Author's Note:
Thanks for the continued support while reading through my little series. This chapter has a segment that deals with heavier themes, so if that makes you uncomfortable, then you may wish to skip.
CW: tragic past, death in the family
Chapter 10
Claire:
Stephanie and I had gone out to a pet store. We bought a collar and a leash, also one of those laser etched tags you can buy from the machine. Stephanie was driving Lara's car, knowing that Lara wouldn't care, when I saw a post from my local news as I was scrolling through social media.
Mystery Man Mr. Magnus: The man who only a few days ago died of a heart attack at the mall. Anonymous tipoff to police points them in direction of old home where evidence of blood has been found . Investigation is ongoing.
"Umm... what the fuck?" I said aloud, rereading the article so Stephanie could listen.
"Is that the guy you got the magic collar from?" Stephanie asked, I nodded my head absently as I texted my brother to check the news.
"We gotta hurry home and see what the hell is happening!" I urged Stephanie, her foot pushed down on the gas a little more as we raced home.
~*~
"Well...Fuck" Zach grumbled, letting out a long sigh as I saw him withdraw deep into his thoughts.
"So, what does this mean for us?" I asked Zach, "What if this collar was made through blood sacrificing children or something?" I was beginning to freak out at the idea, wearing something that could be evil like that around your neck will do that to you.
Moving Lara aside, Zach patted his lap. "Come here Claire, we need to remain calm."
Sitting on his lap he cradled my head to his chest. It felt as if it had been years since I last felt such warmth, my heart rate was already leveling out.
Jules, sensing that I was clearly upset hugged Zach and I. Admittedly those milf tits of hers calmed me down nearly as much as Zach holding me. Jules said she was going to go shower because she "was nasty af", her exact words.
Lara nuzzled her soft ears and vibrant red hair against me, purring, providing me with further comfort.
"Thanks everyone." I mumbled softly, Amanda watching me with concern.
"S-so, what are we gonna do?" Amanda stammered out, "I mean, if you remove the ring and collar, what happens to all of us?"
"Everything goes back to the way it was before, but you all will retain your memories of this, but you won't have the rose-tinted glasses that the magic puts on you. This would mean, any sort of repressed emotion or need may just bottle up more after being revealed to all of us.
"Like you, Amanda," Zach nodded his head at her. "Would you have ever embraced this new lifestyle? Would you have confessed your love to Claire?"
Amanda seemed to think on that intensely, leaving a deafening silence in the living room.
"I-I don't think I would have had the courage to." Amanda finally said, a pang of sadness pulled at my heart, the love I felt for her was so intense. I got out of Zach's lap and embraced Amanda, letting her know how much she meant to me.
"Ok, I know this is hard to imagine because of the magic currently influencing us, but if you suddenly went back to how you were, what do you think you would feel?" Zach continued questioning Amanda.
"Well... both of my parents are awful people, and even though I have no issues with other's being gay or bi, I do think that the fear of them finding out I was dating a girl would just lead to them harassing me. They really drilled into me that being a 'homosexual' was a first-class ticket to hell. I am not religious myself, but it still scared the shit out of me.
"The drilled in internalized homophobia, would probably intensify, making me doubt what Claire and I have right now, likely thinking that it was only the magic that made me that way, something about that just scares me... a lot."
"It's ok my sweet little girl, mommy will make sure you are taken care of." I hugged Amanda's head to her chest, placing kisses on the crown of her head.
I look over at Zach, "I've loved you since before the collar, so what would happen to me?"
"Well, since incest is heavily frowned upon, I imagine the social pressures of that would make it hard for you to just accept being happy with me and mom. The Prismium really cuts out a lot of the issues that come from trying to have all these different people come together.
"Do you think that you would ever be okay with Amanda and I having sex if you guys were openly dating, without the Prismium?" Zach asked me.
I had to admit, jealousy is such a common human emotion that I don't see how - under normal circumstances - I could be okay with a poly relationship. There was no way I could go back to life before the Prismium.
"What if the Prismium has nothing to do with what ever that creepy old man was doing in his basement?" I asked Zach.
"While it is possible that he was doing something separate, this evidence does not really paint him in a positive light; if anything, this makes him seem evil, or at least someone with an ulterior motive." Zach said.