This is not fiction although all names have been changed. This is written out of stress and as a means to calm me down. Comment if you like. Ophelia was a 22 year old “professional bum”, who wasted away her every day by lying in bed playing with her phone and doing generally nothing unless she felt like it. She had recently quit her job due to the “stress” that was bringing her down. She liked to think of herself as a pretty good person, with morals, standards, and a vicious brain. But she also suffered from the common issues of self worth, self esteem, and self appearance. Her best friends were a few girls, all from different points in her life. Jane was her friend from high school, Lynn was her friend from work, and Jessie was the girl she didn't see often but knew from college and mutual friends. They were her best friends. Perhaps. Jane was a girl she sometimes wondered about, in the mental department. She was sweet and caring, but lacked basic intelligence or the ability to pick up on simple jokes. Lynn was older, and had a 5 year old daughter named Rose. She had a hot temper and couldn't let things go. But she did have a good heart. Jessie was distant. She was intelligent, but sometimes flaky. Great friends, Ophelia always thought. Kind of. Ophelia was attracted to women, in the way that if at any point she was sexual, she preferred women. Well to be honest, she didn't prefer any sort of sex at all. She could appreciate a man's beauty, but it wasn't the same raw passion she felt for women. However she had met a man, Chuck who flew into her life suddenly about four years ago, and he had yet to leave. Their relationship was somewhat platonic, but she knew that he would do anything for her. She didn't know if she felt the same...
Ophelia sighed as she sat watching the incense burn down. Her apartment was a joint lease with Chuck, although none of her friends knew it. Chuck had cheated on Ophelia a few years back, and she had never forgiven him. However when Chuck realized this, he had gone a tad batty to the point where Ophelia had had to issue a restraining order. She had forgiven him, because in her selfishness, she liked that he did anything she told him to do. Her friends didn't know this. They all thought that Chuck had his own apartment and did not contact her anymore. How would they feel if they knew? Ophelia chuckled. She would never tell. Not at the risk of being completely ostracized. Ophelia had been living with Chuck for the last two years, but that entire time was a giant lie. Whenever her friends came over, Chuck had to sit outside, hiding. Whenever Ophelia went out, Chuck had to hide when she returned so no one would suspect anything. There had been a few close calls, such as when Chuck had hid in the closet while Ophelia had multiple people over. Was that heartless? Her womanly pride hated Chuck for what he had done to her. Any normal woman would have moved on after the cheating, but she couldn't. She wanted him to keep doing things for her. So perhaps... she was heartless. But he was free to leave, and yet he stayed. The incense was iris. It smelled good. A nice thick aroma, that was somewhat stifling as it lingered in the air. Things were too real now. Ophelia in her selfishness, had destroyed her friendships. Those friendships she had worked to cultivate because of how insecure she was about her social life. Those friendships she had clung to desperately, even so much as to hurt other people. It was all a horrible memory, as the smoke swirled around her, the air heavy with the scent.
Ophelia was working at her job, an adviser on video games at a giant corporation. She had recently taken back Chuck, after he admitted to sleeping the night at a girl's house. He had cornered her at her college and forced her into the car. Their deal was that he would do whatever she said. She didn't know how she felt about it yet. Her voice seemed distant as she reflected on the whole debacle. Chuck had ripped her heart out when he had said the nasty words. “She loves me more than you ever have.” What a bunch of crock. He had only known her for a few days, while she had been on vacation in California. And now she was to live in the building across from this girl, Alyssa. How humiliating. She plastered on a smile and kept talking to the customer, informing him about the subscription that he could buy. With the giant fiasco she had made about the restraining order, which was truly terrifying in its own rite, she didn't know how to break the news to her friends. Although Ophelia didn't love Chuck in a romantic sense, she often fondly remembered of the first night they had met and how she had gleefully commented that they shared a wavelength. Who knew it would have turned out like this? She decided that she would slowly break it to everyone. She would test the waters on how people felt about Chuck, and then quietly announce that he was back in her life. It would disappoint some people, obviously, but they would be okay. She just needed to say it in the right way. Then everyone would be happy, and she wouldn't have to stress anymore.
