The night passed uneventfully for us. I counted that as a very good thing, especially since Raziel and I were actually able to get a good night's sleep.
I was feeling pretty good when I woke up the next morning. Raziel was still sleeping on the air mattress near my bed. He looked comfortable, which was good. I had noticed that he was in a lot of pain the night before.
I sat up in my bed, turning to move the curtain so that I could look out of my window at the woods near the house. Everything was still outside, and the woods sparkling with the snow that was slowly beginning to melt. I rested my cheek against my hand, feeling like the previous weeks had been some kind of passing nightmare.
As I looked down at the window sill, something caught my attention. It looked like there was something hanging from it. That made me curious, so I opened the window a little bit and reached out to grab it.
The bag that had been left out there looked like a small brown sling one made of canvas. I opened it as I sat on my bed, finding a small brown box inside. Taped on top of it was a folded piece of paper. I opened it, my eyes widening as I scanned through the neat handwriting.
Please forgive me for yesterday. I'm so sorry, and I promise you, I'll never again cause you harm for as long as I live. Please, take this medicine for your neck. It will help the cuts heal much faster so that you have no more pain or fear of scars.
I reread the note several times. It was definitely from Sean. But when had he come there and left this? Raziel and I hadn't gone to bed until two in the morning, and we'd never heard anything unusual outside.
Curiosity got the best of me, and I opened the box to see what was inside. It was a small round wooden container with a screw on top. I opened it and saw that it was filled with a white cream dotted with green in it. It smelled lovely, just like flowers.
I quietly got up and took the bag and box to my bathroom, closing the door. I wasn't sure that I trusted Sean about all of this, but my neck really hurt now. Looking at it in the round mirror, I could see that the skin around the cuts looked red and irritated. That wasn't good.
Looking down at the so called gift Sean had left, I decided to go ahead and take my chances. What more harm could this stuff do?
To my surprise, as soon as I put a little bit on the cuts, they instantly began feeling better. The pain disappeared. The cream went on clear, so you couldn't even see it. The only thing left was a scent of flowers, which could pass as a perfume.
I smiled as I put the cream and bag, along with the note, away under my sink. Hopefully I'd get the chance to thank Sean for this. It was the least I could do.
I managed to keep all of this to myself as the morning went by. Within an hour, Raziel was up, and we were downstairs having breakfast with Michael and Raphael. It was a pretty eventful one too.
"It looks like I made that one just in time yesterday. One of their janitors discovered the mess in the art room and garden last night as they were getting ready to leave." Raphael was saying as the four of us sat at the table.
"It was really that bad? Mia said he busted one of the windows. Did he bust up the art room too?" Raziel asked as he finished his toast.
"Yes, it was. But there's no evidence left of Mia being there. I saw to that much." Raphael assured us.
"That's good. At least that will give us a pass with the principal and police. I've already gotten a call this morning from Eddie Brohawn asking about Mia. Apparently, he was aware that she had stayed after yesterday. But I told him that she didn't know anything about it. I still promised to bring her there though, just in case she could tell them anything else. If anything, it'll let me look the room over myself." Michael told him.
Raphael nodded, "That sounds like our best option for now. From what I've heard, Sara has kept Sean home too. But no one seems to have sighted him staying yesterday, so I doubt they'll even attempt to put two and two together."
"It's just as well. We don't need legal trouble coming in on one like him." Michael pointed out.
I could kind of understand where he was coming from, especially that afternoon when I got to walk into the art room again. The normally crowded but organized room was in shambles. One of the glass panels looking out to the garden was completely smashed, and the cold air was drifting in there from it. Glass was still all over the ground there too. Several of the long tables in there were tossed about, and the easels and paintings around them were broken and torn.
My own painting that I'd been working on was broken in two. I wanted to cry when I saw that, but managed to hold it in. It was just a painting. My life was worth a lot more.
Mr. Brohawn was standing with Michael and looking around in disgust. Our principal was an older man, with a receding white hairline and round glasses. He was usually pretty cheerful and easy going with his students, but this whole incident had him extremely upset.
"I don't understand this one. Why trash only the art room? And no one around here heard a thing. We had three janitors working near here, and they didn't hear anything." he was saying.
