Chapter 5 ÉMIE

Émie Carter:

I don't know the reason for his kindness, but I confess that, despite being a stranger, he has helped me more than my parents on normal days.

He was looking at the landscapes while the car was driving, he was silent and didn't ask many questions or start conversations. My lack of attention led me to this, resulting in a dead end night, but at least I ate!

The car seat was more comfortable than my bed, for a moment I almost fell asleep right there, but luckily for me, it was right when the car stopped.

"We're here!" Even with the dark and cloudy street, it was possible to see the size of his house, if you will. "Welcome, make yourself comfortable. I'm going to take a shower, it's just the two of us, so I hope you don't mind, it's late." He seemed to be nervous, slurring his words almost every moment.

"OK..."

He left so quickly I barely saw him leave. I heard his bedroom door close and then decided to notice the details. The huge, colorful paintings were part of his collection, as were some famous old paintings. But what really caught my attention was a photo of him that was on top of the shelf, among the books and a little hidden. In the photo he and a woman were hugging each other, looking at the other's face and smiling, as if there were a lot of feelings involved there. The house was a little far from the city, there were walls around it and a beautiful garden around the entire house, it looked like something from a movie and... he must have been very rich. The walls were made of glass, covered with gray linen curtains, giving life to a dark, lonely and melancholic environment. I dared to open a curtain and had the most perfect view my eyes had ever seen. A garden full of white and red roses, with little light, was undoubtedly a beautiful landscape. Finally, I sat down on his beautiful corner sofa and stayed there for a few minutes, until he came back...

"I thought we could have some wine, but if you want you can go to sleep." At the moment I had no other option, even though I was sleepy and needed sleep.

"Please, I don't want to disturb you, I said there is work to be done in the morning and I don't want to disturb you."

(...)

For now, we were drunk, laughing and watching the day light

up through the window in his game room. I sighed heavily thinking about how I ended up in a place like this, how I started this man so recently and already gave him trust and worse, I told him about some things about my life, even though I barely know who he is.

"But tell me about yourself, I told you many things about myself and the only thing I know is that your name is Michael, or Mr. Williams and that you love literature." It was my last attempt to find out something about him, even if it was about his mother being alive or whether he had sisters. And when I thought he wouldn't say anything, the glass was brought to his mouth and after tasting that red wine, he looked at me seriously and then began to speak:

"I'm not from here, I've lived here since I graduated and since then I've dedicated myself only to my work and... I think I stopped living a few years ago."

"And why haven't you ever done anything to change that?" I know people can have problems, but what's the point of living without living? Just being a survivor, when you have money to do many things? I don't understand...

"Honestly? I no longer see life as it was. Before, everything was a reason to party, celebrate and enjoy, as if things were that easy. But, since I lost my mother, I no longer feel like even going to some party, or celebrate something. Everything lost half its meaning, as if it were the basis for my happiness." There was a sad expression on his face, his distracted look revealed his pains and how much they were still present in the memories of that great man.

"Happiness should be something personal, like responsibility or freedom. It shouldn't be a feeling that depends on third parties to be felt, after all, what's the logic in that? You place all your expectations on a person and they leave... for reasons natural, or it could be a love of your life that has passed away."

"Have you been looking at the photos?" It was inevitable not to get lost in my words, for a moment I felt afraid of what could be coming.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I was looking around the rooms and your bookshelf and... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gone through your things." shame was something that completely dominated me now. I didn't know whether to get up and leave, or whether to expect a warning for such a thing.

"That portrait shouldn't even be there." Abruptly, he got up, picked up the portrait and threw it in the trash.

I was perplexed by such action with a quick decision. If I said I was getting a little drunk, forget it! I'm completely lucid and I'm not surprised, as they were scenes I saw every day at home.

"Well, who doesn't have a past, right?" Her awkward laugh was enough for me to understand what that photo, that woman, really meant... "I think love managed to destroy me. I must have loved the wrong way, right?"

"No... please, don't consider the things I said. You know what? I don't know anything about love, I grew up in a chaotic environment and trust me, it's ugly. I don't think I'll ever be able to talk about it, because it's something I haven't experienced, so I'm not up to saying what's right or wrong about it. After all, I was really serious about happiness."

We were two people who were understanding each other in a strange way, about strange subjects and I was enjoying it all. Michael seemed to be rude, but he was just a man with a past he still hasn't overcome, and that was clear just by looking at him.

"I think I can go now. You need to rest and I need to work, it was a good night, just forgive me for having to make you stay up all night." I supported my hands to get up and was interrupted when his hands held mine.

"I'm not done speaking, Miss Carter, could you please sit down?" I then did what he asked and smiled awkwardly, tying my hair in a bun right after. "Come on, let's go somewhere more comfortable, we're tired." how can you? He was a true gentleman and respectful. "Feel free to take a shower if you want."

"I don't have anything to wear, besides, we have to work, Mr. Williams."

"Screw work! I haven't felt this alive in a long time, it's all thanks to almost killing you." It couldn't be true, that was ridiculous.

I didn't hesitate and held his hand, we went to a room where there were some giant cushions, chairs suspended from the ceiling and right in front, with a glass railing, a jacuzzi, it was something I only saw in movies. It was cold, but I needed a shower and some rest.

"Stay here, I'll prepare something for both of us, I'm hungry and so are you."

Michael then removed his shirt, and when I thought he was going to remove the rest, he left and left me alone, there, with a few minutes left until sunset. I had nothing left to lose, but I didn't want to lose my job, and that was why I decided my hira had arrived. I went downstairs with my sneakers in hand, I heard Michael humming in the kitchen and even though I knew it would be dangerous for a woman to walk the whole way from here to the city it would be long, but I still needed to work. I continued on my way without looking back, and unfortunately my cell phone was dead and I didn't have a charger in my bag. The sun was rising and it was terribly cold. With arms crossed, I arrived at the library after almost two hours of walking, finally, I was there. From the first time I started working, I brought a coffee maker and a thermos. I made a strong coffee so that sleep couldn't overcome me this morning and tried to look as normal as possible.

"Girl, where were you yesterday? I went to your house and your mom said you weren't there..." Betsy kissed me on the cheek, and like she always surprised me with her arrival.

"Sit here, we need to talk about a lot of things, and you're the only person I can tell about my life. I've missed you so much, Bet! Please sit here and keep me company this morning."