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THIRD PERSON'S POV
Hearing the knock on her bedroom door made Willa's ears twitch.
"Come in" She looked up as much as her heavy eyelids could let her and hummed, feeling the tightness in her throat when she swallowed. "Hey, baby" River says with a warm smile after the door opens to hit the purple wall with a thud. Willa groans at the sound and sinks further into her tissue covered bed. River tilts her head to the side at the action and crinkles her eyebrows.
"I didn't see you at school today, so I figured I'd check on you" She says.
"Y-yeah. I was just... I wasn't up for it" Willa sniffles and looks away from Rio and returns her gaze back to what it was on before. "Why not?" River asks, poking at Willa's foot before she walks around to her side of the bed. "You sick? Because last time you sneeze so hard a big ass chunk flew across the room" River reminded her. "No" Willa shook her head.
"No, no. I'm not sick" she reassured her; "Just sad".
River brows bunched together and she studied her girlfriend while sitting her weight on the bed.
Willa rubbed the edge of her long purple sleeve against her runny nose and lets her heavy eyes close. River frowns and looks at the mess in Willa's room. It was mainly in her bed. Balled up tissues were scattered around, an empty water bottle, and picture frames. River gently starts to grab some of the tissues, careful not to disrupt Willa too much.
"You've been in here all day?" She asked, tossing them into the mini trash can underneath her nightstand desk.
Willa doesn't answer her. She just scoots down in her bed and curls up, replaying the crystal projector with the light of her lamp. The room was dim except for the warm lamp and the blue glow of the projector. The light dances across her ceiling with tiny stars and waves like patterns. The projector plays a video and the couple watched.
A grainy video flickered onto the wall, showing young Willa spinning in a circle with her twin brother on her back.
"Willa, put your brother down!" A woman with dark finger waves and white streaks in her hair called out, laughing through her warning.
"Let the twins have fun!" A deep voice man chuckled from behind the camera making the video shake. Willa's eyes were locked on the moving image. She didn't say anything. She just whimpered her puppy-like whimper, pulled the blanket tighter around her and rested her head on Rio's shoulder. River sat in silence, watching both Willa and the old recording.
She wanted to speak but the felt as if the silence was better for the moment.
And, as if reading her mind, Willa whispered to her. "They would've loved you." River's heart tightened as realization came to her. "Oh, baby. I'm s—" she began to say softly as Willa closed her eyes and shook her head. "Don't. It's fine" Willa replied. River nodded and slid down into the bed more, kicking off her shoes in the process before wrapping her legs and arms around her girlfriend.
"Why didn't you say something? I would've skipped and came here" River says. "I just needed a minute alone and I didn't want to stress it or you out" Willa answered, rubbing her warm cheek against Rio's chest. River hushed her, kissing the top of her head and lacing their hands together. "It's just... wh-when I got up this morning and saw the date..." Willa sighed.
"I realized that they're never gonna see me this way. Older. Different" She says. "A leader, you know?". "'Never get see how much progress and improvement we made here" River nodded in understandingly as the werewolf spoke. "I can't introduce you to them. Show them how amazing you guys are" Willa chuckles sadly before pressing her lips and rolled them back out before they quivered.
"So, I started to wondered..." She slightly shrugged her shoulders upwards before letting them relax again. "Am I taking care of Wyatt and the pack successfully? Am I honoring them correctly by using what they taught me and being the leader they said I am?" Willa spoke the thoughts built up in her mind with a shaky voice. Then she took a deep breath and looked up at Rio with sad eyes.
"I really miss them".
"I get it. I really do" River stated with an empathetic look and a half smile tugging at her left cheek. In that same moment, Willa released herself from being close to Rio and grab the picture in purple and black crystal frame, handing them to her girl. It was the one family picture that Willa cherished the most. It had her, her mom, dad and twin brother in it from when they came back home after Willa's first hunt when she was eleven.
"Wyatt so tiny!" River says as she studies the picture. River's eyes landed on Willa's twin brother Wyatt while ignoring the oddly large animal skull in the dead set middle of them. "Yeah, he was a twig" Willa commented, quietly. Rio eyes then began to travel upwards to land on a dark skin woman with a half and half, black and white finger wave hairstyle. She wore wavy white long sleeve dress, high heels black boots and bangle gold jewelry.
The woman was almost the exact replica of Willa. "Family genetics don't play around." She giggled. Though Willa's mom had short hair, presumably way taller and more melanin than Willa and had glasses. "I always pictured your mom being the one with the wild hair instead it's your dad." River pointed to the man in the picture when her eyes landed on him next.
"Yeah. Everyone always does that" Willa chuckles, resting her head on River's shoulder—finally smiling for the first time that day. Lastly, River looked at the final person in the family photo and gasped. She placed a hand over her chest where her heartbeat raced a bit. "Oh my gosh! You're adorable!" The Barbadian girl squealed loudly, making Willa cover her pointy ears.
River quickly slapped her hand over her mouth and apologized to her girlfriend. The moment dies down and Willa hummed. River then turns to face top half of her body towards Willa—making the wolf lift up her head. "It's... It's beautiful, Wils." Rio smiled, setting the framed picture on the bed once more. River sighed and tilted her head forward to Willa.
Willa raised her brow with curiosity and nodded. "I know that it wouldn't change things and I hated when people asked me," River began. "—but... do you wanna talk about it?" Willa closed her eyes and shook her head as a dismissal. "That's okay. Just wanted to see" River tells her. Willa readjusted her comfort spot again and lets her girlfriend play in her hair.
"Can you stay?" She asked, kissing on River's free hand.
"Of course, babe" River obviously replied with no hesitation.
It wasn't until moments later—thirty minutes, give or take in a middle of a soft conversation that could take Willa's mind off of things that they were distracted.
River's phone dinged twice and she flipped it over to check it. Rio eyes lit up and her heart raced with a tiny inhale to follow. The moment quickly passed when Willa's voice filled her ears. "What's that, Love?" Willa asked with a sleepy voice as her eyelids grew heavy. River cleared her throat and glanced at the email notification before setting it down onto the nightstand, out of reach. "It's just a spam notification. Nothing more important than right now" River answered.
"Mmmm. I'm glad" Willa hummed vibrating in her throat as she pulled River in closer and took in her lavender scent.