"I suppose that could happen. This is a rather large school. But like I said, Mia didn't see anything unusual. She was here until about four thirty, then came to my office and had dinner out with me." Michael explained.
I had to admit, my dad was a smooth talker throughout all of this. His story never changed for me, even to the police that were investigating this. And on top of it, they had been somehow able to verify his dinner alibi, along with me coming to his office on my own. I wondered how in the world him and Raphael had been able to do that.
Mr. Brohawn nodded at him, "I understand Mr. Renaldi, but this did concern us that perhaps someone could have tried to harm Mia. This school has always been a safe place, and this has been completely unexpected. We just need to be sure that we know if Mia saw anything."
"No sir. I didn't see anyone else here, so I don't know who in the world could've done this." I claimed, walking over beside my father.
I was so glad that I had a turtle neck on now. At least he couldn't see the marks on my neck. Although I had to admit that they didn't hurt at all. The medicine that Sean had left me was working wonders.
"All right then Mia. It's too bad really. I'd really like to catch the ones who did this." Mr. Brohawn admitted.
But before he could say anymore, we heard the loud speaker system click on. The receptionist's voice sounded through the grainy system.
"Mr. Brohawn, please come to the office. You have a phone call."
"Of course." Mr. Brohawn muttered, "Please, excuse me."
We both watched as he hurried out of the room. I looked around again, feeling like I was standing in the middle of where a mini tornado had hit. I hadn't realized that Sean had done this much damage. It was horrible.
Michael looked around too, his gaze falling on one of the nearby busted tables. I looked over there and immediately noticed what he'd seen. There were deep gouges in the side of the table. They looked like large claw marks, reminding me of what I'd seen on the outside of my windowsill before.
"Honestly Sean, you showed no tact this time around. You're lucky that we were here." Michael commented as he held a hand up to them. They burned away under his hand in a blue flame.
I made my way to the broken panel window. The garden outside didn't look like it was in as bad of shape, although there was still glass everywhere. Looking over at where I was certain Sean had pinned me to the wall, I saw that there were no bloodstains left anywhere. Amazing, considering how badly I'd been bleeding.
"So how did Sean do all of this damage anyway? Is it because he's a fox like you said?" I had to ask.
"Yes. That's the biggest the part of it. Even with just the partial transformation, Sean can be extremely strong. At least he refrained from transforming to a full fox. That would've been much worse." Michael explained.
"Glad I didn't see that much." I muttered.
Honestly, what I'd seen yesterday was enough for me. Those golden eyes especially had almost done me in.
But thinking about the package left for me that morning, I felt a little bit sad as I stood there. Had Sean really meant to attack me that entire time? Or had he really just lost control?
Michael looked around the room one more time as he walked over beside me and put an arm around my shoulders.
"There's not much more that we can do here now. We've left no evidence of Sean's true nature or what really happened, so let's get going."
"Okay." I agreed, following him out.
I was kind of glad that school was over for the day. At least no one saw us there. I was especially glad over Anna. More than likely, she was already trying to burn up mine and Raziel's phones to find out where we were and what we knew about what had happened.
But coming to the parking lot, we found the Lexus waiting for us. It looked like Raziel had decided not to stay home after all, even though Michael had told him before we left to come there that he should.
"Still stubborn as ever Raziel." Michael chided him as he got out of the driver's seat.
"You know I'm not leaving her alone yet when he attacked her." Raziel countered.
Yeah, he was in a mood again, but I could see the pain in his eyes. His back must have been getting worse.
"You know that you have nothing to worry about now. Things have been handled, and Mia's returning to school on Monday. There won't be any more issues." Michael reminded him.
"And I don't have that much time left. Not to mention that he can still approach her here." Raziel argued.
"Come on Raziel. Do you really think that Sean's going to do anything else here?" I asked him, "Besides, I told you last night that we think that I broke him, and he seems to really regret what he did."
"I'll bet he does." Raziel muttered, crossing his arms and looking away as he leaned back slightly against his car. Yes, he was in a very foul mood. But I couldn't blame him either. He was suffering over this whole wing thing.
Michael shook his head, looking at me, "Mia, why don't you go ahead and take Raziel home? He probably shouldn't be driving right now. I can meet you there in a little while, once I finish up speaking to the principal here." he suggested.
