Chapter 3 Departure and New beginnings

"We need to leave. Now." His voice was laced with urgency.

"Wh-what?" I stammered between sobs. The tears wouldn't stop.

"We have to go. I'll explain everything-I promise. But right now, we need to run." He put me down and urged me toward the car.

"What are you talking about, Dad?" My voice cracked-harsher and louder than I meant.

"Where are we going? And what are we running from? You're not making any sense"

He abandoned me when I needed him the most, and now he was back-asking me to leave. That's the first thing he says to me?

Deep down, though, I knew something was wrong. This past week has been one bad thing after another.

At one point, I wondered if I was losing my mind.

So when he said we needed to run... I got it. Something-or someone-was coming for us. I had felt it creeping two weeks ago... on the walk to school, when I could sense someone watching my every step. I was being followed.

"Baby girl," he said softly.

"I know you're going through a lot, and I know it seems like I abandoned you, but I didn't. I would never. Please... let's go." His voice pleaded, not demanded.

I turned to Sandra.

She looked twice as confused as I was. Her brows furrowed, her gaze flicking between me and my dad.

She didn't understand. I hadn't told her the whole story. She didn't know about my life at home-about my dad, mom, or aunt.

And now... she looked betrayed. She had stayed by my side, even when I pushed her away.

She'd always said, "You can't get rid of me, no matter how much you try."

She made sure to wish me a happy birthday-even though I told her I hated birthdays. Sandra was the comfort I didn't know I needed. She saved me once, when I was bullied in school.

When I wanted to just die, she didn't let me. She was always there, and even though I never said it, I appreciated all the things she did for me. I felt seen when I was with her.

And I guess I couldn't bring myself to tell her how bad it truly was.

How bad my life was at home.

How sometimes... I felt like I didn't have a life at all.

My dad pulled me to the car when he noticed I hadn't moved an inch. I was still wondering what to tell Sandra.

"We don't have time for this." His hands were tightly wrapped around my wrist as he pulled me. I tried to find the right words to say to her. Because "goodbye" couldn't be it.

For a second, everything seemed to slow down. I turned one last time-and her confusion faded. A flicker of pain passed through her eyes. She was hurt.

"Dad!" I screamed. He didn't let go.

"Sandra!" I cried, but she stayed frozen. Silent.

"Dad, let go." I tried to take his hands off my wrist but failed miserably.

I was dragged to the front seat, and without wasting time, my dad quickly sped off.

And I knew...

this would be the last time I'd see her. She was still standing at the door frame, motionless.

"Dad, Dad!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"Calm down, Trisha," he said, eyes fixed ahead. "We don't have time. They are coming after us."

"Who?...What about Sandra?"

What if that thing in my dreams comes after her? I murmured to myself.

"What about her?" He asked.

"Listen to me very carefully. What I'm about to say will change everything."

His grip on the wheel tightened. The air in the car felt thinner.

"I've kept this from you for years," he continued. "Always wondering when would be the right moment. But maybe... there's no such thing as the right time."

I blinked hard, trying to steady my breath, because I knew my life would never be the same after this bombshell.

"I know it feels like you're losing it," he said. "The dreams. The wolves. The sensation that your shadow is moving before you do."

That last part made my stomach turn.

How did he know about the dreams ..wolves and the shadow?

"The dreams aren't just dreams. I know deep down, you know this. You were born special. How quickly your wounds healed and why you don't have any scars despite all the abuse you went through." He continued.

"What are you saying? What do you mean the dreams are not just dreams then...what are they?

So you mean to tell me Aunt is dead."

He glanced at me. Then back to the road. His silence was deafening.

"I think..." he said slowly, "...you already know the answer to that question."

"What do you mean?" My voice cracked. "I don't know. I don't know anything"

He drove the car off the main road onto a secluded path. Trees crowded us on both sides. Then he looked at me-not as a father, but as someone who had been hiding something unspeakable.

"Today is your eighteenth birthday. The day... your wolf awakened."

My ears rang. I didn't know what he meant. I couldn't make sense of it. I shook my head slowly.

"What wolf?" I asked. "Why are you talking like this?"

His voice softened, but his words hit me like stray bullets. Nothing could have prepared me for this absurd truth.

And without warning, he blurted out:

"You are a werewolf, Trisha."

"What?... No. No, that's not real. Hahaha-Is this some kind of joke?" I laughed nervously. "Werewolves don't exist. What are you talking about?"

"They do exist. And you know that. Hey, I know this is a lot to take in."His hands carefully reached out for mine.

I was shaking. My heart sank-not because I didn't believe it, but because I feared it was the truth.

"I'm not a werewolf." I couldn't be. I always knew I was kind of different and whenever my aunt said I was cursed, I somehow believed it. And it's true I didn't have any scars despite all the abuse she put me through.

"You are. And your aunt..." he hesitated. "You didn't dream of her death. You didn't imagine the blood."

"Trisha..." he slowed down. He knew what was coming would break me.

"You killed her."

"What?! I didn't! It was a dream... I was in bed when it happened. I didn't kill her. I'm not a beast. I'm not an animal. It wasn't me!"

"Then who was it? When you turned, whose face did you see?

Trisha, trust me-I know it's a hard pill to swallow. But I was there when it happened. I put you back in bed when you passed out, and I got rid of your aunt's body.

I told you I didn't abandon you. I've always been there." His eyes were still on the road.

My vision blurred. Time stopped.

My heart felt like it was exploding.

I remembered the blood. On the walls. On the floor.

The scream that wasn't mine.

The presence that whispered my name before I even remembered it.

"No!

No no no no no no. You're lying!" I screamed.

"I wish I were." He placed his hand on my shoulder, like he was offering comfort.

But he wasn't helping-not after dropping this bombshell.

And I knew he wasn't lying.

But I swear I was in bed when it happened. Memories of what happened resurfaced. The face of the shadow I'd forgotten suddenly came back to me.

The voice.

It was me.

But it wasn't me.

I'd never do such a thing.

My mind was spiraling. My heart ached. I clutched my chest.

This pain again.

This is a dream, I told myself. I closed my eyes desperately wishing this was all a dream.

"Hey, baby girl," he said softly. His hand was still on my shoulder. "As long as I'm here..."

He turned his focus on me when I didn't respond. His eyes softened when he saw I couldn't breathe properly.

He tilted my head upward gently. My eyes were watering. Tears spilled down my cheeks.

"Am I cursed?" I asked.

Because right now, everything pointed to that truth. Everything my aunt used to say came crushing down on me, that I was a beast and I'd kill everybody around me including her. And now I had a feeling that she knew all along.

What I was.

It was like I kind of knew too. I just didn't want any of this to be true.

It didn't make sense to me.

I still had so many questions but the intense pain in my chest overshadowed my curiosity.

"No, you are not." His hands wiped away my tears.

"You are my baby girl. You are a blessing. Whatever you experienced with your aunt-you didn't deserve any of it."

"Your wolf killed her. And if it hadn't... I would have."

"But whatever she said... is the truth."

I squeaked amidst the pain.

"Truth? You want the truth?" He paused.

"Well, here it is. We're going to the place you belong. You don't need to hide. Nobody will chase you. You will be protected and loved.

And most importantly-I'll be there to protect you."

"And where is that?"

"Home."

"We're going home, baby girl."