As Rachael's mother drove Trinity back home, Trinity found it difficult to contain her excitement. However, she was also furious with herself that she had allowed Amara to get under her skin, as she had done. She made a vow that she would not allow Amara another opportunity to deceive her again. Next time, she would be more careful and make sure to analyze the situation better, before presuming the worst.
The interesting thing about everything now, was that Trinity now held the upper hand, and Amara wouldn't even realize it yet. If she played her cards right, she just might be able to fool Amara into believing that she had truly lost all hope in redeeming Zyxel.
However, that couldn't be further from the truth. She now felt even more determined to find Zyxel and restore their link with the spell that Lucifer had taught her.
'She thinks she has beaten me.' Trinity thought with an enthusiastic grin. 'Problem is, I have never been much of an actress, nor am I big into lying. This might take some well thought out planning if I am going to pull this off to fool her.'
The famous quote of "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer", rang strong in her mind. 'If I can pull off pretending as if I now accept her, and keep my head down in shame, she may overlook any awkwardness. Assuming that I am still having trouble coping with the horrific scene that she revealed to me. She wanted to break me, so I did not have faith in Zyxel anymore, and it almost worked. I was such a fool to doubt that he would have done any of that, had he been given a choice in the matter.'
As Rachael's mom pulled into the church, Trinity could see her father standing outside waiting anxiously for her to arrive.
"I hope the drive here was safe!" Father Kiran called out as they drove up. "Did the three of them enjoy themselves today?"
Rachael's mom giggled. "They were all giggling and laughing, by the time I got home!" She smiled a warm smile up at Trinity. "It was a nice sight to see, considering everything!"
Father Kiran's body relaxed as if he had been stressed with worry. Clearly he had been worried that Trinity might attempt to use this as an excuse and sneak off. He was delighted to know for certainty that Trinity really had been where the three girls had claimed!
Rachael's mom waved to Father Kiran and Trinity as she prepared to leave. "You both have a good night now! I need to get home. Trinity, always a pleasure! Oh, and please make sure that you have everything ready for this weekend!" She smiled at both of them before quickly driving back off through the parking lot.
Her father looked at her with interest. "What's happening this weekend?"
"Rachael thought it would be a good idea if we had a sleepover at her house." Trinity answered.
Rachael had figured that since Trinity wasn't the best at lying, she made sure to ask her mom to remind Trinity about the sleepover after she dropped her off. This way, her father wouldn't be paranoid, if it had come from her mother, and Trinity wouldn't have to answer too many questions.
Father Kiran's face beamed with a wide grin from ear to ear. "I think that is a splendid idea! You need a bit of normalcy in your life after what happened, and this is a great idea. I'll have to give Rachael a call later, and let her know how much I appreciate how much she is doing to help you."
Trinity nodded without hesitation, which made her father relax even more. If both Rachael and her mother knew of the sleepover, then this most likely wasn't a scheme to escape.
Amara came at that moment, having been listening to Father Kiran's thoughts. She smiled down at Trinity. "You mustn't worry too much, Father! I can assure you that Trinity no longer has any desire to see him again. She understands better now just how much of his violent nature that he hid from her."
Walking up to Amara, Trinity did her best to appear apologetic and timid. She bowed her head down, and cupped her hands together at her waist. "I am sorry for all the trouble I caused recently. I will do my best to remember my faith so that I shall not be deceived again!"
She hoped that if her words hid some measure of truth behind them, then she would be able to convince Amara that they were genuine.
Father Kiran gaped open mouthed in a pleasant surprise, while Amara beamed a triumphant smile.
Trinity then glanced up briefly. "If you will both excuse me, I need to get ready for bed and get in some homework from school before it gets too late. If you need me, I will be in my room!" She gave a soft smile before running off towards the back, to head back home.
Father Kiran's eyebrows both shot up in surprise. "What did you say to her? It's like she is her old self again!" he exclaimed.
Amara giggled innocently. "It did not require me to say much at all. I simply revealed to her what my brother had been hiding from her. Although, I do admit that I should have asked your permission before exposing her to the gruesome scene. However, I strongly believe that she now understands how her faith has been misplaced." She smiled, feeling victorious.
Father Kiran didn't want to question Amara's motives. All he cared about was that she now seemed like herself again. "Thank you so much for bringing my daughter back to me! You have helped her more than I can ever repay you for. If there is anything I can ever do, please name it and it shall be done!"
Amara gave a satisfied smirk, as she bowed her head briefly. "I shall keep that in mind. Thank you!"
~*~*~*~*~
Arriving at her house, Trinity hurriedly threw her backpack inside of her bedroom, before grabbing a towel and her nightgown. A nice hot shower would do her some good, as her heart was beating wildly like a jackrabbit due to being able to pull off fooling Amara.
Stripping down nude, she hopped into the shower, letting the heated water run down her body.
She was also now ecstatic and overjoyed that her mind wasn't so clouded in confusion. She had plans to meet up with Jessica and Rachael this upcoming weekend, and the three of them would be going demon hunting around town to find Zyxel.
She couldn't imagine possibly being any happier than she was at this present moment. That is, at least not until she managed to locate Zyxel and restore their damaged link. She grinned excitedly in anticipation of their upcoming encounter that was soon to take place, provided that everything went according to plan.
Although, she knew Jessica wasn't too thrilled about intentionally searching for a demon. She couldn't help but admire both of them for being brave enough to take this chance and willing to listen to Trinity. She didn't know if she would have been capable of being as accepting as they were being, had their situation been in reverse.
Cupping both hands, she crossed her arms over her chest. Closing her eyes, she imagined meeting up with Zyxel again. 'Just hang on a little bit longer, Zyxel. Be strong, and together we can pull through this!'
But the biggest excitement that was now on her mind, was the gift that she was certain had been left by Zyxel last night! She didn't have time to look at it before she had to race to get dressed to avoid being late for the bus. She had set it down on her nightstand, next to her bed, so that she could open it when she got home.
Elation and exhilaration raced through her in anticipation of what it might have been, was too much excitement for her. As she finished showering, she climbed out of the tub, and wrapped her towel taut around her body.
Holding her towel tight against her body, she traversed the short distance between the bathroom and her bedroom. Grinning excitedly, her eyes eagerly fell on the corner of her nightstand where she had placed the small wooden box.
But to her dismay, she soon realized that the wooden box had disappeared. The window was open wide, and her curtains were flapping loosely in the delicate breeze.
She sat down on her bed, consumed with confusion. 'Did Zyxel take the gift back? Why?' She thought to herself as she continued to sit there biting on her lower lip, pondering over why he might have taken it back. 'Did he think that I didn't want it?' she found herself wondering. She was now regretting that she hadn't taken the time to open it before hurrying out to get to the bus this morning.
"Zyxel!" she whispered softly.
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Books I am currently writing:
- The Forbidden Luna
- Divine Banishment