What's The Worst That Could Happen?

Ghost

It takes two days to get to my home town. Two days of uncomfortable bus seats, dirty bus stations, and standing in lines.  Two days of shitty fast food and dirty public restrooms. Two days of constantly looking over my shoulder, looking for yellow eyes in the shadows. I am groggy, achy, and famished. I finally step off in Pittsburgh. I stretch, hearing the popping and cracking of my bones as everything settles into place. It is strange to be back. I spent so much time here but it feels so foreign. There is so much to see and so many sounds to get used to. I had been away for so long but it is good to be back. I walk a few blocks from the transit center before a cab pulls up next to me and I get in. I lean my head against the window, wanting nothing more to just sleep for ages. I feel the bags under my eyes and my neck twinges. It is about a half hour drive to my mother's house, the only safe place in the world now. 

I pull up to the weather worn brick apartment building of my childhood, opening the black rusty wrought iron gate and stepping into the lobby of the building. I find my mom's apartment and push the door bell. My mother's voice answers the scratchy intercom.

"Hello?" She asks.

"Mom!" I say.

"Elsa!!??" She answers. I hear the shock in her voice. The door buzzes and I open it, taking the stairs to the fifth floor. I find the last bit of energy that I have and take the stairs two by two. I can't wait. The door is already open when I get to her apartment and she pulls me in for a long awaited hug. We stand in the door way, unwilling to let each other go. I want to melt into her touch. She is just as I remember, all warmth and wonder and softness and love. 

She steps back and I see that she has been crying.

"Elsa! I t-thought you were hurt. Darren called me and said they couldn't find you. They couldn't reach you. Where have you been?" She cries out, pulling me away from her to look over me.

"Mom. I'm fine."

I turn around and look in the hallway, shutting the door and locking it. 

"Elsa! You answer me now young lady."

"I'm sorry mom. I can't explain but I had to go. I had to leave." I say, sitting on the dining room chair. A wave of exhaustion washes over me. I feel the tension leech out of my body for the first time in forty-eight hours.

"You need to explain. What do you think you're doing? Giving everyone a fright."

"Mother I have seen the stuff of nightmares. I know what it is to be frightened." I say, putting my head in my hands. 

"What does that mean?" She exclaims.

"Mom, please. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I need to rest."

She huffs.

"Okay. I'm just glad you're okay. Darren has been calling me non-stop. We should tell him that you're okay."

"Okay? No you're not going to tell him anything mom." I say, jumping up. "It's imperative that Darren and none of his family have any idea that I'm here."

"Why is that?"

"Mom. Please. Trust me. It isn't safe for me."

"Okay." She resigns herself, going to the fridge. "Are you hungry."

"You have no idea."

O.o.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

I down two plates of pasta with meatballs, followed by apple crumb cake. On any other day I'd be embarrassed but not today. I push my chair back, holding my stomach. My mom sits across from me, just watching me. She has said nothing, letting me eat in peace. With some carbohydrates in my body, I can think a little clearer now.

"Are you ready to explain yourself? She says, in that familiar tone I've heard since I was a child.

I sit there under her gaze, feeling like I am five again with a chocolate chip cooking in my hand - the only one I managed to get before the cookie jar came tumbling down onto the floor and shattering. 

"Mom, I'm sorry I frightened you. That wasn't my intention. There's just some things going on that I can't explain."

"Sweetie. Try me."

I close my eyes, shaking my head.

"Mom...Darren and his family. They...they aren't well. They are monsters. Mom..." I gulp down. "Mom I'm not crazy, I promise you. They turned into things...beasts."

I shake my head, trying to find a way to tell her.

"Wolves." 

She sits back, her face unchanging.

"Mom...did you hear me."

"I heard you." She responds.

"Do you believe me?"

She shakes her head, yes.

"Oh my gosh. Thank goodness. I was so worried. I thought you wouldn't believe me." I say, holding back tears.

"I believe you honey." She says, reaching out and taking my hand. "Trust me I do."

"Thank you mom."

"Sweet heart this may not be the best time to tell you but your biological parents...they were lycans too."

"What??!!" I scream, jumping back. The seat falls to the ground. "What do you mean, mom?"

"Sweetheart, I knew all along that Darren was your mate. I knew all along that you were part wolf. Your genes, are recessive. But it's true. You and Darren both. That's how he and you were able to be together. I know it doesn't make sense now and this isn't how I wanted to reveal this to you but - "

"But! But? How could you hide this from me. How could you?"

She stands up, approaching me slowly, her hands raised, like someone trying to calm a scared animal.

"No. NO. Stay away from me. You're just like them." I say, yelling at her. I avoid her touch and head to my childhood room. I shut it and pull a chair underneath the doorknob, just like I would do when I was a disgruntled teenager.

I sit on the bed and lay down, hugging myself.

The room is spinning.

No the world is spinning.

Nothing makes sense anymore.

"I'm a wolf." I say to myself.

A wolf.