Lycanthrope

A few days have gone by and I’ve spent most of my time looking through the papers that this mysterious person left with me. Since there isn’t too much information, I’ve reread the research countless times and each time that I read it, I can’t help but to think of the events that occurred after I received the folder of papers.

Mason’s words about my father continue to linger in my head. “I met him briefly Sunday night just a couple minutes outside of town.” It’s unlikely that the David he met is my father but at the same time, it’s possible since my father never told me exactly where he was moving to. He simply said that he was going somewhere far leaving me to assume that he’d travel across the country.

A sigh passes through my lips as I close the folder and decide that if I want to get my mind off this, it is best if I got out of the house. I quickly slip on my pair of flats, grab my purse and make my way down towards the kitchen where my mother is.

“I’m gonna go out for a bit,” I simply tell her from the doorway of the kitchen.

She looks up at from the blender where she seems to be making a shake and replies, “Okay, honey. Do you need the car?”

“No, I’m only going to a friend’s house and she doesn’t live too far.”

“Alright, see you later,” she calls out earning a wave in reply from myself.

Turning on my heel, I start to make my way towards the front door when I come to a sudden halt. There’s a question eating away at me and I don’t think that I’ll ever be able to take my mind off of everything unless I have an answer.

I walk back towards the kitchen and once I’m inside, I ask, “Mom, do you know where Dad went to?”

Her expression quickly changes. The happiness radiating from her eyes fades away and sympathy is shining through. She shakes her head softly, a weak, soft smile forming on her lips and answers, “No, sweetie. He didn’t tell me anything.”

Nodding my head, I muster up a smile and say my goodbyes. I exit the kitchen, walking towards the front door and then begin the walk to Elena’s house. My mind is running wild with various thoughts ranging from the folder of papers put away in my room to whether or not my dad is near town.

After walking for a few minutes, I find myself standing in front of Elena’s front door and I mentally slap myself in the head for not calling beforehand to even check if she was home or not. I knock on the door a couple times and begin kicking the ground beneath me as I wait for someone to answer.

The door soon opens revealing the same boy that I had met on my first day of school. “Jeremy?”

“Sydney?” His lips curl into a small smile as his eyebrows furrow in confusion and continues, “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see Elena. Is she home?”

“Yeah, she’s home. Come on in,” he answers, moving aside to give me room to enter. I smile softly at Jeremy and walk inside the house. After closing the door behind me, he walks over towards the stairs and calls out Elena’s name, letting her know that I’m here. He then turns around and leans against the banister while saying, “I didn’t know that you are friends with Elena.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I tilt my head to the right as a small smirk begins to form on my lips and say, “And I didn’t know you are her brother but there’s a lot you don’t know about a person when you never talk to them.”

“I don’t believe you ever tried talking to me,” he quickly retorts with a playful smile on his face, “you help a girl out and that’s how she repays you.”

I roll my eyes playfully in response, shaking my head while doing so. Jeremy continues to stare at me with a smile playing on his face causing a light blush to creep onto my cheeks. I lower my head in attempt to hide the blush and lift my gaze to look at him with a smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

“Sydney, I didn’t know you were coming by,” Elena’s voice calls out as she descends the stairs.

My eyes immediately flicker towards Elena and smile apologetically as I explain, “I’m sorry for just dropping by, it’s just... I’ve been feeling a little stressed and overwhelmed so I just came here. Sorry for not calling or anything.”

“Don’t apologize, it’s fine,” she replies while shaking her head and walking towards me, "do you want to talk about it?”

I take a deep breath and simply shake my head. “Not really. I just kind of want to forget about it.”

“Come on,” she says softly while nodding her head in the direction of the kitchen. Following Elena, we walk into the kitchen where I take a seat at the table while she goes towards the refrigerator. She grabs two cartons of ice cream as well as two spoons and joins me at the kitchen table. Placing one of the cartons in front me and handing me a spoon, she says, “I know girls usually pig out on ice cream after a breakup but I think it’s the perfect comforting snack for every situation.”

A light chuckle passes through my lips as I nod my head in agreement. I immediately begin to dig into the chocolate ice cream that Elena placed in front of me and we start talking about various subjects. She tells me a little more about her boyfriend, Stefan, since I have only briefly talked to him a couple of times and talks about the upcoming Masquerade Ball.

In the midst of our conversation, the doorbell rings and Elena excuses herself so she can answer the door. I continue to eat my ice cream when Elena returns only seconds later and says, “Sydney, it’s for you.”

Narrowing my eyes at Elena, I place the spoon down before walking towards the front door. My throat gets tight when I see who is standing there waiting for me and a knot begins to form in my stomach as I get closer to the door. Tears begin to burn my eyes and confusion flows through my body as I stare into the eyes that mirror my own.

“Dad?”