MARIEL

7~ Officer Mysterious ~

Esther wished she hadn't lied. The lie had simply bolted her mouth, almost as naturally as if it had been the truth.

She wasn't sure why she couldn't tell Mariel that she had not been a virgin. Perhaps had she slept with someone other than their best friend, it might have been easier. Before Mariel had -

- died -

- disappeared, she hadn't wanted to tell him for fear that he would not want to be with her. This time, however, she felt as though telling him would not merely produce a reaction of disappointment. Rather, it would be something much larger than that, and she could not pinpoint what or why.

It was, however, the least of her concerns right now.

Esther was angry, confused, frustrated, scared. With wrathful speed, she had cleaned the kitchen, the bathroom, had hidden the bloody sheets, and had prepared for work, all the while attempting to work through the abundance of thoughts and feelings she could not ignore.

Esther tried. As she wound her hair into a loose bun and exited the house, she tried to save the questions, the doubts, in her mind for later. As she lurched the Jeep from the garage, reversing with high velocity down the driveway, Esther remembered when Mariel had asked if she did not believe in miracles. That time in the bookstore afte Hawk had been healed. It all made sense now, and still, none of it made sense. Therefore, she had no choice but to wrestle with the emotions, the thoughts, the doubts. Esther felt trapped in a situation for which she had not bargained, and there was no escape. At this point, as exhausted as she was, the only choice she had was to simply accept.

But, she could not. Something was drastically wrong in the world, and Mariel was involved, which meant she was involved, because she loved him so much. Too much.

Esther realized that with sudden fear. She loved Mariel Nadier so much that she had willingly welcomed him into her arms and her bed long after she had watched his casket lowered into the grave. Long after she had managed to slip her photo into the pocket of his suit jacket. Now, a new question consumed her.

Did she love the same man?

Had he even told her the entire truth? Shouldn't it be expected that people change after resurrecting?

Something felt changed. Esther wanted to be happy, but until she had a logical, believable, explanation presented to her about this phenomenon, it would be hard to find any form of peace.

She felt herself going mad. So, as Esther drove to work, she tried. She attempted to treat today like a normal Saturday so that she could delay the onset of her insanity.

Yes. A normal day, after she had been dump tackled by a -

- stunningly beautiful -

- police officer for drunkenly jerking off a boyfriend she did not love in an alleyway before returning home to cheat on said boyfriend with another man a year after he had blown his brains all over the shower.

"Fuck my life!" Esther screamed, and struck the steering wheel. As she commenced her tantrum, the music on her phone stopped and she saw 'Dad' blink across the screen. Grinding her teeth, she answered it.

"Yes, Dad, I'm awake. I'm on my way."

"Oh. That's good, honey. That's not why I'm calling, though." His voice was gentle. "Gabe called me this morning and told me that you might have had an intruder last night? Are you okay, sweetheart? What happened?"

Esther let out a sharp breath. "I thought there was an intruder, Dad. I was tired. It's fine, the house is fine, I'm fine."

"Are you sure you're okay?"