Chapter 7: Fear of losing you

The raindrops were exploding against the windshield into thousands of other small drops. The humidity in the air deposited a veil of mist inside the windows of the 4x4.

Coraline's rental seemed like poor storm protection. Yannick had probably sensed Coraline's concern and answered directly: "The house has already suffered from bigger storms and nothing has ever moved. Tonight, the sea will be superb, showing you its wildest and most cruel face. »

They rushed inside, sometimes trying to weave between the big drops, but despite their best efforts, their clothes were dripping.

Coraline looked Yannick up and down, bursting out laughing. "You'll catch your death if you get soaked like that. Go take a hot shower, I'll lend you a bathrobe and we'll dry your clothes. I take the first turn so you can already put your clothes to dry at your ease. »

Yannick sneezed and agreed. She therefore quickly returned to the bathroom and went under the shower.

Coming out of the shower, Coraline dried herself quickly with a white towel and prepared another for Yannick. Once her skin was dry, she got dressed. Blue jeans and a black T-shirt suited him just fine. Before going out the door, she glanced back critically to check that the bathroom was tidy.

Yannick's clothes were hanging on a chair in front of the electric heater.

Coraline had lain down on her bed and had slipped her feet under the thick goose down duvet. The room was hot.

Yannick came out of the bathroom in a bathrobe. He was drying his hair using the towel that Coraline had prepared for him.

Yannick's cell phone rang. Coraline grabbed it and saw the message banner as she handed it to Yannick.

It said: "Meet me outside the police station after the storm. I would like to continue our one-on-one discussion. »

Coraline stopped short, her eyes wide with surprise and anger.

"You can get dressed, Professor Le Ber. The commissioner asks you to join her for a one-on-one? Coraline spat with her chin up.

He turned around very surprised by the tone of Coraline's voice. She had a soft, warm tone and there her voice had become cold, pungent and mean.

"JEALOUS!!! Are you jealous of the commissioner? he wondered.

Coraline's face shone with tears of spite and rage. The words she spoke burned her throat and expelled them like a snake throwing out its venom. "I was beginning to trust you and open my heart and thoughts to you and you betray me. You're like the others and you're even worse since you waited for me to have feelings for you before cheating on me with this perfectly shaped doll! »

"She doesn't have your value in my eyes. I don't want to lose you so I'm going to calm you down! he said calmly with a paternal air.

"If you go away and then run away, you must never try to contact me again. »

He picked up his things and left in his bathrobe. The door closed and Coraline found herself alone again. She knew she shouldn't have gotten angry that way. Her possessiveness had consumed her and her reason hadn't been able to regain the upper hand.

The next morning, she tried to phone Yannick to apologize. But he didn't pick up his cell phone.

Coraline called a taxi. She had made the decision to leave, to take the road to a destination unknown to herself. Coraline would drive to the end of the world if necessary to clear her head.

Arriving in town, she bought a simple car. Indeed, her books sold well enough that she could without hesitation buy a car. The car dealer insisted on explaining to the pretty young woman how the GPS worked. Coraline was in no mood to argue and let herself be bragged about the latest model of GPS which was installed and perfectly integrated into the dashboard. He explained to her how to enter an address in different ways.

She went back to the little house to put her suitcases in the trunk. When closing the chest, his pendant fell to the floor. She picked it up and got into the car, putting it down beside her. The young woman entered the coordinates of her apartment in Brussels. Of all the possible choices, she could choose to enter the GPS coordinates of her destination. Seeing the coordinates of her own position, this sequence of numbers seemed strangely familiar to her… The corner of her little red notebook was sticking out of her purse. She picked it up and entered the numbers. They agreed with a place at sea where there was no land.

She didn't understand and let her head fall back. His right hand met the pendant and observed its faces. She hadn't done it yet. On one side, a man stood straight and worked the land, on the back, a mermaid-woman was swimming among seaweed and fish.

" Fishes ? she whispered.

Coraline closed her eyes, letting her mind wander repeating this question. His forehead hit the top of the steering wheel.

Since her mother's accident, she certainly had memory loss during periods of intense stress, but when she was calm and concentrated, her photographic memory was exceptional. She remembered the photograph in Professor Derch's office: the professor sitting on his boat called "HER", a fishing rod in his left hand and a fish in the other.

She raised her head: "If he had written these coordinates on his hand, Marvin Derch had perhaps discovered an important place at sea and had taken note of it for some unknown reason. »

The car started off with a bang.