Destined

Chapter Seven

The drive home was thankfully uneventful. Enzo didn't say a word and I kept to myself, watching the trees as they passed and daydreaming about the past few days. There was no energy left in me to talk about it with Enzo. It was a conversation that needed to happen, but I needed to process first. Before I knew it, we were home and I hadn't even thought about what my life would look like now that I knew about the existence of werewolves. Instead, I spent the entirety of the drive thinking about what felt like new friends. Especially Matteo.

It was nice to sleep in my own bed last night. The familiar sheets were soft and I drifted to sleep the moment my head hit the pillow. Too tired to lay awake fitfully like I usually did. I awoke to the smell of bacon and syrup, Enzo loudly banging around pots and pans as he prepared my favorite breakfast. It isn't long before I hear him calling my name to join him at the kitchen table.

"This looks amazing, Enz! Thank you." He sets down a cup of coffee as I shove the first bite into my watering mouth.

"Of course. It was a crazy week, I wanted to get back to something that felt normal." He settles into the chair beside me, sipping from his own coffee.

"Us, normal? Hard to do that." I try my best at a joke to push away the awkwardness I feel.

Enzo sets his coffee down and clears his throat, "I also thought it'd be nice to eat while we talk. About this weekend."

Ahh, yes. Here it is. The talk I knew was coming. Heat erupts in the pit of my stomach as the anger I had felt returned. He had known and made me look foolish. "Okay, let's talk."

"How are you doing? The past few days have been a lot. Are you okay?"

I can't help but laugh at his question. "Of course I'm overwhelmed Enz. Werewolves?."

He doesn't look up from the pancakes he's cutting as he responds, "Yeah, it's a lot to take in, I know."

His response confirms that he has known about their existence and the heat rises to my cheeks. "How long have you known?"

He takes a moment before he responds, nothing but silence between us. "I've known for a while." An answer without actually admitting anything.

"How?" How did he know? Was he attacked before? We went camping every year and he never made any mention of them. My mind is spinning with questions.

"That's a harder question to answer" His voice is stern as he speaks. Clearly, he doesn't want to tell me any more than that but I deserve to know. Whether he likes it or not, I'm in this now.

"Then tell me why didn't you tell me? If you've known for so long why haven't you mentioned it?" I try to keep my voice down but with each word from him I can't control the anger and frustration from seeping into my tone.

"Because I couldn't. Les,"

That makes me crack, "That's bullshit. Don't give me that"

"Alessia, telling you would only put you in danger. There was no reason you needed to know so you didn't. Everything I do is to keep you safe."

"Oh, sorry for being such an inconvenience" I let the sarcasm lace my words.

"That is not what I meant and you know it."

I ignore his words and ask again, "How did you know?"

"I know because I needed to. The rest isn't important."

I am so sick of being treated like a child. Enzo clearly still sees me as his kid sister and doesn't trust me enough to let me in. He's my best friend, but right now I feel like another thing on his to do list. He says all he cares about is keeping me safe, but what about my sanity? It drives me crazy not to know something so important. It's like he's expecting me to move on as if this weekend never happened but I can't let it go. Lexie is my friend now, and I want to stay her friend, and Matteo's. Matteo.