you survive? Also, if you spent years working on wood carving, I don't think you can easily let go of it"
"True. I just... I should ask Rose"
"The psychic lady of that cabin?"
"She is not psychic. She is an editor", Lou chuckled. "And I am looking after her cabin for now"
"You discuss with her and decide. But I tell you, we really are in need of a carpenter. You know, the people in town are expensive. You will be helping a lot of people in Lorien if you decide to get back to your work"
"Uh..."
"Please say yes", Constance and Nine who walked inside, told simultaneously.
"Excuse me?"
"Look, please please please, say yes. We need you are the carpenter. We'll provide everything you need", Constance spoke.
"Uh..."
"Look, we have a deal for you", Nine said.
"What?"
"You know, we are about to start a channel on YouTube for wood and metal works. That is why we were experimenting outside", Constance excitedly told their plan before Nine could speak.
"You wanted a channel to tell people how to electrocute themselves?"
"We aren't professionals in carpentry"
"Then why a carpentry channel?"
"Challenge. Daphne Bitchy Kluger challenged us that we won't be able to run a successful channel on anything other than gaming. So, we wanted to prove her wrong"
"And so, you decided to start working on something you have no idea of? You could've died!"
"Well... We thought we would follow the tutorials"
Lou sighed. "Ridiculous"
"Look. This is more a reason you should work as a carpenter here. Like us, others might too try something out of their league and end up dying. You can actually prevent that from happening", Nine tried emotional route.
"Although I know these girls are not bothered about people and are only requesting you for their gain, i do agree that you should be a carpenter here", Doug said.
Lou looked at him. He nodded. She was silent for few seconds and then spoke.
"I... need to think about this. My heart isn't at right place or condition. So, I'll tell my decision later"
"Please"
"Later"
Lou said and hopped her bike, rode back to the cabin.
It took her few days to decide. What with memories of Debbie not letting her do anything else. She couldn't even write her book properly. She really needed to stop remembering Debbie. But that wasn't possible. She loves Debbie. Her every cell demands Debbie. Her memories are filled with Debbie.
Constance and Nine visited her everyday to convince her. They even told of funding for equipment. Clearly, they had no idea about the expense. They had bought some equipment on eBay and Amazon for their channel which, according to Lou, were toys and nothing more. The tools were in bad condition and only a professional like Lou can understand that. The sellers really fooled Constance and Nine.
Finally, after more begging and even showing some horribly maintained fences and barns in that small town because of not being able to afford carpenters of big town, Lou agreed. Even Rose encouraged her. Rose felt Lou will be more comfortable with her own talent than just looking after the cabin. Also, probably it will boost her confidence in writing the book. She got the paperwork ready that will be needed for Lou to work at the cabin as a professional carpenter. And she even submitted them online to the office responsible for licensing. Within few days, thanks to Rose's calls from New York pressurising the office, Lou was permitted. Even their application for having a possible high power transmission tower at the hill in future, solely for the high power consuming equipment that will be used in carpentry was permitted.
**********
Constance and Nine were really good at publicising. The minute they got confirmation about the permit, they began their publicising gimmicks. Within the nightfall, the small town of Lorien was aware of Lou starting wood and metal works. She got many presents from those people (presents as in farm grown vegetables, homemade cookies, sweaters etc.).
Next day, Lou cleaned the smaller cabin near the main one. It was clearly not maintained in years. So, she had to fix them. Constance decided to record the restoration of this cabin.
"Woah, what are you doing?"
"Recording"
"Uh... Not like this"
"Then? Wait, you gonna apply makeup like Daphne?"
"I don't want to show my face on screen"
"Why? What's wrong with your face? You look like Cate Blanchett"
"Nothing is wrong. I just... Don't want anyone to know my location"
"Are you a criminal or something?"
"What? No"
"Then why don't you want to show your face?"
"I'm not comfortable"
"Uh... Okay then. Cover your face with something", Nine said while clicking on her laptop as usual.
Lou looked around. She found nothing.
"You know what, I'll get mask", saying so, Nine went.
Constance until then spoke to Lou about how their channel will be designed.
"Look, I won't speak or show my face"
"Uh... But how will we explain what's going on?"
"I'm sure you can give a voiceover later"
"Uh, probably"
********
When Nine returned, she was with a brunette. Too beautiful and hot. Lou however didn't pay any attention. No one gets her attention except Debbie.
"Lou, this is Daphne Kluger. The bitch who challenged us"
Lou held her hand as a formality. But Daphne clearly was attracted to Lou.
"Wow! Fucking hot!"
Lou looked at Daphne with kind of awkwardness and pulled her hand back.
"You are so fucking hot. Why don't you join my channel instead?"