"I guess." I reluctantly agreed.
I really didn't like the thought of driving the Lexus yet, but I couldn't see myself saying no. Raziel shouldn't have been out and about like this anyway. So I walked over and took his arm.
"Come on. Let's get going."
Raziel shrugged slightly, huffing a little to himself as he climbed into the passenger's seat of the Lexus. I climbed into the driver's seat, frowning as I had to pull it up. Raziel laughed as he turned to face me.
"You're so short, even for sixteen." he teased.
"I can't help that I didn't get the tall gene that you all did." I pouted.
I pushed the button to start the engine and sat there for a moment, telling myself that I could do this. It was just a car, no matter how expensive it was.
"So let me guess. Principal Brohawn thought that you knew more about what happened yesterday, and was disappointed when you didn't?" Raziel guessed as we pulled out onto the main road.
"A little, but Michael told him that I didn't know any more than anyone else. He said that I came to his office yesterday afternoon after I left, and I didn't see anyone else when I left here." I explained.
"That's a perk about money around here. They always listen when Michael or Raphael speak, and if they say you know nothing, then you know nothing." Raziel shrugged.
"So, what about you?" I asked him, "You're not going back to school for a while now either, are you?"
Raziel shook his head, "No. I'm not gonna have a choice. My back's really gotten swollen now, and I can feel the wings growing in there. My dad said that this is the final part of it before they come out, so I'm gonna be stuck inside for a while. Anyway, what about you? You haven't felt anything from yours yet?"
"No. My back's been feeling completely normal." I confessed.
"Maybe it's because you're Michael's kid. My dad said before that Michael didn't get his wings until later. Maybe you'll end up being the same way." Raziel suggested.
I glanced at him as I drove. He seemed to be in a better mood now. Hopefully I wasn't about to ruin it.
"Hey Raziel, can I ask you something without you getting too mad?"
"I could try. Fire away." Raziel replied. It was his typical response for when he knew he that couldn't make any promises to me.
"Did you really know what Sean was when he moved here? Did Raphael tell you?"
Raziel huffed, "Of course I did." he replied. "I knew about him from the day he came here because Dad didn't trust him. It was Michael who decided to let Sean and Sara stay. Of course, it was on the condition that they didn't cause any trouble. I don't get it myself. How can Michael possibly trust something like a fox? They've got the worst reputations at times in that other world from what we've heard."
"Well, I guess I can get why you were so upset on my first day when he helped me." I surmised, feeling a little amused now.
"No kidding. Of all days I had to run late, it was that one, and when I saw him in there with you like that, I just knew that he had to be up to something. You don't really know that much about him, but I can tell you that Sean's never been the type to show much of an interest in anyone before, especially a new kid. But I still never thought that he'd go as far as attacking you. I'm sorry. I really should've stayed." Raziel apologized.
I could see how upset he looked. I reached over and squeezed his hand.
"It's not your fault Raziel. It's not like you knew what he'd do. Even Michael didn't know."
"Still doesn't change things." Raziel muttered, closing his eyes. But I felt him squeeze my hand in return.
I glanced at him as he did that. I'd never seen Raziel look so down before. But I didn't think that I'd ever seen him even remotely sick either. I was glad that Michael had to tell me the truth about the wings the night before. At least it made me worry a little bit less about Raziel's condition, although not much.
Raziel had always been my closest friend there, the one constant I'd felt like I had in my life. I didn't like seeing him brought down like this. It just didn't sit right with me. But I knew that there was nothing I could do about it either. Raziel had to go through this, and eventually, so would I.
It didn't take us very long to get to my uncle's house. It was on the outskirts of Madison and set back in the woods. A long gravel driveway led straight back to it, and the large house was set right off of a small creek there. I breathed a slight sigh of relief as I parked the Lexus. I'd made it. Now all I had to do was hang out with Raziel until my dad came to get me.
Raziel opened his eyes when I turned the car off.
"Home sweet home." he said, opening the door to get out.
Raphael's home really wasn't that different than Michael's. It was pretty large, with two floors and an attic. The outside of the house was white, and a large bay window was set above the front door, and flanked by two smaller but still fairly big windows on each side. The bay window afforded an awesome view of the large staircase in the middle of the house that lead up to the second floor, which held three bedrooms.
