Psychopathy

Chapter 70- Changes

Isabel sat on her couch, focusing her mind. So many things had changed since she had gone outside, and all of them had been for the better. But she knew that things couldn't continue to get better if she didn't put in a little effort of her own. So now was the time to try and break another of the chains. The one around her chest was the longest, but the one around her head was the strongest. That was the one that would be the hardest to break, so she grabbed the one around her chest.

It burned and fought against her as she poured light into it. When she couldn't take the heat anymore, she let go of it, calming her breathing. It hadn't broken, but it was weaker. It sagged on her chest, barely strong enough to hold its position. She relaxed her body again, slowing her breathing, heart, and mind. When she was ready, she grabbed the chain and again began to pour light into it.

This time, it yielded to her and snapped with a note of finality. And for a moment, she felt at peace. She could snap the last chain another day. For now, she just wanted to bask in the glow of freedom, letting herself feel safe and at home.

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Ciara stood in the bathroom, trying to do something she had been scared to do all week. She had been scared of plenty of other things, but she had already overcome all of those. This was the only thing left. She had known, of course, before she left the hospital that the first week was going to be the hardest. So many adjustments to be made, and Ciara had no clue where to start.

Thankfully, Akilah had already made plans for them. When the party finally ended at about three in the afternoon, Ciara had been reminded of a very important routine they'd had in Before. The designated lazy day. Akilah had a bunch of Disney movies already lined up, starting with Treasure Planet, Ciara's favorite. And, after that, she was shown the movies that had been released during Halsey. Tangled and Brave had made it to the top of Ciara's list of favorites, and Akilah had promised to take her to the movies to see the movie that had just been released, Wreck-It-Ralph.

On Sunday, they had watched through Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Ciara had fallen in love with the show all over again. It was when Monday came, though, that Ciara truly started to feel anxious and unsure about what to do. She had physical therapy three times a week, so that helped. Akilah had arranged for an Uber to pick her up and take her home, not wanting Ciara to be out and about by herself. She was worried about Ty coming back. She needn't be.

At his core, Ty was lazy. She was right when she told him that first day that he never worked for anything. He only took things that were handed to him, with only the occasional exception. Trying to find her while running from the police would be too much work for him. Besides, Ciara didn't want to think about Ty. Instead, she simply thought about what she was going to do the next day.

When she got home from her PT appointments, she would help ease her sore muscles by taking a bath with Epsom salts. In Before, the thought of baths had left her frozen with fear. But now, she'd figured out how to get the finger off the trigger. She would have candles in the room, but their smell mixed with the salts would be too overpowering. She shut the lights off, turned on the star projector, and put on some music. There was no way for the memories to get to her.

Her body still seemed to be constantly sore, though. She figured that as she rebuilt her muscles, she would be sore. So she spent the rest of her days watching movies and rereading all the books on her bookshelf. She had tried writing once but had no inspiration, so she had given up on the venture. Maybe one day she'd get her inspiration back. Maybe she'd finally decide what she wanted to do with her life. Until then, though, she'd stay in her weird limbo.

But today, one week after she came home, she was building up the courage to do something she hadn't done yet. With all of the changes happening around her, she wondered how she herself was changing. Her hair had gotten just a little bit longer, and that relieved Ciara. Shortly after shaving it, she missed her long hair. Her hair grew faster than most, though, so she wouldn't have to wait too long for her hair to be back down to her waist.