𝕆𝕟 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℍ𝕦𝕟𝕥 ➾ 𝕆ℂ 𝕩 𝕆ℂ [𝕋𝕎𝕀𝕃𝕀𝔾ℍ𝕋 𝕊𝔸𝔾𝔸]

Gwen

Seattle, Washington, USA

May 2006

When Gwen woke up, the memories of what happened flooded back to her.  A kind nurse helped her sit up before paging the doctor.

"How are you feeling?" Dr. Farrow asked as she entered the small hospital room.

"Terrible," the teen mumbled, not because of the ache in her bones but rather due to the immense guilt and sorrow for her mother.

Well, there seem to be no visible injuries," the doctor tried to cheer her up.

"She didn't make it, did she?" Gwen asked bluntly.  Dr. Farrow looked down sadly and nodded.  That was all it took for Gwen to tear up.

"These animal attacks are getting worse and worse each day," Dr. Farrow muttered to herself.  'If only they knew that I'm the animal.'

Suddenly, a knock came at the door, "Child Protective Services," a man greeted as he flashed his badge and let himself in.  "I am here to inform you, Miss Haney, that -as stated in your mother's will- you are now under the custody of your father, Terrance Lahote.  Since Mr. Lahote did not sign your birth certificate the court has ordered a paternity test, which was conducted as you were unconscious; it was a match.  You will be moving to the Quieute Reservation in La Push, Washington after your mother's funeral," the CPA agent's face softened with sympathy, "I hope you have a smooth recovery, Miss Haney, and make sure to contact your mother's legal team about the funeral costs, her will, and your inheritance."

This was the first time Gwen had ever heard about her father before.  She was both excited and upset to finally meet the man she had always wondered about.  

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

 Marcia Haney's funeral was a small and short church ceremony.  Most of the guests were Marcia's friends and coworkers.  The only family members besides Gwen to show up were Marcia's parents, younger sister, and a few cousins.

Meeting her aunt was very awkward knowing how close she and Marcia were before Gwen was born; before Marcia gave birth to a bastard child and disgraced her family.  She could feel her aunt's shock and silent judgment when she introduced herself as Marcia's daughter.  Her grandparents didn't even spare a glance at her.  But Gwen couldn't find it in herself to be angry at that moment.  Not when her best friend was lying in a closed casket 8 feet away.

During the ceremony, Marcia's best friend, Rita, made a beautiful speech about her.  Gwen found herself both sniffling hard and laughing jovially throughout it.  She wished she could've made a speech as well but knew that whatever she could've put together would be nothing compared to Rita's.

▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

 Gwen shoved her last bag into the trunk of her shiny new sedan in angry silence.  She took deep and shaky breaths of oxygen to prevent shifting again.  Because the last thing Gwen needed was even more red on her ledger, or anyone finding out her fluffy secret.  

'It's only for a few months,' she reminded herself.  She was planning to ditch La Push as soon as she turned 18 and was able to control her shifting.

The only good thing to come out of this situation was that she could possibly be able to understand why she could shift and also finally meet her father and half-brother.  Not to mention her new cell phone and her first-ever car that she bought with the money she got from selling her mom's old Volkswagen Beetle and her childhood home.  Gwen had to get a new phone because her old one was in her pocket when she first shifted and it broke.  And she had no choice but to sell her mother's car because her sudden growth spurt and the muscles that she randomly gained made her too big for it.

Gwen, of course, kept as much of her mother's belongings as she could -though some of Marcia's jewelry and money went to Gwen's aunt.  And Gwen had to donate nearly all of her mom's and her own clothes because they either didn't fit over her muscular form or the winter/autumn clothes made her feel too warm.  She was able to keep any baggy or summer clothes to herself.

Right now she was wearing baggy jeans that she cut off at the mid-thigh and a t-shirt that once fit her perfectly but now it was tight and went past her belly button because of the height and muscle she gained (as well as her bigger breasts).  She had to rip the sleeves off because it was cutting the circulation off of her biceps.

She started up her red 2006 Mazda3 but made no move to put the car in drive.  Gwen looked up at the home she grew up in with watery eyes.  It was bittersweet.  Because she was upset to leave her home but eager to get away from the place where her mother died.  Gwen's blue orbs took in every detail of the house's exterior; it was the same it always was -save for the broken caution tape and the lack of Marcia's pastel yellow Volkswagon in the driveway.  The thought of Marcia caused a hurricane of emotions to swirl inside of Gwen.  She couldn't get the image of her poor mother's maimed and bleeding corpse out of her head. And the sounds of claws ripping into clothes and skin as well as her mom's screams of pain and terror were still ringing in Gwen's ears.  That fateful night would haunt her for the rest of her life.

The noises of raindrops hitting the windshield shook her out of her grief.  She quickly set up the GPS and then put the car in drive.  Before dwelling on her losses any longer, Gwen put the car in drive and started the 4 1/2-hour journey to La Push with her mother's ashes in an urn sitting in the passenger's seat.