"Uh?"
"My channel is about women's hygiene, empowerment, makeup and style tutorials and product review. You are so hot! You can be my co-host"
"Boo. She isn't going to reveal her face"
"What?"
Constance told the conditions.
"Oh, why? Is something wrong in your life?"
Lou sighed. "Nothing. Just... Guys it's better if we speak about carpentry and not my personal life"
*********
Lou began working on restoring the cabin while Daphne looked at her, with dreamy eyes. Really, Daphne Kluger being in such state is not an everyday sight. And not just that, she was also inviting her to join her channel, the benifits etc. Of course, being Daphne, she didn't stop bragging about herself. But Lou wasn't comfortable. She was disturbed. Also, Lou doesn't like people who are self-centred. So, halfway, she dropped what she was doing and walked back to her main cabin.
Constance and Nine again requested her and Lou told Daphne should not be present. That was difficult for them. Daphne, Constance and Nine, though pretend to be rivals on YouTube, are actually friends. They purposely pull each others leg in their respective channel so as to maintain the viewers' excitement. They were planning to maintain it with new channel too.
"But... I don't feel comfortable"
"What is bothering you?"
"Her look. It is... I don't know... I don't like it"
"But she is good at heart"
"She seems pretentious, full of herself and she mostly is lusting. And... She definitely is a bitch and probably a gold digger"
Daphne who was listening to every word from outside, had tears in her eyes and ran away from the cabin. While doing so, she knocked down the wooden plank that was on working table. Lou and others looked.
"Fuck, you hurt her"
Lou didn't understand. She wasn't sure what to do.
Constance and Nine, without Lou even asking, told about Daphne's life. Daphne was a child artist who was dreaming of being a star in Hollywood. At the age of 17, she focused on modelling as well as sitcoms. She got some minor roles here and there, while studying in highschool.
When she was 19, she was offered a role in a famous sitcom which was barking the success of its first season. The character was of prominence. She was asked to play a 15 year old stepdaughter of the lead actress. Daphne was already doing a minor role in a sitcom. She quit that and auditioned for this new role, gave her best. She even shot pilot episode. But when the show was aired, she was shocked to see some young kid playing her role. She was replaced without even prior notice. It broke her. She enquired and turned out, a prominent businessman who bought the production house that year found Daphne too old for the part. And on his insistence, recasting was done.
Daphne, broke and hurt, tried to get back to her old show but well, too late. Now, she had no offers. She was rejected. Also, her drama after not getting the role caused negative impact. Her college friends laughed at her and called her selfish and greedy. Everything impacted her life and as a result she was struck with depression, broke financially and moved back to her parent's house. After numerous therapy and affirmation sessions, to divert herself from her past, she started a YouTube channel. Her channel focused mostly on depression and other things, and how women should overcome that. Also, she used her modelling knowledge to speak about beauty, makeup and style. Her channel genuinely grew and she became one of the most successful YouTuber.
However, she couldn't stay longer in California. Success doesn't give peace of mind. The city wasn't giving her peace and happiness. Also, she wasn't interested in meeting her school friends or industry people. So, one day, she decided to move to Lorien after quick search on internet for isolated place in States. She moved to this place. At the same time, Constance and Nine who were running away from their broken career, met Daphne. They became friends. Their YouTube career continued in Lorien, with more economic benefits. Lorien wasn't LA or New York.
One day, just for fun, Constance mocked Daphne's channel in their gaming channel. It suddenly became a controversial matter. Daphne, Constance and Nine decided to take full advantage of it. They continued their rivalry on YouTube while drinking beer together at night, planning what to be done next in their channels to maintain the so-called rivalry.
Just to keep their rivalry active and gain more views and fan-following, they continued challenging each other in their videos. Constance challenged Daphne to play videogames which Daphne fulfilled on her channel. No one knew that it was Nine who was playing on Daphne's behalf while Daphne gave the voiceover. The challenging continued and one such challenge happened to be this wood and metal works channel. Daphne challenged the gamers to make a successful channel out of something most people aren't interested in watching.
*********
After hearing the story, Lou felt guilty. Not just for shaming Daphne without knowing her, but also for ruining her career.
Yes, it was Liam Miller who bought the production house and changed the casting for 15 year old kid. But he didn't do it on his own. It was Lou who found Daphne physically too mature for a 15 year old and so, shared her views with Liam and other people in production. They found Lou's point valid and recast. Lou had no idea her one point of view would have so much of an impact on others life.
