Chapter 106: Vol. 3: Chapter 104: Louisa’s keepsakes

Today had been exhausting. I was glad Anna and I finally arrived at Femme Fatale. Next to the Elodie and Gazette case and the speech that I would have to write for Louisa's funeral, there was of course the life-altering change, that Anna and I would be starting up a high-quality restaurant chain for the Lyst group. Normally I avoided troubling mom and Frank with my problems, but now, it was clear that I would have to tell them about that part, wasn't it?

We entered, a packing Femme Fatale. As always the place was packed with lesbian couples. I made my way straight to mom. “Mom, can we talk over dinner? A lot happened today, that I think you should know about.”

“Of course honey, but I think I already know what this is about. Louisa's parents are already here. They wanted to give you some of Louisa's personal things. They thought she would have wanted you to have them.” I received a big hug. “I know you have Anna now, but I know it must still hurt deep inside. To lose someone you loved, even if it was not to be. I put everything in your room. I am sure you will want to take good care of those things.”

They were here? Mom was still completely lost in the lies Anna had spun. I glared at Anna, but she was talking about something with Tory, completely oblivious to our discussion.

I did not want a dead girl's stuff in my room. The thought alone was quite eerie. Especially not the stuff of a dead stalker that I had hardly known. It seemed Louisa was even stalking me after death.

I felt I was losing it. Kitchen! I needed my kitchen! Let out all this frustration in a whirlwind of cooking, but instead of cooking, I was being forced to join the dead girl's parents once again. Oh, when will I see my kitchen again?

“Mom, in truth there is something else I need to talk to you about, unrelated to this all. It's about my future.”

“For our future.” Anna corrected me. She was back. Now I'm pretty sure she started talking to Tory to avoid the part that was troublesome for her. I shook my head. “That woman!” I screamed inside of myself.

Mom said “Oh, okay honey. Well, you can make us dinner when your guests have gone. Just call us when it is ready, I hope you don't mind Tory and Mari will be joining us. I am forcing Frank to have dinner with Sam until they at least get along. I am tired of their petty fights.” That was a typical mom punishment. Forcing people that fight to do everything together.

“Of course mom!” Ah, finally something happened that would allow me to cook. Now I only needed to get rid of Louisa's parents as quickly as I could.

Anna and I made our way to Josh and Nicole's table. When they noticed us, they got up and the both of them gave me three kisses and a big hug. They just shook Anna's hand.

“We were going through Louisa's stuff and we found a lot of memorabilia of moments the two of you shared, and we thought you would like to have them.”

What moments we shared together? There were no such moments.

What I then got to see was rather creepy. They were almost all pictures of me and Louisa. I had not even known she was there when these were taken. I suspected some of them were even manipulated. Like the picture of the two of us dancing, or the two of us in matching aprons working together in the kitchen here at Femme Fatale. That clearly never happened. I noticed the same smudges on the aprons, so she must have let mom take a picture of her in my apron. Mom, how far did you let that girl invade my privacy?

“She looks so happy in these pictures,” Nicole said. “I am sure they are important memories for you too” Josh then added. It was clear to me they were grieving, and grasping at anything that had a connection to Louisa. Unfortunately that something had to be me.

I looked at them. There was no way I could tell them their dead daughter was a creepy stalker that had forged these images for God knows what reason. I really did not want to talk too much about them.

Anna looked a bit sullen at the pictures. Was she being jealous? She knows what's behind these pictures. At least she got a bit of her own medicine. Hmph!

I was at a loss at what to do, I did not really want a creepy dead stalker's stuff in my room, but it felt socially completely wrong to refuse the surviving parent's wish. So I ended up just thanking them for bringing the pictures.

Then Nicole passed me a sketchbook and whispered to me “These are the nudes you posed for. Even Josh does not know they exist. Until I saw these I wasn't completely convinced of the bond you shared with Louisa. 

You must have trusted her a lot to let her take pictures and sketch you like that.

I got a coughing fit. I quickly took the book and took a quick peek without letting anyone else see what was in it. My face flushed red.

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There were pictures of me in the bathtub and under the shower. Was she in the apartment? There were also a couple of pictures of me naked that must have been taken from the other side of the street, and then there were a bunch of sketches of me, naked or scarcely clothed in very compromising positions.

What the hell! How much further was this going to go? I felt goosebumps all over my arms. Luckily Nicole had not shown these pictures to anyone else. That book was going to burn!

Anna was looking curious at the book that was handed to me, but there was no way I was going to show the insides of this book in public. These pictures should not exist in the first place.

After that, Nicole and Josh forced me to listen to childhood anecdotes of Louisa. There was really no polite way to cut the conversation short. After all, they were grieving parents that had just lost their daughter. Even if their daughter was a creepy stalker, they did not know that, and was it really that important to let the truth come to light at this point? Would people even believe me after they saw these pictures and sketches? Would it not just cause more suffering at this point? I would just have to give that speech at her funeral, wouldn't I?

I let out an inner sigh, while Anna was keeping the conversation going.

After more than an hour of dreadful anecdotes about my creepy stalker, Josh said “Sorry to have to cut things short, but we still have an appointment with the undertaker.”

They got up and gave me another three kisses and a hug, and left.

I was still a bit stupefied. I could not wonder but ask myself if there was more. God, I hoped these drawings and pictures never made it to the internet!

Anna was still looking through the regular picture book (I had hidden the sketchbook immediately!) and said “If I look close, I can see how some of these were forged. But this is some really crazy stuff. Nobody would ever believe the two of you weren't close if they saw these.”

Now she was being a bit of a hypocrite. “Yes, and you added plenty of oil to the fire with your fake videos. The two of you would probably have had plenty to discuss.”

“I think there is quite a big difference between the two of us,” Anna said a bit annoyed. “I manipulated images to change public opinion. Louisa changed pictures to match the fake memories in her diary. It was like she was creating her own version of the truth.”

Well, I must agree. Anna's manipulations were outrageous, but always with the best of intentions and were made to change the opinion of the populace. Louisa's fantasies on the other hand were just to serve her own fantasies and when you are the subject of interest, they were just plain creepy. If all of this had gotten to the police, I could have gotten an actual conviction because of Louisa. I would have trouble believing myself when confronted with all this “evidence” when I said I did not really know her.

If Anna had not suggested this whole FBY thing, who knows what would have happened. I did not want to imagine that. I could have been sent to juvenile for all I know.

Mom walked over to our table and said “It's getting late, could you start dinner now hon.”

I looked at the time, she was right, I would be forced to make something quick. Once again, my time to prepare a fancy dinner had all been eaten away again by troublesome events.

I sighed. “Sure mom, I'll get right to it.”

“Oh, I've put the rest of Louisa's stuff they brought in your room. You will have to go through it later. I am sure you will want most of it close to you anyway.”

I cringed. No, I did not want any of it close to me. Now I would have to sleep tonight in a room full of a creepy death stalker girl's stuff.

“Let's sift through it together shall we?” Anna said way too enthusiastically. Well, she is a psychologist, so I guess this kind of stuff must be really exciting for her from a professional point of view, I told myself, before I agreed.

“Sure, maybe I can even find some inspiration for that speech.”