Shifting (a Tobuscus fanfic)

Chillin' with dad

My bags were packed and I was ready to leave. Standing by the door I only had one last goodbye to say. I waited for Toby to travel through the empty hallway. I smiled, "I'll see you in a day or two I guess." Toby's body pressed against mine as he tilted his head down. I reached for his head, gently bringing him closer to my lips, kissing him for as long as possible before I disconnected and opened the door behind me. Toby sighed and looked into my eyes. "I'll miss you." He complained as he stood in the entrance. "Mmmmhm! I bet you will!" I taunted and fabulously strut down the walkway.

The ride to my fathers house was long. I haven't seen my parents in almost 2 decades and I don't remember much about them, well... Him. My mother died before I turned 3 so it was just my dad and I. I worried about what he was like now and whether he would accept me. Like I said before, I'm a half-breed and that means only one of my parents is a shifter. Humans and shifters don't work well together (another callback to the beginning of the story) and that's why my mother isn't alive anymore. Human minds are closed to the world around them, they only see a fragment of what we see. They don't want to understand other things exist among them so when they learn about our existence, well lets just say things get ugly. I don't know all the details but my father found out about shifters and was scared out of his mind. In a blurred state of panic he flipped out and my mother was caught in the middle of it. I guess you could say my mother was murdered by her husband. That fact just made me more anxious about this whole thing. I'm not sure if he knows that I'm a shifter and if he doesn't than I don't want him to. I don't want to end up like my mother. The car slowed to a stop. Looking out the window I saw a tall apartment complex and a street full of pedestrians. I guess we're here.

I nervously knocked on the door in front of me. After a torturous moment of insecurity a man answered. He was a little smaller than the door frame. His T-shirt showed off the large muscles in his arms. His short hair was a mess of grey and black. He took a second to look me over then widened his eyes. "Lia...?" His voice was fairly deep, it suited him well. "Hey dad."

The muscular man that was once my father walked closer and held me in a bear hug. His arms crushed me into a stick and lifted me up off the ground. After about a minute of being compacted like a broken car, my dad let go and I was welcomed into his apartment. The place had three apparent rooms from the doorway. The kitchen was on the right hand side, not too spacious but it had what it needed to. Through a window in the kitchen I could see the living room, it wasn't as messy as I expected. I could see a photo on the wall and a pale green couch beside a black coffee table. Clearly, he isn't one for designing. The third room was a bedroom. The bed was fairly centered with the headboard against a deep lilac wall. I couldn't see anything else through the open door. Beside the bedroom entrance I saw an opening, probably a hallway of some sort. I dropped my backpack on the floor and walked into the living room like it was my own. I approached the picture frame on the wall, it was a picture of my father my mother and myself. My father looked a lot younger with no grey in his hair. My mother was gorgeous. Her long light brown hair flowed in front of her as she leaned into the cameras view. She was wearing a light blue dress that stopped at mid-thigh. Her smile was bright and warm, just like Toby's. In the center of the picture was me. I posed energetically, making a peace sign with my fingers and smiling widely. I was only 2 and a half but it seemed like I was older.

Flashback~~~~

"Lia! Don't go too far!" Her mothers sweet voice chimed. Lia nodded and ran into the field. The air was warm and the grass was soft and green. She was running so fast that her mind didn't need to focus on moving her small legs. She sucked in the warm air and smiled at the smell of flowers and grass. In the distance the laughs of her parents aided her excitement. There wasn't a worry in the world today, and even though Lia was too young to understand that, she still picked up on it. Not seeing her loving family stressed today helped her relax farther. Lia frolicked and rolled in the bright grass. Her clothes stained with patches of green and her hair impaled with grass blades. Her fathers deep joyful voice called out to her. "Honey bear? Come here a second! Mommy and I want to see you!"

"Okay daddy!" Her high pitched baby voice replied. She ran back to her parents enthusiastically. She ran straight into her fathers leg, making him step back a bit as she hugged his shin. She looked up and smiled brightly. "Mommy and I want to take a picture!" Lia let go and fell onto her back. Raising her arms to the sky she giggled and cheered. Her mother found this unbearable cute and her father chuckled and pulled out his camera.

Back to the present----

A small smile crossed my face as the memory flew back to me. It was one of the few good memories I had with both my parents. With a sigh I turned around and allowed my dad to show me to my room. I used the remaining time left in the day unpacking my things. Being the organized woman I am, it took me a few hours to do so; Even though I only packed a small backpack full of things. After emptying my bag I slowly opened the door leading to the rest of the house. Quietly walking to the kitchen I searched the fridge for dinner. I familiarized myself with the cupboards and pulled a plate out. Tossing a few slices of a mysterious pizza on it, I ate my dinner in silence. I couldn't find any soap to wash the small heap of tableware in the sink, so I left it.

The next morning I travelled into the living room, turning on the TV but only half watching it. I was distracted by the sound of my father walking down the hall. An eerie groan escaped from the floorboards beneath his feet. He stopped in the kitchen, peeked in the fridge, closed it, then glanced through the window in the kitchen wall. Seeing me he jumped a little. He must have forgotten I was here.

"Morning." I lazily greeted, barely looking at him. "Heh heh sorry, I didn't expect you to be up this early!" He sounded nervous. "Yeah... Force of habit I guess, do you have anything for breakfast?"

"Uhhh..." He took a moment to think. "Nope."

"Alright, well should I go to a store and get some ingredients? What do you want?"

"Huh? You're going to make breakfast?" He smiled. I suppose it's been a long time since he's had anyone to even eat with. He just seems like the kind of guy who doesn't like being emerged in society. He handed me some money through the window and told me where the nearest grocery store is. I stepped into my sneakers and left the apartment.

An hour later----

The smell of pancakes filled the apartment. My father sat beside me on the couch and ate with a small smile on his face. "I'm glad you came." He said between bites. "Yeah... Me too." I couldn't think of anything else to say. Looking over at the man beside me I wondered... Did he really kill my mother? He doesn't seem like someone who would be capable of that. He may look large and menacing at first glance but that's not who he is. Well, I don't think it is. Even in a panicked state I can't see him hurting anyone. But then what happened?

It took me the rest of the day to stop thinking about it and ask him. "Uhm... What exactly... Happened the night my mother died...?" I'm sure I saw a flash of anger in his face. It was only there for a moment but I saw it. "You mean... You don't remember?" He was surprised and I could tell he was trying hard to suppress something else, anger or sadness, I couldn't tell. The dim light created shadows that added to the heavy atmosphere. Without hearing an answer he took a deep breath and said four words. I didn't understand at first but then they hit me. It was like being pulled down in an ocean. I couldn't breath and I could only think in facts, in memories.

"It was you, Lia."