I was never human

Parental hiding

I began to hear someone talking around me. They sounded kind of far away but also close. I moved my hand and felt a cold bar like object. I frowned, confused at what I was feeling. I fought to open my eyes. I couldn't remember when I fell asleep. I was finally able to crack one open, and the light in the room was blinding. I tried to open them again and was able to completely. I began to look around and noticed I was in a room that wasn't mine. I looked down and saw my dad standing up, looking away from me on the phone. I looked down at my body and noticed I was on a hospital bed and was hooked up to a monitor and had an IV. I frowned.

What the hell happened?

I tried thinking about how I got here, but nothing was coming to me. That's when flashes of how I was taken and was fighting off those strange men starting popping up in my head. I closed my eyes tight as the images continued. Every hit, the cutting of my hair, and being choked and dangled over a cliff... it all came rushing back. I opened my eyes and calmed, knowing it was over, but I felt nothing but anger. I was attacked for no reason, and they tried to kill me. What have I done for anyone to want to hurt me so badly?

My thoughts were cut short when I heard my dad call my aunt Mia's name. He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke. I smiled. He hung up the phone and took a long, deep breath. I chuckled.

"Yea... Auntie Mia has never been one to mess with. She's not for the weak."

I laughed so more. My dad turned quickly. He looked so relieved to see me. He ran over and grabbed me up in a tight hug. The man was squishing me. I laughed again.

"I can't breathe, man. Let me go."

He chuckled and loosened his grip on me.

"I'm sorry. I've just been a mess waiting for you to open those beautiful eyes again."

"You act as if I've been asleep for a whole day or something?"

He looked at me and took a seat in the chair next to my bed.

"You haven't been asleep for a day. You've been in a coma for 5."

My eyes popped outta my head.

"What?"

"Someone tried to kidnap you a few days ago during the Spring Ball. You apparently fought them off, but not before they did some damage to you. Brody found you, and he jumped off the waterfall behind you to make sure you were ok."

I jumped at his words.

"Is he ok?!"

I don't remember that part. Maybe I had already lost consciousness by then.

"Yes. He's completely healthy. You were who we were concerned about."

I looked down at my body, feeling myself all over.

"But I'm completely fine... how? Brody is a freaking tree, so there's no way he got hurt, and I didn't. Do wolves have some magic potion or something I don't know about?"

I chuckled. When I finally stopped laughing, I looked into my dad's eyes and saw the same look my mommy would give me when she was really scared about something that she felt she couldn't tell me. I've learned never to ignore that look.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

He stayed silent and stared at me. His eyes were burning through to my soul. He lowered his head and tried to smile it away.

"It's nothing, sweetheart. Don't - "

"Daddy..."

His head popped up. I reached out and touched his hand. I couldn't handle any more of that "parental hiding" from me. Mommy did that to me for 3 years before she had no choice in telling me she was sick. She fought with cancer all by herself for the sake of me. I will not allow that to happen again.

"Please, tell me what's wrong? I can handle it. I'm strong enough to handle it."

He looked at me, then down to my hand that rested on top of his and used his other hand to cover my own. He let out a long, tiresome sigh.

"That's the problem. It scares me that you are so strong. I'm scared I'm gonna lose you, Kwen."

I frowned at his words.

"Why would you lose me?"

"Because you are someone very special."

"Why am I special?"

He finally looked up and gazed into my eyes. I felt the weight of his emotions through that one gesture.

"You are someone very important to my people. Me, your grandparents, hell, everyone, has tried to deny that fact. But seeing what has happened, we no longer can. I won't hide what you are from you, but right now, you have to trust that the less you know, the safer you will be. Your hair..."

I reached up to touch the stubs that used to hold my big coily puffs.

"I know. I remember the men cutting it off. I know my hair was cut."

He nodded.

"Yes, that's true, but it's your hair that tells the world what you are."

The more he spoke, the more confused I became.

"Huh? Why would my hair be the cause of anything? I just have weird color hair... I grayed early."

I tried to add a bit of humor, but my dad wasn't taking to it.

"Didn't I inherit this from grandma? She has a strip of silver in her hair as well."

"That's just it... you did inherit your grandmother's gene... that is why you're not safe."

"Ok... you're not really telling me much of anything right now. You're only confusing me more."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but again. It's for your safety. What you need to know now is that you will not be allowed to leave this room for a little while longer. Once you're able to, we'll have a discussion about how to move forward beyond that."

My eyes widened in shock.

"What?!"

"I know this sounds extreme, but trust me, it needs to happen. Do you trust me?"

I looked at him. Everything in me said that I could trust him and that I should. But something in the back of my mind was warning me to seek out more information. Whatever it is that's happening or what's gonna happen will change my life moving forward. I had too many thoughts swirling in my head to even think straight, but the fear in my dad's eyes was overwhelming. I took a deep breath in and nodded.

"Ok."