"I should apologise to her"
And so, Lou went to Daphne's house, which happened to be a beautiful countryside house with beautiful garden, a pool and Lou's hill forming the background. She apologised for speaking bad about her. It took some time to convince Daphne. However Lou couldn't tell that she was responsible for her career downfall. Nope. That was hard. She couldn't do it. If Debbie was with her, she would mediate and somehow make things better. But without Debbie, Lou couldn't. So, she didn't tell her about that. There was no Lou's end to this problem.
Consoling Daphne took a lot of time. She was a child seeking love. And Lou realised that deep down Daphne found herself lonely and unworthy. Lou felt bad for her. And so, she decided to cheer this kid. Maybe it can take her sin off too. She isn't the one to go to church and confess. Maybe this will somehow help. She became lenient to Daphne and that's how Daphne became close to Lou. Too much that, despite Lou's irritation, Daphne frequently visited her.
*********
Lou busied herself with wood works and her books. It took her three months to complete the book. She couldn't give the tragic ending for that novel reflecting her life. So, she gave a happy ending. What she wanted from Debbie. It was hard for her to write the novel but she did. She sent it to Rose who edited personally and the first print was ordered. Rose asked whether Lou wants to use her real name. Lou didn't want that. So, after two days of thinking, she came up with El See M. El as mockery for pronunciation of L, See for C, M for, well, M. LCM as in Louise Catherine Miller. However, the reputed reviewers and others pronounced the name as El Seem. (El - Spanish pronunciation, Seem as in seem). The first edition became massive success and it revived Rose's career too. Million Dollar business. Lou earned a lot too. Rose personally made sure the transactions happened under her control and not others. She didn't want anyone to disturb Lou's privacy.
To safeguard her privacy from millions of people out there, she asked Nine to protect her footprints. Nine didn't ask much questions. She got to know Lou was in fact Lou Miller. Nine promised to keep it private and made sure all of the information regarding El Seem and Lou were exclusive and also hidden from people. Nine didn't ask why Lou left her billionaire lifestyle. She just kept Lou's privacy safe. Whatever Lou accessed through internet was secured by Nine's codes. Nine also made sure none of her social media accounts got hacked.
Nine made sure no person in Lorien who knew how to use internet, got alert of Millers, specially Ann Miller, Lou's twin. There were only handful of people who used daily alerts etc. She just had to hack their Google accounts and alter the personalised settings. Daphne and Constance too were under Nine's list. They didn't get any alert regarding Millers.
On the other hand, Lou didn't read any news regarding Millers or New York in general. She decided to not dwell in anything. She stopped reading newspapers, articles etc. She made herself unaware of any and every event happening in the nation.
Rose encouraged Lou to write more. Lou has the talent for writing and Rose wants that talent to be utilised in right way. Lou agreed. She decided for another love story based on her parents' love story. Next would be based on Ann and Aron. She already planned. Rose was excited. However she failed to notice that Lou was actually trying to fit herself and Debbie in these stories.
*******
While she became a sensation in literature world, she simultaneously worked on the villager's fences and other wooden/metal related works. It earned her some money, the money she would once upon a time tip for a bartender. But now, she saved those hard earned money.
She also shot for the channel. Lou was too creative and so, she would create new things and within few days the channel gained monetisation. She had carved realistic looking snakes, small animals inspired by animals around her cabin. They were precisely carved and were masterpiece. Constance and Nine actively promoted their channel, creating best preview videos for Instagram and best edited videos for YouTube while Daphne did the same in hers, promoting handmade customised products. There was demand from viewers to create new things and Constance and Nine decided to sell all the projects Lou did so far in their own e-commerce website. Lou agreed to this. She set up the price list too. Soon, they had plenty of orders. It was hard to maintain, but Lou once had handled such demand. She knew what to do. She also taught Constance and Nine basics of woodworks. That helped saving her time for complex things while they cut and flattened the planks.
Sitting in a small isolated town, these people earned lot of money and reputation. Lou however didn't waste money. She spent it on improving her art. Being an independent channel, she need not follow a regime of factory. Her creativity had no bound. She actually loved this work. And viewers loved the way Lou worked and handled the equipment. She also would give safety measures and that helped many viewers. However, none saw Lou's face. Neither did they know it was Lou. Lou always wore black jacket and black trousers, gloves and a skull mask and never spoke during filming. She drafted the steps and it was Nine's voice modulation software (cracked version duh!) that changed Lou's voice into something else. Also, Lou spoke in American, well specifically southern accent.
The anonymity was so successful that even Joy, who regularly kept herself up-to-date regarding new trends in furniture design via YouTube and other media, failed to notice it was Lou. Joy had subscribed to Lou's channel and she failed to notice it was Lou.
