String of Fate

Chapter Seventy Five

"Actually, I'm free." I replied, knowing that my weekends were usually empty. I tutored after college on the weekdays, but my weekends were frequently free. My parents had already left for France to visit my dad's family, so, I would have been home alone as well. It wouldn't be a bad idea to go out, especially if I was hanging out with Petunia. "Why? What did you have in mind?"

"Well, you see, it's my birthday and my parents are letting me have a house party, so, I was wondering if you wanted to come?" She rushed. Then, she took a deep breath and tried again. "I've invited a bunch of people from school and I thought it would be great if you could come, too."

"Sure. I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then." I answered, giving her a little smile. I wasn't really a big party person, but she seemed to really want me there. I didn't want to upset her, especially since it was her birthday. Then, I turned and began to head home, calling over my shoulder has I headed down the path. "Good night, Petunia."

On the way home, I passed a jewellers that was open late for Christmas. In the window, I spotted a nice little necklace that would suit Petunia. It took me less than a minute to go into the store and buy it for her for her birthday. I was the worst for impulse buying, especially on the internet, but Petunia would look great wearing it.

The next morning, I was pleasantly surprised to wake with a string on my finger. I decided that it would be best to follow it after breakfast and a shower. I mean, I still had plenty of time until I was meant to be showing up at Petunia's house party, so, I should be able to at least make a head start on the search for my partner, not that I had any idea who it could be.

I did just that, dressing in the bathroom before towel-drying my hair. That was when the doorbell went, surprising me. I wasn't expecting anyone to show up, and I certainly wasn't expecting any deliveries. My parents wouldn't be back yet, and even if they had come back early without telling me, they had a key so it didn't make a blind bit of difference to ring the doorbell.

I headed to answer it, looking through the peep hole to see Petunia standing awkwardly on the doorstep before opening the door. I smiled at her, a bit surprised that she was here since I had never actually told her where I had lived. "Hi, Petunia. What are you doing here?"

She seemed a bit surprised to see me standing in the doorway, and I didn't know what she had expected when she had knocked on the door to my house. Surely she should have known who was going to be answering the door once she had knocked?

That was when I noticed it. The red string on her finger that loosely fell to the ground, laid on the ground in a winding path, and then reached up to be attached to my left hand. I almost laughed because I had just been planning on following my string, but she had somehow managed to beat me to it. I didn't know why I found it so funny, but I guess it was just the irony of the situation.

"Oh, Antoine, hello." She stammered, not really sure what to say. I could clearly see that she was nervous, and I didn't think that it was possible for her to hide it even if she had wanted to. She reached up and tucked a bit of her extremely curly hair behind her ear. I had come to realise that that was a nervous reaction she had. Then, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she did so to try and compose herself. "If I'm going to be completely honest with you, I had no idea that it was going to be you who answered the door. I just followed my string, and it led me here."

"To me." I stated, showing her my hand. She nodded. I smiled at her, making her smile a little bit. Wow, her smile was dazzling. "Come on in, Petunia. I'm home alone, but I would love to have breakfast with you."

"That sounds great." She replied, coming into the house. I shut the door behind her and lead the way into the kitchen. She sat at the little bistro table that was in there, which was never really used for food, but my parents kept it around for whatever reason. Now, at least, it was coming in handy. "If I'm going to be honest with you, I never actually thought that you would be at the end of my string."

"Did you not?" I questioned as I started pulling the ingredients from the right place, deciding that bacon and scrambled eggs would be quick and easy enough for breakfast. I started making it to the best of my ability, which wasn't great, but I tried. "If I'm going to be completely honest, too, I didn't think that it would be you, either. Then again, I had no idea who it could be, and I didn't want to speculate."

I grabbed two glasses from the cupboard, placing them on the table, and then getting the orange juice from the fridge and adding that to the centre of the table. I smiled at her as I leaned on the table. "If it makes you feel any better, though, of all the people in the world, I'm quite glad it's you."

She blushed as I turned back to the stove and checked on the food. I grabbed plates from the cupboard and we were a bit quiet as I finished cooking the food and dished it up, grabbing knives and forks from the drawer. I carried the two plates and the cutlery over to the table, putting everything down in the right place.

Before I could sit down, Petunia reached out and gently held my wrist. It made me stop and turn back to her, looking at her face. She was a little worried, as if she wasn't sure if she should actually say what she was planning to, but I just waited patiently for the words that I desperately wanted to hear.

"Antoine, I love you." She breathed, finally deciding to say it.

It felt like the world had changed, and it would only get better with Petunia in my life. I gently held her face with my free hand, tilting her head up a little bit so it made it easier for me when I bent down to kiss her. When I broke the kiss, I smiled at her. "I love you, too, Petunia."