insomnia [✔]

scene. iii

"Holy sh... C'mon Gar, who's that ?" said a brown-haired boy by entering in the living room.

Gar frowned as he mumbled "Jason." Madeleine then assumed that it was the importunate's first name. She didn't really know what attitude to adopt. Maybe it was another resident of this strange mansion? Could he and Gar be brothers or something? Here is another one of those things that rich people allowed themselves to do: adopt a child, or even several if they wished.

It was a principle repeated in "Annie the little orphan" and "Oliver Twist". The dark-haired girl then gradually conceived the idea that the two young men were orphans. She knew there was a sure way to check. All she had to do was dive once more into their minds, but she didn't want to take advantage of the kindness of Gar who was willing to keep her secret.

As for the so-called Jason, she would have liked to exchange a few words with him, before discovering his potential darkest or most intimate secrets. It seemed honest to her, to greet someone politely before reading their thoughts. But Jason, didn't seem receptive. Although he smiled and acted perfectly relaxed, even jaded, he was far from serene. The presence of a stranger in the manor, was not to reassure him, especially since he had a strange feeling about Madeleine.

Meanwhile, the storm continued to erupt outside. It was pouring rain. Jason was still standing at the high stairs, while Madeleine and Gar were still near the fireplace. The green-haired boy was about to open his mouth to explain something, when the white light of a strong lightning dazzled them all, which was followed by a violent clap of thunder that sounded like the noise of war.

"Fucking storm..." grunted Jason.

Complete darkness fell for the blink of an eye, then the lights came back on. Gar rushed to check on Madeleine, but unexpectedly she burst out laughing. She laughed heartily, at this situation which seemed to her improbable. The green-haired boy, at first surprised by his reaction, in turn burst out laughing. Madeleine was thinking that her best friend would never want to believe her when she told her about that weekend spent in a mansion, facing a violent storm that suddenly broke out.

Jason, on the other hand, didn't feel like laughing. He really took a dim view of Madeleine's presence there. For the simple and good reason that, even if he didn't dare admit it to himself, he felt vulnerable to her presence. He who hated this feeling of vulnerability, had the impression that Madeleine was scrutinizing his every move, and could unmask him. That's why he absolutely wanted to know why Gar had invited her.

"Madeleine is my friend. She comes from San Francisco and with this bad weather, she won't find a taxi until tomorrow morning to take her back to the hotel. So she will spend the night here". said the green-haired boy.

Madeleine listened carefully and did not interrupt Gar. But, she had winced on one point: as far as she could remember, she hadn't told Gar where she was from. How could he know she was from San Francisco? And then, they hadn't introduced themselves in due form, so each one didn't know the other's first name until now. She didn't know the first name of the green-haired boy, how could he know hers. She promised herself to question him later. In the meantime, she would observe, without letting her guard down. Luckily, Jason found nothing to protest. He just replied that he didn't care, before going back to where he had come from.

"If it doesnt' bother you?" asked Gar embarrassed because he had the feeling to have been too fast.

"You just said it" replied Madeleine "It's not like I'm going to find a taxi now to go back to the city center. Besides, I'm curious to see how you go about chasing ghosts This will be my first time in a haunted house."

Gar gave her a half-amused, half-puzzled look.

"I'm kidding!" declared Madeleine.

"That's what I was saying... well, if you want, I can take you to choose your room now? And then after we'll have dinner. Are you hungry, perhaps?" inquired Gar.

"Why not" said Madeleine getting up "I imagine there is not just one guest room"

"Yeah...definitely not. You can choose whichever one you want except for a few. To be completely honest with you, there are other people who live here"

"The opposite would have surprised me. So there are several Annie the little orphan here?" said Madeleine.

"Let me guess... Was it humor again?" Gar questioned teasingly.

"There I was only half joking" confessed Madeleine.

"Oh, in that case...no. It's a little more complicated than that. Actually, Jason was adopted and he's Dick's brother, who is also Mr. Wayne's adopted son," Gar explained.

"Well that's what I said... On the other hand, I didn't know that Mr. Wayne had children it's... interesting" declared Madeleine.

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The young girl had just sat down on a bed that she thought she couldn't undo, even to lie down on it, it was so immaculate, with no creases of any kind. It was here that Gar had left her, after having encouraged her to make herself at home, and above all not to hesitate to come back to him in the event of a specific request. Madeleine had however assured him that she was good, but that she thanked him all the same for being so considerate. The haired boy wanted to add that it was normal this type of attention between them, then changed his mind, remembering that for her, he was still only a stranger.

Finally, Madeleine heaved a sigh and tried to pull herself together to take a shower. Following this idea, she looked for spare clothes in her suitcase. She found some, but also took out the detective book, the one from which she had taken the coordinates of the Manor. She put it aside, she gathered all her necessities before going to take a bath. She discovered, in the continuity of the room, a clean and elegant bathroom. In no time, she slipped into the scented water of the bathtub. The water was tinged with mauve, and exhaled aromas of lavender. Madeleine dabbled in it for a few minutes, wanting to take her mind off things.

Outside the storm was still raging, so she thought maybe it wasn't so bad to stay here. Maybe Gar wasn't wrong, there was worse than a mansion when it came to comfort.

When she finally got out of her bath, she was perfectly relaxed. She wrapped herself in her towel, and furtively examined her reflection in the mirror. All of her hair was held in place by a hair clip, although a few wavy locks liked to rebel. Finally, the young girl dressed quietly. As she couldn't see herself wandering the halls in pajamas, she had opted for a slightly more sophisticated outfit. A purple silk evening dress, which she had packed just in case. Gar had talked about other residents. It was better to make a good impression, thought Madeleine. Perhaps it was during this dinner that she would meet Mr. Wayne? Her pulse quickened at the mere thought.