Lawrence
“How the heck did you guys misplace all of your jackets in less than 24 hours?!”
“I dunno.”
“Dylan- get up and look for your jacket. Do you have your backpack? Did you finish your homework?”
“Mom- focus on a question.”
“Homework?”
“I finished mine!”
“Good job, sweetheart. Collin?”
“I guess.”
“Yes or no, hon, I need a yes or a no.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
I threw my hands up and turned to Dylan, who was frowning at Collin. The latter was crouched over mostly uneaten pancakes, but I didn’t have time to address the sulking.
“Dylan? Homework?”
“Huh?” He snapped to my face, started. “Uh, yeah. I did.”
“And it’s in your backpacks?”
“Woops!” Lucy giggled, before sprinting upstairs to go find her homework.
I rubbed a hand over my face as Dylan scrambled up after her. Years of doing this had taught me never to trust them when they said everything was ready the night before, but somehow… somehow… I still found myself here.
There was a knock at the door, and I almost cried. With Rudy gone, I’d suddenly realized just how hard things were on my own. I threw open the door to reveal Aegis and Jade both on the steps, looking like angels straight out of my own prayers.
“Thank God,” I breathed, relief in my chest as I stepped back.
“Miss us?” Jade asked, amber eyes glittering. She winked as she stepped in. “You’re looking a little frazzled, Sylvie.”
“I’m feeling frazzled,” I complained, though I glanced down to make sure I was at least wearing pants. I was. “We’re running late, and one’s barely talking, one’s talking too much, and no one’s got anything ready.”
“My backpack’s ready, mom,” Collin snapped from where he was sitting. He slid out of his chair, picked his bag up from the floor, and moved toward the door, keeping his head down and his hood up. “I’m going to go wait outside.”
Both Aegis’s and Jade’s eyebrows shot up as he pushed past and out the door.
I ran a hand through my hair, dismayed. “Rudy left early this morning, before anyone woke up,” I said tiredly. “Collin’s been a little… distant, since yesterday.”
Dylan and Lucy clomped back downstairs, and miraculously, they both had a jacket in one hand and a backpack in the other.
“Look, Mama!” Lucy called out, triumphant. “I found everything!”
“Atta girl,” I said, relief flooding me. “Go on outside. Stay on the grass, we’ll be there shortly.”
She ducked past us, laughing, to catch up to Collin. Dylan was about to follow, but I snagged him by the shoulder. Wide-eyed, he looked up at me.
“What? I found my homework, I swear.”
“What is going on with your brother?” I asked, frowning. “He’s never been like this.”
Dylan hesitated. “Mom…”
“Please, Dylan?”
He fidgeted. “He’s going through a lot, Mom. Like… I don’t think you really understand just how different he is all of a sudden. There’s all sorts of new hurts- he was telling me his teeth hurt, all of a sudden.”
“Mmmm,” Aegis grunted. “I forgot about that. Yeah, the fangs hurt when they pop through.”
I released Dylan, my shoulders sagging. “Of course. Right. Thank you for telling me.”
Dylan nodded awkwardly before darting out the door after his siblings.
I leaned against the doorway, closing my eyes. “I really fucked this whole thing up, didn’t I?”
“No,” Jade said softly, squeezing my hand. “No, you didn’t. You did your best.”
“And royally screwed everything up in the process.” I took my hand back. “Come on. We’d better just get going.”
They helped me get the kids in the car. I kept glancing at Aegis to see if he’d be acting funny after… uh, the not-what-I-wanted-it-to-be that happened the night before, but he was completely relaxed the entire time. He tickled Lucy and made her laugh, and Dylan was doe-eyed as Jade stood by, trying not to laugh.
“I’ll follow you guys,” she said, grinning.
As before, Lucy was up first, and as before, she took off running before the words “good-bye” could even touch my lips.
“Huh,” I said, dropping my hands on my waist and shaking my head. “The nerve.”
Jade just laughed. She hadn’t even had a chance to turn off her car.
It was a silent drive to the Middle School for the boys. It wasn’t all that much further from the elementary school, but the drive felt heavy and sullen.
