Trust Me - Paul Lahote

5.

{Edited 02-04-2023}

"Mommy." Claire's voice squeaked on a Friday morning, a week later, trying to wake her mother up. "Mommy."

"What's wrong babe?" Delaney asked her after she kindly turned over so that she could come face to face with her daughter.

"There's a wolf outside my window." Claire explained making Delaney jump right out of bed, making her way to her daughters bedroom window. The teen mom didn't even have to reach the window to see that there wasn't a wolf but two wolves, A chocolate brown one and a dark silver one. They were both massive even in their crouched position. They looked like they're ready to sprint at anything that came their way.

"I don't think they'll do anything as long as we don't attack or try to mess with them." She stated as she pulled the curtain close along with every other one that sat open in her home. It wasn't that she was scared, they were clearly beautiful creatures, but what did frighten her was the size. She had only seen them to be slightly bigger than an average dog.

"Mom, since it's really early, can you make me some breakfast?"

"How about we check the school menu and see what they're serving." She asked throwing her daughter over her shoulder. "Let's see. For breakfast today there will be egg and sausage breakfast tacos on a flour tortilla. Strawberry yogurt, with apple jucie and milk. How does that sound?"

"Breakfast tacos! I love Tacos!" She squeeled.

"Love? You've never ate a taco before."

"Yes I have. Seth's friends brought Tacos on Tuesday. It was Taco Tuesday."

"Seth brought his friends over?"

"Yeah, he said you knew when I told him I was going to tell -oh." The little girl paused. "He lied."

"He did, But that's okay. Well get him back for that, okay?"

"Are we going to eat tacos and not give him any?"

"Is that what you want to do?"

"Yeah." Claire smiled unsurely but then confidently. "He's going to be mad. His friends brought sixty Tacos for them three."

"Sixty? Nobody can eat the many."

"They did." She smiled making Delaney believe she the girl was exaggerating.

"Okay. Go brush your teeth while I go find your clothes." Delaney ordered as she made her way into her daughters room.

All she could think about was her daughter and how innocent she was. Then there was the part she couldn't stop thinking about. The fact that Claire might actually get to meet her father. It was just days ago that the Young girls father called from the Makkah reservation making Delaney have a breakdown which ended with Seth babysitting while she went and spoke to him privately in her aunts home.

Now, she was going to be dropping off Claire at school and making a long drive to Port Angeles so that she could meet him halfway since he now lived Seattle.

"Delaney! Hey, wait up." Paul called out jogging up to her and Claire in the school parking lot "Hey, how have you been?"

"Uh,you know. Same old, same old." She she shrugged continuing into the school in a bit of a rush. Paul knew it was a lie. She wasn't okay. He had seen the memory of the breakdown. They all did.

"Listen, a bunch of us are going to the beach tomorrow to play some soccer and stuff. Join us. I'd really like it if you came." Paul desperately pleaded.

"Ugh, I'll have to think about it." She assured him before she turned and headed to the cafeteria where she made sure-like every morning- that Claire got her breakfast and was sitting safely in the front where her teacher would see her.