Psychopathy

Chapter 77- Ciara's Announcement

Isabel fingered the chain around her stomach, sighing. She couldn't get rid of it, and at this point, she didn't want to. But maybe she could still do something about it. She didn't want to think of it as a chain anymore. But while she wasn't going to get rid of it, maybe she could change it. She wrapped her fingers around the chain, feeling the swell of her stomach underneath it. She poured light into the chain, but also, acceptance. She thought of every good thing that was going to come out of this situation.

She felt rather than saw the flash of light under her fingertips. When she opened her eyes, the chain was no longer made of metal, but of flowers. She smiled, rubbing one of the petals between her fingers. Before long, the chain started to disappear, absorbing into her skin. And once it was gone, she felt the chain around her mind start to weaken. When she touched it, it felt small and brittle.

She wasn't sure if she was ever going to get rid of it. But maybe that wasn't the point. Maybe the better thing she could do was learn to accept and live with it. Maybe if she could learn to live with the chain, it would fall off on its own. For now, though, she was ready to move on to the next phase of her life.

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Ciara ran her fingers through her hair, trying to figure out what to do with it. Which direction to have it lay. Her hair had grown to that awkward length where she couldn't really do anything with it, but she also couldn't leave it to stick out in any direction it wanted. Some days she wanted to cut it back, but other days, she wished it would hurry up and grow out already. With a sigh, she brushed it all to the left, knowing full well that it would be messy again by the end of the night from how many times she ran her fingers through it.

To distract herself, she ran a hand over the dress she was wearing. It was a deep green, with an off-the-shoulder sleeve. The chiffon felt smooth against her skin, and she ran a hand over her steadily growing bump. She was currently halfway through her seventeenth week, and she smiled down at the bump. It was funny. Most women wouldn't be showing half as much as she was. But with how small-statured she was and how skinny she had been to begin with, it wasn't surprising. She wondered what she'd look like by the end of it.

She'd decided a week and a half before how this pregnancy was going to end. But she hadn't told anyone about it. If they could tell that she didn't feel as haunted anymore, they said nothing about it. But tonight seemed like the perfect event to announce it. It was New Year's Eve, and Akilah was in the other room getting ready. They would be driving to Rossi's together as soon as they were both ready. Well, okay, Ciara was ready. It was Akilah who wasn't.

Ciara moved to the kitchen, plopping down in a chair and waiting. As she progressed further into her second trimester, things were starting to change. Her nausea had started to decrease and she was even to go off the meds she'd been prescribed, though her baby bitch bladder was only getting worse. She'd already noticed that her boobs were starting to get bigger, and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it. But the biggest change came in her feelings towards the pregnancy as a whole.

"Okay, okay, I'm ready. How are you doing?" Akilah asked, putting in her earrings on the go. Ciara sighed at how beautiful she was. With her hair piled into an elegant updo and a deep burgundy dress that hugged her curves, she was stunning. When Ciara told her so, Akilah smiled and told Ciara that she was, too. Ciara didn't really believe it, but she accepted the compliment anyway. Sometimes that was just easier.

In five minutes, they were out the door and heading to Rossi's. Ciara watched as the city lights rushed by, one of her hands lazily resting on her stomach. It would be a long night for her, she already knew that. The welcome-home party had been long enough, and it had only been for two hours. If she knew anything about New Year's Eve parties, this would probably last for at least twice that. But she'd get through it. She had to, if for no other reason than to get her announcement out of the way.