Kyle and Serina stood in front of me.
"Do you want to join us?" Serina asked.
"What are you up to anyways?" Kyle asked.
"Well, actually, about yesterday… I wanted to thank you, Serina."
She looked surprised.
"Kyle told me that you found my stuff and that you kept it safe for me."
"Oh!" she laughed. "Yeah."
"You…you both really helped me yesterday, and I really appreciate it…" My words trailed off into silence and without meaning for it to, emotion welled up and so did the tears. Suddenly embarrassed, I turned my face away and moved to wipe at the tears. Kyle grabbed my arm and stooped a little, so it was easier for him to see into my face.
"Hey! Woah. What is going on?" He said with concern.
I sniffled and said, "I thought I had problems yesterday; well, today is much, much worse!"
Kyle and Serina shared a look and then they got me to sit back on the bench before they sat one on either side of me.
"Okay, why don't you try and tell us about it?" Kyle said.
"We are your friends and we will help, if we can." Serina said taking my hand and giving it a squeeze with both of her own.
A noise sounding like a small growl left Kyle's throat, which cut off abruptly and became a cough so loud and obnoxious, that passerby would have thought he had croup.
"What did I tell you about making a scene in public! No one normal just suddenly chokes on their spit like that!" chided Serina angerly, as she let go of my hand.
I looked from one to the other and not completely understanding, laughed at them. I had stopped crying at this point. "You two might be the only werewolves I really know, like at all, but I somehow get the feeling that you're probably the two strangest of them all!"
The two seconds of surprise seen on their faces, changed to smiles and laughter.
"Enough about us!". Serina said. "You were going to tell us about something important."
"Right." I said, took a deep breath and told them everything I knew about my missing mom.
After they knew everything I did, we decided to go to my mom's work and see if they had any information. We got a staff member to get her manager for us to ask. The manager said mom had quit her job very suddenly on Thursday, without giving any notice, saying that there was a family emergency and that she would have to leave town immediately.
I didn't stay to hear anything else he had to say, I just turned and ran out of the building. Outside, on the pavement, I felt like there was an earthquake all around me; that I was the one shaking, never crossed my mind. 'Did she leave here without me?' I wondered. 'But why? The only reason she would leave without me is…' I fell to my knees, as I realized my mother probably didn't know she had abandoned me. 'Mom thinks I am dead!' I gasped. 'She probably thinks I was killed by werewolves she has always been so paranoid about them!'
"Sam!" I heard Serina call to me. Both she and Kyle ran up to me.
"Oh, Sam, I am so sorry!" Kyle said. He scooped me up. "Let's get her out of here!" he said to Serina, all while challenging the onlookers with his glare.
Time moved as if it was altered after that. It was mostly because I was in such a state of inner turmoil that, when looking back, the memories appeared fragmented and disjointed. I recall Kyle and Serina rushing me to Kyle's car. I remember not asking or caring where Kyle was driving us. When the car finally stopped, it was someplace surrounded by woods… Kyle unlocked a front door and Serina led me inside and sat me on a couch.
Two days later, an official missing person's case was opened on my mother. Kyle's family let me live with them, instead of in a house all alone. Two months later, and no one knew where my mother was. If she showed up now, she would be charged with abandonment of a minor. It was ruled that my mother was not kidnapped, but left of her own will, and most likely didn't want to be found. No one bothered to remind me that my birthday had passed. I was angry, depressed and emotionally volatile. I mostly just kept my mouth shut so I wouldn't say something without thinking that would hurt or upset anyone else. At the same time rent and all the other bills were overdue.
A week after that, all my stuff remaining in the house was brought to the house of Kyle's family. Everything else in the house was slated to be auctioned off to cover the overdue bills. Kyle's family were going through the process of legally becoming my guardians, while the people at the children's aid were just relieved that they didn't have one more kid to have to find a foster family for.
For a year, after my mother disappeared, I struggled with varying levels of depression. I was abandoned by my only living family member. Even if she didn't do it on purpose, it still hurt. But as time passed, I began to realize something, sometimes it takes a tragedy, for you to see what you really have, who is really there for you and how strong you can be.
It was this realization, paired with the care and warmth of Kyle's family, Kyle and Serina, that I began to heal.