**********
However, none of these measures kept her away from Debbie's thoughts. Debbie was her life force. No way she could stay away from her. Every night, she dreamt of Debbie. Every morning she had illusions of Debbie around her. Her madness for Debbie was so much, she began hoarding things in the room upstairs. The things made of wood. The things that represented her love for Debbie. May it be paintings of their life together, or the miniature carving of Debbie's face inside a wooden piece shaped as heart, or a full life-size picture of Debbie herself. It took her less than two months to complete it to perfection. Lou even added the ring that she got for proposal, to that painting's finger. It was insane. Lou was turning into a maniac. A psychopathic person. She even began talking to that painting, as if it was real. Lou began living her dream world of being happy with Debbie, with that painting. It was really disturbing. Not just that, Lou even started talking to "Debbie" as if she was present there. But no one ever knew about this. She always locked that room. Whatever she did inside that room was a secret. Basically, she spent ever minute of her day either working on projects or in this room.
Almost a year passed. Her madness heightened and one day, in rather unexpected way, Lou got a reality check of her state of mind. The painting caught fire and burnt completely because Lou was drinking alcohol and also tried to light her cigarette, and accidentally dropped it to the puddle of alcohol on floor. In drunken state, when she tried to put it off, she knocked off few more bottles. Also, the cabin was mostly made of wood. Thankfully it was raining heavily and so, Lou just axed the roof to let in the water (both clever and dumb move), thereby letting in the water.
Fire was put off within minutes but the damage was too much., All the paintings were burnt. Even few copies of her book got burnt.
The cabin was now ruined because of water. The place was a mess. But no one came to help. It was middle of the night and rarely anyone came to visit her at this cabin except Nine, Constance and obviously Daphne. But they too were not present. They were attending some YouTube related entertainment fest. They would be gone for a week.
Looking at the burnt items, Lou cried. And those cries made her realise how messed up she was. She needed Debbie to survive. Without her, she was a mess.
She decided to return back to Debbie. In Lou's mind, Debbie no longer loves her. But Lou can't stay sane without her. So, after a year of separation, she rode back to New York the day after the fire incident. She didn't care about the cabin at that moment.
It was still raining heavily but Lou didn't care. She decided she will beg Debbie to love her. She just wanted Debbie's love.
Lou reached New York city after a day or two. It was dark. She went to Debbie's office because obviously, Debbie works late. Lou parked her bike and was about to get down, when she heard footsteps. She saw in the direction of the source. It was Debbie. For a second, Lou went to Dreamland just by looking at her. Seeing her lover after a year was something else. But soon, her heart broke because Debbie wasn't alone. Peter was with Debbie, holding her hands. (It was before Debbie got to know Peter a.k.a Claude's reality. She was friends with him at this point. Just friends). He even kissed her forehead. Forehead kiss! It's one thing to kiss on lips. But forehead kiss means the relationship is too deep, beyond lust and other superficiality. It broke Lou so bad, she cried right there. She lost everything! Debbie will never be hers. Debbie has moved on. Debbie loves someone else. Debbie prefers someone else over her.
Debbie got into her car, followed by Peter and the car drove away, taking all last hopes from Lou.
This time, seeing Debbie with Peter made Lou angry. She was angry and jealous. She was angry on Peter, on herself and on Debbie. That was new. Until now, she wasn't angry on Debbie. She had left Debbie because she wanted Debbie to be happy. But it's one thing to want something, it is completely different to actually witness it happening. Lou's anger and jealousy drove her mad. She hopped on her bike, this time neglecting the helmet which was hooked on the side. She rode her bike in high speed. The rain pouring heavily, vision blurring, tears mingling with rain water. But Lou rode as fast as possible neglecting everything. At one point, she lost control and fell. Thankfully the traffic wasn't much because of heavy rain and so, she didn't get crushed under other vehicles. She got up, continued riding. This time, along with tears, even blood mingled with rain water. Her forehead had a wound bad enough to lose consciousness for weak people, but Lou stayed awake.
Night grew darker, weather worsened with every passing minute. At one point, it was impossible for Lou to look what was in front of her. That's when she stopped her bike.
Soaking wet and shivering in cold, she looked around. A bar. Lou went inside. No customers. The owner was asleep. Lou knocked on the counter and he woke up. He was taken aback by the blood stains. But Lou didn't care. She asked for vodka. He gave her, bit scared after seeing her angry face.
Lou drank. She drank beyond limits. The pain in her forehead was numbed, thanks to vodka. She however wanted to let her anger out. She smashed the vodka bottle on nearby wall. The owner looked at her, worried.
"I'll... I'll pay", she mumbled and searched her pocket, kept her phone, lighter etc on table. She had her purse, now drenched in water. She took some bills, way more than the cost of her drink and gave it to him. He took, and placed the wet bills on his counter.