The yard around the house was nicely maintained too, and a few small trees and shrubs lined the front of the house. All in all, I felt like it was a typical Renaldi home. Big, beautiful, and definitely not inexpensive.
Raziel and I went to the front door, and he unlocked it for us. The inside of the house was still, say for the chiming of the grandfather clock set in the living room. Taking my shoes off in the front parlor, I noted that the floors weren't carpeted like they had been the previous summer. They'd been replaced with hardwood.
"Hey, did your dad get the floors redone for a reason?" I asked him.
"Not really. I think he just got tired of the white carpet. It was always getting real dirty, and had to get steam cleaned once a month. So he just opted for the hardwood. I heard he got a killer deal on it too. But that's my dad for you." Raziel answered.
"No kidding. I can't see Raphael not getting a good deal on whatever he's looking for." I agreed as I followed him up the stairs.
Raziel's room was on the right side of the second floor, and the last door down there. Like me, he had a really good sized room. I couldn't help thinking back to all of the times before that we'd spent in there during the hot summer days when we'd hang out as kids. I even remembered the first time that I'd ever come there. I was a shy eight year old who was just getting to know her father's side of the family, and had taken the chance to come up those stairs and see my cousin. As soon as I'd opened the door, Raziel had been pulling me in, begging me to play games with him. It was the start of a great friendship between two once estranged cousins.
"Hey, you don't mind if I get some rest, do you?" Raziel asked as he stood near his bed.
"No. Go ahead. You looked tired." I replied.
I cringed as he took off his shirt. His shoulder blades looked terrible now. He had to be getting really close to getting those wings.
Raziel climbed into his bed and curled up under the dark covers.
"I feel bad about all of this. You just got here, and everything's decided to happen all at once." he commented softly as I sat next to him.
"I told you not to. None of it is your fault. Besides, you were trying to protect me before by keeping me away from Sean. You can't always protect everyone from everything." I reminded him.
"Yeah. I know. But it's what we are. And I want to protect Anna from all of it too. All of those things that she'll never be able to know about. Maybe, if she really stays with me, I can tell her one day. Maybe she'll be like Mom and understand. I just hope I don't end up making her sick too." Raziel whispered, keeping his eyes closed.
"Raziel?"
I wasn't sure of how to respond to that. I'd never heard my cousin talk like this before. I wondered if the pain was making him a little bit delirious.
Raziel chuckled slightly, looking up at me and shifting slightly in his bed.
"Sorry. I guess I've never been able to talk to you about all of it before, but it's also my own personal feelings. I've never even told my dad about it before. But I know you'll keep the secret for me. We've always been able to do that for each other." he said, a gentle smile crossing his face.
"So you really blame yourself over your mom's death?" I asked as I moved to kneel down beside the bed to face him better.
I did know a little bit about Raziel's mom, although I'd never had the chance to know her personally. Her name was Maya, and she'd died when we were a year old. She'd had a heart condition since she was a young child, and her heart had become too weak. It was very sad, especially since she was only twenty years old. Honestly, it made me feel like the Renaldis had bad luck with relationships. First Maya had died, then my mother had run away within the next year with me.
"Sometimes I do. I just feel like maybe, if she hadn't had me, her heart wouldn't have gotten so weak, and sometimes it worries me. We're not like other people, and if I could do that to my mom when she already had that condition, what might happen to Anna if we ever have a kid? I don't want to think that I killed her too." Raziel continued.
"I don't think that's what happens Raziel. Besides, Anna's perfectly healthy. She doesn't have anything like your mom did for most of her life. I think the only thing you need to worry about is telling her the truth about us if you ever do get married." I reminded him.
Raziel smiled, shaking his head as he closed his eyes.
"Yeah, you're probably right. But I think she'd accept it. Anna's not like other girls. At least, not to me, and I don't care what her dad or mine says. I'm going to marry her one day. She's the only girl I want." he said with some conviction.
This would be the first time that I'd begin to realize just how in love Raziel was with Anna. In a way, it was bittersweet for me. Even as I watched him fall asleep, I found myself thinking that. After all, I knew how it felt to love someone so much. But I also knew how it felt to lose that person.
