After Harmonie and Adélaïde left the room, it was as if Cassandra's body and mind knew. She had curled up into herself.
Her eyebrows furrowed and a pained expression on her face. In her fetal position, she drew her limbs even closer together as if to protect herself.
Moans began to escape her. She was tortured. Her eyes finally opened. And each eye was glossy, filled with tears.
She blinked, and the tears escaped from her eyes. She stretched out her hand and felt nothing by her side.
This immediately woke her mind and she opened her eyes. She looked around the room. She was looking for some small clue that everything that had happened was real because somehow she couldn't tell the difference between dream and reality at that moment.
Finally, Harmonie and Adélaïde's bags were what convinced her that everything was real.
She sighed, wiped the tears from her cheeks, and went to the door to find them.
Seeing no one in the living room, Cassandra felt an enormous sense of dread. After her nightmare, she wanted her safe heaven back, hence the almost vital need to find them.
Then she noticed the clothes on the floor, picked them up, and put them in the dirty clothes' basket in the cabinet on her way to the bathroom.
She knew they weren't in her en suite bathroom, but in the apartment's, since she hadn't found the clothes in her room.
She opened the door and saw Harmonie lift her head from her hand, obviously having heard her enter.
Cassandra was astonished for a few seconds, then came closer.
She noticed that Adélaïde was sleeping on top of Harmonie.
She came closer to them, crouched down, and asked, "Isn't the water cold now?" then stuck her hand in the tub.
"It's lukewarm now..." she said, looking up to see that Harmonie hadn't taken her eyes off her.
Realizing that Cassandra had caught her, Harmonie smiled softly.
Then she looked down at Adélaïde in her arms and said softly, "Take her."
Cassandra got up, took one of Adélaïde's towels, and walked over to the bathtub. Harmonie pulled Adélaïde away from her, but then the little girl gasped and began to cry quietly.
Cassandra wrapped the towel around her baby and tried to soothe her with light pats on her back.
Harmonie stepped out of the tub and took the towel Cassandra handed her, "Thank you. Just put her in a diaper, please."
Cassandra nodded and took Adelaide to her baby's room to put on a diaper as Adélaïde continued to whimper.
Harmonie dried herself, then after cleaning the tub, brushing her teeth, and washing her face, left the bathroom.
In Cassandra's room, she found a pair of boxer shorts and a sports bra in her bag, then took a small white box and opened it. Inside was some sort of ashes-colored cream.
She began applying it all over her body, especially where her scars were, then closed the box and put on her underwear.
She found a light gray blanket in the wardrobe and left the room, taking it with her.
Covering herself, she lay down on the sofa, adjusted the cushion under her head, and turned on the TV. She looked at the ceiling, then covered her eyes with her forearm.
She wasn't thinking about anything in particular, or trying to.
She heard a door open and closed and footsteps approaching.
She removed her arm and straightened up, turning her head toward Cassandra.
"I was just brushing our teeth," she began, handing her the little girl who was still whimpering,
"She didn't really stop sobbing the whole time but did let me brush her teeth without problem," she said with a helpless smile, seeing that the little girl had calmed down by the time she was in Harmonie's arms, and then the sobbing started again.
"She's not happy about our separation," Harmonie said quietly, trying to calm the little girl down with a few soothing words.
"I'm going to go make her a bottle because she's definitely not ready to eat anything solid in her condition."
Before she could leave, Harmonie stopped her, "Bring me her pacifier first, please," Harmonie said as she lay down again, her head on the pillow, the blanket covering them, but this time she was watching the cartoon as she stroked the little girl's back, who was starting to be soothed by the skin to skin contact and Harmonie's soothing words and familiar warmth.
...
Harmonie watched as the little girl fell asleep in her arms, her pacifier in her mouth.
With the empty bottle on the coffee table and a bib next to it, Cassandra returned to the living room after eating, took the bib and bottle, and went back to the kitchen to clean the bottle.
...
Harmonie was lying on the bed, Adélaïde still on top of her, answering the phone message from her friends.
Cassandra came into the room, closed the door, and joined on the bed.
Last night Cassandra had sent a message to her work that she wouldn't be able to keep up with her classes the next day because she knew it was going to be a complicated day, and they needed some peace.
Harmonie had already informed Chloé of her absence, so her friend took care of the rest.
Corine and Cassidy had sent her messages to wish her a good day, and then they started talking about trivial things in the group.
Harmonie turned off her phone, put it on the nightstand, and looked at Cassandra, "You look tired..." Hermione said softly and Cassandre smiled tiredly.
" Let's get some sleep, shall we?" Harmonie said softly.
Cassandra nodded, took Harmonie's hand, and closed her eyes, having moved a little closer to her little family.
Harmonie smiled subtly and closed her eyes as well.
...
Harmonie opened her eyes slowly. It took her a few minutes to recognize where she was.
Cassandra and Adelaide were still sleeping.
She noticed that Adélaïde was no longer in her arms but in Cassandra's. She concluded that the little girl had moved in her sleep.