Lou began putting her things back inside the pocket when her Twitter account (El Seem) gave notification about news. She didn't use her account much and so, she hadn't adjusted the settings. That's why she would get many notifications of random news and other things from Twitter which she would ignore every time.
Tonight though, in drunken haze and anger, she opened the app and tweeted angrily. Tweeted about how her girlfriend broke her heart. Because of her drunk state, she blamed everyone of being a cheater. The world, who had mistaken El Seem to be a man, began discussing about the tweet. Her tweet was taken in wrong way; people concluded that Lou was blaming women for cheating. Lou posted series of tweets, blaming cheaters (mostly her woman, because obviously Debbie herself admitted that day of cheating. It was rare for Lou to blame Debbie and she would never do if sober).
The minute she kept her phone down, it chimed with many notifications. Lou looked at it. Comments, likes, retweets, quotes... Too many notifications. She went through every comment and quotes. Some supportive, some condemning. Every comment ignited new fire inside her. Probably even aggravated her anger and agression. And that was how she came across Daniel Miller.
Daniel Miller's words were too sharp and somewhere, while standing up for women, Lou felt the person was trying to say she deserved the heartbreak. That instigated Lou. Lou cursed badly, all her boundaries broken. The argument escalated.
Lou, in anger, tweeted back to back. Daniel was no less. At one point though, tiredness and alcohol made Lou fall asleep on that bar table.
Next morning when she woke up, the owner, without any word, gave her a bottle of mineral water. Lou looked around, not able to remember what or how she was here.
"I don't know what happened to you, but you are fucked up", he said.
Lou didn't reply. Just drank water. She sat there for few more minutes and she recalled everything she saw in Debbie's office. Debbie no longer was hers. Fresh round of pain stabbed her heart. She cried. Cried without any shame. In a bar in the middle of nowhere she cried. After almost an hour, she got up, deciding to return back to Lorien. She should leave Debbie. Let Debbie be with whoever she wants. Let her be happy. She decided she will move on from Debbie. Well, that was impossible and she knew it, but at least, she can stop hurting herself more by running behind Debbie again. Lou was firm in her decision and so, picked up her jacket and went to pay for water.
"You've already given me enough money. Here, your money. You gave way more than what I sold to you", he returned some bills.
"Th... Thanks", Lou took. "What did I do here? Did I hurt anyone?"
"You were typing furiously on your phone. Also, you were yelling at it. I didn't understand half of what you spoke. Where are you from and what accent was that?"
Lou sighed. "Australian"
"Well, you probably should get some help"
"I should", Lou sighed. "I... How far is Lorien?"
"What? Lorien? Never heard of it"
"Okay, how far is Minnesota?"
"Oh, 4 hours"
"Thanks"
Lou walked out of the bar, still thinking what or whom did she type. She decided to check later. Now that she no longer will be going back to Debbie, she has all her time in the isolated hills of Lorien. She hopped on her bike. Rode to Minnesota.
*********
Lou returned to see her cabin in worst possible condition. In last three days, it rained horribly here and the water was everywhere inside. The closed door had trapped lot of water which flooded out when she opened the door. Not to forget the stream of water flowing down throughout between the cracks and broken windows for last three days. That actually saved the cabin to some extent. Else it would be a greater disaster. She sighed. She probably should've fixed the cabin instead of going for Debbie.
Anyway, now she is here, she will do it. It was funny, no one in the village knew about the damage. Can't blame them. They don't come to visit her because, well, most of them are old and weren't ready to climb a hill through shortcut path. And driving a car up there wasn't a smart move when the shortcut was just 5 minutes way.
Lou spent her whole day, fixing the roof of the cabin. Today, it wasn't raining. Sun rays were peeking through cloudy sky. Lou had all her clothes that were wet, out for drying. It was the only thing she could do. She couldn't use the dryer because of power issues that was messed up.
When she rested for a while, she remembered typing furiously. Twitter! She checked. She realised that in drunken state, she blamed Debbie. That hurt her. How can she blame Debbie? It's not possible. True, Debbie cheated. But that's because there was something wrong with Lou. Well, that's what Lou concluded since the beginning. She angrily threw her phone away and screamed in anger. No use.
After an hour of controlling herself, she picked her phone and checked what else she did. Well, she argued with a random man. Some poor guy Daniel Miller badly got trashed by her. She felt bad. She sent a personal message to him as an apology. Soon enough, she got reply from Daniel. They continued chatting.
