Page 117 of Scars Like Wings

?? ?? ??

I smiled at my phone before a yawn overtook me. I returned my phone to the charger and turned over. I told Cleo to turn the light off, and I closed my eyes.

Aknock sounded on the door to my exam room. A thin, pretty white woman came in wearing a cute dress with a cat collar on it. Her brown hair was in a bouncy ponytail. Through her mask, she smiled at me in greeting, holding her hand out for me to shake.

“Hiya, Byrdie! It’s good to see you!”

“Same to you, Dr. Julian.” It had taken a ridiculous amount of years to find a doctor that I liked who saw past my weight and didn’t have any noticeable racial bias. Dr. Julian was a shifter, who specialized in both human and supernatural medicine. She always took in my entire health, instead of blaming everything on my high BMI. She focused on the science, and even would explain everything from an anatomical perspective that I couldunderstand. I trusted her, something that I had never done with a medical professional before.

“So, it looks like you came in for a number of issues you’re having. How about you tell me about them?”

“Well, I recently started feeling really cold all the time where I struggle to get warm. Then I was attacked by an energy vampire during my birthday?—”

“That sucks. I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Dr. Julian said, placing a hand on my shoulder for reassurance for a moment.

“You and me both.” I smiled. “But when that happened, I grew fangs and claws. Since then, I have been waking up in the middle of the night from really bad nightmares. When I wake up, I can see in the dark, but my eyes hurt like hell. My skin is unbearably itchy, and there’s no amount of lotion that can soothe it. I just… I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

Dr. Julian’s eyebrows furrowed. She sat down and typed up my responses on her computer as I spoke. Then she asked, “Were you bitten by any other shifters lately? Encounter any hexes, curses, or jinxes?”

I shook my head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

“Very strange.” She clicked through her computer for a moment. Then she continued, looking between me and the computer as she spoke. “We ran some tests, including testing your blood for any shifter venom and doing some shadow-work to verify you didn’t have a spell cast against you, but all of your tests are clean.

“I will be fully transparent and say that I’m not sure what’s going on. This may be a supernatural occurrence I have never seen. It could also be that this is not supernatural at all, that you are going through something completely human. There are humans, especially those assigned-female-at-birth, who go through a hormonal adjustment around your age. Thingshappen to your body as you get older, including the development of certain disorders that can throw everything out of whack and present itself as strange symptoms within your body. This can make the twenties like a second puberty of sorts for many young women. I know that does nothing to answer your questions and does not solve what is happening, but it does offer a step in the direction of whatcouldbe happening. Unfortunately, medicine can be a very inexact science for supernaturals and non-supernaturals alike.”

I worried my bottom lip as Dr. Julian explained what it could be, listing off various disorders, syndromes, and magical possibilities. None of it calmed my churning stomach as my anxiety grew and grew. In the end, she prescribed me with some medicine to help soothe my skin, aid in my eye strain, and keep me asleep through the night instead of waking up from nightmares. I knew it was the best that she could do, and I didn’t fault her for it. I had had a feeling seeking help would be a long shot.

But I still wondered what it could all mean.

What’s happening to me?

Morganite

Days flew by and almost blurred together into one.

I went to work, came home, went to bed, and repeated each day. My weekends were spent talking to Quinn while she was on her jobs or having brunch with the girls. I tried to escape in books or video games to avoid thinking about anything. The medicine from Dr. Julian worked to at least keep me asleep through the night without any more nightmares. It did very little to help with my skin that was still painfully dry no matter how many oats and honey soaks I did or bottles of lotion I used. The grimoire remained open to the same page.

Each day blended into the next becoming more of the same.

Soon, it was Halloween.

Well, thenightof Halloween.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come out with us? Your Blossom costume wassocute! More people should get to see it!” Thompson pouted.

Teddy was a welcome addition to the household as of late. He had practically moved in over the past few months, staying over at least three times a week and ensuring me and Uncle Everett didn’t starve or stuff our faces with whatever fast food was delivering late at night. I had gotten to know him more overcharcuterie boards and watching anime together while Everett was working out or going to bed to get up early for work. I was right when I first met him because it was easy to talk to him and just hang out.

“Thank you so much, but I’m in for the night. Once the bra comes off, it is not coming back on unless someone is dead or dying in the streets,” I joked.

“Yeah, give it up, babe.” Everett patted Thompson’s shoulder as he left his bedroom. “Byrdie is a grandmama. She likes to be home before the street lamps come on, but after the Early Bird Special at her favorite buffet.”

“That’s reallyrichcoming from a man dressed in a Pikachu onesie.”

“Extra rich considering you are in a granny sweater.”

“It’s aduster cardigan.”

“Now, now, children,” Teddy chided, giving us both looks under his Ash Ketchum hat. “Everett,behave, or we’ll go to Jacob’s house for that party instead.”

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