Broken

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Justin was still unconscious when I woke the next morning. I had fallen asleep next to him shortly after Lykos left me alone. I sat up and looked down at Justin. I narrowed my eyes upon seeing the bruise on his face was gone. I looked down and the gashes on his stomach looked more like papercuts now. I touched it with my hand, not believing it was real.

Martin and Lykos had a lot of explaining to do.

"Yeah, I promise I'm fine. I don't really have time to talk this morning, Dad. I have lots of school stuff to catch up on. I'll call you later."

I hung up the phone and placed it face down on the counter. Martin and Lykos were sitting at the barstools in front of me. It was ten in the morning and we were still waiting for Justin to wake up. They were right. The wounds were still present but had clearly healed overnight. I was amazed and scared at the same time. I was coming to terms that Justin was hiding a lot about who he was from me.

I looked down at my phone. I hoped my dad was not suspicious. I thought it would not be in my best interest to tell him there were currently three boys in my house and one was recovering from the same thing I had. I knew there was a clear connection between what happened to me and what happened to Justin.

"That your dad?" asked Martin.

I looked up and nodded, "Yeah."

"He's cool with you living on your own?" Martin asked.

"I think he trusts me," I said. I bit my lip. "Maybe not if I told him what was going on now, but I still don't really know what's going on." I looked over at Lykos. We had not spoken since last night. I barely slept, but when I did I was next to Justin. I had heard the voices of Lykos and Martin talking after Martin showered, but I had no clue what they had said.

"I'm sure you thought your family was screwed up, but its got nothing on ours," Lykos spoke. He glanced over at Martin. "She deserves to know. She's too far in this and Justin should have told her ages ago."

"He had reasons," Martin defended.

"I know he did," said Lykos. He looked back at me. "I'm assuming you're picking up on the fact that our family isn't normal and that Justin's wounds look a lot like your scars."

I nodded, "Yeah..."

I narrowed my eyes as Lykos held up his hand. His eyes flickered and I saw claws protrude from his fingertips. My eyes widened, unbelieving what was clearly before me. Lykos was looking at his hand and then his gaze turned to me.

"This is why everyone thinks you're a bad guy," said Martin. Lykos looked over at him and dropped his hand under the counter. Martin gained my attention. "That's his way of telling you we're werewolves."

"You're what?" I questioned. I heard him loud and clear. I had seen what Lykos had just done. I had seen Justin heal overnight. It all made perfect sense, but I needed to hear it again.

"Werewolves," Martin repeated. "Me, Lykos, Justin and his whole family.

I nodded slowly, taking it all in. "Anyone else I know?"

Martin shook his head, "No."

"She's taking it better than I thought," said Lykos.

"I...I don't want to believe this. It sounds crazy," I said. "But...but I see it. It all makes too much sense." I reached up and touched the rough scars across my neck. "Gary Lathrop did this to me?"

Lykos nodded, "Yes, with the intention of killing you. He didn't expect Justin to show up." I let out a shaky breath, it was becoming harder and harder to stay calm. My wildest imagination was becoming reality and it terrified me.

"And Justin?"

"Yeah," Lykos answered. "He tried to kill Justin last night." He glanced over at Martin. "We stopped him though. He's lucky and so are you."

I put my hand over my mouth, "How...how could he try to kill his own son?"

"Because he found out the truth," said Lykos. "He found out what he's been suspecting his whole life. He found out that Justin isn't his son."

"Oh my God," I said softly. It all started catching up with me in that moment. It was too much. My breathing grew uneven and heavy. My head felt like the room was spinning. I saw Lykos and Martin's mouths move but no sound reached my ears. That was the moment I descended into madness.

I was standing on the edge of a gravel road. In front of me was Mr. Lathrop's car, overturned in the ditch. I looked over my shoulder and saw Justin's car parked on the road. The driver's door was left open. I turned towards the woods. It was dark, by I could still see. I walked past the overturned car and saw broken glass all around in the grass. The passenger door was open and there was a little blood surrounding the glass.

"Hayley!"

I turned towards the forest. I heard Justin's voice. I followed it. The leaves on the ground crunched under my feet. I heard Justin yell again, closer this time. I moved towards it quickly and came to a halt when I saw the scene before me.

"Don't move," Mr. Lathrop's voice came.

Justin was standing a few feet away from me, facing Gary Lathrop. I could tell Justin was breathing hard and he was in the stance to move again. Mr. Lathrop looked completely fine despite the wreck. He had a deadly look in his eyes. He had a strong hold on...me. There was a look of pure fear in my eyes. My heart started pounding as I saw my condition. There was a long streak of blood going down the side of my head from a cut on my forehead. My hair was a mess and it looked like I was shaking.

"Let her go," Justin said.

"Why do you care about her so much, son?" Mr. Lathrop asked. His voice had a sickening tone to it. "She's so...fragile."

"Stop," said Justin.

Mr. Lathrop shook his head, "It amazes me, that I could get you to do anything just to save her life. That's a weakness you need to overcome."

"Please," Justin said. "Don't hurt her. Do anything else, just don't hurt her."

"You know, it's funny," Mr. Lathrop said. I saw his hold tighten on me. I took a deep breath, finding it hard to watch this from the outside point of view. "You and your mother are taking care of that bastard child of hers. Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

"Hayley has nothing to do with that!" said Justin.

"But she has everything to do with you," said Mr. Lathrop. It all happened in one quick move, but the scream that came from me was the worst part. I saw Mr. Lathrop's hand...grow claws. I saw them for only a second before his hand swiped across my neck. I gasped and covered my hand over my mouth.

I blinked and everything changed. I was no longer watching my memory, I was living it. I felt Gary Lathrop's tight grip on my waist like a chain. I saw the sharp points at the end of his fingers that looked exactly like what Lykos revealed to me. The difference was these claws were right in front of my face and dripping with my own blood. My hand went to my neck as the pain rocked through me. The pain was only momentary. Everything went numb as his hold on me was released.

I couldn't feel a thing as I crumbled to the ground. I couldn't feel Justin as he reached for me, letting his alleged father escape the scene. I looked up at Justin. I had never seen him look so devastated. He was repeated my name over and over. I could hear his voice, soothing my ears.

"Justin," I whispered.

"You're going to be okay," he spoke firmly. His voice came out strong and I knew it was more for him than me.

My head started to feel dizzy and my ears filled with a ringing. I tried to focus on Justin's face. His lips moved, forming words I couldn't hear. I let my head fall to the side because it was easier as a wave a tiredness crashed over me.

Then the darkness returned.