She sat up, put her back against the headboard, and stared into space.
She wasn't fully awake.
A few minutes later, she got out of bed, stretched, and let out a soft, contented sigh.
She picked up her phone and walked over to Cassandra's side, leaned in close to her ear, and called her quietly. She saw that Cassandra was responding, then whispered, "I'm going to the living room," and then kissed her on the cheek before leaving the room.
Harmonie felt chills run through her body as she had no clothes on, just her underwear.
She took the blanket that had been left on the sofa, sat down, crossed one leg and folded the other toward her, turned on the TV, turned down the volume, and covered herself with the blanket and her phone in her hand.
She saw that she had received messages on her phone and one of her eyebrows raised while reading them.
+Hey, H, I thought it would be a good idea to reunite the Rebel Club🙃 Plus, even though my dad doesn't say anything, I'm sure he misses the club and so do you 🙄+ -Cassie
+I admit I miss😔 the club and would love for you to renew your ties. 🥺+ -Cassie
Harmonie watched the conversation for a moment, then went straight to the message Chloe had sent her without replying to Cassidy for the moment.
+Valerie sent us the program 😢 she's sending us on a hike in the forest 😰 and the mountain is a big beast to tame 😱😱😱. I swear we'll come back with a lot of aches and pains and probably sores and bruises 😭😭😭+ -El ultimo bitch Chloe
+I'm delicate myself 😭😭😭😭 and training in it is no joke...+ El ultimo bitch Chloe
+All right, we're hiking, but she's overdoing it with her training 😭😭😭+ El ultimo bitch Chloe
+And yes, apparently there is a special place on top of the mountain for training, like a kind of center, I'll send you the photo and the program.+
+program.jpg+
+image1.jpg+
+image2.jpg+
+I swear the gang witch is back.+
+Hazel said that the movie trip was eventually off for this month and that we needed to step up our warm-ups to be in the best shape possible and prepare our gear to avoid injury.+
+Oh yeah, she also said you should call her, it's important.+
+Well, I'm going to get some sleep. Thinking about everything that's going to happen this week and the weeks after has been beating me up, bye. Ttyl+ - 10:00 PM
SH: +What group are we? + - 1:30 PM
Chloe's response came right away.
+The second group. The others left a month ago and are coming back the same day we left, but at night, so we don't run into each other too much.+ El ultimo Bitch Chloe
Harmonie sent a simple "ok" to Chloe, then looked at the message Corine had sent her.
+Hi, how are you?+ - Kitten🥺
+Here you go+
+Image 1+
+Image 2+
+Image 3+
The first one was a landscape photo, the second one was a starry night with a crescent moon, and the third one was a photo from yesterday when she was telling the story of her manga and the girls were listening.
Corine was sitting on the counter all excited, Harmonie was looking at her attentively, and Cassidy and Chloé were smiling as they watched her. 'Hazel must have taken the picture.'
Harmonie paid attention to Corine's happy face, 'cute'.
She returned to her discussion with Cassidy before answering her family's greetings.
+I don't mind, and I miss it too, but only if Charlie is okay with it.+ -SH
After she finished, she got out of the application and started a WW FPS game. While she was playing she heard a door open, but she didn't stop playing. Despite her concentration, she put her ear to the sound of footsteps.
'Cassandra...'
And after that, she concentrated on her game. She had managed to concentrate quickly, as she hadn't noticed that Cassandra had arrived outside the living room.
But soon she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, looked up from her phone, and saw Cassandra coming towards her and stopping in front of her.
She unconsciously stretched her legs out on the sofa as Cassandra lifted the covers and climbed on top of Harmonie.
"Pass me the pillow, so I can lie down completely," Harmonie said.
After lying down, Cassandra lay on top of Harmonie, her head in the crook of Harmonie's neck as Harmonie stroked her back. Since she only had one hand left to use, she started playing solitaire game.
...
Harmonie turned off her phone.
"Cassandra," Harmonie said quietly.
"Hm?" Cassandra replied.
"Sometimes I wonder how we got back together," Harmonie began. She felt Cassandra's body freeze, but then relax as she didn't stop stroking Cassandra's back.
"I left without saying anything, without any explanation, when we had just freed you from you kidnapping. And I came back, still haven't given you an explanation."
"And here we are, in your house, you in my arms in your living room, Adelaide, whose origins you don't know, only that she is my daughter, sleeping in your room. You've even accepted that she calls you Mommy. And you've never asked me who her other parent is. So I wonder, why are you so accepting of these things?
"If I were you, if you did that to me, I'd be destroyed. That's why I'm also wondering if this situation is really right for you and if you're really able to take it all in".
Harmonie became silent then, she had a few more things to say, but she thought that was enough for now, she wanted to hear Cassandra's opinion on what she had already said.
The living room was quiet as the cartoon played in the background. Harmonie rested her eyes on the screen, giving Cassandra time to digest everything she had said and asked.
