It had been nearly a year since I'd left my home in Florida to live with my father, and I had not heard a thing from my mother or grandmother since. I'd tried to call numerous times, and no one answered. Even Michael tried with no luck. We'd really thought that they'd cut us off completely, even if we couldn't understand why.
Yet now, here my mother was, sitting there in the high school office as if none of that had ever happened, and like she'd never been mentally ill at all.
Anna had noticed my shock, "Mia, what's wrong? Who is she?" she whispered, leaning close to me.
"She's.... my mom." I managed to whisper back.
By then, Ms. Haney was coming back to her desk. Mom had noticed me too.
"Ah, there you are Mia. I was beginning to wonder if you were in school today." she said, smiling happily at me. She looked happier than I'd ever seen her look before. While it should've been great to me, it only felt strange.
"Your mother said that she'd like to pick you up today. Do you have all of your things?" Ms. Haney asked me.
She wouldn't question this because there was no formal custody arrangement between Michael and my mother, and I was certain that Mom could've proven to her who she was, considering how well kept she now looked.
"Uh, yeah." I managed. I looked at Anna, "Can you tell Raziel about this? I'll give you a call later."
"Sure." Anna agreed.
She watched my mother for a moment longer, then left the office. I didn't miss that she looked uneasy too. She didn't really know a lot about my mother, but I would've imagined that Raziel had told her enough before to make her aware that something really wasn't right here.
"How did you get here Mom? Why are you here now?" I asked as the two of us walked out of the main office.
"Well, your grandma passed away a couple of weeks ago, and I decided to get myself back on my feet; and since I'm doing so much better, I thought that it was only fair that I got to see you again. It's been nearly a year and I've missed you so much." Mom explained, still sounding extremely happy.
I stopped as I heard that, "Wait a minute. Grand mom died?"
I couldn't believe it. My grandmother had always been a very healthy and active woman. She couldn't have just suddenly died.
Mom was quick to respond to my shock as she urged me on, "It's okay honey. She was very sick and it was better that she went quickly. But I couldn't see staying down there all alone once I started feeling better, so I came up here to get you."
"Wait a minute." I said, forcing us to stop again as we came out to the parking lot, "You're not saying you're getting ready to take me back to Miami."
"Of course I am. You know as well as I do that you don't belong up here. It was good of your father to keep you while I got better, but you belong with me." Mom replied.
The happiness was now gone, replaced by surprise. I guess she hadn't thought that I wouldn't want to go back with her.
"But I'm finishing high school here, and I've made a lot of friends. I can't just up and leave." I protested.
Mom became very quiet. But when she spoke, I could tell that she was sad.
"You're serious? But I came all of this way just for you. I felt so terrible when I realized what happened. You really don't want to be back with me?" she asked softly.
"It's not that. I just don't want to leave everybody here. I really like it here Mom, and I can't just leave Dad like this. He's been so good to me, and... things changed too." I admitted.
"I see. So, you got them too?" Mom whispered as she looked away. After apparently recomposing herself, she spoke again, "It still doesn't change things. You're still Mia. You're still my daughter too. You don't only belong to him."
"I didn't believe that she belonged to anyone." I suddenly heard Sean say. I looked over towards the door to see him standing there.
Mom's eyes widened as he walked over to me. I guessed that she wasn't expecting to see someone like him there. But then, I think Sean could've stood out anywhere.
"What are you doing out here?" I asked dumbly.
"I happened to overhear Anna telling Raziel that your mother was here, so I had to see it for myself. But I must say that I'm surprised. I didn't think that this day would come." Sean answered. He was looking at my mother like he was studying her.
"A friend of yours?" Mom guessed.
"Kind of. This is Sean Morrison." I replied.
Somehow, I couldn't make myself tell her that he was my boyfriend. Maybe it was because I feared how she may react to such news.
"So, you're Missy Renaldi. Did you really just come up here to bring Mia back to Miami?" Sean went on.
"Of course I did. I want my daughter back home now." Mom told him.
"But don't you think it should be her choice if she wants to return there? Dropping all of this news on her so suddenly is hard enough, especially when you've made no contact for nearly a year." Sean reasoned.
Mom relented as she heard that, "You might be right, but I don't want to leave without her. I'll give Michael a call later to discuss it with him."
She then turned and walked back to a little Nissan that she'd apparently driven there. I was shook up as she drove away. Something wasn't right. I was sure of it.
Sean shook his head, "This is worse than I thought." he muttered.
"What do you mean?" I asked, "Do you know something I don't again?"
