I searched all my pockets, this time with much more urgency. Nothing.
My smartwatch had disappeared.
I stopped completely. It wasn't just the time that worried me. François had configured the watch to be able to locate me in case of trouble, but it didn't necessarily transmit my location constantly. When it was out of range of my phone, the updates could be less frequent.
For now, he probably only had one position.
Is this good news or bad news?
– Hey!
I quickened my pace.
Behind me, Maëva's footsteps were still echoing.
She had stopped talking, but she stubbornly continued to follow me, which was starting to seriously annoy me. I took a narrower street, then another, hoping she would eventually give up.
She did not do it.
I glanced briefly behind me.
She was still there.
- Seriously...
I accelerated.
I had only gone about a hundred meters when I saw a black car slow down at the next intersection.
I immediately recognized the vehicle and especially the license plate.
My heart sank.
- shit
During that fraction of a second I thought 20 times about running away into an alley or just turning around, maybe playing ostrich, or pretending something, heeeee, a solution.
I was frozen to the spot, my back covered in sweat.
The car stopped beside me.
The front window went down.
François.
– I… it's just that… he!
Serious
No words, no meaning, I had no reason or plausible justification
Ah, I'm screwed.
The worst part, as usual, was that he didn't ask me any questions. His gaze simply passed over my dusty uniform, lingered for a second on the mark visible on my forehead, then moved down to my wrist.
He noticed the absence of the watch.
His expression remained perfectly neutral.
– Herese.
- And ….
I tried, as best I could, to string together a sentence that forgot to exit.
– François?
– come.
I instinctively looked around me, how could he find me here when I've lost my watch.
– I was just coming home.
was arriving-I murmured, as if making a sort of apology, to remove the white that had been weighing me down for so long.
Let us pray that Mother never finds out.
– I saw.
oxbow-t-il
His gaze briefly returned to my bare wrist.
I am officially dead.
He opened the car door.
– Monte.
I took a step towards the car and grabbed the door, resolved to get back in and face my fate.
It was at that moment that the sound of running revived my memory.
– HERESE!
I turned around.
Lord
Maëva was running up the street, clutching my watch in one hand. She was sweating, her face wrinkled, her gaze murderous. She had clearly been speeding up for several minutes to catch up with me.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, anticipatingalready his reaction.
She was really going to do that now.
– idiot !
She finally reached me, out of breath, then handed me the watch without even taking the time to properly catch her breath.
– You don't know when to stop when you're called, I wasn't obliged… to bring it back to you.
I looked at her.
– You started running away as if I was going to eat you
– I kept going just to give you one!
No sooner said than done, she gave me a slap on the back of the head.
I stared at her in disbelief, not knowing what to say.
– idiot !
She gave me a second slap, less forceful but irritating enough to make me step back.
– You're not answering me. I've been talking to you for a while now and you're pretending not to hear me.
But without even waiting for aTerra, she shoved the watch between my fingers and finally paid attention to the scene.
I finally got my watch back.
- THANKS.
– hum,
she said casually before turning her back on us
I tied it to my wrist.
The screen lit up almost immediately.
A discreet notification appeared on the screen.
you have a new contact, Share their location..?
I looked up and saw only his back in the distance, when I finally turned around, François was staring at me with the greatest neutrality he had ever displayed.
He had observed the whole scene. His gaze stopped on the watch at the precise moment when I had just put it back on.
He slowly took out his phone.
I lowered my eyes to hide my expression.
François started the car. He didn't ask me anything during the entire journey.
The car slowly left the street.
I looked out the window.
I already knew the journey was going to be long.