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okay?”
    “Yes, Guillaume kind of saved me.”
    She smiles so wide I want to remind her that my attack isn’t a cause to rejoice about. “Tell me what happened.”
    “Not much. I was at the music store, I was about to be late for work, so I left, and someone grabbed me around the neck and pulled me into an alley.”
    “How come is this the first I hear about it?”
    “You’re the one not answering your texts.”
    “You just asked me if I was working, that didn’t sound urgent or important. You should have told me.”
    I shrug. “It’s not a big deal.”
    “What’s not a big deal?” Trick said as he walked in on the conversation.
    “Nothing. What are you even doing here?”
    “Lucy’s shift is finished. I’m picking her up.”
    “Right. Just great.” More people to get in my business.
    Really, I should have expected him. Where Lucy is, Trick is never too far away. I reluctantly introduce him to Guillaume and Garnier, hoping this would change the subject. It doesn’t work.
    “What happened?”
    “Just … you know, weird stuff.” I might as well lay all the cards on the table. I lower my eyes and my voice before continuing, “sorta was attacked twice in the past two days … ”
    I don’t know if I’m embarrassed about not telling them about it earlier, or if it’s that admitting to being attacked makes me such a victim.
    “Twice?” Lucy chimes in.
    I roll my eyes and sigh.
    I take a deep breath, holding it in, willing myself to calm down.
    “Seriously, dudes, this weekend was messed.”
    I tell them the nonmental stuff. I shrug, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. I don’t want them to realize how much it freaked me out or how much I’m still freaking out. For one thing, it’s not cool. And I don’t need for my best friends to be in full freak-out mode like my mother.
    When I tell them how Guillaume scared him off, Trick pats him on the shoulder in that boy way. “Thanks man, we owe you one.”
    I can’t help but wonder what the brothers are making out of this whole scene. I probably won’t see them again after this. It should be a good thing, but I’d be disappointed.
    “Odd, that’s a big deal,” Lucy says. “You have to tell someone.”
    “I just told you guys.”
    “You know what I mean, the cops, your mom, someone.”
    I study her face and what I see irritates me. She’s biting her lip and her face looks pale. She’s not seriously going to get all worried on me now, is she?
    She and Trick are only a year older than I am. They treat me like equals. I wouldn’t be friends with them if they didn’t. I’m not into being coddled. Right now, though, the age difference could not be any more obvious, and it pisses me off.
    “Nothing happened! I can take care of myself.”
    Patrick opens his mouth to say something but Lucy, more intuitive than he is, stops him by placing her hand on his arm. She changes the subject.
    So we talk about music, about the band and other things. It turns out that Guillaume plays the piano and can keep up with our conversation quite well. Garnier doesn’t seem to have as much to add, but he listens intently and makes intelligent comments.
    I end up staying much later than I anticipated and Trick decides to drive me home. I hate that it’s because he’s worried about my safety. Or, maybe if I’m honest with myself, I appreciate it. Because I’m really freaked out, especially since I’ve just come to realize I can’t continue to ignore it. I need to find out what’s happening to me.

10
    Guillaume
    Garnier and I returned to the apartment. When I told Antoine about the piano, Garnier looked at me in surprise but didn’t say anything. He simply walked away. Antoine informed us that the negotiations for the purchase of this apartment were going well. He was certain that everything would be in order by the time the piano was to be delivered next week. I had never even considered that they may not have been.
    I knew where to find Garnier. I also