"It's far too convenient to me that she'd suddenly get better and show up like this, especially with the timing. There's something else going on here." Sean answered.
Raziel was coming out there with Anna as he said this.
"Okay, I wouldn't have believed that one if I hadn't seen it for myself." he said. He'd been watching the whole thing from inside the doors.
"That was really your mom Mia? She's beautiful." Anna commented.
"Yeah, it was definitely her, but I've never seen her like that before. She actually looked... healthy." I managed.
"Something's not right. I put in a call to my dad about this, and he thinks the same thing. He wants us to bail for today. He's already called the office and approved it." Raziel told us.
"Does Michael know yet?" Sean inquired.
"I'm not sure. He didn't say if he was with him at the office or not. Guess he's gonna have to tell him either way." Raziel answered.
I wondered what Michael would think once he learned about all of this. I was sure that it was going to be hard on him. Michael and my mother had never formally divorced, so one could easily say that those feelings may have still been there, at least on his side.
On top of that, Mom also knew that I'd changed. She knew what the Renaldis were. Would she try to use that against Michael now?
Our ride back to the house was fairly quiet. I kept glancing at Sean, wondering what he was thinking. I didn't doubt that he knew something I didn't with all of this. I may have sensed that something was up with my mother suddenly appearing, but Sean was good at reading between the lines in just about any situation. Not to mention that he had incredible senses.
He finally decided to speak as we pulled into the driveway of my house.
"We need to be careful about all of this. I'm not positive, but I'm fairly sure that I smelled something different on her back there."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. It was old and faint, like it had been a while since whatever it was had been around her. But her recovery puzzles me too. Something happened down there, and I don't think it was natural." Sean explained.
I could understand that one. I believed that too.
"What should we do? You know it's not going to be easy on us, especially if Michael doesn't know yet." I went on.
"I know, but I think he'll figure it out too. Your father's a lot more insightful than most give him credit for. Trust me, I know." Sean said, patting my head playfully.
I couldn't stop the smile from crossing my face, "You certainly know how to put things sometimes." I joked.
Sean smiled back, "It's a talent."
The two of us got out of the Jeep and headed into the house, were we found Sara in the kitchen. She'd been keeping herself busy by doing some baking. She didn't look too surprised to see us. Sean picked up on that one right away.
"I'll take it you got a phone call too." he noted.
"I did, but I wasn't expecting to hear what I did. You don't think this has anything to do with him, do you?" Sara responded. She may have been speaking in a roundabout way, but I didn't mistake who she was talking about.
"Don't know. I did smell something, but the scent was too old to pinpoint." Sean admitted as he sat at the bar.
"Did Dad talk to you about any of this?" I asked as I sat beside him.
"A little bit, but he wouldn't go into any details. It seemed like he was upset over it, so I didn't want to press him too much." Sara admitted.
"That doesn't surprise me. Mom's never really made an effort to get along, and if she really wants me back, she's probably going to cause trouble to get what she wants." I surmised.
"That's what he thought too, but there has to be more to it. After what I was told about her, I wouldn't think it would be natural for her to recover her senses so fast that she'd come up here by herself to bring you back." Sara reasoned, sitting across from us.
I thought about it before speaking. In all honesty, the subject of my mother had always been something I'd avoided before. Not only because I worried about upsetting Michael, but because I didn't want to face it myself.
"It can't be. Mom's been sick for as long as I can remember. She tried to care for me, but she never could do it without turning on me in some way or another; and in Miami, she never even left the house most of the time because she didn't want to. She'd stay up in her room for days sometimes with all of the blinds drawn and refuse to come out. Grand mom did want to put her in the hospital, but she worried about what might happen with me because my mom took me down there and hid me from my dad before, so she just left her alone most of the time." I explained.
"It all seems too convenient now, doesn't it?" Sean muttered, looking down at the counter-top. He seemed to be thinking everything over very carefully. No doubt he was trying to figure out how to piece this one together.
I stood up, "I'm sorry, but I should probably go and find Michael. I want to make sure that he's okay."
"Are you sure you're okay doing that on your own?" Sara asked.
"I think she'll be fine. Besides, it might be better if she went ahead and had some private time with her father." Sean said, giving me a reassuring smile.
"Thanks Sean. I'll see you soon." I promised, giving him a quick kiss before I left.
I felt torn about all of this as I got into the car. I knew that deep in my heart I wanted to see my mother all better, even though this was probably from bad means. Yet, at the same time, I didn't want to see Michael hurt by all of it.