**********
It took her next 3 days to fix and restore. However, she didn't fix the bedroom on upper floor. It was left the way it was. The burnt marks on walls were kept the same. Also, she didn't fix the furniture. She just disinfected the area and let it be that way and locked the room. By that time, Daphne, Nine and Constance returned back. Nine enquired about her outrage on twitter to which Lou just shrugged. Thankfully, Lou's views were actually taken in positive way by people, specially the argument with Daniel. It also seemed that Daniel got hate tweets and hate messages from El Seem's fans. Lou felt bad. She tweeted again, this time saying Daniel is a friend and that whatever hate fans are spreading should be stopped.
Life continued from that day onwards with Lou pretending to be a man, being friend to another man Daniel, being emotional support to each other. Little did she know that Daniel was none other than Debbie, who, just like Lou, was pretending to be a man and looking for emotional support.
When Lou got to know about Daniel's story and him cheating his wife, Lou was angry. However Daniel spoke and tried to make Lou understand that he loves his wife and he has no idea how he lost control that fateful day.
Lou, though not really convinced, decided to accept it. Somewhere, she wanted Debbie to say those words to her; probably. Whatever happens, she can't forget Debbie. She loves her too much to forget and move on. That's the reason why she didn't pay any attention to Daphne's persuasive talks or acts. Daphne didn't understand Lou or her pain. She thought Lou likes her but is playing hard to get: typical movie style. And so, she kept on trying. She was made fun of by Constance and Nine for this but she didn't care.
After several months of talking, El Seem and Daniel (Lou and Debbie) became buddies giving emotional support. Lou or well, El Seem would help Daniel in stabilising the mind by reducing workload; Daniel would help El Seem in solving dilemmas that arose during those times.
One day, Daniel informed something that shook Lou. Literally. Daniel was innocent and he was framed. Daniel never cheated his wife. It was a pill that made him unconscious and the whole scene was made to look like cheating. Lou couldn't believe how anyone could do that. She consoled Daniel to the best of her ability. Also, she tried equating her life with Daniel's wife's. She tried to imagine that Debbie was framed by Peter and Debbie never cheated. But well, she didn't express it out loud. She was scared. She didn't want to break this new comfort she got by imagination.
*********
2019
Daniel was really fucked up because of work and failed love life. Lou told him to take a break and retreat somewhere, enjoy relaxing and nature. Daniel denied at first. He can't just leave his work. But one day, he texted he wants to relax. Lou suggested some places. After few days of researching, Daniel texted him that he will be going to Lorien.
Well, Lou for a second was worried. What if Daniel finds her. But well, Daniel didn't know where El lived. And El is a man according to the world. So, it shouldn't be a problem. Lou decided to not think much of it. Though she wanted to speak to Daniel in person, she decided to stay away.
*********
Present day (well, still 2019. It is the timeline of this story)
Lou woke up late because it was snowing badly. Also, there was alert of storm. She had her coffee, fed the animal unofficially staying with her: a sheepdog. The dog had wandered inside the cabin one day and didn't return back. No one knew where it came from. Lou fed him with chicken and other healthy food a dog needs (not the packed dog food though). She even named him. Fletcher.
An hour of just sitting and looking at the snow covered trees while remembering Debbie, Lou passed her time. That's when she got call from Nine regarding the package related to resins. It will be delivered to town in few minutes and Lou should collect before the service office closes. The storm alert had made people shut down their workplace for next few days. If Lou doesn't get it now, she will have to wait for a week.
She decided to drive down the hill and to the town. She collected the resin containers, cherry wood slabs and other things, loaded it to her car which she bought a year ago (not a new one. And definitely not Lexus or Ferrari or Lamborghini she used to drive). She entered the street to Lorien just when the officers were placing barricades. She entered the village and the road was shut down. As she drove further, she barely survived a tree fall. Yup. A tree fell just when Lou crossed it. Thankfully, her vehicle crossed the scene with bare minimum time period. She thanked the gods. Seriously, that would be traumatising for weak people.
She drove further, thinking of her luck when she saw someone stranded on the street. The car probably was broken. The snowfall was bad and the road was covering with snow at faster rate. She decided to help. She stopped the car, got down; God, she hates winter; and went near the person.
"Hey there, is everything alright? Did your...", Lou stopped talking after seeing the person. It was her Debbie. Debbie was shocked too by seeing Lou.
Lou didn't know what to speak. All she did was turn away and stand, taking support of her car. She bit her lower lip in order to control her tears and pain that rushed back to her by seeing Debbie.
"Lou...", Debbie spoke. Lou's breath hitched. But she didn't hear anything further. Debbie stopped speaking after uttering her name.
Lou turned to face Debbie. "It's not safe here. Snowfall is getting worse. Hop up. Let me take your luggage"
Yup. No matter how hurt she was, she can't let anyone die in this snow storm.
