As I turned around towards the reception desk, Lexy jumped around my neck, happy to see me, Lucas by her side.
"Where is Asarys?" I shouted in her ear so that she could hear me.
She pointed me in the direction of the kitchen. That was when I introduced Lexy and Lucas to Victoria. I was delighted to see her accepted into my group of friends and decided to let them get to know each other for a few minutes. I took the opportunity to greet David, whom I had just spotted, and decided to spend some time with him, as I had missed his company.
"Did you come alone? Where is Morgan?"
"He's at a party in another fraternity," he assured me. "Who's the girl you're with?"
"Faïz's sister, Victoria. I'll introduce you to her. She's a nice girl. You'll get along well with her."
We continued to chat when I suddenly recognized the lyrics of M.I.A.'s "Bad Girls," which pulled me out of my frank laugh with David. Memories of France immediately came back to me with nostalgia. I knew this song by heart. I grabbed David by the hand and quickly dragged him into the middle of the space that had been improvised into a dance floor. We started dancing, and I couldn't stop moving to the bewitching rhythm of that sound. Around me, people moved away, scrutinizing me. I didn't pay attention to it. My need to release the tensions of the week, to clear the air, to forget for a moment his name, was stronger than anything. During those few minutes, I was back in France, in the parking lot, at the bottom of my apartment building. I did not hear the cries of encouragement from the crowd. My mind was elsewhere, thousands of miles away. At the end of the song, another artist took over. I came back to the present moment, realizing that I was dancing alone in the middle of the circle formed by the people around me. I hastily left the place and saw at that moment Asarys raising her hands to heaven, excited by the performance I had just given. For a few minutes, I had been the attraction of the evening. I slipped away as quickly as possible, head down to make myself forget.
"You dance like a diva, Zoe," David cried as he rushed towards me.
"I didn't want to attract so much attention," I told him, embarrassed.
I looked for Victoria, relieved to see her with my two sidekicks. My gaze continued to sweep the place. That was when I nearly strangled myself with surprise. The light blue-eyed stranger I had seen earlier in the day in the store was there, leaning against a wall, with a glass in his hand. I shook my head to see if what I saw was true, if I wasn't dreaming.
"Zoe, what's going on? It looks like you've seen a ghost."
I tried to hide my stunned face and regain my senses.
"I'll be back."
Taking a confident step, I moved torward the unknown, determined to get to the bottom of this story, because I wasn't the type to believe in coincidences. He smiled wide enough to crack his face as I reached him. I took care to observe him more carefully by noticing a perfectly symmetrical face. His hair, combed in a disordered way, made him even more attractive.
"Hello," he greeted me in a slightly too familiar way.
"Who are you?" said I in an unpleasant voice as I crossed my arms.
"I'm used to a woman addressing me in a warmer way."
He then looked at the ladies who were staring at him from both sides of the room. Each of them tried to attract his attention with big smiles. I could not hold back a sigh of annoyance. His seductive charm would have put any woman in a state of hypnosis. I looked up to heaven before his overconfidence.
"Why are you following me?"
"Don't you believe in pure chance?"
"I believe in perverts and serial killers."
Her charming smile turned into a burst of laughter.
"My name is Ray. Ray Jonhson. Nice to meet you."
Victoria reappeared at that moment, her eyes sparkling with joy in front of this young man. Her face radiated with happiness.
"Hi, Ray," she shouted as she hugged him.
"How are you, Victoria? You look beautiful," he replied, admiring her.
"Thank you."
She turned to me. I stared at her, incredulous, then she added,
"Zoe, this is Ray, Faïz's best friend. They have known each other since childhood. He's part of the family."
Shame overwhelmed me. I suddenly felt so stupid. I assumed that this young man must surely keep an eye on Faïz's little sister. Indeed, he was so protective of her. Ray must have thought I was a hysterical girl, a completely paranoid lunatic, at that very moment.
"I'm sorry, Ray... I was thinking... You know... In the store," I stammered lamentably.
Victoria came to my rescue, guessing the complexity of the situation.
"Ray, stop bothering Zoe. You could have introduced yourself from the beginning!"
I thanked her for her intervention.
"We were just starting to have fun, both of us," he justified, amused, but with a hint of insolence.
Wishing to escape this uncomfortable and embarrassing moment, I waved to them to take my leave. I decided to join Asarys and Lexy, who had taken refuge in a corner of the house, without speaking to them of the scene that had just taken place between me and Ray.
"You subscribed to a playboy-sponsored dating site or something?" laughed Lexy when she saw me.
"I would have preferred that," I sighed.
"He's just too cute," Asarys continued, introduce him to me, Zoe!
"He's Faïz's best friend. Victoria will do the introductions, if you don't mind. I have neither the courage nor the desire to speak to him again. I curse him."
"Speaking of Faïz, have you seen him since the other night?" Lexy asked me.
That same evening, I'd told them about the incident the day before in the campus parking lot, until I kissed him at the bottom of his villa gate.
"No."
My short answer resonated, full of disappointment. Asarys stroked my arm to comfort me.
"The kiss must have disturbed him more than you think. Give him time to assimilate all this."