I stood up and walked quietly across the grey carpeted floor to the window looking out over the front yard. Pulling the nearby desk chair over, I sat down and stared out there, allowing the memories to return.
This was the first time in a long time that I'd allowed myself to think so much of Zane and what once was. It had been well over a year now, and I still felt like he had been the perfect guy. Zane had been so sweet and caring towards me. He'd done so much with me and for me. I didn't think that I could ever find another boy to complete me like he did.
And yet, sitting there, I suddenly had another face invading my thoughts. Blinking my eyes, I realized that I was thinking about Sean Morrison. But I wasn't thinking about his attack on me the day before. Instead, I was thinking of the first time that the two of us had met, just two weeks earlier.
The doubts returned front and center in my mind. Did Sean really approach me because he was looking to hurt me? Or was there a deeper reason, something that he couldn't say when we first met?
I had no idea of why I suddenly began wondering this, especially when I was in the middle of thinking about the boy that I had been so certain was my one true love. But now, the thoughts about Sean wouldn't go away. Up until yesterday, he'd done absolutely nothing to cause me any harm, even if some of his actions had unnerved me.
And even when that happened yesterday, it seemed like he was trying to restrain himself. I reasoned that he must have been, considering the injuries I had, and his hesitation to just tear into me in the art room. The wounds on my neck could've been a lot worse according to what Michael had told me last night before Raziel had shown up. Sean was obviously holding back.
Then, there was the medicine that he'd left me in the middle of the night. Obviously, he had to have been taking a huge risk in even coming around my father's house after what had happened. If Michael had found him there, he very well may have killed him for all that he'd done.
But Sean had taken the chance, and made sure to leave me the medicine and a note apologizing for everything. Why go to such lengths when he could've found a way to apologize at the school? We would more than likely see each other there, and with Raziel about to be out for a while, it would give him more of an opportunity to talk to me.
All of these thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Michael standing there. I hadn't heard him come in or even noticed him pull up into the driveway.
"There you are. Are you okay Mia?" he asked softly. He was obviously trying not to wake Raziel.
"I'm fine. Sorry. I was just thinking about things and I guess I zoned out." I apologized, getting up slowly so that the chair didn't squeak.
"I understand. It has been a long twenty four hours." Michael acknowledged.
I noticed that Raphael had come into the room too. He stepped over to Raziel's bed, gently touching his forehead.
"There's no fever with it now, so it'll probably be in the next few hours. That's typically been the time set for this." he said quietly.
"That's good. Just let me know how things go. I think it's time to get Mia home. She doesn't need to be here to see it." Michael responded, gently touching my back.
"Yes. I agree completely." Raphael nodded. He walked out with us, gently closing the door behind him to allow Raziel his rest.
We could hear the singing of the birds in the nearby trees as we headed out to the car. The air didn't feel as chilly as the days before. I was glad of that. Spring couldn't come quick enough for me.
"By the way, it seems that the fox is laying low now. He may have even decided to retreat back beyond the Veil for a while." Raphael added as we stood by Michael's Infiniti.
"Perhaps, but I doubt it. Besides, when I spoke to Sara this morning, she claimed that he was still hanging around their home, although it wouldn't surprise me if he decides not to show up at the school for a while. If anything, he'll try to keep the blame deflected from himself as much as possible, even if no one happened to see him there during the attack." Michael told him.
"He very well may, but I still think it would be in Mia's best interest if she stays away from him from now on. I won't stand here and call Sean completely bad, but we all know that he doesn't have a place around us, especially with his tendencies. Broken or not, there's always a chance of harm." Raphael surmised.
"I understand, and I don't think I'd want to be around him now anyway. Not after all of that." I assured them as I twisted the ring on my finger.
It was a nervous habit that I'd developed since Zane had left. Needless to say, I'd found myself doing it a lot since the incident with Sean.
I will admit that I'd never intended for my words to be a lie. Even though there was a part of me that felt strangely sympathetic towards Sean Morrison, I still couldn't get past what he'd almost done to me. Raphael and Michael were right about him being dangerous, just as Raziel had been, and Raphael was right about us. A half breed fox, or whatever he was, definitely had no place around half angels.