Debbie nodded. Lou helped Debbie with her luggage and they both sat in Lou's car. Lou sighed and started the engine and drove.
"Lou", Debbie spoke again, after 5 minutes.
"Uhm"
"How are you?"
Lou didn't know what to reply. How was she? Horribly suffering everyday. But she can't say that. She can't make Debbie guilty by saying that.
"Good"
Again, silence crept in, and every passing second, Lou's eyes fogged with past memories. Somehow, she was not able to think or speak anything. Even Debbie didn't speak.
"There is a hotel nearby. Let's check if any room is available for you", finally Lou uttered.
Debbie nodded.
The drive to the hotel was too quiet. Lou didn't know how or what to speak. Same was with Debbie.
Once they reached the hotel, Lou and Debbie went in to check for a room. Unfortunately, there wasn't any available. The snow had caused damage in the hotel itself and so, they couldn't rent any rooms for new arrivals.
"What will I do now? Is there any hotel nearby?", Debbie asked.
"There isn't. Sorry, ma'am", the receptionist replied.
"Oh"
Debbie walked back and sat on the couch in the lobby. Lou was silent until then.
"I shouldn't have come here", Debbie whispered. "I guess I will go back"
"You can't", Lou said, blank expression masking her real feelings.
"Ugh?"
"Snowfall is really bad out there. I was the last person to enter the street. They closed this street for next few days. The weather report says snowfall will increase. So, you can't go back for at least a week"
"Fuck! This is bad", Debbie said, worried.
Lou looked at Debbie for a minute and sighed heavily. "Come"
Obviously, she can't see Debbie suffer in any way.
"Excuse me?"
"Come to my place. It is just few minutes away. You can spend time until the streets are cleared. If you don't mind"
Debbie looked at her. After a minute of silence, she agreed. They were back inside the car and Lou drove, preparing herself for new round of heartbreak in Debbie's presence.
*******
Finally, after the silent ride, they reached Lou's cabin. Lou looked at Debbie. Debbie wasn't in this world, clearly.
"Debbie"
Nope. Debbie didn't hear.
"Debbie", Lou called Debbie for second time.
Debbie was still thinking and didn't hear Lou's words. Lou sighed and placed her hand on Debbie's shoulder and gently shook her.
Debbie startled and was back to reality. She looked at Lou.
"We're here. This is my place", Lou said.
Debbie looked ahead. The fogged glass didn't help. She wiped them.
"You live here?"
Lou nodded. "C'mon. Before the car gets frozen, let's go inside"
Lou got down and went to take Debbie's luggage. She was too anxious right now. She could hear her own heartbeat loud and clear.
She picked up Debbie's luggage and kept on the doorstep. She got the third bag from the car when Debbie got down from the car and walked near her.
"Lou..."
Her name from Debbie's mouth gave whole new level of chills. It was the same voice Debbie used whenever she was too soft at Lou and expressed too much love. Not lust. Pure love. Now, Debbie used the same tone. That created another whirlpool in Lou's heart. Her heart desired more. Wanted to hear more.
However, before Debbie could continue, Daphne opened the door and rushed to Lou and hugged her. Really, she shouldn't have given her friends access to the cabin.
"Thank God you are safe. I was so worried"
Lou awkwardly hugged Daphne back while looking at Debbie, not knowing how to explain. Obviously, how can she explain. Though she cares for Daphne, she doesn't see her anything more than friend. But really, how can she explain that?
"I'm... I'm fine Daphne. Why... Why are you here?"
"Why am I here? I was worried for you. So, I walked all the way up here in this snow to check on you"
"That was not needed", Lou said, trying to balance her awkward smile. She knew Daphne was genuinely concerned but this wasn't the time for her to reciprocate the genuine reaction back at Daphne.
"It definitely was needed. I worry for you", Daphne said and hugged Lou again. Lou tried to stop her but was in vain, as usual.
She looked at Debbie, hoping Debbie won't ask much. Well, Debbie was again zoned out. Lou had to call her to get back to reality.
"Who's she?", Daphne asked, now holding Lou's hand. Lou was trying to put some distance but well, Daphne didn't leave. Also, she sensed jealousy in Daphne's voice.
"She... She is m..."
Lou was struggling. What to say? My girlfriend? My lover? My ex?
"Oh c'mon, stop trying Kluger", an Constance walked out of the cabin, along with Nine.
Lou felt like burying herself deep down the ground. Really, why are they here!
Debbie looked at Lou and then again back at two girls.
"Shut up bitch", Daphne said to Constance.
Lou sighed. "Please, I really am not in mood to hear another of your fights. Also, what the hell are you all doing here?"
"It's snowing. The network's not strong enough to play. And so, we planned on...", Constance gestured smoking.
