Etienne dropped her off at her house and walked her to her door, making sure she got in safely. “Thank you for your help. I don’t think I would have been able to finish that without you.”
“You would have. Your magic is extraordinarily strong, Ophelia.”
Ophelia was perplexed. How could her magic be extraordinarily strong? It seemed like she was actually behind and needed to grow it more. Before she could ask for more clarification, Etienne said, “Take care of yourself, okay?”
“Yeah. You too. Night.” She closed and locked the door, walked straight to her bed, and fell asleep in her clothes.
CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE
The next morning, fear sparked through her entire body as anxiety took hold. She had killed someone, and two other people knew about it. Her breaths were shallow. She wondered where this fear was last night, but she was riding on a high of adrenaline and delusional exhaustion. She crashed hard when she reached her bed. It was only now, in the light of the day, that she felt this anxious terror.
She reached for her journal and pen from her bedside table drawer. Ophelia could not let this anxiety take hold of her. She knew what she did last night was not unfounded. As she wrote out her rationale for her actions and detailed the potential consequences, her mind eased. What she found most troubling was that she wasn’t as horrified and guilt-ridden as she thought she should feel.
She may eventually be questioned by the police, but they had nothing on her, Jolie, or Etienne. They would all say that the last time they saw Mateo was at his studio. He wanted to show them Ophelia’s statue. She could even tell them about how he was sculpting her without permission, and Etienne and Jolie were there to support her during the conversation. They just wouldn’t confess to anything beyond that.
Once she had her thoughts organized, she breathed easier.She tore out the page in her journal, shredded it into strips. She walked to her bathroom, grabbed a match from the bathroom cabinet, and lit the paper on fire. She was mesmerized by the flames dancing and the sulfuric smell of the match. She let it burn till the flame was close to her fingertips and dropped it into the toilet, sending it down with a flush.
She had two more things to take care of before she could fall back into bed. Calling Jolie would be the easiest of the two calls she needed to make. Jolie picked up on the first ring and was her typical nonchalant self, acting as if nothing had happened. And when Ophelia demanded to get their stories straight, Jolie repeated exactly what Ophelia wanted. She was unbreakable.
She dialed Etienne’s number and took a deep breath.
“Hello,” said Etienne.
“Hey,” said Ophelia. Her tone dripping in awkwardness.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, you?”
“I’m good.”
“Good. Good. So, I was calling to make sure we had our stories straight in case the cops started asking questions.”
Etienne simply grunted in response as if it was a sign for her to continue.
“I just wanted to make sure you know that we are sticking as close as possible to the truth. We were all there at his studio to see the statue he made of me. I called and asked you to come for moral support. We asked him to destroy it, and he did, so we left.”
Ophelia nervously continued expanding on specific details she wanted him to get right to ensure a cohesive story.
“O, I got it. I’m not going to rat.”
The pause between them grew thicker. “Hey, E, what did you mean by my magic being strong?”
“It just seems to be more advanced for someone who just learned. Your magic seems very… intuitive. Less learned and recitation of prayers. Like the way you transferred your energy to me with detailed feelings of gratitude, and how you released those souls. I treat almost every day, and I found the souls challenging. Not to mention you have a protector.” Etienne paused. “I think with time and practice, you could go beyond what we believe to be within the scope of our gift.”
Ophelia’s eyes rounded. “Interesting. I guess I should keep practicing then.”
“Let me know when you’re ready for another practice session.”
“I will. Thanks, E.”
“No problem, O.”
Ophelia hung up the phone and crawled back into bed.
All that transpiredwith Mateo zapped Ophelia’s energy to absolutely nothing. Work was difficult, tending to her basic needs was difficult, sleeping was difficult.
Thankfully, she did not have any bad dreams, but she slept restlessly. Negative thoughts played on a loop in her head. She was so embarrassed that she let herself get involved with Mateo, that she had fallen under his spell. But he had made it all seem so incredibly real. He made her feel wanted, adored, excited. All feelings she craved in a romantic relationship.
