Ophelia Read Online Free

seconds to steady myself and met her on the other side of the car. Shopping was something that I had often done with Beverly, and our mothers.  All the memories I had around town were driving me nuts. I was seeing my mom everywhere and missing her even more.
    “I... I don’t think I'll be able to come back here after, Bev.”
    She turned around, obviously wondering what the hell I'm talking about. “Do you mind explaining?”
    “When I turn eighteen, and I’m out of the center, I won’t be staying in Brooklyn. I need to go away, find a place of my own with no memories attached.”
    I saw her bottom lip quiver. “O... Okay, we'll figure this out.”
    We had never spent a day without seeing each other unless I was away for a concert. Living in another state wasn't to be taken lightly and I didn’t think being away from her was going to be possible. I shook off the thought again. The future would tell me how to deal with this. I still had a long way to go before I was ready to move.
    “Let's focus on getting you some clothes now, okay?”
    “Yeah.” I faked a smile. I didn’t really feel like shopping but I had to do it. I had lost a lot of weight and my pants were falling down. I only had one store to go to find everything that I needed. Although my mind wanted to head back to her place, my heart felt like trying to give Beverly a good time to thank her for being there for me. We deserved to have a nice afternoon even though I wasn't really in the mood.  I was happy for the moment, but there was this huge hole in my soul that kept reminding me I had lost the most important people in my life.
    We shopped for most of the afternoon before returning to her house. I had laundry to do and I wanted to enjoy my last hours with my best friend.
    “I'll miss you. Miss your crazy red hair, your laugh and your smile. I want you to promise that you'll call me if there is something wrong over there, okay? I want to be there for you even if we're physically apart.”
    I smiled at her words. She was the best. “Thank you, Beverly.” I hugged her tight. “I will, I promise.”
    We spent the remainder of the day talking. I did most of the chatting. She mainly listened to my new reality and she tried to help me as best as she could.
    “Here, I want you to have this until I return from the center.” I removed my necklace, a white gold chain with a music note pendant. It was the first time in 7 years that I wasn’t going to wear it. It was the one thing I always kept with me, day and night, even in the shower.
    “Are you sure?” she asked, knowing the meaning of this necklace. My parents had given it to me the night I was awarded the Youth Musician of the Year Award. It was the beginning of my career and I vowed never to stop playing after that.
    “I'm sure.” I really was. I wanted her to have a piece of me with her.
    As soon as I gave her my necklace, she put it on and looked at herself in the mirror. “I can't believe you’re letting me wear it. I've never seen you without it.” She smiled. “I want you to have this, my bracelet.”
    She removed it and handed it to me. It was her grandmother's bracelet. I knew that it meant a lot to her.
    “We’re all set now.” I laughed. “I don’t want this day to end though.”
    She patted my shoulder reassuringly. “You'll do fine, Ophelia, you were always good with meeting new people.”
    “Right.” She had a point, but this time, my heart was all mixed up in a whirlwind of emotions. Meeting new people meant more people to grieve over when my time at the center was over. My broken heart couldn’t bear to get attached to new people, it had suffered enough already.
    ... O ...
    Saying my goodbye to Beverly was heartbreaking. I knew it was only a matter of a couple of months before we could hang out again, but it was still going to be hard. She was all I had left. I unfolded my sticky note and I read carefully my very short list.
    Breathe, breathe, breathe, it's all going to