Dark Possession by Phaedra Weldon Page A

I'd ever allowed myself to get close to. And look what I
did…
    With a deep breath she set her pen down and
put her hands on her desk. No pity. No more thinking about regrets.
New life. New friends. New start. She closed the book and tucked it
into the top right drawer of the desk along with her pen and stood
up. It was Saturday, the temperature was mild for February, and she
had a painting class she didn't want to miss.
    Once dressed in jeans, sneakers, tee-shirt
and peacoat, she laughed when she caught a glimpse of herself in
the mirror behind the door. No one would recognize her now. Not
Darren. Not even Zoë. Nona would, because Nona had been the one to
help her start these changes.
    That small curtesy, that wondrous part of
Nona Martinique that accepted and forgave was enough to help Rhonda
rebuild her life. Nona was the last person she expected to see at
her door after moving in, and yet the woman had visited many times.
They didn't talk about what happened. They didn't talk about
Darren, or Zoë or even what happened to the house.
    They only talked about what Rhonda's future
should be.
    Getting a make over had been
top priority. Cutting her hair into a much more flattering style,
removing the black dye, and purging black from her wardrobe worked.
She felt new. She was new. And after several weeks of Zoomba
classes she felt new.
    Everything was new.
    Because continuing forward was her motto now.
There was nowhere to go but forward.
    She noticed the white van parked outside her
new home now and then. The Society. Not always one for subtlety.
Most days it wasn't there, or if it was, it was hidden well. But
when she noticed, she waved and drove off in her own car. It never
followed her. But then again, if it did, she never saw it.
    The fact they still kept tabs on her was
annoying as well as comforting. She wanted to be on her own,
something she had never done. She grew up in the Society. But she
also liked knowing if something happened to her, the Society would
know and be there to help.
    It was kind of like having an overbearing
family.
    Her painting class was held
at the local Michael's craft store. She breezed in with her supplies, took her seat
in the back and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of therapeutic brush
strokes with harmonizing colors.
    "Wow…you do a good job with picking
colors."
    At first, Rhonda didn't
realize the voice was addressing her. When she did, and turned to
her right, she nearly jumped out of her chair. The man was
beautiful to a point of her thinking, he's
gay . He was tall, with longish brown hair,
hazel eyes and a thin face. He wore the store's apron over his
shirt and jeans and a had small blue stone in his left earlobe. "Oh
uh….thanks."
    He stuck out his hand. "Remi Laborde. I'm
not an art student but I can appreciate it."
    She took his hand. It was a bit rough but
warm. And his grip was strong. "Rhonda Orly."
    "Nice to meet you Rhonda." He released her
hand. "I've been watching everyone this morning, but yours is the
best." He leaned in close. "In my opinion. But I'm just the stock
boy." He pulled back and winked.
    Rhonda put her hand to her
cheek. I'm blushing! Heat rose from her neck to her cheeks and she tried not to
appear as flustered as she felt. "Oh uh…well thanks again. And
there's nothing wrong with being a stock boy. I'm a stock girl. But
I work at Sevenanda's ."
    "Oh I love that place." Remi's grin was
infectious as was his friendliness. "Maybe I'll see you there one
day."
    "Maybe you will."
    He took her hand, kissed it, and disappeared
from the room.
    The girl to her left leaned closer. "We've
been taking bets on whether he's gay or not. Looks like you proved
he isn't."
    Rhonda felt more heat rise to her cheeks,
but nothing stopped the first smile she'd enjoyed in months.
    So…maybe this new life wasn't going to be so
bad?

 
     
    February
20th
     
    Dear Uncle,
    I met someone! He's three years older than
me. And he's graduating soon from Georgia State! His degree's