I was weighing all of this in my head as I drove to his office. I think that I knew my position in this from the beginning. I wanted to remain with Michael. He'd always been more of the parent to me, though we were only able to see each other for years during the summer, and I could always call him in private before, even when he was working, if I needed advice or just someone to talk to. I never got that with my mother. I never blamed her for her condition, but I didn't feel that closeness to her either, as sad as that was.
Finally pulling up to Michael's office, I sat there in my car and debated on what I was going to say. What could I say? I was certain that he must have known what had happened. Should I try to reassure him that I was determined to stay here with him?
I finally got out of my car after a few minutes of debating this in my head. It would probably be better to go on impulse. It was the more honest way, and a lot more comfortable than planning words.
The office door was partially open, and I didn't see Raphael in there. But Michael was still there, sitting at his desk and looking at something on his computer. I noted that he looked distracted. He was probably thinking about my mother showing up in town like she had.
I stood by the door, hesitating on going in. But I couldn't just turn around and leave; not with things like this. I needed to talk to him. It would probably be good for us both. So I knocked on the door.
"Mind if I join you?" I asked as he looked up.
Michael blinked and looked over, and his expression softened as he saw me.
"Of course not, although I wasn't expecting you to come by." he admitted as I came over and sat in one of the chairs near his desk.
"I know, but I didn't feel like sitting at home. I'd end up driving myself crazy thinking about everything." I responded, resting my cheek against my hand.
"I understand." Michael sighed. He sat back in his chair, taking a few minutes before continuing, "So, she really did seem like she was well?"
I let out a long breath, "Yeah. I've never seen her like that before in my life. It was like night and day. But there was something that felt weird about it too, and Sean said that he thought he smelled something on her, but it was too old for him to know what it was."
"I see." Michael nodded. He seemed to be thinking everything over.
"Do you really think something could influence her to look like she's well?" I dared ask.
"I'm not sure. From everything I came to know about Missy's condition before this, that seems unlikely. But I could be wrong too. Raphael knows more about this kind of stuff then I do." Michael admitted.
"Speaking of, where is he? I didn't think that he left this early." I noted, looking around the office again.
"He's taking care of something for me. To be honest about it, I needed the time alone too. But I'm glad that you came here too. I admit that I'm getting very worried. Something worse is coming. I can feel it in my gut, and I'm certain that none of this with your mother is a coincidence." Michael told me.
"Sara was worried about Flint maybe having something to do with her showing up. Do you think so too?" I dared ask.
"I don't know, but I also won't say that it isn't possible. The problem I'm running into with all of this is putting the timelines together. If he did do this, for his scent to be on her for so long that Sean couldn't place it, it would have to be at least six months or longer. I've heard before that foxes can detect lingering scents for long periods of time and are able to tell what they are on a person. But if that is the case here, why would he go after Missy so long ago?" Michael wondered, obviously deep in thought again.
I couldn't make heads or tails of that one either. Why would Flint target my mother that long ago if he did? It didn't make any sense. Six months ago, Sean had just asked me to the Prom, and there had been no sign of Flint being around. Could he have somehow been spying then?
But as I thought about that, I suddenly remembered how he'd known about Zane. He'd known too much to deny that he must've been watching us in Miami during that time.
My grandmother's face from the day she sent me away popped into my mind. Her intense eyes as she looked around at my bedroom windows, how she was shaking as she grabbed me. She'd been trying to hide it, but I knew that she'd been incredibly afraid. Her words to me as she closed my suitcase echoed in my head.
"Not after what I saw today."
My eyes widened as everything began falling into place. Maybe there had been a good reason that she'd done that. Maybe she really was protecting me.
"I think he was already after Mom before." I surmised.
My words immediately had Michael's attention, "Why? What do you remember?" he pressed me.
"I'm not completely sure of when or how it happened, and I didn't know anything about it while I was there. You remember that I told you when Flint first came here he was posing as my close friend down in Miami. I never told anyone about that friend up here, and when Grand mom made me leave to live with you, she was acting like she was terrified of something, even though she was trying to hide it. She even told me that she didn't want me staying there anymore after what she'd seen that day. I had no idea of what she was talking about back then, but it makes perfect sense if Flint was around and she somehow saw him." I explained.
Michael nodded grimly as he listened, "I see. You're right. It does all fit. I do know that the ones like him may target humans from time to time, and a woman like your mother would've been an easy target for him. But that makes this that much worse if it is true. He may be using her against us now as well."
"You don't think that he'll try to force Mom to take me back to Miami, do you?"
I felt fear welling up inside of me as I said that. It was as if I knew that Flint would make her kill me if that happened.
