Chapter Twenty-Six
The End had never felt so satisfying to write as it did now. The words stared back at me from the screen; the cursor blinked next to them. I’d finished the book that I wasn’t even sure I could write. The one my publisher wanted, and so did the rest of the world.
I snapped a photo and sent it off to Jemma and Ryker. Jemma was the first to call.
“I’m coming over.” She seemed out of breath, with rustling going on in the background as she made her claim.
“Okay,” I laughed and looked back down at my laptop. “Tea?”
I asked, unsure of what to do now. I’d been going at this for weeks, months, for far too long, and now it was done.
At least the second draft, but it was here, it was real, and something I was so proud of.
More so than the other books I’d written and even my games.
There was something about this book that meant more to me.
It was healing to write a love that I actually felt.
“Please,” Jemma hung up first, and I worked on getting us tea made.
I pulled the chai out of the cupboard. The fall air had been coming in fiercely, and it finally felt like the holidays were approaching. Christmas lights were going up, the nights were getting longer, and the temperature dropped a little more each day.
“You did it!” Jemma came in through my back door, beelining for me and taking me into an embrace.
“I did it.” I smiled at her and finished filling the kettle.
“Why don’t you sound happy?” Jemma asked skeptically.
“What if they hate it?” I asked, turning my back to her and grabbing a few mugs and honey. “What if I redid this whole book and sunk my soul into it for them to tell me no again? What if they like it, but the fans hate it, the readers hate it?”
I turned to look at Jemma, tears forming in my eyes. Where I’d normally be ecstatic to finish a project, this one had me second-guessing everything.
“I put a piece of my soul in there, and I truly don’t think there are enough protection spells in the world to make it so I don’t feel the pain if this is a bad release.”
“Sit.” Jemma pointed to the kitchen table, and I followed her order.
She moved around the kitchen, finishing with making our tea, and then made her way to the living room.
She was in there for a while until she came back empty-handed and sat down next to me.
Within a few minutes, the smell of juniper was filling the house.
I inhaled and took a sip of my tea. “Breathe, crazy lady.”
Jemma was drinking her tea and leaning back in her chair. We sat in silence. If I really listened, I could hear the faint sound of rain coming from the front room. Not only had Jemma lit my cleansing pot, but she had turned on my sound machine.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I didn’t immediately look at it.
I didn’t want to break this moment of serenity while I had it.
It was the first time since this summer that I sat and just was.
No one needed me, I didn’t need to be anywhere, and I didn’t have a deadline looming over me.
My phone buzzed again, and then again, and then it was actually ringing.
“What the fuck?” I pulled my phone out, looking at the notifications popping up and the name splayed across my screen.
Alexa Wellington.
“What did you do?” I squinted at Jemma before picking up the phone. “Hello.”
I tried to sound cheerful and not worried that my publisher was calling me directly.
“Oh my gosh, Odette.” She sounded ecstatic. “This is it. This is the story. Where did this come from? I’m only two chapters in, and I don’t want to stop.”
“What?” I looked over to Jemma, who was avoiding eye contact.
“I got your urgent email a bit ago and started reading the new book. I had no idea you were going to start over completely, but ma’am, this is actual gold here.”
“Really?” I asked. Alexa’s job wasn’t just to read my books and edit them to prepare them for release; she was also my hype woman, not the typical editor’s job, but she made it hers.
But given how I felt about finishing this story, I wasn’t sure if what she was telling me was to boost my ego or if she actually liked it.
“I’m going to finish this tonight and give you a full report tomorrow, but I needed to get ahold of you now because this is the best thing I’ve read in years.
It’s already filling with whimsy, magic, and love.
” Alexa stopped her rant for one moment, catching her breath.
I could hear her breathing hard on the other side of the phone.
“I don’t know who you found to give you this kind of inspiration, but whatever you do, please do not let them go.
The love that radiates from this book speaks volumes.
I’ve read all of your books, Odette. Nothing like this has ever graced your pages. ”
“I love him.” I blurted out, not that Alexa needed to know this, but she was the one who told me to go find someone, anyone, to get inspiration for this story. I don’t think she thought it’d ever turn out like this.
“I can tell.” I could hear the smile in Alexa’s voice. “I just wanted to tell you how amazing this is already, and I cannot wait to finish it.”
