Her Vengeance

A New Life

Sirena woke up to something slobbering on her face. Scrunching in disgust, she blindly swung at whatever it was. But whatever it was kept…wetting her face. Finally, she slowly opened her eyes. Monte. “What? What?” she moaned. “Is it 7 a.m. already?” she rubbed her eyes before sitting up. It took a moment or two for her to get her bearings. She looked around her in wonder. Was she dreaming, or was she sleeping outside…on a hilltop…naked? What!

Scenes from last night played in her head as she began to remember. Monte continued sniffing and licking her face. “Yeah, yeah,” Sirena said, “I know. I remember. We need to go back.” She slowly stood to her feet. Then, shaking out her appendages and cracking her neck, she muttered to Monte, “This is going to be an awkward run through the woods. Hopefully, we don’t come across anyone.”

Sirena slowed her pace upon reaching the back of the house. She was nervous about going inside. Would it be weird? Would they be mad? And poor Aiden thought as she remembered digging her claws into his neck.

She nervously walked up the patio steps and breathed a sigh of relief. On one of the deck chairs was a change of clothes – undergarments and all. Finally, she wouldn’t have to walk into the house naked. She really did have the best foster family.

Sirena quickly dressed and ran a hand through her hair. It was a tangled mess and unpresentable. Then, using her claws, she combed through the tangles…it only took 45 minutes…and put her hair into two braids that stopped at the bottom of her neck. Now she was ready to face the family.

Sirena slowly stepped through the dark curtain covering the open space where the backdoor should have been. What happened? Wait, she remembered. She had rammed through it the night before.

“He-hello?” Sirena called out tentatively as she pulled on the sleeves of her sweatshirt. All of the confidence she felt entering the house seemed to have escaped her.

“Haydee?” a groggy voice muttered from the couch. She turned. Aiden. He rubbed his eyes, looking absolutely adorable as he did so. “You’re back?” he asked sleepily. “You’re back,” he jumped from the couch and pulled her into a hug. Sirena hugged him back, savoring the feel of the muscles beneath his…um… “You’re not wearing a shirt,” she said into his chest.

“Right!” he held her at arm’s length. “I’m going to run upstairs, grab a shirt, call off the search party. You stay right here. I’m serious,” his blue eyes locked onto her dark brown. “Stay. Here.”

“Okay, but what do you mean by ‘search party’?” Sirena looked at him questioningly.

“Don’t worry,” he said, stopping mid-way up the steps, “they left about an hour ago. They weren’t too concerned.” He then jogged the rest of the way.

Sirena sat on the couch where Aiden’s body had been. The area was still warm. She grabbed the pillow where his head once rested and held it to her face, inhaling deeply. It smelled of him. It smelled so good. He smelled so good. And she smelled so gross, she realized. “Gross,” she gagged as she got a whiff of her underarms. She looked down at Monte, who’d been sitting calmly. “Why didn’t you tell me I stunk?” she asked him. Her face then heated as she was hit with a thought. How had Aiden been able to hug her when she smelt so bad? There was no way she was greeting her foster parents like this. There was a full bathroom in the basement, with towels, soap, and washcloths. She needed to get clean…and wash her hair.

Sirena turned to Monte and crouched. “Thank you for comforting me last night,” she scratched behind his head and ears, “but I stink. I’m going to take a quick shower, and then I’m going to bathe you because you stink, too.” Monte immediately began to whine. “Nope,” Sirena said, “we aren’t arguing about this. When we get home, you get the hose. Tell Aiden where I am.” She stood and ran to the basement, utterly unaware that Aiden had watched the entire exchange with a smile on his face.

A few hours later, Sirena appeared from the basement, smelling fresh. “Haydee,” Sarah, standing in the kitchen, pulled her into a hug. Sirena cringed at the name Haydee. She couldn’t believe that was the name she had gone by. “You’re okay,” Sarah continued.

“Yeah,” Sirena looked away bashfully, pulling on her sweatshirt sleeves, “sorry about last night.”

“No. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed.”

“I understand why,” Sirena shrugged as she looked around. “Where’s Monte?”

“Ah…everyone is attempting to bathe him.”

Sirena looked out the kitchen window and smiled. So far, everyone but Monte seemed to be drenched in water.

“I’ll call everyone inside,” Sarah said.

“Wait – I – “

Sarah disappeared, her blonde hair nearly whipping Sirena in the face. Sirena frowned. She was so not ready for this conversation, and she was starving. She grabbed the first thing she saw – an unopened family-sized bag of potato chips. She sat on the couch and shoved handfuls of chips into her mouth.

Sirena remembered as a child, she’d always be starving after shifting. Silena thought it was hilarious. Sirena swallowed thickly as she fought tears. Silena. She slowly reached a greasy hand up to the two half-moons still intact, swinging around her neck.

Sirena swiped the would-be tears as she caught a whiff of…well…everyone. A particular scent made her stomach roll. Suddenly she was nauseated. Aiden. He strolled into the living room, soaking wet, and gave her a disarming smile.

“Hey,” he leaned against the arm of the couch, blue eyes filled with…something.

Sirena swallowed thickly. Wow, she really hadn’t appreciated his gorgeousness during her Haydee-phase. And he smelled so good. Sirena knew she was gawking, but she couldn’t help it. Aiden was – her eyes zeroed in the on the claw marks on his neck.