Then she felt Cassandra moved up. Harmonie thought she wanted to get off her, but that was not the case as Cassandra had only raised her head to look at her. Harmonie's brown eyes met Cassandra's hazel ones.
Cassandra looked at her intensely, Harmonie didn't know why, but she didn't look away and agreed to show herself.
There's a saying that 'the eyes are the mirror of the soul'. So was Harmonie ready to show herself ultimately?
Cassandra then smiled as if she had gotten what she wanted and kissed Harmonie.
Then another. And it lingered on her lips for a few more seconds. Then she returned to her original position in Harmonie's arms.
The latter didn't quite understand what had just happened, but unconsciously resumed her caressing movement on Cassandra's back, telling herself that Cassandra was unlikely to say anything, but little did she know, for just then she heard Cassandra's voice.
"You know your eyes say more than you think. Of course, I have questions, but I think you'll tell me when you're ready."
Harmonie began to stroke Cassandra's head,
"What do you mean, 'my eyes say more than I think'?"
Cassandra smiled, then put her chin on Harmonie's chest and looked at her, "I mean that it shows that you love me and that when we talk about what happened 3 years ago, there's this pain in you that tells me that it wasn't easy for you either. And just knowing these 2 things is enough for me for now".
Harmonie hummed, then looked up at the ceiling as she stroked Cassandra's head. She wondered where to start since she wanted to tell Cassandra everything.
It was unfair to keep her in the dark when she deserved the truth. Cassandra already knew things about Harmonie, like why she had scars, without going into too much detail, and Harmonie knew things about Cassandra, like her past relationships.
But Harmonie knew that if she wanted the relationship to last, she would have to open up about things she wasn't ready to talk about, but she would do it bit by bit.
Starting with the many things that had caused her to leave without saying anything, and the existence of Adélaïde at her side.
This would be a long conversation, Harmonie felt.
She imagined telling Cassandra everything, she imagined Cassandra's reaction. She imagined several alternative versions of her story. The only thing they had in common was that Cassandra found it in herself to forgive her.
Out of her thoughts, Harmonie lowered her eyes to the crown of Cassandra's head. She heard Cassandra's breathing become more even.
"I'm sorry," she murmured, thinking Cassandra had fallen asleep. She blamed herself for not having the courage to open up to Cassandra.
She knew it affected Cassandra more than she let on. She knew that Cassandra had to have her answers. But she was still afraid, immensely afraid of losing everything, but especially of losing herself.
"I'm sorry I made you suffer so much and still do." She tightened the hold she had on Cassandra and felt Cassandra shift in her arms back to a more comfortable position in Harmonie's arms.
"I love you so much. I'd like to ask you to never let go of me. But I know how much it hurts you. And I hurt you all the time, I'm so selfish. I'm really scared of losing you. I never imagined that I could love someone so intensely, but I stubbornly remained silent. I even wonder why. I'd like to tell you what's on my mind, but I can't... How long will you put up with this? I'm cruel. I don't need anyone to tell me otherwise. I know I am."
"But at what price?"
Cassandra opened her eyes and said nothing. She had heard everything, of course. Her face was hard to read.
She straightened up, climbed down from Harmonie, and sat down on the edge of the sofa. Her head turned towards Harmonie, and she looked at Harmonie, who hadn't taken her eyes off her.
Harmonie watched her, Cassandra seemed to have something on her mind. They stared at each other for a while, then Cassandra decided to look away and got up from the sofa.
Cassandra felt her hand being held and stopped. Harmonie stopped her. She turned her head and looked at her hand, which Harmonie hadn't let go of, and then at Harmonie, who was now sitting on the sofa. Then she pulled her hand away from Harmonie's.
"I love you," Harmonie suddenly said to Cassandra as she left the living room, Harmonie lowered her head, and she was pleasantly surprised to hear Cassandra respond to her 'I love you' before she left the living room.
Harmonie raised her head and turned it in Cassandra's direction. Her eyes met Cassandra's before she disappeared into the hallway.
A small smile formed on Harmonie's face, then she froze and her smile disappeared. She remembered Chloe's message saying that she needed to contact Hazel and that it was urgent.
She grabbed her phone and looked at it, debating whether to call her now or wait.
Finally, she made up her mind and called her aunt. Hazel answered the phone immediately.
"Hi, tell me..." Harmonie said, already guessing what this was about.
"Hi," Hazel said and then came straight to the point, "My contact is back, we can have the result in a few days if you want."
Harmonie stood silently for a few moments, thinking about what this would mean if her suspicions were correct.
"Okay..."
"You're going to have to be strong," Hazel said, changing the subject so as not to affect Harmonie any more than she already was, "I've spoken to Valerie, and she's agreed to let you participate in your school's sports week. That means you'll go to your training session next week as agreed, come back the week after, and then go to your group's training session."
During the last week before the holidays, the high school organized tournaments between the classes. Each class of the same level competed against each other, and in addition to the sports competition, there were also other small competitions.
Harmonie and Chloé promised Corine that they would be there for her because Corine was not only the class representative but also the student representative.
"Okay, thanks."