Love, Aurélie | REGULUS BLACK

Chapter Thirty-Three

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[CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE]
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TO SAY THAT ODETTE WAS NERVOUS would be an understatement. She had to constantly repeat to herself that she was just meeting Olivia Mae. It was just Olivia Mae, not her parents that she didn't remember.

Olivia Mae had stayed the night in the Hospital Wing. According to Emma, Madam Pomfrey could not identify the reason for Olivia Mae passing out. Odette may not have been a healer, but she had an idea.

Odette was sure her hands felt clammy as she nervously buttoned and unbuttoned a button on her shirt. She moved on from that and pulled at the fabric of the hem of her skirt. Olivia Mae was finishing up her fruit salad and Odette felt like a small child that just admitted to her disobedience and was waiting for her mother to say something. Anything at all. She was just standing at the foot of the bed, anxiously waiting for the girl to say anything.

However, Olivia Mae seemed to take pleasure in knowing that she was causing Odette so much anxiety. She took her time to finish up her food.

Finally, she placed the bowl aside and she looked up at Odette.

"Have you eaten yet?" she asked.

Odette shook her head, "No, I, uh, I didn't have time."

Olivia Mae tossed an apple to her, "You shouldn't skip breakfast because of me. You have class in an hour, so I'll make it quick."

"Please do," said Odette before she bit into the apple.

"I wish I could say I was confronted by a strange being and I fought with it, but lost and it took over my body," said Olivia Mae, "Such a great story that would make . . . shame it did not happen. What did that imposter to talk to you about while in my body?"

Odette stared at her. Olivia Mae noticed and laughed, "There's nothing much to hide anymore, Odette." 

Odette huffed before she said, "She told me that Cassandra wasn't real. That it was in my head — why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because Chloe was in the lavatory that day while you were talking with Cassandra," said Olivia Mae, "She said you were talking like you were having a conversation, yet she couldn't hear anyone responding. When you left, she couldn't see anyone either. I told her not to say anything, Chloe is rather good at keeping secrets."

"In my head. . ." repeated Odette, "I'm my head. . ."

Her eyes widened as she looked over at Olivia Mae, "That's it! It's not me, but it's inside my head!"

"What. . ."

Odette didn't let her finish as she waved and hurried out of the Hospital Wing. She would deal with Olivia Mae later. Until then, she had to go take a look at something.

In that moment, Odette didn't think about anything else but the book that was laying under her bed. She ran all the way to her dorm and even when her lungs were crying out for a break, she didn't slow down. She was so afraid that any moment of relaxation will make her forget where to look. She threw the dorm door open and scrambled over to her bed. She brought out the book and flipped through the pages as she kept her eyes on the numbers at the bottom of the page. Finally, she came across what she was looking for.

She trailed her finger underneath each word.

They usually appear in the mind during dreams, but occasionally they could show themselves, though they do not possess a physical form.

She turned the pages.

— call out to them using their name.

All hope had not been lost for Odette as she closed the book and slid it back under the bed. She found a piece of parchment in her bag and brought it out. She wrote — it looked more like scribbles than it did words — a short and straight to the point letter to Édouard.