“Thank you.” I took a sip of my tea, sinking into my chair. The thoughts and feelings from before slowly started to dissipate.
“That’s what I’m here for. I’ll get this read through and get your letter to you tomorrow, and we will work on getting your book baby out into the world. Have a good night, Odette.”
Alexa hung up the phone. There were more notifications, not just from Alexa, but all across social media, where I’d posted that I finished the story. There was also a message from Ryker saying how proud he was of me, but no missed phone calls or any other messages.
I looked up to see Jemma scrolling on her phone, and I snatched it out of her hand.
“Hey!” she exclaimed. “What was that for?”
“You submitted my book?”
“Yeah, I did.” She said matter-of-factly and grabbed her phone, swiping for new content. “You were freaking out, and I had no idea Alexa would start reading it away, but I’m glad she did; you look a lot better than the ghost standing in front of me twenty minutes ago.”
“I—” A sound came from outside, and I whipped my head around to the back door. It sounded like bushes were rustling, accompanied by a few banging sounds. “Wha—”
“It’s Ryker and Beckett,” Jemma answered me before the question came out of my mouth.
“What? Why are they outside?”
Jemma put her phone down on the table and finally looked me in the eyes.
“I told you. Twenty minutes ago, you were having a breakdown about a book that you love and wrote with your whole heart. You were scared of what would happen if it didn’t go well and how you’d protect yourself, so I started the process for you.
” Jemma finished off her tea and walked over to the sink to rinse it out.
“I sent the manuscript to your publisher, saying that it was urgent and needed to be addressed quickly. Then, I made sure to set up your altar for protection with some tourmaline and amethyst laid out. I lit your cleansing bowl and messaged Ryker. I didn’t tell him much besides you were freaking out, you needed help, how to help you, and now we are here with two weird men outside, one of whom loves you more than the whole universe. ”
“Jemma,” I had no idea what to say to her. This was all too much. “I hope you know how much I love you.”
“And I love you too, girl.” Jemma came over to me and leaned down, placing a kiss on the top of my head. “You have an army here for you; don’t forget that. This isn’t like before.”
I looked up to her.
“I hope you know you have an army, too.”
She rolled her eyes at me.
“You do know that when you start choosing pieces for this next gallery showing, I’ll be sneaking pieces I love back in when you decide they aren’t good enough.” I shot Jemma a look, and she squinted her eyes at me now, like I wouldn’t dare go behind her back and do that. “Try me.”
I blew her a kiss before getting up, cleaning out my tea mug, and looking out the window above my kitchen. You could barely see Ryker and Beckett outside, sneaking around the house in the moonlight.
“What did you tell Ryker to do?” I asked Jemma as she came up next to me, craning her head to look at where the boys were crouched down.
“I told Ryker you needed cinnamon sticks, peppercorn, and clove to surround the house. I told him to sprinkle it around and leave us be for the evening.”
“What the fuck are they doing, then?” I laughed and opened the window.
“Hey!” I yelled out, and both men turned around to look at where the sound came from. “What are you doing?”
“Making protection!” Ryker yelled back, enthusiasm radiating in his voice.
“Crouched in my bushes?” I questioned.
Ryker jogged over to the window, his head barely reaching the bottom of it. The ground was further away on this side of the house. He looked up at me with a huge grin on his face.
“Making cinnamon stick stars at each corner of the house to help.” He puffed his chest out, proud of what he was doing.
“Jemma said you were worried about the book and needed help, so we are here to help, and Beckett is my captive; he’s doing most of the dirty work, cleaning the ground as I lay out the shape, but we are making it safe for you, my love. ”
I looked down at this man, and my heart sped up.
“I love you,” I said to him, not breaking eye contact.
“I love you. Mwah!” He blew a kiss to me before starting to walk away. “We’ll be done soon.”
I closed the window and turned to Jemma, who had her hands in the air.
“I told him to do none of that. Although that is a great idea.”
“I finished my book,” I let the words linger between us.
“You finished the book.” Jemma smiled at me.
I’d written a book I hadn’t thought was even possible months ago, but here it was, done.
And now I’d work on getting it ready for the world.
I looked out to the yard one more time, seeing Ryker and Beckett packing things up.
Jemma was back at the kitchen table on her phone, and I finally felt at peace.
Peace.