Midnight Serenade

Chapter 12

Our visit to the police station took ages. Probably because I had to keep repeating myself. I had to talk to a dozen people and they all seemed to ask a lot of the same questions. I was glad I wasn't by myself though. Sawyer stayed with me the entire time. We didn't get a chance to talk much, but it was comforting having him there. If not for Sawyer, I'd have felt very much alone. Tony was around, but after the initial introductions, he'd disappeared somewhere in the station and I didn't see him again until I was ready to leave.

"So, where to?" Sawyer asked as we left the station. 

Tony informed me that my family wanted to see me, but that he'd put them off until I felt comfortable enough to meet them all. But he dropped several not terribly subtle hints that told me he expected it to be soon. I guess they'd really been hounding him. He said he actually had to forbid them from showing up at the police station once he let it slip that I was there.

With a sigh, I turned to Sawyer. "You tell me. I'm sure you know where everyone lives around here." I still had that urge to hide out and not think about any of this, but it wouldn't go away. Plus it felt pretty rude to think of hiding. These people had loved me and mourned for me for the last fifteen years. I couldn't make them wait longer now that they knew I was alive and right here. I just wish it didn't feel so strange. I tried to console myself by thinking about Tony. It hadn't been weird at all to meet him. But then, I hadn't known about that meeting ahead of time. Seeking these people out to initiate a meeting, felt very different.

Sawyer raised his eyebrows. "Really? You're ready right now?"

Seeing his reaction only reinforced how monumental this was, which didn't make it easier. "Not even a little bit. But I kind of feel like I have to. They know I know about them. If I wait, it'll be like I don't care."

"I doubt they'd think that. They understand that you have a lot to deal with right now."

I gave him a small tired smile. "Still. I think I need to do it now."

He nodded. "Do you want lunch first? Build up your nerve?"

Ugh. The thought of eating right now was in no way appealing. "That's alright. Let's just go."

With another nod, he motioned to the left. Since he'd driven Natalie's car to the station, we were going on foot. After we walked for a minute, I realized that his offer to help me build up my nerve may have actually been his way of saying he was hungry.

"Did you want to get lunch?" I glanced up at him as we walked.

"No, I'm fine," he tried, but the loud grumble from his stomach told me he was lying.

I laughed. "It's okay if we stop somewhere first. It's been a while since breakfast. And you're probably right. The time would make this whole thing a little easier."

His relief made me glad that I fibbed. In reality, the longer I put this off, the harder it would be, but I didn't want Sawyer to suffer.

Within a few minutes we reached Main Street and I noticed we were headed away from the diner from yesterday.

"We're not going back to the diner?" I wondered. The town wasn't so tiny that there was no other place to eat, but I assumed it was a pack place.

"I figured you'd want a little anonymity. Everyone there probably knows all about you by now. And we're not the most subtle group. Like you saw yesterday."

"Oh." I glanced over my shoulder at the diner, wondering how long I'd be able to avoid the attention.

Sawyer smiled apologetically. "It's a small town. We might have a bit more excitement in the pack than your typical human small town, but it is still a small town. And being in the pack makes everyone feel even more entitled to stick their noses in everyone else's business. Like a really big, intrusive family. They mostly mean well, but it can be kind of overwhelming."