Magical Me

Ch. 3 - You're A Witch

Chapter Three

Her mother’s apartment was on the other side of the city, and though she was surprised by the call she wanted to see her daughter. She let out a little shriek when she saw Birgit who hadn’t even bothered to change her clothes from the morning.

Opening the door she rushed across the grass of her perfectly manicured lawn to the limping girl. “Baby, what happened?” She gently gripped Birgit by the arm and rested a hand lightly on her face as she looked her daughter up and down. The blood on her clothes terrified her and the disgusting state of her knees made her feel a little queasy.

“Ray.” She said taking a deep breath, and then pulling her mother tightly to her. “Mom, he’s dead. He...he...” That awful lump in her throat was forming again and she found it difficult to breathe.

“No.” Her mother gasped grasping at the back of her daughter’s shirt. “How do you know? Are you sure?”

“I saw... I saw it.” Birgit hated the tears in her eyes but knew there was no point in fighting them. She didn’t resist when her mom gently guided her to the front door.

Her mother pet her hair as they walked to the door. She saw her dad looking at her in a mixture of concern and confusion from the hall. His face was pale against the brightness of his sweater vest. “Shh, don’t worry whistle. All will be right. Shh, let’s get you into a nice hot bath.”

Birgit could do nothing but nod as her mother guided her up the stairs. She didn’t know how or why but her mother always knew what Birgit needed most. It was beyond maternal instinct, it was almost downright creepy how she could sense what her daughter needed.

In the bathroom, Birgit poured disinfectant over her knees repeatedly while her mother prepared the gold clawed bathtub with steaming water. She watched her mother hesitate with the bubble syrup. I can do it, she wanted to say but her mouth couldn’t make the words come out. The tight lump in her throat was back.

“Towels are in the cupboard.” She said, gesturing to her right. She walked up to her daughter curled up on the toilet. She pet the girl’s short hair again. The gesture calming and soothing. “I love you, sweetheart. I really, really do.”

Birgit tried to smile but she felt her face quiver and she appreciated it when her mother left. Finally alone she staggered over to the bathtub and staring at the wavering reflection of herself she pealed off all the night slip that had burdened her so. Then the undies and the socks she’d just put on. Staring back at her was her essence, the one thing in her life that was her. No matter how much make up she put on, no matter what clothes she put on, all they did was hide her.

What she saw in her reflection was a deeply disturbed young woman, with so many emotional scars nobody could break through, and blood smeared on her knees and face and hands for the unfortunate souls who’d ever been stupid enough to love her.

She stepped into the steaming water and allowed herself to submerge into its depths. Her head resting on the curve of the tub she relished in the pain and finally allowed the tears to come. She didn’t know how long she just sat in the tub watching the now dried blood slowly get soaked off her skin and swirl in the now pink water of the bath.

She didn’t hear the scratch of the window opening from the outside but she barely contained a shriek when she heard heavy footfalls behind her. She sat up, pulling knees to her chest and gaped at the window. A dark haired figure rose from the window and she gasped.

“Hunter.” She breathed.

“Birgit.” He said in the same breathless tone. They stared at each other for a moment before he finally said, “Sorry about the boyfriend.”

“What?” She asked, eyebrows quickly snapping together. “How did you hear about that?”

He shrugged and brushed some lint off his leather jacket; Birgit couldn’t help but remember on their first date he’d draped the same brown jacket over her shoulders when she’d gotten a chill. “News spreads I guess.”

“I guess.” She agreed snappily. He didn’t say anything for a moment but stared at her. When she thought she was going to get lost in the depths of his perfect green eyes she turned back to the steaming water and flicking at it. “I haven’t seen you in two years; so why are you breaking into my parents’ bathroom? You got something to say?”

“Yeah,” he said approaching. At my panicked glare he smirked. “Sweety, I’ve seen all the goods in more lights than you can imagine.” He sat on the edge of the tub, I didn’t move my hands. “Anyways, you’re not going to like what I have to tell you.”

“I’m not your sweety.” I said quietly, hating the words on my tongue, hating myself for feeling that way. The familiar feeling of betraying Ray was there again but now it felt like a dagger in my gut. He was dead no more than four and a half hours and I was already naked in front of the man I’d never stopped loving.

“Birgit, do you want to know what I came here to tell you?” He asked. Glaring at him for the stupidity of his comment, I wondered what my parents had thought his ‘graceful’ landing had been. “You’re a witch.”