"Why is everyone so interested in interfering in our conversations? I mean, why do they always assume I cause you so much discomfort?" Philian said in frustration.
There was something about his outpouring that night that made it hard to act harshly toward him.
He seems sincere.
Snap out of it, Eva!
"I appreciate your help, Èdouard, but I can handle this." She said, "I would like to talk to him…alone."
Getting the memo, he excused himself. Still unsure, he continued to look on from a distance. The night was slowly fading away, as the guests began to leave one by one…
"Are you really going to stand there and act like Mabel was the only reason I broke things off with you?" She started.
"Eva, I…"
"Don't "Eva" me, Philian." She retorted, "You disrespected me in our relationship. You toyed with my feelings and you always took me for granted. And you stand here before me, expecting me to forgive you and take you back?"
"Listen, Eva…I'm sorry, alright. I know I wasn't the best boyfriend to you, I admit it. I was an asshole, a total jerk. I just need you to give me another chance please…" He begged.
"You abused me, Philian!" She cried out, "Remember that night you came back drunk? That night was the beginning of our doomed relationship! You beating me up like I was some punching bag of yours…ring a bell? The constant humiliation at parties, with your whackass friends making fun of me while you continue to feed them? Calling me stupid in front of Mabel right after you slapped me because I asked if you were cheating on me, when in fact, you were indeed sleeping with that bitch? How convenient of you to suddenly become a changed man!" She paused to take some deep breaths. "Yet, regardless of how badly you treated me, I still loved you. I stayed with you. Oh! How foolish of me to think that I could ever change you. I could never change a dirty, lying, maniacal, cheating boyfriend. No, I just couldn't! And I'm glad I eventually left your ungrateful ass. You never deserved me…"
Disgusted by the revelations of his past actions toward her, he buried his head in his hands.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. Go ahead and bury yourself in shame! In fact, why don't you just run off to some cliff and go off? Maybe I'd like that, huh?" Her face turned black.
"Jesus, Eva!" He had a shocking look on his face. "You really do hate me, don't you? You really want me to die? Will getting rid of me do it all for you?"
Listening to him talk broke her heart. She realized how vile her words were, and probably wasn't something she should have said to him…even if she hated him that much.
"I'm not asking you to die, or kill yourself, or anything. I'm only asking you to leave me alone. It's over between us, I have no desire to return to you." She sighed.
Disappointed, but still resilient, he pressed on…
"Okay, but could you please grant me at least one last favor?"
"What is it?"
"Go out with me?" He asked, holding her hand politely, "At least be my friend. Let's hang out when we return to school. I miss your company, your laughs, your smile. Everything about you, Eva. Please say yes?!"
Unsure about granting him an immediate response, she thought about something else…
"I'll sleep on it and let you know sometime."
Elated, he engaged her in a warm embrace. Realizing her discomfort, he moved back.
"I'm sorry. I got too excited."
"Yeah. Wayyy too excited." She reiterated, "Don't do that again." She warned.
"Sure. Uhm…I'll leave you now. Have a goodnight, Eva."
He said and strolled away, leaving what now seemed to be a finished ceremony.
…
"Is everything alright with you?" Èdouard approached her again.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She said, as she tried wiping the tears from her face.
"Oh cher!" He exclaimed, "You're crying, Eva. Are you certain you're okay? Did he touch you?" He asked, with concern in his voice.
"Èdouard!" She called out his name in a slightly high tone, "You need to stop worrying about me. I said I'm fine…I just had an emotional confrontation with my ex."
"Oh!" He stopped for a moment, assessing her countenance. "Perhaps I shouldn't pry in your love life."
She nodded in agreement.
"It's really late. Shouldn't you be on your way home now?"
"Oh! Forgive me, but I will be spending the night here. I should have mentioned it earlier." He revealed. "I'll make my trip back home in the morning."
She felt a little excited to hear that, for reasons unknown to her.
"Where's home?"
"Home is where I want it to be." He said, smiling sweetly at her.
She smiled back, looking away shyly.
"Cut it out. You know what I mean, come on." She urged him.
"Switzerland. Home is Switzerland, but I come to Paris often."
"Wow! C'est bien!" She said, forming an accent.
He laughed.
"Vous parlez mal le français." He responded.
"Hold it right there, young man! What you just heard was something I learned from one of my French classes in high school, so don't start speaking it with me because I have absolutely no idea what anything else means?" She protested. "Now…translate."
"Uh…I said you speak it so well." He lied.
She squinted her eyes in disbelief, but left it at that since she couldn't verify its meaning either.
"What are your plans after school?"
Disconcerted by his inquiry, she tried to find the right answer…
Sensing her sudden discomposure, he retracted his question, pulling close to her
"You know, it's totally fine to not be sure about anything right now. Someday, you'll figure it out."
His words were comforting to her, and she was thankful for his understanding. Not everyone possessed the skill of reading into people's body language of discomfort and acting intelligently about it.
As they walked upstairs, they continued to chat about stuff they had in common. But the chit chat was later brought to an end when each person had to retire to their room for the night…
"Bonne nuit mademoiselle Eva."
"Goodnight, Èdouard. I had an amazing time tonight."
"Moi aussi." He replied, smiling back at her, thankful she understood what it meant…
They went into their rooms, shutting the doors behind them…uncertain about tomorrow…