Chapter 66 What Now
They’ve been running through several ideas about what the best moves going forward would be. I’ve yawned more times than I can count in the past twenty minutes. I’ve been keeping it to myself, but I can’t deny I’m tired. His mom takes notice, interrupting the conversation.
“Are you ready for bed? It’s been a long day.”
I’m embarrassed to be called out, even though she’s only being nice. “Oh, don’t worry about me, it’s just been a long day like you said.”
“Why doesn’t Alec take you home, so you can get some rest?” She offers.
“I don’t think I should leave while we’re still discussing,” Alec says.
“You’re right, we need to keep talking. You can stay here tonight, you can sleep in Alec’s old room. It’ll be safer than his house; no one will probably be there tonight.” His dad offers.
“Ok, I’ll take you up on that.”
Alec stands, holding out his hand for me to take. I gladly take it, feeling far too tired. “It was nice to meet you, Anna. We’ll see ya in the morning.” His mom waves to me as we leave the room.
“It was nice to meet you guys, too.” His dad gives me a nod.
He leads me back to his childhood bedroom. It’s weird to be in here again after everything that happened in here earlier. So much of my life has been changed in this one room.
He goes around me to the worn dresser, grabbing a pair of basketball shorts along with a shirt. “You can wear these, they’re old, so they might be a little tighter than my other clothes.” He hands them to me, trying to lighten the mood.
I appreciate the attempt, but nothing will lighten my mood right now.
“Holler if you need me, I’ll be right upstairs. You can move anything around if you need to. Just make yourself comfortable.” He pulls me into his warm arms, making me feel a little better.
“I love you.”
“Love you too.” He gives me a peck before leaving. He leaves slowly, almost as if he expects me to stop him or say something or break, I guess, but I don’t do any of those things.
He shuts the door behind him softly. I look back down at the young teenager's clothes in my hands. It’s weird how I feel right now. It seems the sadness, the anger, the confusion has worked its way through me. So now I feel nothing. I still feel the sadness deep inside of me, but it’s like a wall of numbness has stopped it from coming through. All I want to do is curl into a ball and sink into the earth.
I put on the clothes quickly. Then I look at the bed. It’s a twin size bed that’s made up with a blue comforter and blue sheets. I get into it appreciating the smell of Alec that covers my whole being. The room is illuminated by the soft glow of the lamp next to me on the bedside table.
His room is a beige color with a few posters hung on the wall above the bed. A small black desk is put into one corner while the dresser is sat at the foot of the bed. It’s not tiny, but it also isn’t big. I roll onto my side, looking at the desk. My eyes focus on the small little knick in the paint showing the pale brown wood underneath it.
I feel like I should be crying again. Or throwing a fit. But I don’t feel like doing anything. My parents lied to me my whole life. That hurts enough, but the most upsetting fact is that they killed so many people. More people than I’ll ever truly know. And I can guarantee almost every single one of them was innocent. They didn’t do anything to deserve it.
I try to close my eyes, but all I can see is my parents. They're smiling at me. Them being good parents to me. Us moving. Us talking about their work. But then I see them turning that same smile onto another person as they take their life. I hear them talk about their work and hear them telling of the werewolf they’re hunting. I see them be creul. I see them ruining the lives of families.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to stop the useless images my brain won’t stop conjuring up.
—
I don’t know when I fall asleep, but I’m not happy when I wake up. It wasn’t all some dream. More like a nightmare. It’s real, and I’m back here to deal with it again. I want to run away from all of this. I want to be done. But I can’t. My parents have made this my responsibility now, too.
Even if it wasn’t my parents, I would still be involved. Alec is my mate. Even if I couldn’t help, I’d still be in danger.
I get out of the bed slowly despite every part of me not wanting to. I need to find out what the plan is. I know they had to have come up with something over the night. And I want to know. I need to know what I’m to do in this situation.
Do I go back to camp and pretend nothing happened? Do I leave camp and stay with Alec for safety and security? Do I confront my parents? Do I spy on them to learn of their plans? What will they want to do with my parents? What if they want to kill them or hurt them?
My mind runs wild with all the possible ways this could go. All of the possible ways my life will once again change.
I look at the wall longer than I even realize before I finally make my way out of the room. Walking through the hall, it’s as though my body is on auto pilot, somehow knowing where Alec is.
I pass by the living room, sparing a quick glance at the couches, noting Kyson sleeping on one of them. I walk into the kitchen, not surprised to see Alec eating at the small table nestled to the side.
“I got you a plate.” He gestures to the seat next to him, a plate of some sort of breakfast food sat out. I sit in the chair.
I shuffle the food around the plate, not feeling hungry. It’s like the numbness of the situation has fully set in. I haven’t even really looked at him. I just so desperately want this to be done with.
“What do we do now?”