How naïve... Ophelia looked back to the window. Chuck had done so many things, she had been able to get a restraining order without a trial even. How had she expected at that time, for anything to go smoothly? Chuck had made death threats, and chased her down in a car. He had called her so many times, her phone almost never had stopped ringing. He had showed up at her work. Followed her to her classes. The incense had burned down halfway, and she waited patiently as the ash that had built up at the tip grew. Finally it fell, crumbling onto the incense holder she had bought in Japan. It was a pretty one, that she just had to buy. Now it was stained with ash. Tonight was a long night. The smell of the iris incense was cloyingly sweet, and seemed to stick in her throat. Her naivete was kind of ridiculous as she thought about it now. Her eyes skated across the computer desk and back to the window. The blinds were shut. She didn't want to see outside. Outside is where the people were, and people caused her pain. As much as she hated the fact that she was being terrified of invisible demons, she didn't want to look outside. The sun would be rising soon...
“I can't forgive him. That bastard, he threatened to kill Robert!” Lynn screeched as she pounded her fist on the counter. Ophelia looked a bit stunned as she tried to decide what to do. Lynn's wedding band glittered in the light as they both stood in the florescent lights of the store. Lynn had recently gotten married to a man she had gone to high school with. They had dated a few months, but their whirlwind relationship turned into marriage all at once. Ophelia remembered the night she had gone out to the bar, and saw Lynn with a man she did not know. He was introduced as Joe, and was a friend. Lynn had drunk a whole bunch that night and Ophelia glanced over from dancing to see her making out furiously with Joe. Just a friend, eh? Ophelia laughed. The night ended with Lynn puking in the alleyway as Ophelia held her hair. It was an interesting way for coworkers to bond, but Ophelia didn't mind. She wanted to please everyone, and she liked Lynn's quirky temper and outspoken attitude. But looking at the ring now, Ophelia didn't know if it was such a good idea that Lynn had rushed into marriage. Joe had gladly taken over the role of Rose's father, and it seemed as if the marriage was doing okay, but Lynn often talked of discontentment. But then again, that wasn't something new. Lynn also was having problems with their coworker Juan. Juan was a nice guy. He would probably do most anything for Ophelia, because he had a crush on her. Lynn had told her so. That was fine with Ophelia, but she had made it quite clear that there would be nothing between them. Juan had however as of late, been promoted, and grown a big head. He often butted heads with Lynn, and Lynn didn't like the threat to her authority. Lynn did not want to tell Juan though. Lynn wanted Ophelia to tell Juan. Ophelia mumbled something in return to Lynn and changed the subject rapidly. Thoughts were racing through her head. Lynn was stubborn, and once she made her mind up, that was that. Her anger at Chuck hadn't subsided completely either, so she was sure she could calm Chuck down to the point where he would hide in the closet, so to speak, a little longer.
The incense had long burned out. Ophelia reached for the small purple box. She gently shook it until she could pluck one long stick from the box. She stood up and walked to the stove. The flame flickered to life and jumped briefly before calming. She touched the tip of the incense to the flame and watched as the orange glow burned. The sweet smell filled the air quickly, along with a bitter hint of smoke. She turned the stove off and blew the incense out. The ember glowed brightly and smoke curled through the air. Ophelia wouldn't have even been able to imagine the amount of time she would have to hide Chuck. She didn't expect in the slightest, just what was going to happen with her, Juan and Lynn. She had no way of knowing the future. Maybe if she had, she wouldn't have been so eager in her attempts to please people. She moved back to the computer desk and flipped it open. She set the incense down. Her cat Ivy walked over and she moved the incense in the way. Ivy wrinkled her nose and walked off quickly. She was a smart cat, and didn't like the smell of anything that burned. Ophelia smiled and put the incense back in the corner of the desk. She typed in her password to the computer with practiced ease and watched as the bright light filled the room. She had long since been forgotten by those so called friends. But she wasn't complaining. She had brought it on herself, and she did not regret her actions anymore. Her thoughts drifted again, this time to the night when all hell broke loose.