Jade got out with Aegis and I. I moved to hug the boys, but Collin turned and took off for school without a word. Dylan gave me an awkward shrug, before quickly following after him.
I felt a lump in my throat as Jade squeezed my shoulder. I didn’t even really have a right to feel upset; this was my own doing. I had kept things from them, and now that Collin had had time to fully process what was happening, he was starting to turn away in what was likely hurt and anger.
Everything left behind, just like that.
“It’ll be okay,” Jade said. “Give him some time and some space.”
“The hardest things for a parent to do,” I said, sighing explosively. “All I want to do is hug him and say that I’m sorry, and that I’m sorry I can’t understand…”
“Just be patient,” Aegis advised. “Rushing things will only make it worse.”
----
The drive to the Auto Repair would probably have been painfully awkward, if I wasn’t so wrapped up in thoughts about Collin. I chewed the tip of my thumb absentmindedly, imagining what life would be like if Collin never forgave me…
“You’re overthinking.”
I glanced up to see Aegis watching me. We had apparently pulled into the parking lot already, and I looked around, startled.
“I’m sorry,” I said, wincing.
“You don’t need to apologize.” Aegis reached over and I froze as he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear- natural, smooth, easy. “But I am concerned that you’ll make yourself sick with worry.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” I snorted, unbuckling and stepping out of the car. I tried to hide the fact that I gripped the edge of the doorframe a little too hard. “I worry a lot. It’s just me taking care of them; if something happened to me…”
“You’re not alone anymore.” Aegis walked around the car, and Jade joined him, appearing almost out of thin air.
“I shouldn’t rely on the grace of others,” I said, firm. “This is my life. My struggles. My decisions. To expect the people I ran away from to help me is-“
“We’re not just people,” Jade said, snorting. “You deeply misunderstand how important you were to me in High School, Sylvia.” She gave me a warm smile. “I will do everything I can to pay you back even an iota of what I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me anything,” I grumbled, before turning and pushing into the main office. I was embarrassed, my face burning.
I hadn’t thought I’d done all that much, even back then. If anything, I remembered feeling guilty; it’d taken me a stupidly long time to even get involved in Jade’s bullying. By the time I did, things were bad. Brittani had become brazen in her insults, and Jade, taller than every other girl in our class, was trying to hide like a giant among dwarves. Seeing her gratefulness was… it made the guilt even worse, somehow.
Tuesday promised to move similarly to Monday, only this time, Jade provided some backup on the filing.
“You don’t have to-“
“I have the day off from streaming,” Jade said, waving me off. “I want to help.”
I couldn’t exactly tell her no (and also, I didn't want to), so we spent the day sorting through the files and laying them out by year. Tedious, but simple, and fun with a friend.
More customers arrived with their trucks, their motorcycles, their cars missing fenders and hubcaps and parts and God only knew what else. By far and above, however, the most startling visit was when I looked up to see Lawrence Small walking toward the desk. Or rather, stomping toward the desk, a glower on his face.
I got a chance to get a closer look at him as he approached. His dark complexion was either perpetually angry, or it was a look reserved for basically anyone that wasn’t Brittani. His long hair hung in perfect dreads, and he had a close-cropped beard. By all means, he was clean-cut and well-dressed, wearing a collared shirt and slacks… but he was also mad as sin.
Jade’s eyebrows shot up, and I assumed a business professional expression. “Hello, how can I help-“
“I need repairs.” He was terse, clipped, and coarse. Dark eyes flashed. “I’d go to one of the other packs, but they won’t have me.”
“You’re Black Lake, of course they won’t have you,” Jade said, exasperated. “You need to quit that idiocy, Lawrence. One of these days, it’s going to bite you in the butt.”
“What do you know?” Lawrence snapped. He eyed me. “Brittani was right. She can’t even handle the job she got handed to her without one of you backing her up.”
My whole face turned scarlet in shame, but Jade just snorted.
“For an Omega, you have a terrible understanding of Pack balance,” she said waspishly. “No one gets left behind, Lawrence. No, not even you,” she added as soon as he’d opened his mouth. “You’re always welcome at the auto repair, even if you’re being silly.”
