In Paris 1723

Chapter Fifty-Six

Chapter Fifty-Six - Dead Mother's Jewels

*Genevieve*

After a few more slow dances with Theodore, I eventually pull apart and tell him to go check on Jasper, knowing that the honey blonde man had been having some trouble with the amount of blood-filled people that were filling his house- what was supposed to be his safe space.

Theodore nodded and presses a kiss to the top of my head before unwrapping his arms from my waist and moving through the crowd.

After a few seconds, I started to make my way towards the staircase, not wanting to be surrounded by sweaty high school graduates if I had the option.

"Genevieve hi!"

"Um... hi? Who are you?" I ask, arching my eyes brow as I look him over.

"Jackson," he offers, his smile fading slightly when he saw that I still didn't recognize him. "I- um, I'm on the football team... I was in a few AP classes with you..."

"Right..." I drawl out, crossing my arms as I wait for him to move out of my way.

"Your house is really cool..." he says, looking around at my artwork that was skillfully placed throughout the house by Esme.

"I guess," I shrug as I shift my weight.

He awkwardly clears his throat as he looks back over at me, his eyes falling onto my necklace. His attention flickers between my face and my necklace for a moment before he shakes his head and looks back at me, his gaze dropping every so often to glance at the necklace.

"That's a pretty necklace... where did you get it?"

"My mother," I say stiffly, hoping that he would get the point that the topic wasn't open for conversation.

He nods his head and smiles at me. "That's cool. I get a lot of stuff from my parents too.... like uh... gas money?" His face falls as he listens to what he just said, knowing that he had fumbled over his words and completely embarrassed himself. "Right, well, um, where are you, parents... if you don't mind me asking."

"Dead," I watch as he pales at my words, quickly mumbling out an apology as his cheeks heat up.

"I think your friends are looking for you," I say, "you should probably get back to them."

He nods his head, a look of relief coming over his face as he walked away from me back towards the party. I turned on my heels and looked at the mirror that was hung on the wall next to me, moving slightly under the light and watching as the light bounced and reflected off of the necklace.

"Je souhaite que tu puisses être ici mère," I mutter, dropping my hand as I shake off the feeling of longing. Staring at the stairs that I had been planning of sitting on before changing my mind and making my way back towards wherever Theo had migrated to. [I wish you could be here mother]