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Lara
Nicholas was ready to come unglued at any moment. I could tell that his whole body was tensed up, and I was pretty surprised that he didn't ask what was going on. I didn't think I would have been able to hold it in quite as well as he did. He held it in like a champ though. I was surprised by how he made me feel. I didn't know what we were about to walk into here at the cop shop, but I knew that Nicholas would be with me and that was literally all that mattered. It was nice to have such faith in a person and to know that they would be there for me no matter what.
I had never really had that before, and it made me wonder if taking off to Paris all by myself was the right thing to do at all. What if the last ten years could have been like this as well? I couldn't have done any worse than I did as far as my dreams and career were concerned. I had failed. So, if I would have never gone to Paris, at least I could have had that dream still alive inside of me, thinking that I was good enough.
When we got inside, there were men in handcuffs and women in all stages of undress with blankets wrapped around them and many different expressions across their face. It really was a spectrum of emotions, anger, relief, so much to be seen. I tried my best to not stare, but it was hard not to. My mind was going a mile a minute, and I squeezed Nicholas's hand a little bit harder than I meant to. What the hell was going on? Why was I shaking so badly? I couldn't recognize any of the men that were arrested, but I started to quickly realize who all these people were. These were the victims and the perpetrators. Were these the people that we had helped stop? Were they all going to be safe now because we’d done the right thing?
Contrary to what Nicholas thought, the death of Jean Luc had not sounded that bad to me at all. Thing was, I hated him more than I had ever hated anybody in my life. That was never going to go away. I was rethinking my decision, the way I had insisted when it came to how we were going to deal with him. I thought that I was going to regret it, likely had been regarding it for a while but now, seeing all of the women and the men that would be arrested and sent away to not hurt anyone else, it made me realize that it all happened for a reason. How could the reason be any clearer than it was right now?
The detective was there in front of us moments later and he wanted to show me how many people I’d saved. I told him that it wasn’t me. It was all Nicholas. He had found me and saved me, and then we saved the rest. I was guilty that I had taken so long to heal and be able to do this. I was sure that I wanted to be there, and I wasn’t ready until now.
Nicholas acted like the detective was just going to steal me away. He was acting very protective and jealous. I wasn’t sure what to say about it, but it was a bit embarrassing. Nicholas had been acting funny ever since we got to France. Granted, I probably had as well, but I think that I had a reason.
The two of us weren’t in the best mood when we left the police station, but I was buzzing on the idea that so many people would be able to go home tonight. I didn’t envy them the long road that they had in front of them.
The more I thought about it, the longer I thought I should stay in Paris. I knew what they were going through, and I didn’t know what I would have done if it was just me on my own. Nicholas had helped me so much. I wanted to make sure that all the victims had help. I suggested that we wait around or come back, and Nicholas reminded me that we were supposed to be flying back home soon.
“I can’t right now, Nicholas, not until I know that everyone here has someone that is going to be there for them.”
He just shook his head. “We don’t know these people, Lara. Why would we go through all the trouble?”
I was a little upset to hear that question because I thought that it was an easy one to answer.
“Because they are going through what I went through, and they should have someone with them to tell them that everything is going to be okay. If I wouldn’t have had that, I don’t know what I would have done.”
Nicholas nodded and said that I was right. “Of course, we will stay. We can stay here as long as you want, Lara. I don’t care where we are, if we are together.” I really think he meant it too, so I rushed into his arms and let him know how much I appreciated him for so many reasons. What would I do without him, seriously?
“Don’t get all happy about it yet, Lara. I think by the end of it you will wish that we had gone home.”
I agreed that I very well could, but something told me that I was supposed to stay here for a while. I wasn’t sure what exactly was calling me here, but I could hear it one way or another. I was so thankful that Nicholas was willing to stay with me. I knew that he had a life to get back to, but he was right by my side, just like he was when I needed him most. Nicholas really was the man that I could spend all of my time with.
We got back to the hotel a while later and I showed him how happy I was that he stayed by my side. I was going to make it clear that we were going to be in this together, and he would be rewarded for all that he did for me. He didn’t seem to mind the way that I wanted to pay him back.
