068. It's OK, I've got a soul now!

"No, no, waitwaitwait, hold up, it's okay, it's okay, I've got a soul now, it's okay."

Angie showed her palms, bowed her head, crouched a little and tried her best to show Beth that she wasn't going to hurt her. Beth's big eyes and frozen posture indicated that she wasn't 100 percent successful but at least she hadn't slammed the door in her face.

"Baby, I'm not..." Angie dropped her hands to her sides and took one stop closer to Beth. Fear flooded her orange aura in waves of black ink and Angie felt her heart plummet. Gravity followed it down and she had to sit to not fall on the gravel outside Beth's house.

"I'm not dangerous anymore", she muttered, "I won't hurt you. Won't try to eat you. I've got soul now and I've been using it every day since you left".

She kicked at the pebbles by her feet and wondered if Beth could tell that she was lying. She probably could. Beth's radar was too attuned to her bullshit but she didn't say anything and so Angie didn't dare look at her. Silence mixed cement, piled bricks and built a wall between them. Finally Angie sighed just to break it. Souls are like candy, she thought. They taste so good you'll stuff yourself into a sugary high until you're light headed and nauseous.

"OK, fine!", she admitted, "I've haven't been using it every day. It's heavy and it smells funny and I don't feel pretty wearing it".

She crossed her arms and sulked. Coming here, laying everything bare before Beth seemed more like a fools errand now. She made an effort to stand up and go but her heart still lay somewhere around her feet and she couldn't get her bearings straight. Angie felt heavy. Souls by themselves didn't weigh much but the things that clung to them might as well be planets.