Fears To Face

∞ Chapter 66 ∞

Rayne

On my way to my mother's house, I gazed out of the front view. It had been three days since I had spoken and seen Kayley.

Leaving her alone wasn't easy, but I knew she was okay and she would come to me as soon as it was possible. That our separation was only temporary. I knew her parents needed these days with her. They had been through hell too, after all. I knew all of that, but that didn't make it easier to get through the day. I knew it was necessary, so I stayed away, but I had to keep myself busy to keep from going crazy. Otherwise I would end up at her door anyway and that would only make things worse with her parents.

So, whenever Reece wasn't at my house and I didn't have to work, I went to my mom. Not that that had happened often. Reece practically lived at my place these days. Thursday he'd been there all day. As for Wednesday night, after I came home from the hospital. Reece talked to me a lot, telling me how she was doing since he was with Sam a lot and I appreciated that to no end, but at the same time I envied him for being able to get so close to her while I couldn't. The thing was, I could wait for her forever if that was necessary, but it would never become easy.

I parked my car on the driveway and walked to the house.

My mom, already boiling water, chatted happily from the kitchen as I walked in. "I hoped to see you today. It's been a while. Last week I haven't seen you at all." Her voice was sad as she came into the living room with tea. "You barely had time for me lately and when you were here, I got the feeling you were miles away with your brain."

It might have been the turn that was close by or maybe it was just me that couldn't take this whole situation anymore, but I suddenly turned furious, my hands clenched. "Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds right now? Have you ever considered that I might have a reason why I acted to distantly? Fuck! You have no idea what happened these past days, so don't judge okay?"

Mom's eyes widened as she came to a standstill, shocked where this sudden burst came from. "Do you – do you want to talk about it?" she asked with a small voice.

I closed my eyes, resting my head on my hands for a second. My muscles were tensed, fury coursing through my veins. It was more than I had felt during these last days. I had mostly been numb by the emptiness in my chest. "I don't think you want to know the truth."

"Baby, you're clearly upset about it. Tell me."

I took a deep breath, still unsure whether I should be telling this when I started. "Kayley was kidnapped for days."

Her gasp was audible. "What? Is she okay?"

"I don't know. Her parents won't let me near her." I knew that partly was a lie. Reece said she was okay, but it didn't feel completely true when I couldn't check. Looking up, I saw the question in my mother's eyes. "They think I was the one who took her." Her mouth dropped open, clearly shocked, then her expression turned angry, her motherly protectiveness coming in. I held up my hand, not even willing her to say something. "Don't. I shouldn't have told you this," I sighed.

"You just told me the parents of your girlfriend think you kidnapped her and you don't want me to say anything about it? Rayne, this is unacceptable. I want to talk to them." Mom sounded determined and angry. Oh shit, why do I always have to spill shit I shouldn't say?

"No, that will only make it worse. You have to leave them alone. Kayley will make sure they understand in the end."

"No one accuses my son to be a kidnapper. This will have consequences." Her hands were clenched, furious by now and a small part of me soared at her need to stand up for me.

I don't know why I spilled it, I certainly hadn't want to. Maybe because I desperately searched a way for her to let it be. "You wanna know who did it, mom? Dad had an older brother no one ever knew about. He is a werewolf and he is obsessed with me because I became a wolf in a different way. He does everything to ruin my life." My hands were tight fists, my jaw clenched.

As soon as I saw my mother's expression, I regretted saying it. "Your father... had another brother who was like you?"

"Yeah. And he is horrible. You don't want to know him. I'm sorry I threw it out like that." I looked around for the clock, uncomfortable. "I should go home." Not that I truly wanted to be alone again, but this had been a mistake. I told her things she shouldn't know simply because it was getting way to tight inside my own head. Her knowing could put her in danger, though.

"Already? But you've been here for a quarter." Her mouth sunk. "Will you stay when I won't talk about Kayley and that man anymore?" At least she knew when was the time to listen to me.

I sighed, too tired to put up a fight. "Fine." It wasn't that I didn't want to talk about Kayley, it was just that it hurt too much right now.

*

When I left my mother's house an hour later, I was glad I had stayed. We talked about all kind of things, except what had happened with Kayley and everything that had to do with that, and it helped to get my mind off things. I had actually even smiled once, my mind somewhere else than with my problems, only for a second, but it was more than I had managed on my own.

I just left Mendocino when I a dark blue Volkswagen appeared in my rear-view mirror. I didn't give the car much thought until a weird feeling entered my gut. Like I was being watched. Close to Caspar, I peeked into the rear-view; the car was still there. It could be a coincidence, but I still didn't like it. He kept his speed, always on the same distance. I went through my mind, thinking if it might be an acquaintance, but nothing came.

Just before I passed the Fort Bragg sign, he disappeared. I frowned. "Strange." Then shrugged. I was seeing things.