As soon as her sentence was finished, we felt our feet suddenly vibrating for several seconds, and then nothing. The tremor paralyzed us all, the explosion had been so strong. The music stopped abruptly. Suddenly, all the cell phones started ringing. Messages, calls, but also notifications from social networks arrived en masse on our phones. I hurried to consult mine and found that it was off. My battery had run out.
"What's going on?" I hastened to ask Lexy, who was scrolling the screen of her laptop at full speed.
"Five attacks have just occurred in LA. Everyone needs to go home," she said in a panicked voice.
Her words resonated in my head. Around us, I saw the house empty quickly. Everyone carried out the order to take cover. I couldn't hear anything. My brain was trying to filter the information it was receiving. Everything was scrolling in slow motion. Victoria. Thinking of her was the trigger. The sound came to me again and my questions gave way to panic.
"Victoria!" I shouted. "Victoria! Victoria!"
I immediately set out in search of her, pushing through the crowd, who pushed me toward the exit. Fortunately, I found her quite quickly, completely panicked, in Ray's arms near the stairs. When she saw me, she took me by the hand and we went out in a hurry, all three of us, far from the crowd.
"I'll take you home," Ray said, leading us to his car.
"And the Escalade?" I shouted.
"I'll bring it back."
His phone started ringing.
"Yes?" Ray answered in a nervous tone. "They're with me. No... Okay. I'm going the other way... Damn it!"
After hanging up, his jaw clenched, and looking serious, Ray took us to his BMW, parked not far from the Alpha Mu house.
"The roads to Elora are all blocked and closed by police roadblocks," he said as he settled beside me.
"My parents?" asked Victoria from the back of the car.
"Apparently, there was no attack near you. The middle of Wilshire Avenue, Broadway, and the courthouse have been the target of terrorist attacks."
R
ay left campus in a hurry.
"Where are you taking us?" I insisted.
"I just got off the phone with Faïz. I'm taking you to his loft."
"Where is he? Is he all right?" asked Victoria in complete disarray.
He took a quick look in his rearview mirror to comfort her.
"Yes, he'll call you as soon as he can. Don’t worry about him."
We crossed the city in heavy rain and at excessive speed.
Faïz's loft was refined. Large, realistic, and abstract paintings decorated the white walls. The open kitchen in the middle of the dining room made it accessible from all sides. In addition, the exterior seemed to invite itself inside the loft, thanks to the panoramic view through the large bay window. The industrial decorations gave it a look that was perfectly suited to Faïz's personality. The floor, dark and raw in color, reflected the image of an atypical place, full of charm. The exposed stones and wooden beams optimized the depth of this incredible volume. I thought of Rachelle in spite of myself with a pinch of jealousy. She knew every inch of this place. Ray, incredulous, had his head on his forearm against the window. We were on the top floor of the building, which had a view of all of Los Angeles.
I had the impression that I was suspended above this city with its chaotic view that night. Outside, the sirens of fire and police trucks were ringing everywhere. Traffic was completely blocked for several kilometers, and lightning strikes tore through a black sky of ink. Victoria had just fallen asleep on the huge sofa in the living room, probably exhausted by all these emotions.
My watch indicated that it was two in the morning and Faïz had still not called back. I moved away from my contemplation of the view to speak to Ray.
"Thank you," I whispered to him, sincere.
I had the impression that this annoying man could have given his life for us tonight. He stared at me as if he was trying to decipher something impossible in me.
"The Mattew family is my family," he confided in me in a gloomy voice as he looked outside again.
"Is Faïz always like this? I mean...in perpetual restraint with the others?"
A little smile escaped. He sighed deeply before answering.
"Yeah, you'll always have to guess what he's thinking, because he won't tell you anything. He has absolute control over everything around him, but his life is not easy, which is understandable."
His features became tense. I understood that the secrets surrounding Faïz and his family had taken over. Ray seemed to know them, and I felt like I was being sidelined once again.
"Where did you learn to dance?" he asked, suddenly changing the subject.
"With my friends. In the working-class district where I come from, music takes a very important place. It allows us to escape from an often difficult daily life. Studies give us a chance to succeed in life and to get by."
"What about English? Did you learn to speak it in school?"
"No, from Hitchcock!"
I smiled at that moment, thinking tenderly about my father.
"My father is a big Alfred Hitchcock fan. I must admit that he is the master of suspense in his field. Each film we watched together had to be watched in its original version. My father made it a point of honor that this should be respected for each of his films."
"Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, or Vertigo? Which one is your favorite?"
I was surprised that Ray knew some of the famous director's work. He was not at all contemporary, and his first films were made in black and white. I began to appreciate it as we talked.
"North by Northwest and The Birds are my favorites," I admitted, "but they are all breathtaking."
"And what does your father do for a living?"
"He is a professional soldier. He's very often on the move, hence his sense of discipline and his passion for combat sports. When I was four, he taught me the basics of self-defense and many other techniques, but I don't like violence and far prefer dance and music, to his great despair."
I was surprised to confide so easily in someone I knew nothing about, probably because of the current situation we were in. Ray reduced the distance between us by one step. He gently curled a hair that had escaped behind my ear. This gesture seemed natural to him. He had no ulterior motives.