I glanced at the woods as I got into Michael's car. No, we weren't being watched. I could sense that much.
Michael shook his head as he watched Raphael go back inside.
"He's never going to let me live my trust down." he commented quietly.
"Was it really that bad to trust Sean before?" I had to ask as he started the car.
"I don't think so, and even now, I can't say that he's completely bad, despite what Raphael might think. He's only a boy, and he's still fairly young compared to the others that are even close to being like him. Besides, I still think that Raphael and Gabrielle are wrong. I don't think that this happened just because of what he is." Michael answered.
I watched him as we pulled back out onto the main road. Michael was obviously considering something very seriously. I could see it in his blue eyes.
"So why do you think that he did that then?" I inquired.
May as well try to get some answers. Michael had been working on being more open with me now about everything, so I figured that it wouldn't hurt anything.
Michael smiled, "Well dear, if it's what I think it is, then everyone might be a bit more than surprised. Although I personally can't understand why they should be. The signs were all there. At least, for myself and Sara."
"Signs of what?"
What in the world was going on with all of this? What had Michael been talking to Sara about behind my back?
"I promise I'll talk to you more about it later, but we're almost home now, and there are a few more things that I have to take care of, considering I took the day off so suddenly. Just give me some time and I'll tell you everything I think later." Michael responded.
By then, we were pulling back up to our house. Although I felt a little bit irritated, I decided that it was better to let it go for now. It wasn't like it was going to make that much of a difference anyway if I pushed the issue. Michael was stubborn as a mule at times when he decided that he wasn't talking about something. I'd seen that a lot in my years of visiting with him, and it usually happened with Raphael. For as well as those two got along, they still tended to disagree a lot on certain issues.
I headed up to my room once I was back in the house. I was feeling a little bit exhausted. It had been a long twenty-four hours between Sean's attack and Raziel's current condition. I was seriously considering just taking a nice long nap. Maybe then I'd be able to think straight about everything.
But as I walked by my desk, I stopped short at hearing the buzz of my iPhone. There was a message on there that had just come through. I picked it up and opened the message, thinking that it might have been from Raziel. Maybe his wings had finally come through.
But no such luck. Instead, it was from Anna.
I had expected this one. After what had happened at the school, and me and Raziel not showing up that day, she'd probably been very worried. I was a bit surprised that she wasn't burning his cell up. Maybe he'd turned it off so that she couldn't.
Deciding it was better to just humor her, I hit her contact and waited, sitting back on my bed. After a few rings, she picked up.
"Mia! Thank God! I was starting to think that everyone was ignoring me!" she complained loudly. Yep, typical Anna.
"Sorry. I was over at Raziel's house with my dad visiting and I forgot to take my phone. Is something going on?" I asked her.
I decided not to mention anything about the school or my being absent. If she asked, I'd just act like I'd been sick that morning and couldn't go, although I would admit that I'd heard about what had happened.
"Okay. I guess I can let you slide." Anna slowly relented, "How is Raziel? He called me this morning and told me that he was feeling sick, and he said that you were too. Hope you're at least feeling better. I was trying not to call Raziel too much so that he could rest. He's been so sick lately. I hope he's okay."
Of course, Anna was worried about Raziel. It was only natural, especially with how close they were. I had the distinct feeling that she was genuinely in love with Raziel too.
"He's doing a little bit better. But he does need to rest. He was up sick late last night from what I know. Guess we all had a little stomach bug." I lied.
"Ew, sorry to hear that. Anyway, you won't believe what happened at the school yesterday afternoon. Somebody completely trashed the art room!" Anna went on.
"Yeah, I heard about that from my dad this afternoon. Apparently, Mr. Brohawn called him to ask if I'd seen anything when I stayed after yesterday. But I didn't see anything unusual, and I left at four thirty." I told her.
"I see. But I was getting worried about you too because of that, and because I heard people talking today about it and giving their opinions." Anna admitted.
I didn't like where this was going.
"What do you mean talking?" I dared ask.
"Well..." Anna hesitated for a moment before forcing herself to continue, "Sean wasn't in school today either, and when I was in gym, some of the guys in there were saying something about him maybe being in trouble for the art room. They said that they think he did it. But no one knows why he'd ever do such a thing. Personally, I think it was all just a rumor for jealousy because he's so popular. But it still bothered me."