Weed. Really, the weather was perfect for weed. But right now, she needed something stronger. Something that will comatose her.
Debbie again looked at Lou. Lou sighed. Obviously, Debbie still hates weed or any form of smoking.
"Jesus. Just... Go back to your places everyone", Lou tried to send them back to their places before weather worsened.
"C'mon mom"
"Constance, Nine and Daphne, go to your places. It's getting worse in here. Better be safe at your place before anything happens"
"Please", Constance faked innocence.
"Nope"
"One night? It's too fucking tiring to walk down to our place"
"You guys walked up the slope. It's easier to walk down. Go"
"One night, please? We can smoke and have fun. And...", Constance looked at Debbie. "This super hot lady can join us too"
Super hot lady. True. Debbie, though covered in probably three layers of jackets, yes, Jackets, was fucking hot, as usual.
"Who is she again?", Daphne asked. Lou again sensed jealousy.
"Debbie Ocean. I'm Lou's...", Debbie stopped. Lou who was hoping what Debbie would say, got disappointed.
"Where are you from? What do you do? Do you smoke?"
"I... I am from New York and I am a lawyer. I don't smoke"
"Boring", Nine said.
"Uh...", Debbie didn't speak.
"Leslie", Lou earned.
"Nineball", Nine protested the use of her real name.
"Whatever. Guys, seriously. Go home"
"C'mon. Your place is the best to smoke. If we smoke at our place, that oldman will yell at us. And Daphne thinks her ridiculous Barbie house as a holy place. Can't smoke there"
"Nope. Also, I only have one room and Debbie will need it. And she doesn't smoke. So, I don't want you guys to trouble her"
"We'll smoke in the workshop"
"Nope. No fire in there", Lou warned.
"Please"
"Nope. All three, go. Now", Lou said and lifted Debbie's bag. "Before I keep all three bags inside, I want you three to go"
"Fine", all three said, not so excitingly.
Lou went inside, with one bag. When she returned, her team of misfits still were there.
"You guys are still here?"
"We're going. Geez", Constance said and walked outside the fence gate followed by Nineball and Daphne. Daphne gave one last look at Debbie before going. Lou observed that.
********
"The place isn't big. I... Couldn't. Uhm. You can stay in this room. I'll sleep in the couch", Lou said, quickly removing the clothes that were spread on the bed. It was Daphne's clothes. Really that girl needs to stop trying her outfits in Lou's room.
"Sorry, the place is messy. Daphne loves to try on new different clothes and she never folds them or take them with her", Lou said, keeping those clothes inside the shopping bags. Only after saying those words she realised how it sounded.
Fuck
"Uhm..."
"You'll get hot water 24*7 here. Even in this weather. Also, if you need, there is a sauna out there. Natural one. And anything you need, just call me", Lou said, as if she was a hotel manager and Debbie was the customer. She didn't know how else to end the awkwardness.
Debbie nodded.
"Also, you can use Wi-Fi"
"There is no network here, isn't it?"
"There is. Only one service provider though. I'm sure you still have your same old number. It won't work here. If you go down the hill and to the countryside streets, you'll get all kinds of network"
"Uhm...", Debbie fiddled with her phone. "Password?"
Lou sighed. "I stopped having passwords after Daphne, Nine and Constance changed it every now and then"
And saying so, Lou walked out of the room. She can't stay longer in the room. If she did, she will fall on her knees and beg Debbie, thereby making things more awkward.
Lou went to kitchen. She sobbed for good one minute before she decided to prepare something for Debbie. Debbie is tired. It is visible. She decided to cook. But before that, refreshments. Debbie loves tea. Well, once upon time she did. Does she still? Lou didn't know. She went to the room again, to ask Debbie.
"Still a tea person?", she asked but suddenly stopped when she saw Debbie about to dial Ann. Nope. She can't have this. She won't be able to tolerate the pain and heartbreak. Ann will get her back to New York. She will be in same city as Debbie, witnessing Debbie's happy life with Peter while she suffers. Nope. Can't.
"Stop. I don't want anyone to know I am here", she said bluntly.
"But Ann..."
"Debbie, no", saying so, Lou walked out of the room. She was stern and she really was angry at herself for raising her voice.
She however couldn't let out her anger. So, she decided to prepare tea though Debbie didn't answer to her earlier question. While preparing, her phone chimed back to back with notification. She glanced at the screen. Notification of twitter DM. Obviously, Daniel. But Lou really wasn't in position to speak to her.
Daniel? I don't think I can talk to him now. I am in trauma. I can't solve his. Let me not see now
And Lou swiped the bulk notifications of twitter all at once without reading anything even in notifications
*********************************