"Is your work in the cafeteria part of your emergency plan?"
I was amazed to find that he knew much more about me than I'd thought. I then wondered who had informed him of this. I took a step back in order to put a little distance between us, and to avoid misleading him about this situation. He shook his head with a mischievous smile. I conclude that he was not used to being turned down.
"Excuse me, Zoe, I didn't mean to embarrass you. I know very well that I can't get close to you. It would bother me to quarrel with some people," he justified himself in a voice full of innuendo.
I was about to ask him for an explanation, but I held back, understanding by his attitude that the subject was closed. Ray preferred to change the conversation again and we stayed for a long time telling each other about our respective lives. That was how he told me of his difficult childhood, foster homes, and his friendship with Faïz. Both had met at the age of eight, when Faïz's class corresponded with another class from a school in a disadvantaged area of Los Angeles. They exchanged letters for a whole school year, and after many written and sent letters, the classes from both schools decided to organize a day of meetings. Faïz and Ray then became inseparable and their friendship had lasted all this time. I listened to Ray, hanging onto every word as he told me anecdotes, each one funnier than the last, until the early morning. Lily and Charles had almost adopted him and considered him their son, who had lived with the family until very recently.
The excitement downstairs was slowly dropping. The city lifted its roadblocks and we could again move wherever we wanted. Ray undertook to drive us back to Elora. Information about these attacks had probably already traveled around the world. I hoped I could find the right words when we got home to reassure my father and grandmother, and prayed that he would not order me to take the first plane back to Paris. During that first week, I felt like I had experienced more than I had in the rest of my life, with a range of different feelings. No longer able to fight against sleep, I fell asleep on the road that brought us at the villa.
Lily was waiting for us outside. When she saw Ray's car entering the yard, she rushed to us. Victoria stepped out of the vehicle first. Lily threw herself at her daughter and held her against her. We could see on her face the immense relief she felt. Then she opened her arms wide to Ray and me to kiss us with warm attention, her eyes full of emotion.
Following this tragic event, several weeks passed and we resumed the course of our lives. A heavy atmosphere had engulfed the whole city, especially since no criminal had been found so far. The Dome itself had slightly changed color, becoming opaquer. We could now see the curves of this veil a little more clearly above our heads.
October was already coming to an end and for almost a month, the city had been preparing for one of the most important traditions of the year: Halloween. The houses proudly displayed decorations, each more frightening than the last. The university was not to be outdone, and joined in to celebrate the event. Only St. Patrick's Church, on the campus, had been spared.
Despite many counter-terrorism tools still in place in the state of California, the festivities had not been canceled, as the security mission had been entrusted to the army. In all public places and on the streets of Los Angeles, heavily armed soldiers had been deployed to deal with other possible threats that could arise at any time.
The Baylor University costume ball would be held at the end of the week. It was customary for final-year men to invite first-year girls to a dance at this evening. The couples would be formed in advance by a draw, which made the so-called experience more exciting. For my part, it was terrifying. The chance of the situation annoyed me to the greatest extent, but I preferred to comply with the rules put in place for decades within the establishment
without complaining. As I understood it, we had to come to the ball in disguise with whatever outfit we wanted. The excitement for the last few days was at its height.
I spent a lot of time with Asarys and Lexy, but also David and Victoria. Indeed, the shyness of the latter gave way over the weeks to more confidence. From then on, she put her heart into preparing every morning before leaving for class. The coquetry became a pleasure that she discovered day after day. As soon as I didn't have my nose in studies, I taught her hip-hop, salsa, and other dances in my room. Even the girls had started. Lexy wanted to lose a few pounds while Asarys just wanted to stay in shape and keep a pretty figure. Dancing to Beyonce or Bruno Mars was a radical solution, causing aches and pains the day after the rhythmic sessions. With those three, I still had work to do before they could do a perfect choreography without complaining every two minutes.
As for Faïz, he had been avoiding me as much as ever since that night I'd kissed him on the cheek. I hadn't seen him again, not at the villa, not even in the halls of the university. I hid my discomfort from Victoria, not wanting her behavior to change towards me. Fortunately, the passage of time gave me the impression that I was getting better and better at withstanding the distance he had put between the two of us. I was getting used to his absence, yet he was often in my thoughts. I only wanted him. He was the only person who had awakened feelings in me I didn't recognize. I forgot it was impossible for me. As for Ray, I suspected him of trying to cross me as much as possible on campus. Not for me, but for Asarys. I saw the hope in his eyes every time he spoke a few words to her, followed by a great disappointment when she walked away from him. My friend didn’t notice anything, even though I insisted on opening her eyes. Her stunning beauty probably frightened her a little, and the pretenders who rushed to her door did not help things.
There were not many people at the end of the afternoon in the cafeteria. I took the opportunity to refine my application, which I should send shortly to the press houses in Los Angeles in order to do an internship as part of my specialization as a journalist. The Friday night’s ball was being prepared ardently. There were only four days left.
DARK FAÏZ Book 1: Every hero has his legend Page 6