Okay, so this part I had definitely not heard about. It looked like I'd be talking to Michael again once I got off of this call. But I played along for now.
"It has to be. Why in the world would Sean even bother with doing something like that? It doesn't make any sense."
"Trust me, I thought the same thing. Sean's not like that. He's always been quiet, and he's never really been mean to anyone. Like I said, I personally think they're saying it because he's so popular. But it's not like he could defend himself when he's not there. Hope he's not sick too. If so, he's got terrible timing."
"Anna, I really don't think that Sean did something like that. Besides, I didn't even see his car when I left, and like I said, I left before it happened. I think that it's just everybody looking for someone to blame because they can't figure out who did it, and Sean was an easy target because he wasn't there." I reasoned.
When I really thought about it, my words there did make some sense. It was easy to look for a scapegoat when you had nothing. But at the same time, I wasn't going to let them blame my fox. He'd learned his lesson, and his feelings of guilt were enough.
Wait a minute, I thought in the next instant. Did I just think my fox?
Anna perked up, "You're right. Those guys are just jealous because Sean's so incredibly popular, just like Raziel. But I won't let them spread rumors like that without any evidence. If his car wasn't there, then it certainly wasn't him. I'll make sure to have the facts set straight tomorrow." she declared.
I smiled. Of course, Anna could do that. She was very good at diffusing rumors from what I'd come to learn, and being with Raziel, she was rather popular herself.
"Thanks Anna. I really don't want to see him get blamed either when he wasn't there. I don't like seeing anybody have that happen to them."
"So, on the other subject, do you think that Raziel is coming back tomorrow?" Anna suddenly asked.
"I don't know. He was still feeling pretty bad today, so it might be a few more days."
I knew better than to say too much. What was happening was a huge secret, and Anna wasn't anywhere near gaining the privilege yet of knowing it, even if she was so close to us.
I heard her sigh on the other end of the line, "All right. I guess I'll just have to suck it up. But you're coming back, right?" she asked hopefully.
Now I was feeling a little bit bad. Michael had wanted to keep me out until Monday, and it was only Wednesday. He felt like it would give me more time to heal, both physically and emotionally.
But I didn't think that it would hurt things too much to go back earlier for Anna's sake. She sounded pretty lonely, and when it came down to it, Raziel and I were the ones that she liked hanging out with the most.
"I think so. I'll give you a call in the morning if I can't. Like I said, I'm still recovering too. Not to mention that Dad's a little wary about what happened." I told her.
"Okay." Anna reluctantly agreed, "Just let me know, and tell Raziel to get better soon."
"Okay. Talk to you later."
But as I hung up, I realized that I heard the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway. I hurried over to the window and looked out. I could see headlights and the car was parking near mine and Michael's. It was a small car, and in the outside lights, it looked to be a white Nissan Versa. Feeling curious now, considering I hadn't seen this car before, I got up and headed downstairs.
Michael was answering the door as I got down there.
"This is a surprise. Please, come in." he was saying politely.
I stood on the stairway and watched as Sara Morrison came in. Dressed in a long black coat and black boots with jeans, she looked a lot younger than she probably should have. But I was also beginning to understand that Sara wasn't your typical woman. Not when she had a son like Sean.
"I'm sorry for coming here so suddenly without calling, but I really thought that it would be better if I spoke to you in person." she told Michael.
There was a pensive look in her pretty green eyes, and her voice shook slightly as she spoke, although that could've been from the cold that had settled outside for the night.
"It's not a problem. I figured that it must have been important for you to do this. Is everything all right?" Michael asked her.
Sara shook her head, "Well, I can't really say that it's bad, but it's been very different. Do you mind if we sit down and talk? There's a lot I wanted to talk about." she requested.
"Of course." Michael agreed, taking her coat for her and hanging it on the nearby rack.
"Is Sean okay?" I had to ask as I joined them.
Sara seemed surprised to see me there, and asking what I was. But her expression quickly softened.
"Yes. He's fine. At least, he is in a sense. But I do think that I should talk to you and your father about him. You don't mind if Mia joins us, do you Michael?" she asked, looking over at my dad.
