Page 10 of Heal Me

“I’ll think about it.”

“I’m so glad you stopped by. Hopefully, I’ll see you soon,” she says as she waves goodbye to me.

Exiting the shop, I stop dead in my tracks. Mom’s in her car parked behind mine. “I’ll just follow you home,” she says and rolls up her window.

Chapter 5

Charlotte

Entering the student lounge, I swear it’s one of those movie moments where everyone collectively stops talking and turns to look at me. Trying to keep my head held high, I ignore the curious stares and whispers as I take a seat at a table with Stephanie and Zoe.

“Hey,” they say in unison, both giving me a concerned look.

“Please don’t be weird,” I beg, opening my backpack and pulling out a granola bar.

“We’re so sorry,” Stephanie starts.

“We should have talked you into leaving with us that night,” Zoe finishes.

“What happened was in no way your fault, and will you please stop apologizing?”

“Okay, we’re sorry,” Stephanie repeats. “About apologizing, not about…”

“Apology accepted,” I interject, ripping the wrapper open with more force than is necessary. Funny the one person who should be apologizing has yet to do so.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, we get it,” Stephanie says.

“But what happened?” Zoe asks, and Stephanie gives her a look. Zoe gives Stephanie a look right back and turns to me. “Jen says you left the bar with the wrong guy.”

“Oh my God, I cannot believe she is spinning it that way! That’s not what happened,” I say, taking an angry bite of the granola bar. The granola bar is the innocent party, but Jen’s not here for me to bite her head off, so the granola bar will just have to deal with the brunt of my rage.

“Hey,” Jen says, joining us, as if my thoughts conjured her. She unscrews the cap of her water bottle and takes a sip, acting like nothing is wrong between us. When I returned to the apartment yesterday from Memphis Magic, Jen was on her way out the door with Elliot. We briefly exchanged pleasantries, neither of us addressing the elephant in the room.

I glance at my phone to check the time. “I’ve got to get going. See everyone tomorrow night for study group. Eight o’clock?”

“Yes. Do you want us to pick you up?” Stephanie offers.

“No thanks. I’d rather drive my own car.” I give Jen a pointed look. “Bye,” I say, gathering my things and stepping outside.

Reaching my car, my phone buzzes, and I take a seat behind the wheel and fish my phone out of my backpack. Ten missed calls from my mom, along with eight texts. I know she means well, but this is over-the-top. And on the other end of the spectrum, my dad hasn’t called or texted a single time.

There’s also a message from a number I don’t recognize. Hitting play, rage fills me as I listen to a woman from the District Attorney’s office updating me about Brad’s case.

Entering my therapist’s office, I unload before she can even ask me to have a seat. “My mom’s smothering me with her worry. My dad’s back to caring more about work than me. Brad might get off the hook due to a legal technicality. And my best friend hasn’t apologized for her role in this entire thing!”

The rest of the afternoon is spent with me crying on my therapist’s couch. As good a place to cry as any.

* * *

“I knew we were destined to be friends,” Aubry tells me with a smile as I enter the shop carrying a box of donuts and two coffees. “Thank you. What did you think of the ritual the other night?” she asks, carefully selecting a blueberry cake donut and taking a nibble. Curiosity got the better of me, and I joined Aubry’s circle in their unsuccessful attempt to exorcise Damion. I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact I wasn’t hallucinating back in the warehouse—Aubry really is possessed by a demon. Somewhere along the way, I fell into a very deep rabbit hole.

“It was amazing. I’ve never felt anything like it before. But why didn’t it work?”

“That’s the question. What are you up to today?”

“I’ve got a break between classes. I wanted to get a few books. What would you recommend for a novice?” I ask.

Aubry walks over to the reading nook, pulling Witches 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Magic. “Try this one. Take it, a trade for the sugar and caffeine pick-me-up.”

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