“Omigosh,” she stood to her feet. Aiden watched her curiously. Sirena placed a gentle hand on his neck, over the scratches. “I am so sorry,” she whispered.

“It’s okay,” Aiden replied with a smile, reaching for the hand on his neck. “It isn’t as bad as it looks. It didn’t even hurt. I barely felt it.”

The two stared silently into each other’s eyes, barely a foot of space between them. Sirena opened her mouth to say something…anything, when Monte came bounding into the house, wet. He ran straight into Aiden’s legs, causing Aiden to stumble into Sirena.

“Woah!” Aiden exclaimed at the sudden impact.

“Monte!” Sirena admonished as she tried to stabilize Aiden while keeping her balance. She ended up pressed against his wet chest with his arm around her waist.

Don’t look up, Sirena thought to herself. Don’t do it.

“Are you okay?” Sirena felt Aiden’s breath on her forehead as he spoke.

“Y-yeah,” Sirena stepped out of his arms. “Monte!” she turned to the wolfdog who sat on the carpet, his tail wagging back and forth. “No,” Sirena stepped away from Aiden. “And why are you wet? Let’s go.”

“Aiden!” Sarah asked, “are you dripping all over my nice wood floor?”

Sirena fought a smile.

“I’ll be quick,” Aiden grinned at her before jogging up the steps.

Heat spread in Sirena’s cheeks. She looked down at Monte, who was looking up at her with a knowing look in his eye. “Come on,” Sirena motioned with her head. “Let’s get you dried off.”

Two hours later, when everyone was dry – including Monte – Sirena, Aiden, Cliff, and Sarah sat in the sunroom. There wasn’t much sun, as it was setting. Lily, Rose, and Samson had been banished to anywhere but the sunroom while Monte lay at Sirena’s feet.

“I am so sorry about the door,” Sirena began, “and for Aiden’s neck.”

“I already told you, it’s fine,” Aiden, sitting one cushion away, winked at her. “I barely felt it.”

“Hah,” his mother scoffed. “I specifically remember you moaning as I cleaned them.”

“It burned,” Aiden argued.

“It was peroxide – it doesn’t burn,” Sarah shook her head at her son. “Such a baby,” she muttered before turning to Sirena. “Sirena,” Sarah’s blue eyes began to water, “I would like to apologize,” Sarah said, “I pushed you too far mentally and emotionally.”

“It’s okay,” Sirena said with a one-shoulder shrug. “It worked, didn’t it?”

“Yes, but I was just so scared about…I don’t even know,” Sarah continued.

“It really is fine,” Sirena reemphasized. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable, and Monte could sense it, too. “The blackouts were starting,” Sirena continued, “and I was….” Her voice trailed off as she remembered her first night at the flower shop.

She stood silently in the pouring rain with a slight smirk. She killed everyone, and she felt nothing. Then, a small hand gripping hers brought Sirena back to reality. Sirena looked down. She found a Spanish girl who was just – “Omigosh!” Sirena jumped up. “I’ll be back!” she announced before running out the door with Monte on her heels.

Aiden and his parents sat in silence. “Good chat,” Aiden’s dad said.

“Cliff,” Sarah slapped her husband in the chest lightly...playfully. “She’ll be back, and then we’ll talk.”

Sirena sprinted through the woods, retracing her steps from two nights before. This time, she was fully clothed and purposefully barefoot. She closed her eyes as she began to remember.

It was thundering. She placed the little girl on the ground. The little girl was fast asleep. Sirena tilted her head to the side. She couldn’t bring the girl home with her; Haydee would freak.

Sirena looked around the small cave. This was where she used to hide when Haydee first moved here. “Keep an eye on her,” Sirena looked down at her wolfdog with the glowing eyes. She needed to go. Haydee was too close to the surface.

“The cave,” Sirena breathed as she sprinted towards her destination. She reached the cave within minutes. Her ears picked up breathing sounds. The girl was still alive, she thought excitedly. What was I thinking? Sirena mentally slapped herself. Leaving a child sleeping in a cave for two days – what had she been thinking? In Sirena’s defense, the girl had collapsed as soon as she grabbed Sirena’s hand. Chances were this little girl had been drugged.

Monte walked over to the girl lying on the cave floor and began nudging her with his nose. “Careful,” Sirena admonished gently as she bent down. Thankfully, the little girl was covered by a thick blanket.

Sirena placed her on the ground. The girl was slowly regaining consciousness, but Sirena needed her to stay asleep until she could figure out what to do with the child. The little girl’s eyes fluttered open, and she stared up at Sirena with amber eyes. “Who are you?” the little girl asked.

“Who are you?” Sirena answered with a question of her own.

“Lena. Short for Selena.” Sirena’s breath stopped in her throat at the name. But she had no time to reminisce; she needed to hurry. Haydee was about to appear. “Go to sleep and don’t wake up until I come back,” Sirena commanded with her red eyes. The girl, Lena, slowly fell back to sleep.

“Okay, so she wasn’t drugged,” Sirena muttered as she placed a comforting hand on Lena’s shoulder. “Lena,” Sirena said her name, giving the girl a gentle shake.

Lena’s eyes flew open, waking as Sirena had commanded. “You came back,” Lena said.

“Yeah,” Sirena lifted Lena into her arms. Lena’s clothes were filthy, and she desperately needed a bath. “Come with me. I know where we’ll be safe.”