EDITH glanced worriedly at Alain's empty chair. The math exam had started at least thirty minutes ago and he still wasn't there. It worried her, he wanted so much to get a good grade, she didn't understand what could have happened but she hoped it was nothing serious. Alain eventually arrived but given the time that remained, it was clear that he would not have time to finish.

      When the bell rang and she left the room, she felt a hand grab her arm and Alain pushed her into a corner of the corridor, out of sight.

       "Are you okay? What happened?" she asked him.

      "Problem at the farm. Coulomier's being a jerk."

       "I'm sorry. Do you think you can get excused?"

       "I don't know." he sighed. "Can I still see you tonight?"

        She smiled. "Yes. But, I'll have something to tell you. It's important."

        "Okay." Alain replied, his voice showing he was worrying a little.

       "Let's go before someone sees us."

★

      The day had passed painfully slowly. Edith couldn't think about anything else but how she was going to be able to announce the situation to Alain. She was scared. She didn't want things to end between them but she didn't see any other solution.

      They were sitting on a low wall in an alley. Alain seemed as disappointed as she was. She knew he had a meeting with Bellanger earlier.

       "Did it go bad with Mr. Bellanger?" she asked.

       "No, not really, we just talked about some things that make me think a lot. But you wanted to talk about something, what's going on?" he replied.

       She nodded softly and reached to grab his hand. "Alain. I love you."

       A smile appeared on his face. "I love you too."

       That warmed up her heart but she couldn't forget about what she had to say. "I love you, I do, but... I'm afraid we won't be able to see each other for much longer."

       Alain's smile faded. "What— What are you talking about?"

       "I'm sorry, it's my parents, they— one of Adam's friends wants to marry me and my parents said yes. And I told them I didn't want to do it, but they don't give me much of a choice." she whispered.

       "No— no, you can't marry this guy. I love you." Alain replied, squeezing her hand.

       "I know and I love you, but he's from a good family, my parents will never allow me to be with you. I'm really sorry, Alain, I am." she said, tears in her eyes.

       They both stayed silent for a while. Finally, Alain spoke up. "Bellanger wants me to go to a school in Clermont-Ferrand. It's a boarding school, he said they can take me."

      "That— that's great." Edith said even though her heart was sinking.

      "No, that's not great. It's so far away. I don't want to leave you."

      "I don't want that either!" she shook her head.

      "So, come with me. Let's go to Paris together! Anywhere but far from here!" Alain told her.

      The idea seemed interesting but wouldn't that be crazy? "What about my family?" Edith asked.

       "We're not leaving forever. Just for a few weeks, so they'll know this is serious between us. That way they won't make you marry this guy and I don't have to go to Clermont-Ferrant. We could stay together."

       Edith stared into his eyes. She really wanted to do it. She couldn't bring herself to let him go.

       "We don't have any money." she said.

       "I'll sell my motorcycle. And once we get there, we'll find some work, I'm sure we can do it." Alain told her.

       She thought about it for a second but she was quick to admit she was ready to take the risk because she had no desire to marry someone who wasn't Alain.

       She smiled. "Okay. Let's go to Paris."

★

       Alain and Edith had decided to leave the next morning. She had to pack a bag with the bare minimum and leave for school as if nothing was going to happen. Alain would pick her up at a place they had decided together. He had to take care of finding a buyer for his motorcycle tonight so he could give it to them the next morning and then they would take the bus to Paris.

       It might seem crazy but they knew that as long as they were together everything would be okay.

      "You seem weird, what's wrong?" Thierry asked her while they were doing the dishes before going to school.

       "Nothing's wrong. I just have an exam later and it's freaking me out a little, that's all." she lied.

      He shrugged, not very convinced but he didn't insist. "Okay."

      A horn sounded outside. It was Thierry's friends who came to pick them up to go to class. He put down his towel and grabbed his bag but turned to his sister when he saw that she wasn't following him.

     "You're not coming?"

      "I'll walk. I'm finishing the dishes." she said.

      "You sure?"

      "Yeah, go ahead."

      As he was walking away, she called out for him. He turned back and she smiled softly. "I love you."

      He seemed surprised she said that just like that but he smiled in turn. "I love you too."

      He walked out the restaurant and she waited a few minutes before grabbing her bag and going out. She walked to the meeting point she had decided with Alain. He was already waiting for her there when she arrived. He was sitting on his motorcycle and she ran up to him to kiss him.

      "Hello." he smiled right before she placed her lips on his.

      When they pulled away, she clutched her bag against her and got on the motorcycle behind him. He waited until she was settled in to start the engine and turned slightly to look at her.

      "You ready?"

      She nodded and put her arms around him. "More than ever. You?"

      "I wouldn't have wanted it to be any other way."

— and here is the last chapter!! i hope you liked it and that it didn't feel too rushed. i'm feeling kinda weird writing this because i loved writing about edith and alain and i guess i'm not fully aware yet that it's over.

thank you to everyone who read this story, thank you to those of you who commented, i loved seeing what you were thinking about it and thanks for all the love yall gave me during those past months!

i hope you enjoyed this story as much as i enjoyed writing it and i hope we'll meet again for a season 2! (praying in delulu 🙏🏼)

— angie 🤍