Fears To Face

∞ Chapter 77 ∞

Kayley

As I drove home from school Friday afternoon, I thought back to the conversation I'd had with my mother yesterday evening. I had been thinking about opening up to her for a while now. Rayne hadn't liked the idea of telling her everything that had happened with David, what he'd done to me, that I'd been a werewolf for two full weeks. I knew he was afraid that she would blame him for everything and hate him for it, then tell my father and that he would do everything to get Rayne out of my life. The thing was, though, I was having a seriously hard time keeping secrets for her. We had strong bond and I always told her everything, so it felt wrong to keep a secret from her this big.

So, when my dad left after dinner, I helped mom with the dishes and sat down on the couch with her when we were done. I took a deep breath and said, "Mom, there is something I need to tell you. It's gonna sound awful and insane and terrifying, but you have to know beforehand that we fixed it and there is no need to worry. It's over. And... please hear me out before you get furious," I ended with a plea. I knew she'd freak out, but I needed her to hear me out.

Her had eyes widened halfway through my second sentence and now she just looked outright concerned.

I told her everything. From the moment David had shown up at Rayne's house, what his intentions had been all along, what he had done to me in that cellar, that I was seriously sick with the first full moon after David had bit me. And then the hardest part came. "Rayne looked at me from up close and... he noticed that my eyes... that there was orange in my eyes." My mom grew motionless, her eyes wide and I swallowed hard before I could continue. "David had triggered the wolf-gene in me and the full moon had activated it."

Mom shook her head frantically, tears welling up in her eyes as her hands turned into fists. "No. No. I have done everything I could to prevent you and Sam of becoming like me. You can't be serious about this. You can't." She was getting angry, something I knew was bound to happen. Now I just had to make her realize there was no need to panic.

"Mom. Look at my eyes. They're back to blue-grey. I didn't turn with the last full moon. We fixed it. I swear."

Her eyes fixated on me and slowly, the rising and falling of her chest slowed. She closed her eyes for a second and rubbed her hands across her face. "Why are you telling me this now? If you kept quiet for so long, solving it alone, why now?"

"Because..." I sighed, not knowing how to explain without continuing where I left off. "Rayne was franticly searching for a cure and was in despair when two weeks had passed and he had found nothing. Somehow, Ava popped into our minds and we went to her the next day." I wasn't sure whether I should tell her the complete truth, how we had taken a leap and had no idea whether I would survive, or that it would even work. But if I wanted this weight off my shoulders, I knew I had to and surprisingly enough, she took it better than I thought. Yes, her heart was crashing against her ribs again and she seemed furious, but she kept her mouth shut and listened. I told her about being sick after taking the treatment and that Rayne had taken care of me, but what I couldn't tell her was how far I'd been gone. I just couldn't get those words from my lips.

What I did tell her was that I would be sick with every full moon the rest of my life, but that I wouldn't turn. "So, if dad will ever come to you and tell you that I'm sick while you're turning into a werewolf, you know why. And..." This was hard again. I needed to ask her a favour after I just threw all of this out. "I wanted to ask you to not tell dad about this."

Her eyes narrowed in disapproval.

"It's just that... you know he will do everything he can to push Rayne into the ground. After David had kidnapped me... he still holds Rayne responsible for that. What do you think will happen when he finds out I have been a werewolf for two weeks? If I hadn't taken that treatment I would be a werewolf right now. I don't want him to make Rayne feel even worse. He already feels horrible for what happened and while it isn't his fault, he still feels responsible. I know I'm asking a huge favour but could you please, please make up some lie about me having cramps or something when dad asks whether you know what's wrong with me?" She took a deep breath and I continued before she could say anything. "Please. I know I'm asking a lot right now, I really do. You don't have to bring it up when he doesn't say anything, only when he does."