As Levina announced that my old friend was here to see me, my heart sank like a stone in water, only because I knew that if Naomi was here, then the triplets were already at the Queen’s palace.
Before I gave into my fright mode, I noticed that Levina’s eyebrow was piqued; she couldn’t believe that I had another friend, especially from the pack.
“Do you know her? Is she your friend?” The emphasis on friends spoke of her unbelief and mild jealousy. This would be the first. Levina is jealous over friendships, but now magic?
I gave a slow nod.
She shrugged her shoulders. “Well, they are waiting by the counter?”
“They?” Raul asked, echoing my thoughts.
They had come with Naomi to this place? Daniel must have been their director then.
Fear gripped me instantly, squeezing my chest so tight I could barely breathe. The memories flooded back without hesitation the cruel words, the relentless bullying that had haunted me for so long, despite being kept at bay by my sense of ‘I have magic now, and so I’m not helpless’.
However, I felt like I was back in that dark place, trapped and helpless. Laura had been right. I wasn’t healed yet. Was it because I was holding onto the revenge plan? Would letting that go give me peace?
My hands started to tremble uncontrollably, my whole body shaking with a panic I couldn’t contain. Levina’s voice sounded distant, like it was coming from underwater. I wanted to run, to hide, to escape this nightmare that was unfolding before me. Had they come with her to make the humiliation worse? If they knew I was Maya, then that was what they would likely do, destroy what was left of me in front of my old friend.
“Dora what’s the problem? Breathe!” Raul spoke, his hand resting on my back, but if felt so hot, that I shook it off. I didn’t want uncomfortable now. I didn’t look at his face to know how he had taken that; I only noticed Levina hurrying to me.
“Dora…breathe…” Levina tried to calm me, her voice a soothing murmur in the chaos of my mind. She held my shoulders gently, trying to ground me, but the panic attack had already taken hold. My breath came in shallow gasps, my vision blurred with tears of terror and frustration.
I could hear them approaching, their footsteps echoing ominously down the hallway. But I wasn’t sure really if it was them. Every sound seemed amplified, magnifying my fear to unbearable levels. I felt like a cornered animal, desperate for a way out but knowing there was nowhere to go.
Why were they here? Why weren’t they at the Queen’s palace? What did they want from me now, after all these years? Couldn’t they let me be even though I had faked my own death? The questions raced through my mind, but there were no answers, only the suffocating weight of dread.
Levina’s voice broke through the haze of panic, her words gentle but urgent. “Dora, listen to me. You’re safe now. You’re safe here. I don’t know what’s going on with you, but you are safe. Dora…please breathe. Nobody is coming to harm you.”
Her words should have been comforting, but they only fueled my terror, reminding me of the scars the tormentors had left on my soul.
I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the world, to retreat to some safer place inside myself. But their voices echoed in my mind, a constant reminder of the darkness that had once consumed me.
‘What are you doing? Breathe!!’
A screech in my mind, so loud it was, that I had no choice but to obey. I inhaled fitfully, following the rhythm that my significant other played in my head, until the panic attack faded away.
‘What are you doing? Shouldn’t you be past this? They can’t hurt you…don’t you get that yet…’
‘I’m sorry.’ I muttered, slowing lowering myself to the ground. I felt pathetic, and with that feeling came the floodgates of tears.
Levina knelt beside me, her presence a lifeline in the aftermath of the storm. She held me as I sobbed, her arms a shield against the lingering shadows of my past. As I finally managed to regain control over my racing thoughts and trembling body, I took a deep breath and steadied myself.
“Thanks Levina. I’m sorry for the outburst.” I saw the questions in her eyes as she nodded slowly, but I knew I couldn’t answer them, so I stood up. Raul was nowhere to be found.
“He wasn’t really glad when you rebuffed him.”
Was that his only concern? Good riddance then!
‘Your moods twitch like a psychotic person. It’s tiring to me.’
If it wasn’t said in a humorous tone, I would have fallen into a pitiful hole again.
With shaky steps, I made my way out of the storeroom, aware of Levina following me, watching me with confusion. She must be trying to figure out the cause of my panic attack. It was only a matter of time before she let Diana know. So, I didn’t bother to ask her to keep the matter a secret.
As I emerged out of the hallway, into the main store, I saw Naomi first, her back turned as she conversed with Claire. My heart sank at the sight of them together.
Naomi, my friend, was speaking with Claire, one of the girls who had made my life a living hell for so long. Confusion and hurt clouded my thoughts. Why was Naomi friends with someone who had hurt me so deeply? I could understand Adam, but not Claire. They were even laughing.
I stood there for a moment, watching them interact, trying to make sense of the conflicting emotions swirling within me. Anger flared up, but so did a deep sense of betrayal and sadness. I had trusted Naomi, confided in her, and now it felt like a knife in the back to see her with Claire, to see them laugh as she laughed with me. Was this moving on?
“Dora, I will be watching from the counter.” Levina tapped me softly by the shoulder, and walked away.
Naomi turned around then and our eyes met. Her face lit up with a smile as she saw me, but my expression must have betrayed the turmoil inside. She started towards me, her hand outstretched in greeting, but I couldn’t bear to look at Claire and the others who stood with her Timothy and the Lycan boys whose faces were a blur of indifference and detachment.
“Hey, how are you doing? You don’t look well, are you okay?” Naomi asked, but my mind was centered more on the group that had also covered the distance between us.
“I am fine, thank you. Didn’t know you were coming with the whole pack.” A sarcastic comment I didn’t regret, not even with Naomi’s sharp intake of breath. I saw the look that clouded her face then, the wary one she always had around me.
“I’m sorry. They wanted to come along with me to see you…”
“Why are you apologizing, Naomi? Hey girl, I get we are not your favorite people, but can’t you cut us some slack? We are really interested in being friends with you. You are a good addition to the group.”
I perused Timothy from top to bottom. He was looking handsome as usual, but then it no longer fazed me. And I didn’t find it necessary to answer him.
Instead. I turned to Naomi. “Do you want to go for a walk?”
When she gave an unsure nod, I grabbed her by the hand, and started walking toward the exit door of the store, ignoring Claire and the boys.
I could feel Claire’s eyes boring into my back, but I refused to look back, could feel the gazes of the other four, but didn’t turn, not until Timothy shouted at me to stop.
“Do you think I will let you walk away with my sister? Girl, I don’t even know who you are, only that you have insane amount of power. And I’m not sure either that Noami knows enough to follow you because you said so. Are you bewitching her?”
Was that the tactic they had chosen to use? I wondered, aware that the entire people in the store had gone standstill. Were they planning to kill my reputation right here? Well, there was nothing to be surprised about. It was just like them.
“Tim…stop it. She didn’t bewitch me. I’m going because I want to. We spoke on the phone during the weekend too-I told her I will be coming to see her. I think that’s why she’s angry; she wasn’t expecting a crowd. She isn’t a crowd person. I should have remembered.”
Timothy opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it. He obviously didn’t know that Naomi had spoken with me.
“So you are that selective in choosing friends?” Claire asked, speaking up for the first time.
“Yes, I am. Do you have a problem with that?”
I left Naomi’s hand then, and folded mine across my chest, a daredevil smirk on my lips.
My significant other was right-I swung moods like a psycho.