I walk Hunt to the bathroom and show him where the towels and things are. I turn to go find Mist, achieving my mission immediately. I find myself staring at a very unhappy little sister.
"I can explain," I try to reassure her.
She grits her teeth. "What is he doing here?" she asks, clearly unhappy with the situation.
"Like I said, I can explain. He's only here because he needed a shower because he got dirty while I kicked his ass some. And before you even ask. No, he can't take one at home because the water in his apartment building is out. So, he's here to take a shower then leave. I've made sure that he will not touch, breathe, look, walk, or talk to, nor near you."
She grumbles. "He better not."
"Mist, I know this is something you might not want or like to hear, but he's not so bad." If looks could kill, I'd be dead right about now.
"Okay, just hear me out. Yes, I understand that he has hurt you and has done unforgivable things and I've certainly enjoy kicking the shit out of him the past week. But the bad things he did, he wasn't in control, it wasn't his fault. I'm not asking you to be friends with the guy or anything. I just want you to understand that he does feel bad and he didn't mean to hurt you."
"I don't understand how you can defend him? You're supposed to be on my side," she complains.
"I am, I am. I guess I can kinda relate to what he has been going through."
"What do you mean?"
I guide Mist to the table and have her sit down.
"When I first found out I was different, I was having some control problem sort of like Hunt was having. I never hurt anyone like he did, but that's because I didn't get the chance to. I had some help. He taught me a lot about what had happened to me and why I was having so much trouble with it."
"Why did you have trouble? I-I'm confused." She rubs her head.
"I'm sorry, I'll back up. I've talked to you about werewolf things before and about the first shift, but I never told you about my first shift. Well, I kinda did, but I left out some details because you were so overwhelmed. For some reason, I shifted young, a couple years young. Which made things harder on me. It's harder on your body when your body is not really ready for its changes."
She looks at me with a kinda confused look but also an I-kinda-understand look.
"Should I elaborate more, or would that make it more confusing?"
"Uhhh."
"I'm sorry. The whole point of this was me trying to get you to just understand that the only reason I sympathize with Hunt is because I can kinda relate to his situation. That's all. I will always be on your side, okay?"
"Okay." She comes around the table to hug me.
I greet her with open arms, pulling her into a tight hug.
"We're good, right?" I mumble into her hair.
"We're good."
***
I sit by myself at the kitchen table, sifting through social media while I wait for Hunt to get done. I want to make sure he keeps his distance from Mist. She refuses to hide in her own house. So, she decided to eat lunch in the kitchen instead of going to her room to eat.
The bathroom door creaks open. Hunt peeks out.
"You done?"
"Yeah, is she..." he asks.
"She's out here, yes."
"Can I come out?"
I wait for Mist to input her opinion, but she remains silent. I believe she is ignoring his presence.
"Yeah, you can come out, Hunt."
He slowly slips out of the bathroom and comes over to me.
"Thanks for letting me use the shower." He glances at Mist.
She turns her head to see his gaze just at the wrong time. I can see panic in her eyes. She immediately removes herself and her food from the room. Hunt looks down at his feet.
"I don't suppose I'll ever be forgiven for what I did, will I?"
"The odds aren't in your favor, so no," I answer him.
He sighs. "I feel okay."
"Huh?" I ask.
"When I looked at her, I didn't feel, you know, weird. Like when I'm about to black out and stuff. Looking at her or thinking about her usually is a big trigger for that."
"Well, I guess our deal is done then. Before you go, there's one thing I don't get."
"What's that?"
"Why her?"
"Honestly, I have no idea why I'd ever want to hurt her. I've had a crush on her for long as I can remember."
"Wait wait. You like like my sister?"
"Uh, yeah. I do. A lot actually. But it doesn't really matter anymore because she hates my guts and probably wants me dead, so..."
"Oh, most definitely."
"Thanks for the reassurance. It's so helpful," he states with clear sarcasm in his voice. "I guess I'll go. Thank you, really, thank you for all your help. I feel a lot better about myself and I'm no longer afraid I'll lose control and hurt someone." His gaze drifts off to where Mist made her hasty escape. He extends his arm to shake my hand. I return his gesture.
YOU ARE READING
Foster Wolf
Werewolf(Complete) Ryder is a teenaged boy in foster care. his parents died when he was two and was put into the foster system. He has bounced from one home to another. Either he was sent back or ran away, but this time when his social worker, Mary, found h...
