Page 32 of Heal Me

“They’re possessed, perhaps? It’s rather dull around here now that Aubry’s exorcised her beau,” Amelia Hayes adds.

“No one’s possessed,” Aubry assures them. “You’re not, right?” She looks at me.

“Not to my knowledge,” I answer.

“Trust me, you’d know it if you were,” she tells me. “Just a little energy work before our ritual,” Aubry explains.

“Imagine if you were possessed by two seduction demons—talk about a threesome,” Vivian whistles, joining us.

“Don’t imagine that,” Aubry groans. The door chimes and the last member of the circle, Julia Stafford, walks in. She’s wearing leather pants and a see-through mesh tank with a black bra underneath. I can’t imagine having the confidence to even attempt that look, but she works it. “Yay, Julia is here. Let’s get to the ritual before there’s time to delve into inappropriate topics,” Aubry announces.

“How I raised such a prude, I’ll never know,” Vivian laments.

“Thank you, I’ll take that as a compliment,” Aubry says. “Charlotte, are you ready?’

“Ready,” I nod.

Walking upstairs to the rooftop patio hidden from sight by a surrounding privacy wall, we cast our circle. Vivian leads the invocation of the Goddess and we all chant:

These chains of Charlotte’s trauma

we break.

Charlotte’s pain we ask you Goddess take.

Each of us cuts a cord, symbolizing the cutting of the energetic cord still attaching me to Brad.

It’s my turn to cut the black cord in my hands, and I envision all the pain, all the fear, all the hurt, everything from when I was held captive and raped in that basement. Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, of anger and rage and despair, of shame and embarrassment—I channel it all from my body into the cord as I cut it.

As I burn all the pieces of cord, I can feel the shift in me, like a weight I didn’t even know I was carrying is no longer on my shoulders. Tears silently stream down my face, and I don’t know how to explain it other than it feels like, well, magic.

We close the ritual and walk downstairs to Vivian’s kitchen, where she passes around a tin of crescent moon-shaped cookies. I take a bite and smile. I haven’t felt this good energetically speaking in a long time. “There’s leftover cord if you need any for your play room,” Vivian tells Julia.

“Please don’t start,” Aubry sighs. Julia is into BDSM. Having been tied up, I find nothing about it sexy, but I’m not going to judge her if that’s what she’s into.

“Don’t get your good girl panties all in a twist,” Vivian tells her granddaughter. “Although that could be kinky as well depending on the context.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, can we get back to the important thing here,” Amelia chides. “Charlotte dear, please just let me hex this Brad character for you.”

“If you want a real hex, then you’ll work with me,” Florence says, adjusting the huge diamond tennis bracelet on her wrist.

“Thank you, but I don’t need revenge.” It’s true. I’m free and I don’t want to go back to wasting another thought on Brad.

“You and Aubry both. Too good for your own good,” Amelia declares and Florence nods.

“Brad’s already lost his soul and is institutionalized, so I’m not sure what more could be done,” Aubry points out as she finishes her cookie.

“Oh darling, there’s always more that could be done,” Florence says in a menacing voice.

“Much more,” Amelia nods in agreement.

Filing that advice away with a memo to never cross these two southern ladies, I glance at my phone. “It’s late. I’m going to head home.”

“Text me what morning you want to meet up for a walk,” Aubry says.

“Will do.”

“Forget walking. You need to start a running regimen as part of your House Guest training.” Vivian is dead set on Aubry and Damion auditioning for a reality show. Again, it’s funny because it’s not my grandmother.

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