Lawrence didn’t seem to appreciate that, his expression darkening, and I moved quickly to intercept.
“Can you detail to me what’s wrong with the vehicle?” I said, pulling out the paperwork. “I have some papers you can fill out yourself, if you prefer-“
“I know exactly what’s wrong with it,” Lawrence snapped. “I’m not an idiot. Anyone can learn how to fix a car.”
I had to refrain from my own eyebrows shooting up into my hairline. This calls for diplomacy, I thought. This reminded me all too much of my old employer, who was only too happy to find a reason to be pissed.
“I completely understand,” I said, trying to come across as soothing. “Everyone’s got their own timetable, and it’s helpful to everyone to be able to get the work done when you don’t have the time to do it yourself.”
He grunted, looking at me suspiciously. “Look, I already laid out the entire problem to Aegis. Just ask him. I don’t have time for this- I’ve actually got clients who need me, and now I’ve got to borrow Britt’s car.”
“Of course,” I said. “I can absolutely get the information from-“
But before I’d finished what I was saying, Lawrence turned on his heel and stormed back out of the office.
“-Aegis,” I finished, feeling perplexed. “Wow. Who put a bee in his britches?”
Jade snorted. “Who knows. He’s always had issues with the way things are, since before even High School. Sad thing is,” she said, frowning, “he used to be real close to Aegis and Paul, back in like… you know, elementary. His dad was really close to Aegis’s dad.”
“And?” I said, looking at her. “What caused the rift?”
Jade leaned against the desk, looking thoughtful. “I can only speculate. Dad never wanted to talk about it, so if he knew the exact reason a rift opened up between our families, he took it with him to his grave.”
“And your mom?”
“She’s a bit of a recluse these days.” Jade sighed and tilted her head back, thinking. “I do know, however, that back when we were in Middle School, there was a situation involving the packs. I think a fight broke out. Lawrence’s dad- the Omega of the pack at the time- got into it with one of the other werewolves in the White Point Pack, to the North of town.”
“Things have never been super good between Black Lake and White Point, if I remember correctly.”
“You remember right- and it’s still a bit tense. My dad hadn’t got there yet, and Lawrence’s dad took matters into his own hands. In the fight, he ended up badly injuring the other wolf.” She paused. “I don’t know how true this is, but I heard the other guy died from his injuries.”
“But… there’s laws that go against that.”
“Exactly. General Pack Law states that if a werewolf takes the life of a werewolf not in his own pack, then his life is forfeit to the other Alpha. The Government really doesn't like that one. It's honestly a bit old school, and most of the time, no one actually like... collects on that. Not unless it's really bad.”
My eyes widened. “But maybe if he was defending one of our people-“
“I don’t have the details, unfortunately,” Jade admitted. “If Aegis has them, he’s keeping them between him and Lawrence. I have heard that our Dad tried to save his Omega, but ultimately handed him over. I’ve heard that he arrived too late, and the other Alpha took payment before my dad could get there and stop him. I’ve also heard that it was an assassination later, when they weren’t expecting it.”
“And Lawrence blames your dad for this?”
“Whatever the truth is, Lawrence struggled with having to step up as the Omega from a really young age. They’re naturally empathetic,” Jade added. “He’s our physician in town, owns a family clinic. He’s the best we’ve got, even sees the other packs…” She rubbed a hand over her face. “But he hates the idea of pack hierarchy. He hates the idea of following some path laid out for him, and he hates acknowledging that he is following that path. He takes it all out on Aegis, and then tries- unsuccessfully, mind you- to prove that he could be a better Alpha than Aegis. He thinks he can somehow bring peace to the three packs, and if he does, then that means he'll no longer be an Omega.”
“Huh.” I tapped my fingers on the desk. “Complicated.”
“No kidding.”
“And he’s with Brittani?”
“They’ve been together a long time. Weirdly, he’s a total softy around her, and if he’s nearby, she’s almost bearable.”
I laughed a little too hard at that one.