Michael was quick to assuage my fears, "Of course not. I'd never allow it. Besides, you're also sixteen years old and able to speak for yourself on who you want to be with. So don't worry. I'll make sure that nothing happens." he promised me.
A grateful smile crossed my face as I stood up with him.
"I know, and I don't want to leave. I've always wanted to be here with you, so this is where I'm going to stay." I told him.
Michael returned my smile as he hugged me, "I'm glad, and I want to stay. I won't let her take you away again."
Looking back on this, I believe that Michael would've fought for me even if my mother had gotten better on her own. He no longer had to fear the family secret inadvertently getting out or being revealed to me too soon, so there was nothing left for him to lose in keeping full custody of me. Honestly, that was fine with me too. I meant it when I said that I wanted to stay there with Michael. I belonged there in Madison as part of the Renaldi family.
Our evening ended up passing very quietly, and I think that everyone relaxed a little bit because of that. But there was still no sign of Flint. Anna had told me that she'd made herself go to our last class, and he still hadn't shown up.
But it also seemed like no one but her noticed. Apparently, he'd made himself disappear completely. It really confused me. If he was planning to do that, then why bother to show up at the school in the first place? I certainly believed what everyone said about foxes being tricky, but this behavior was downright odd. If he was planning on challenging Sean like he said before, then why do all of this?
I was trying to piece it all together as I sat in Raziel's car the next afternoon. Said guy was tapping his stirring wheel impatiently, holding the small piece of paper that had brought us out there to this remote side road near the old Trinity Church.
"I can't believe he isn't here yet." he complained.
"Maybe he got caught up with something. It's not like Manake has to play by the same rules we do, and besides, I'd think that he'd rather talk to Michael or your dad instead of us." I reasoned.
We'd come out there to meet with Manake after Raziel found a folded note on his car that morning with a request from him for a meeting. Of course, this request had involved Sean and our parents, but Raziel had been tired of waiting around, so he decided to keep the letter and come there himself to see what Manake wanted. I'd been worried about it when he told me, so I'd decided to come too, just to make sure he'd be okay.
My biggest concern was whether this note had truly come from that fox. It seemed strange to me that he wouldn't show up at the house to talk or contact Sean in person, not to mention that he certainly wasn't that shy around my father or Raphael. He'd proven that in the last few weeks when he'd come to talk to them.
But like I said, my biggest worry in all of this was knowing that Raziel was trying to come out there alone. I knew that I'd never be able to forgive myself if something happened to him and I had let him come alone. Of course, it had taken a whole lot of convincing for him to let me come too.
Raziel frowned, looking out of the window at the fields and distance trees, "Maybe not. But I'm tired of us waiting around and not knowing anything."
"But don't you think something's up with all of this? Manake's never been shy about showing up at the house before, and he usually just meets up with Sean. Why contact us through a letter to you?" I went on.
"Yeah, I know, but that's part of the reason I wanted to do this. I want to see what's really going on." Raziel admitted.
"Are you serious? You knew that Flint could be setting up a trap for us and you came anyway?!" I chided him.
He couldn't have possibly thought that we'd be enough to take on a fox like Flint. We were still new Nephilim. We didn't have near enough experience with any of this to fight him.
"Calm down. I don't believe that he's setting a trap for us, and he wouldn't try to lure our dads out like this. He knows that they're already on the verge of killing him for what he's already done." Raziel reasoned.
He did have a point there, but I still felt very nervous.
"Raziel, please, let's just go home."
"You can't be that scared of a fox."
"Look, I've seen enough of foxes in my lifetime to have a healthy fear of a full one, and I am not sitting here like an idiot waiting for one that wants to kill my boyfriend just because of a family grudge! I want to go home!" I demanded.
Raziel huffed at me, turning on the engine to the car.
"Fine."
"Besides, you should be thinking more about what's happening to Anna. She's been really depressed over everything." I reminded him as he put the car in drive and we headed to the stop sign marking the way out to the main road.
"I know, but I'm not sure if there's anything else I could do for her right now. It's not like we've ever had to deal with something like him, or what he did." Raziel responded.
"Maybe the best thing you can do is be there for her. She's always happiest when she's with you anyway." I suggested.
"I guess." Raziel breathed as we sat at the stop sign, "But I don't know if I can be what she really wants either. It's not like I'm a normal guy, and I never can be."
I was about to ask him what he meant by that when I suddenly heard the approaching sound of a loud engine. It grew louder and louder as it sped towards us, and the last thing I heard was the sound of the deafening crash that followed the impact.