CHAPTER 27 MINA
“I’m serious, Katie! I think they really are werewolves.”
“There’s no fucking way that’s real,” Katie replies, and I can practically hear her eyeroll through the phone.
“I swear on everything, girl. I didn’t believe it either, until I heard it.” I pause for a moment, my head still reeling with the implications of what I’d learned the night before. “What if everything is true? What if it all exists?”
“What do you mean?”
“Werewolves, vampires, witches, fairies… all of that.”
“Oh, and Bigfoot, and the Loch Ness Monster?”
I can tell she’s teasing me, but I don’t even care. “Yeah, why not! What if it’s all true?”
“Well, then humanity is fucked.”
“No, I’m serious!”
“So am I! If all those things really do exist, it’s only a matter of time before they can’t hide anymore. What if they, all combined, outnumber humans? What will our world look like if they come out of hiding?”
“Oh shit. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Of course you hadn’t. These things supposedly are super-human. Why would they hide when they could come out and just dominate the human population? It doesn’t make sense.”
I pause for a minute, considering her words. She does have a certain point. “But what if there’s only a few out there? What if they’re all like, endangered species?”
“Then it makes sense for them to hide. You know how people are, hunting and exterminating everything that isn’t up to their standard of ‘normal’, whatever that means.”
“Yeah.”
Katie’s tone becomes more serious. “But you’re for real? You, my logical, woman-of-science best friend, genuinely believe you heard real werewolves?”
“I do.”
She sighs into the phone. “Then I believe you.”
“I—wait. You believe me?”
“I do. You’ve never lied to me before, and I know you wouldn’t tell me about it if you didn’t believe it with your whole heart. So I believe you.”
“I wish there was a way I could prove it to you.”
“Time will tell, I guess. Hey, I gotta run, but we’ll talk later, alright?”
“Definitely.”
“Love you!”
“Love you too.”
I hang up with Katie and allow my mind to run back over the events of last night. Maybe she was right, maybe I was just letting my imagination run away with me. All I know is that this is likely going to be one of those forever-unsolved mysteries, and it was going to bug me for the rest of time.
My shifts at the hospital seem to drag on these days, the same shit day after day. My comfort lies in knowing that when I get off work, Alex will be waiting for me. Knowing I have him in my life as a rock is a relief.
It has been more than a month since that first dinner with my family, and it has become a tradition to have a meal all together once a week. He really feels like part of the family now, and I’m pretty sure my mother is just as enamored with him as I am.
He is always the perfect guest; offering to help prepare and clean up, bringing wit, flattery, and charm to every conversation, and proving over and over to my family that I am his beloved and best friend. Things couldn’t be better.
I practically float down the hallway, moving on auto-pilot from one task to another, simply waiting out the time till I can be back in his arms. My bliss is broken by Katie, who barrels around the corner at full speed, almost knocking me over.
“Oh my god, Mina, I’m glad I found you!”
“Girl, where are you going in such a rush?”
“Looking for you!” Katie pants, catching her breath. “Your mother is here.”
My blood turns to ice in my veins. “What? Why didn’t you just call me?”
“Oh, I guess I didn’t think about that.”
“Jesus. She’s really here? What for?”
“Yeah, I saw her at the front desk asking about you, and I heard her mention Alex.”
“Oh my god. Oh no, this is bad.”
“Yeah, no shit. Doesn’t she think he’s some kind of hot-shot doctor here?”
“Yes,” I groan. “We have to get her out of here before she can ask too many questions.”
“I’ll track her down and distract her, you warn Alex to lay low.”
“Will do. Thanks, by the way.”
“Of course! I know you’d do the same thing for me.”
Katie turns and hustles back the way she came, and I pull out my phone. Alex answers on the second ring.
“Hey babe, what’s up?”
“Are you still at work?”
“Yeah, did you need something?”
“My mom’s here, and she’s looking for us.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. I need you to lay low or even get out of here if you can.”
“My shift is almost over for the day. I can definitely dip shortly. I’ll tell them my stomach is feeling funny.”
“I hate to make you run but—”
“I get it. Don’t worry. Today isn’t the day everything ends.”
“I hope not.”
“Relax. We can do this, babe. She won’t find me today.”
“Ok, ok.” I take a deep breath. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I hang up with Alex and lean against the wall, my knees going weak for a moment. What if he’s wrong? What if this is the day everything ends?