The next morning, Nicholas and I got dressed and went back down to the cop shop. They had a few women that they were having a hard time getting information from, so I wanted to dive in head first. I wasn’t sure how that was going to work out and all, but I was convinced that I would make it work. If I had Nicholas by my side, I was sure that all impossibilities could be possible. I was almost convinced of it now.
The day got away from us. I spent most of my time talking to the victims because there were so many of them. Nicholas was helpful, and he tried to spend his time tracking down the families. Over a hundred women had been pulled from various houses and they all needed help. Almost eighty percent had found family after sobering up to go back to. A few were thought to be dead. It was a lot of suffering from one guy and again, I couldn’t stand the idea of him getting away with it. I knew that I had told Nicholas that I didn't want to have Jean Luc killed, but it sounded better and better the more I thought about it. The more I talked to each woman and heard their stories, the harder it was to have any sympathy whatsoever for the man I used to date. It was kind of crazy to come to the realization that I was better off than most of them. That was saying something, because I felt like a total wreck.
It was every night before I got to the hotel that I made a stop to see the dress. I wanted to see how they were selling, for how much, I was so curious, but the reality was that I didn’t need to know any of it. I was the one that had found it all too complicated. I wanted what she had so badly, but I wasn’t ever going to think about staying here in Paris again.
Nicholas was always waiting for me when I got back, and I felt better when I saw him. I knew that he was having a rough time, and he wasn’t good standing still. He wanted to do something and tracking down families was good for him. He had contacts and was quite good at it. That wasn’t enough though. I tried my best to figure out what was going on with him, but he was quiet a lot more than usual. It felt like we shouldn’t stay here too much longer. We needed to get back home to Bogalusa where things made sense and we would be able to move on from this tragedy. I didn't want it to be who I was for the rest of my life. Nicholas hadn't really wanted me to stick around and help everyone, but I was glad that I had. It meant that I had to heal a little bit alongside them. I couldn't help myself, so helping others was the next best thing.
When we got back to the hotel that evening, I asked Nicholas if he was ready to get out of Paris. He was surprised by the question and said that he still had three girls that he was trying to find a family for.
“How long do you need?”
Nicholas shrugged and said that he didn’t know. I wanted him to say that someone else could take care of it but all of a sudden, Nicholas wanted to see it through. It was a complete 180 switch and I hated to say it, but I wasn't too sure if this change of heart was completely honest. It made me nervous why he would want to stay. I had a really good feeling that it had nothing to do with helping out families. Somebody else could take care of it. So, why was he suddenly the only one that could? It didn't make any sense.
I asked him if he was doing something that he promised he wouldn't. I didn't want to say out loud that it had anything to do with Jean Luc because I felt like we had talked about him enough. Nicholas kind of grinned and shook his head side to side to pretend like he was innocent. I was never going to think that Nicholas was innocent. I knew him too well to ever believe it.
It wasn't long before we were going out to dinner and talking about more pleasant things. Nicholas was in his head a lot today, but I wasn't going to get involved. I had a lot of my mind as well. What I liked thinking about was the dress. And the victims. Maybe once in a while I thought about Jean Luc and hoped that he was utterly miserable in jail. I didn't know if it was going to be true or not, but I certainly liked to think so.
We were about halfway through the meal when Nicholas asked me something that had me second-guessing it all. He went to his knees in front of me, on one knee in particular, and I knew exactly what he was doing. I just couldn't believe it, that's all.
“What are you doing, Nicholas?” I asked him in a worried whisper. This was so public.
“Something that I should have done a long time ago, that's what.” Why did that declaration sound so freaking good? He said it in just the way I wanted to hear it and whether it was believable or not, it didn't even actually matter. What mattered was it was believable enough.
Of all the ways that I saw this happening, it was never like this. I melted in seconds, and I could see eyes on us from all angles. I wanted privacy. I needed a few minutes, but it was hard when the answer was to be given now. Did he know how on the spot this was?
