The following week passed slower than Winona thought a week possibly could.
Every morning started the same. She and Addison would leave for school just before eight, and they would walk the familiar streets toward Seabrook High, passing the same storefronts, the same crosswalks...
...and the same missing-person posters.
Winona couldn't stop herself from looking.
Every.
Single.
One.
Some had begun to curl around the edges from the summer heat. Others had clearly been replaced with newer copies after rain had washed away the ink. Every poster held the same smiling photograph of her foster mother.
MISSING
If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Julie Hart, please contact the Seabrook Z-Patrol.
Winona read the words every morning, despite already knowing them by heart.
Some irrational part of her hoped that one day she'd walk past one of the posters and find someone had scribbled FOUND across it in thick black marker.
But every day...
The posters remained unchanged. The search continued.
Mayor Missy had organized volunteers from all across Seabrook. Humans, zombies and werewolves searched together, putting aside every difference that had once divided the town.
The Z-Patrol searched abandoned buildings, parks and neighborhoods.
Willa's pack searched the forests surrounding Seabrook.
Even some of the zombie patrols had begun checking places that hadn't been searched before.
Every evening, Dale returned home with no update. Every evening, it was the same.
"I'm sorry... nothing today."
At first, Winona had waited in the living room every night, hoping for different news.
Now...
She simply stayed upstairs. It hurt less hearing the disappointment secondhand.
"...Win?"
She blinked. Addison was looking at her with gentle concern. "You've been staring at that poster for like... two minutes."
Winona looked away. "...Sorry." She mumbled. "You don't have to apologize." Her best friend assured her.
They continued walking in silence. After a few moments, Addison quietly slipped her hand into Winona's.
This time...
Winona squeezed it back.
School had settled into a strange routine. Teachers stopped asking how she was doing every lesson.
Students stopped whispering whenever she walked into a room. The concerned looks never completely disappeared...
But life around her continued. Assignments were still handed out, tests still happened, the cafeteria was still loud, and football practice still filled the field every afternoon.
It almost felt unfair. How could the world continue like nothing had happened?
As she walked through the front doors of Seabrook High, conversations echoed through the hallway.
Students laughed, someone was chasing a friend down the corridor, the cheerleaders were discussing routines near the trophy case.
Normal.
Everything felt so painfully...
Normal.
Winona adjusted the strap of her backpack and headed toward her locker.
YOU ARE READING
Loving A Wolf
FanfictionAddison's best friend catches the eye of a certain someone. Winona was born with a white strip in her hair that never bothered her, but made people call her names. Only when the town got a new species, did she realize what it meant. All thanks to th...
