Secrets of a Southern Belle

Chapter 37

My blood ran cold and my heart pounded in my chest; I thought it would explode. The voice screaming 'Gigi!' didn't even sound like it was coming from me. It was almost as if it was miles away.

"Rae!" I heard Wesley shout from behind me. It was almost as if he was miles away too.

The only thing that I could hear clearly was my heartbeat beating rapidly against my chest. Fear took over my senses and guided me around my house. I ran into every room looking for any sign of my family, thinking the worst each time before entering. I couldn't imagine what would happen if something bad happened to one of them.

I finally made it to my mom's bathroom door, which was closed and covered in large, deep scratches. It looked like something out of a scary movie, filling my mind with every worst possible scenario. I knew this thing was dangerous, but I never saw the damage it could do in person.

Wesley grabbed my shoulder and whispered in my ear, "Wait, Rae. Let me just in case." He squeezed my shoulder before approaching the mangled door. When he grabbed the handle, he yelled out in pain and jumped back. "Ow!"

I quickly grabbed his hand to inspect it and saw that there was a big burn in the shape of the door handle.

"Wesley, are you okay?!"

"Rae?" I heard a muffled voice coming from behind the door.

"Gigi?!" I didn't even hesitate before flinging the door open and rushing inside.

I didn't even noticed that the door handle didn't burn me like Wesley.

My grandmother looked disheveled, like she was in a fight. Her curly, reddish hair was like a rat's nest, barely being held up by her hair clip, and a deep gash lined her right cheek. I quickly helped her out of the bathtub where she was hiding.

Wesley tried to follow me in, but then just stopped strangely at the door.

"Gigi, I'm so happy you're okay. I thought that somethin' terrible happened to you. I don't know what I would've done.."

She wiped a lock of hair out of her face. "Oh, it will take more than a beast to take me out. That's the last time that it will mess with me," she said, sure of herself. She looked up at Wesley, who was still standing at the door looking at his hand.

"Wesley, you okay?" I asked. He had a weird expression on his face.

"Wolfsbane," he said to himself and then to us. "Rhett showed me this before. It's wolfsbane. It is protection again werewolves." He looked down, and I followed his eyes. There was a weird powder lining the doorway.

"What is that?"

"It's preventing me from coming inside," Wesley replied as he kept trying to push through the doorway. It was like he was hitting an invisible wall.

"Gigi...why is that there? Did you put that there?"

She pursed her lips together and sighed. "The diner wasn't the last time I saw Roy... I seen him again after school one day. It was rainin' and I was drivin' by when I saw him walkin' on the side of the road. I gave him a ride home, and we ended up talkin'...so much that we sat in my car for almost four hours."

What?!

"After that, we kept on talkin' and eventually it was more than that. I fell for him. He showed me what he and his family was, and he showed me what wolfsbane was—how to use it. He was the love of my life.." she trailed off and leaned against the counter with her eyes trained at the floor, like she was looking for a lost memory.

I always thought that my grandfather was the love of her life.

When she didn't speak again, I pried, "What happened?"