Michael shook his head, "No, not at all. Mia understands the truth of all of this now, so she's entitled to know what's going on."
The three of us headed into the kitchen. I saw Sara let out a long breath. She seemed a little uncomfortable, but was trying to hide it.
"Can I get you something to drink Miss Morrison?" I asked as she and my father sat down at the table.
"That's okay, and please, call me Sara. It makes me feel a little old to be called Miss Morrison." Sara admitted, smiling slightly at me.
I smiled back, "Okay."
"You aren't really that old Sara. You only just turned thirty." Michael reminded her.
"Yes, but it still makes me uncomfortable at times. It's a woman thing." Sara informed him.
"Maybe so." Michael agreed, looking a bit thoughtful, "So, what's going on with Sean now that has you coming here so late? This isn't like you to be so concerned from what I've come to know."
"No, it's not, but it's not just me either. Manake was concerned too when he came by yesterday evening. Of course, I had to explain everything that had happened to give him a little understanding about his behavior. I can't say that he was too happy to hear it either. If Sean hadn't been broken like he is, I'd imagine that he would've let him have it." Sara explained.
"Manake? Who's that?" I had to ask. That was the strangest name that I'd ever heard.
"A friend of the Morrison family. Well, Sara and Sean. He was a close friend of Sean's father as well, the fox that they called Sage." Michael explained to me.
"Very much so. Manake and Sage ran together for years before he met me, and they were like two of a kind. He was the first other fox that I got to meet after Sage, and since Sage died, he's been looking after us. I'd dare say that he's been the one to try and keep Sean in check for how young he is." Sara added.
So this Manake was another fox, and Sean's father had been named Sage. Now this was getting interesting. There was another fox in Madison, and a full blooded one at that. I wondered if he'd been there all along or was just visiting.
"So Manake was concerned after seeing Sean as well. That's interesting to know." Michael noted.
"No kidding." Sara sighed, "Manake's never been that concerned about the way Sean acts, although I'll admit that I usually am. But Sean's always been different from others his age too because of his bloodline. Manake swears that the aloofness and all is just the way that they are. But this isn't aloofness now. He's actually been acting depressed. He spent the rest of the evening locked in his room yesterday and refused to come out or even talk to us. According to Manake, he did finally come out very late last night, but even then, he wasn't acting like himself. And he was insistent on going out and doing something, although he wouldn't tell either of us what it was."
I looked down at the table, knowing exactly what that something must have been. The medicine that had been left for me. Was Sean working on that medicine all of that time? And had he insisted to Manake and Sara that he had to go because he'd felt that he had to deliver it to me?
Michael nodded as Sara spoke, "I could see your concern there. I'd be concerned too if it was my child." he admitted.
"Yes, but I also needed to talk to you now because of how it's continued. When you and I spoke this morning, you said something to me about Sean being broken after what happened. What exactly did you mean by that?" Sara asked him.
"Exactly what I said, although it may be a little bit different then you're thinking. When we refer to breaking someone, it's more about us rebuilding their personality. It's an incredibly quick process, and only takes seconds from what I've come to know. Basically, the personality is shattered and rebuilt simultaneously. However, when it is rebuilt, the part of it with what one could call bad tendencies is removed. In Sean's case, this rebuilding removed the wild, animalistic part of him that he couldn't control. It basically set him free to discover who he truly is." Michael explained.
Destroying and rebuilding a personality in an instant. Thinking about this later, I couldn't help but wonder how that was possible. Sara had been wary about it all, but seemed to accept Michael's explanation. Or, at least, she didn't question him much more about it.
I think all that Sara wanted was to know that her son would be okay after what had happened between us. I could tell by the way she spoke and acted that Sean must have been acting extremely different now, and although I didn't speak up about the medicine, I knew in my heart that it was what Sean had been so determined to go out and do that night. He'd wanted to make things right. He'd wanted to make amends.
Sitting up in my room as I watched Sara leave, I wondered what would happen now. I'd excused myself fairly quickly after listening to the whole thing about breaking Sean. Honestly, it just bothered me somehow. Maybe it was because I didn't fully understand it. What if I had somehow changed his personality to like me more? What if I had forced him to be tamed for my own benefit?
They were things that only time may answer.