It's Okay to be Different

37

A/N: From now on, when Alex is referred to just know that it's Scott's body unless it is clearly stated otherwise. Btw, after this conflict this book will start to come to an end.

"Let's just say... he's taken care of." Alex smirks at me and I can feel my entire face turning red with my burning rage.

"I'll kill you!" I launch myself towards him, my claws sharp and pointed at his throat. I'm stopped midair and set on the ground. I immediately turn towards Avi. "What the hell!?"

"If you kill him right now, you'll be killing Scott. You're the one that just told me he's feeling all the pain I'm causing Alex." Avi explains calmly.

I take a deep breath and hang my head. "Then we need to get going. I'm saving my Scotty... no matter what it takes."

"But how are we going to find out what he needs to appease him?" Kevin finally speaks up after what seems like forever without hearing his voice.

"We go to the one person that knows him better than anyone..."

They all look at me like I'm insane. Then Kevin makes a sound of annoyance and waves his hands around for a moment. "Continue!?"

"We'll have to go to his mother."

"NO!" Alex bellows from his position on the floor. "DONT YOU DARE SPEAK TO MY MOTHER!"

"Oh! Well, he doesn't want us to so we're definitely going to do it now." I pick up my Vetemens jacket, the same one from the night that I met Scott, and walk out the door. Avi and Kevin follow close behind.

We walk for a little bit. I don't want to use my speed if I don't remember exactly where he used to live. As I'm racking my brain, I feel a tingling sensation on the back of my leg. "Kevin, I can feel you working your Healer magic. I didn't get hurt." I say without turning around.

"Um... yeah you kind of did, Mitchie. Look." He says nervously.

I turn my head to look at my calf and I almost gasp at the sight. My skin has one large gash, all the way from the back of my knee to my Achilles tendon. The muscle beneath is split and bleeding and the skin around it hanging loosely and flapping as I walk. "Holy shit." I mutter softly as Kevin's magic causes the muscle to repair itself.

"I'm surprised you didn't feel it." He says and Avi chuckles.

"When Mitch is angry, hungry, or horny he doesn't feel anything." Avi says and I shoot him a glare but giggle shortly after. "Hey, it's true!" He exclaims with his hands up in surrender and a big smile on his face.

"Kevin are we done back there? I remember where we're going now."

After a few moments the tingling stops and I glance back down at my leg. The skin is repaired and scar-free. "Yep we're done." He replies.

In an instant, I'm gone. I bolt in the direction of the scent of Alex's mother. She smells just like Alex, just more feminen. I stop in front of the small cabin-like home and take in the scent of rural Arlington. I wait for Avi and Kevin before I walk slowly up to the door. I don't want to startle her by using my speed. I want her to trust me. Besides, I have to break the news that I killed her son and now I'm trying to get rid of the spirit.

I place four knocks on the door before stepping back and politely folding my hands in front of my body. A few moments later, a short woman with long blonde hair and tired eyes opens the door.

"Hello boys."

"Hi. Mrs. Kirk?" I say in the most pleasing 'customer service voice'.

"Ms. but yes, that's me." She corrects me and meets my eyes with her blue-green ones. I then realize why her eyes are so tired.

She's a warlock. I'm not sure how she'll react, though, when I tell her that her vampire son is dead. I'm not even sure if she knows her own son is a vampire.

"We have some news about your son."

She just sighs and shakes her head. "He died hundreds of years ago."

"No ma'am he didn't." I reply and her eyes go wide. Her expression switches to one that reads 'what the fuck?' so I give her a small smile and speak again. "If you let us in, we'll explain. We need your help."

She opens the door wider without saying a word and we all step in. She leads us to her living room. There is a couch and a creaky recliner in the room along with a small, really old tv and a coffee table.

"Okay, so tell me about my son." She sounds eager to have some information about Alex.  She sits on the recliner as Avi, Kevin and I plop down on the couch.

"Well, you said that he died... which is true, in a way. Alex was changed into a vampire a long time ago." She gasps and covers her mouth with her hand as tears form in her eyes. Oh goodness, here we go. "He changed a 17 year old boy who he had plans for. He wanted to make him lead an army to kill me. This did end up happening... but as you can see, I'm here and he's..." A few tears fall from her eyes and she sobs quietly. She lifts her hand up, signalling for me to stop.

She cries for a few minutes without a word. Finally, she sniffles and raises her head with a more serious expression. "Okay, so my son is dead. Why are you here if he's gone?"

"The 17 year old boy..." She nods. "Alex possessed him. I can't just kill him again because he's in the body of a man that I love. So the only other option is to appease him and make his spirit happy. I'm here because I need some clues as to what could have made him so angry."

"His father." She replies bluntly as she stares off into space.

"What about his father?" Kevin says, sitting forward slightly.

"He abused him... for being different." My head snaps up at the word. Scott was in the same situation. Bullied and threatened by his own father for being gay. "His father doesn't like gays. So when Alex came out, his father slammed his face onto the hot stove. It just got worse from there. It was constant punishments."

"So we'll need to talk to Mr. Kirk." Avi speaks up. "Do you know where he is?"

"Still in Arlington. We divorced a long time ago but I know his address if he still lives in the same place." She says and pulls out a sheet of paper. She scribbles down an address and alises it across the table.

"Is there any other information we should know about Mr. Kirk before we give him a visit?" Kevin inquires as he stands up slowly.

"He has a short temper and he is very sensitive about the way he treated Alex. So approach the concept carefully and watch him for a mood change. If he starts to get angry, change the subject." She sounds almost terrified as she speaks about her ex husband.

"Thank you so much, ma'am. You have no clue how much this means to me." I smile and walk forward when she holds her arms out to me. Her motherly embrace sends a warm fuzzy feeling through my entire body.

"Go get your boy back. You have my full support." She whispers in my ear and squeezes me a bit tighter before letting me go.

"Thank you again. Have a great day, Ms. Kirk."

We walk out of her small home and turn towards each other. Without saying a word, we communicate. All of our faces are determined. I look down at the small piece of paper in my hand with the address of our next destination. I glance up at Avi and Kevin through my lashes before using my speed to get to the part of town that Mr. Kirk lives in.

I have to save Scott.