Instinct

18. Time Isn't Enough

When Stephanie slid out of the car, she felt that she could breathe a little easier. Modest brownstones sat under the evening sky, cast in the brilliant tones of the sunset, bowing under the weight unlike the arrogant skyscrapers of the inner city. Rather than the noise of cars, horns and people, she could actually hear the breeze through the bare branches of trees lining the quiet street.

Before she even realized that she was shivering as the winter air cut through her, Liam had wrapped his arm around her shoulder and shielded her from the cold. She looked up at him; the set of his jaw and the distrusting cut of his eyes down the street, and stifled a smile. He hadn't even realized that he'd done it. After all this time, he was every bit the budding Alpha and caring friend he used to be, even if he hadn't said a word more since she'd gotten his attention.

He hurried them onto the curb and up the steps to one of the quaint houses, knocking on the door and ducking his head against the wind. Stephanie's gut twisted sharply.

Somewhere in that house, behind just one door, was her mother. She scarcely allowed herself to believe it, skepticism and the pending threat of disappointment looming over her head. Liam squeezed her arm once and then removed himself from her just as the door swung open, and Stephanie swore that she nearly passed out.

After four years and a stretch of time where Stephanie had questioned if any of her memories were completely real, she couldn't react to the very real vision of her mother standing in the doorway. Black spots danced at the edges of her sight as she struggled to keep breathing and stay upright. Laura seemed to be having the same problem. She'd braced herself on the doorframe and had a hand over her no doubt fluttering heart.

While Stephanie couldn't move, paralyzed from the flood of conflicting emotion rushing through her body, Laura looked between her and Liam.

"Where did you find her, Liam?" Laura asked.

"I didn't," he said. "She jumped the barricade and came after me."

A brilliant smile of relief and choked up amusement lit up her mother's face as tears glinted in her eyes and she reached for Stephanie. "You were always so determined," she laughed.

As her mother's arms closed around her, Stephanie closed her eyes and melted into her embrace. She expected tears, but found none, and instead squeezed her mother back, burying her face in Laura's shoulder. If she thought hard enough, she could ignore how her mother outweighed her, how her own bones were harsh against her soft silhouette. She just wanted to burrow into this warmth, close her eyes and never feel anything else ever again.

It felt like safety and love and home.

"Where've you been?" Laura asked into her hair. "Why are you here now? What happened to you?"

Stephanie pulled her shoulders up as much as she could, almost as if she could block out her mother's questioning if she shrugged high enough. She didn't want to remember all the things that had happened up until then. It still hurt too much, was still too confusing.

"It's been a hard few years."

Laura was the one who pulled back first, the once-smooth skin of her forehead creased with lines, eyes darker with the quiet between them. "Come in, both of you, it's freezing out there."

Liam ushered her in, hand on the small of her back. They retreated from the biting atmosphere outside into a cozy sitting room just down the hall. Stephanie followed mechanically, taking a seat and feeling completely incapable of thought. It was like her brain had short-circuited on her, overwhelmed in its entirety.

For an indefinable amount of time, everyone was looking at everyone, unable to ask a single of the one thousand questions they all had, until Stephanie finally cleared her throat.