CHAPTER TWO
787 Words
My mother didn't say anything after that.
She just stood there with her back to me, one hand still on the door.
I waited.
Nothing.
“Mom.”
She took a breath.
“Go back upstairs.”
I couldn't believe her.
“Seriously?”
“Aria, please.”
“No.”
My voice came out louder than I expected.
“You don't get to tell me to go upstairs anymore. Not after everything that just happened.”
She turned around.
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
Then she walked over to the table and sat down. She looked like she had suddenly gotten much older.
I sat across from her.
“What did he mean when he said I was forbidden?”
She looked at me.
“I can't tell you everything.”
“Why?”
“Because knowing can put you in danger.”
I shook my head.
“That doesn't make any sense.”
“I know.”
“Then make it make sense.”
She looked down at her hands.
I had never seen my mother like this before. Usually, even when things were bad, she always seemed to know what to do. Tonight she looked lost.
“I didn't want this for you,” she said.
“What didn't you want?”
“For you to find out like this.”
I waited.
She didn't continue.
“So you knew?”
“Yes.”
The answer came quietly.
I leaned back in my chair.
“How long?”
She looked at me.
“Since you were born.”
I just stared at her.
Twenty-two years.
She had known something about me for twenty-two years and never told me.
I wanted to be angry, but I didn't even know where to start.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
She looked towards the window.
“From them.”
“Who are they?”
She didn't answer.
“Mom.”
She sighed.
“There are people who have been looking for you for a very long time.”
My stomach turned.
“Why would anyone be looking for me?”
“You're asking too many questions at once.”
“Because you're not answering any of them.”
She almost smiled, but it disappeared quickly.
“I know.”
I leaned forward.
“What about my wolf?”
Her face changed again.
That was enough to tell me there was something there.
“You know why I haven't shifted, don't you?”
She stayed quiet.
“Mom.”
She finally nodded.
“Yes.”
I didn't know what to say.
I had spent years thinking there was something wrong with me. I had watched girls younger than me shift while I stood there waiting for my turn.
It never came.
I had been called broken more times than I could count.
And my mother had known the whole time.
“So I do have a wolf?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
My mother looked at me for a few seconds.
“She is there.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“She was sealed.”
I stared at her.
“Sealed?”
“Yes.”
“By who?”
She didn't answer.
I stood up.
“No. I'm done with this.”
“Aria.”
“I've spent my whole life thinking I was broken. You let me believe that.”
“I never thought you were broken.”
“But you never told me the truth either.”
She stood up too.
“I was scared.”
“So was I.”
She looked at me.
I could see tears in her eyes now.
That made me stop.
“I was scared too, Mom,” I said quietly. “Every time someone laughed at me because I couldn't shift, I was scared. Every time someone asked what was wrong with me, I was scared. I just didn't tell you.”
She wiped her face.
“I know.”
A car pulled up outside.
We both looked towards the window.
My mother walked over and looked through the curtain.
Then she stepped back.
“They're here.”
“Who?”
She grabbed the bag from the floor.
“Put on your shoes.”
I didn't move.
“Mom, who is here?”
She looked at me.
“The people I was trying to keep you away from.”
And this time, I knew she wasn't going to answer any more questions.
Something had happened.
Something bigger than Ronan.
And somehow, I had a feeling my life was never going to be normal again.
- Writer
