Chapter 12 -- Found No Cure.
Col's Point of View
"MOVING DAY!" Scarlett shrieks as we walk into Louis' apartment and I gasp at her "Do not yell like that, Scar." She rolls her eyes in response. Lou is at work, he has some classes today, and I want him to come home to me all set in.
"So, what are we doing first?" Scar asks, with a serious expression on her face and I look around Lou's monochrome apartment. "Let's put some life in here, baby." I grin and she nods. We spend the next couple of minutes rearranging the living space, I add my pillows to the living space, then we move to the kitchen, where I put my gadgets.
We spend the next hour cleaning and rearranging, then we move to the bedroom. His apartment is a four bedroom flat, one is his bedroom, the other is the library, then his office and a guest bedroom, which is where I put all of the art things that I do not use.
"I need to grab some food." Scar exhales, exhausted and I nod, I need to get something for Lou and I, too.
Scarlett and I have been friends for years, since we were kids. She is the only child of parents who do not like her, her father tolerated her presence, but her mother did not even hide her animosity and this messed up Scarlett a lot, which is why I believe it is necessary to have kids when you are ready. She left home as soon as she could, at eighteen years old, I left home with her and we went to UCLA, she wanted to be as far from her family as possible, and Los Angeles was the distance she needed.
We worked equally hard, and while I was struggling for Internship at Galleries, she was working her ass off to intern at companies. She was a business major and we were wildly happy when we graduated with the highest honors, we deserved it. She got a job working for a very big company and she ascends the career ladder easily.
"Can I text you I and Lou's order?" I ask and she nods, blows me a kiss and walks away.
__
Alone, I throw myself into my work,especially because Scar took longer than expected, which definitely means she went to her apartment to grab something. The silence is appreciated and I smile wide when I get a text from Lou, telling me he will be back soon, he is on his last class. I feel so fancy dating a Professor.
He has a big closet, with enough space for our clothes, but it is a little messy because he ran out this morning, he was almost late for his class, because I kept him up all night. I get comfortable, and decide to pull everything out, to rearrange properly, I don't mind the chores, it gives me time to meditate and think on things - I wonder how life will be now that we will live together.
Here is to hoping things don't change.
I frown when I see a big book peaking out from the back, I pull it out and I stare at it, it looks quite old, not modern at all, but Louis has a penchant for old things, so go figure, I guess. I know I should not pry, but Lou keeps so many parts of himself so close, tightly, and I want to know him, so I open the book and I wish I did not.
CURE! is written on the first page and I frown, what does Cure mean, why is it in capital letters? I should close it, but I want to know more, so I flip the pages, and I see words written in Louis' handwriting.
"Born in England, as a Werewolf, cursed and lived to thirty four years old. 1576-1610. Morocco, a merchant's son -- 1610-1628, died in a pirate raid at age eighteen. 1628-1688 - Scotland, Highlands clan. Lived a peaceful life, married with children, died at sixty. 1688-1719 - Brazil, Colonial Settler, died at thirty one in a slave uprising. 1719-1779 - India, British East India Company. Tried to live a normal life, and had grandchildren, died at sixty. 1779-1803 - South Africa, Boer Settler, gave up, felt trapped and wandered into the wilderness, wandered through life and died at twenty four in the woods from a venom."
"1803 - 1835 -- China, Qing Dynasty official, executed at thirty two for corruption. 1835-1862 -- Australia, convict settlement, died in a bush fire - death by fire hurts. 1862-1902 -- Russia, Aristocratic family, lived a life of luxury, but felt empty and passed at age forty. 1902-1942 -- Germany, WWII soldier, died at age forty from PTSD. 1942 -1969 - United States, Wild West Outlaw, died in a shootout at age twenty-seven. 1969-1998 - Nigeria, Independence Activist, fought for freedom, but saw corruption rise, died at twenty nine years old, killed by the Police. 1998-2024 -- Current life, New York, looking for meaning and putting aside the search for the cure for once."
"In thirteen lifetimes, I, Louis Bordeaux, born in 1576, cursed by a powerful sorceress has found no cure, and I will no longer search for the cure."
At this moment, I feel my entire world get tilted off its axis, and in the coming years, I will look back to this moment and wish I never opened the book. I hear the front door and I stay seated on the floor, with my clothes sprawled around me, I am confused, I don't understand and I don't know what to do or say.
I flip through the pages and there are more journal entries, and I want to read it all, but I just do not understand, I don't understand anything, what does this mean, what does it all mean, what is this, what is all these?
"I got the food and look who I f -- Col?" Scar frowns and I look up to see Louis standing beside her.