When she got home, her mother was sitting on the couch, looking worried. “Skye! Are you alright? You shifted last night, didn’t you?”
“Can you let me get dressed first?”
“Of course, sorry.”
Skye got into her room, put on her clothes, and found her phone, still charging where she’d left it last night. She turned it on and immediately saw a text.
Michael: Skye, I’m so sorry, but I can’t do this. You terrified me last night. You didn’t tell me you were a werewolf, and I just can’t deal with that. We’re over.
Skye, after reading this, threw her phone across the room and climbed under her covers to cry.
A knock sounded at the door.
“What is it?”
Willow’s voice sounded from outside. “Are you ready to talk now?”
Skye sighed. “Sure.”
Willow came in. “How are you feeling?”
“How do you think I’m feeling?” After a long pause, she added. “Michael broke up with me.”
“Because you shifted? I’m so sorry.” Willow sat down next to her on the bed. “I know it’s hard to hear right now, but he didn’t deserve you if he can’t accept that part of you.”
Skye stared at her lap. “You’re not a wolf, but… you knew Dad was, right?”
Willow nodded. “I was a little older than you when I found out. It didn’t change how I felt about him.”
Skye nodded. It wasn’t hard to picture her loving mother accepting someone for who they were. What was harder to picture was how she had ever fallen in love with Skye’s irresponsible father in the first place.
Willow sighed with a melancholy smile on her face. “People change, Skye. We met when we were kids. Kids can love each other without anything getting in the way. When we got older, I took on more responsibility, while he avoided it wherever he could. I didn’t see it. For a long time, when I looked at him, I still saw the kid he used to be, not the man he grew up to become. I think he saw the same thing in me - he looked at me and saw the adventurous little girl, not the woman who’d learned to make sacrifices.”
She looked at Skye. “You’re still young, but as you get older, try to see people for who they are, not who they used to be.”
Skye nodded slowly. “I’m still sad about Michael.”
“I didn’t expect you not to be! You’re allowed to be sad for as long as you need to be. Is there anything you want for dinner tonight?”
Skye tilted her head. “Are you cooking, or is Flora?” Flora was a much better cook than Willow.
“I was going to - Flora’s out with Wren tonight - but if you want something complicated, we can get takeout.”
“Let’s get takeout. We can order pizza and maybe watch a movie?”
Willow hugged her. “That sounds great. We’ll have a girl’s night in, and I’ll do everything I can to help you feel better. Let me know if you want to talk to someone about wolf stuff, okay? I do my best, but I’m not an expert.”
Skye nodded. “Don’t worry, I will.” She planned to talk to Amos tomorrow, but tonight was for her and her mom.
-------
“I need to talk to you.”
Elsa smiled, surprised. “Sure! What do you want to talk about?”
“Wait… Flora, can we talk first?”
Elsa looked confused as Nanami pulled Flora into the bathroom to talk.
“You said you wouldn’t tell Elsa.”
“I’m not telling her your business, I’m just saying mine.”
“How is that not saying my business?”
“What does my relationship have to do with you?”
“Don’t be obtuse, Flora. Are you going to tell Elsa about me and Max or not?”
A clatter sounded behind Nanami. She turned around to see Elsa, who had followed them into the bathroom, staring wide-eyed.
“Elsa, it’s not-”
“No, do go on. What about you and Max?”
Nanami glared at Flora. “This is all your fault.”
Flora shrugged. “I just wanted to tell you guys that I’m going to prom with Wren Grove. You’re the one who brought you and Max into it.”
“You knew what I would think!”
“Wait… Flora? You knew about this?”
Flora looked at Elsa. “I saw them together at a party. I’m sorry. Nanami made me promise not to say anything.”
“I didn’t make you do anything! You just didn’t want Elsa to find out about your slacker boyfriend!”
“Yeah, well, now I’ve decided my ‘slacker boyfriend’ is more important to me than your superficial friendship. Good luck with everything.”
Flora left the bathroom as Elsa and Nanami continued arguing.
After a while, Elsa came out. “Wait, Flora!”
“What is it?”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you feel like I didn’t like Wren. It sucks that you didn’t feel like you could introduce him to us.”
Flora nodded. “I accept your apology.” They both understood that it was too little, too late.
No comments:
Post a Comment