Chapter 25


    "You''re home?" She asks and I nod before handing her the ted sandwich, her te of


    grossness. She takes it, cing it down on the bench before moving so quickly I flinch and I see Jacob


    about to move out of his chair before he rxes when she hugs me. She wraps her arms around me


    Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    and it felt odd, I can’t remember thest time she actually touched me while not angry. It takes me a


    second before I hug her back, patting her back gently. Her huge belly makes the hug even more


    awkward like hugging someone over a table.


    When she lets go, she nods once and grabs her te walking to the table. She was going to


    pretend everything was peachy and that she didn’t turf me out, but I was okay with that. Better than her


    wrath. We ate in silence and Jacob was on his phone, ignoring us or pretending to anyway. When I am


    done, Rayan tugs my hand, wanting me to follow him. I get up and my mother speaks.


    “Are you staying or going back to your mates?” She asks.


    “Staying if I am allowed?” I answer and I see Jacob watching her again waiting to see what she


    says. She nods and I realise that was the only answer I was going to get before Rayan tugs my hand. I


    follow him upstairs and walk to my room when he pulls me toward his. I frown wondering why when he


    pushes his door open.


    “I saved what I could” He says and I see one side of his room was boxes he stares at his feet


    awkwardly.


    “When she kicked you out she went on a rampage and destroyed your room after I brought you the


    clothes to school, came home and your room was destroyed, this is what is left and what I saved from


    the bin” He says. I walk over to it and see my sketch books and a bag of clothes, plus my school bag


    that I left in the car when I arrived. I rummage through grabbing my wallet out to find my cards gone.


    “She cut me off too” I tell him, and he grabs his bag to hand me his card that dad transfers his


    allowance to sometimes if he doesn''t have cash on him. I shake my head.


    “No, it''s fine” I tell him, though it hurts that she would cut me offpletely out of everything


    knowing I had nothing to begin with.


    Rayan pulls out the trundle under his bed while I rummage through to see what else is in my bag. I


    find my school books, my make up bag but my heart sinks when I don''t find my pills until Rayan


    rummages in his underwear drawer before tossing me the bottle.


    “Was worried mum woulde in and rummage through your stuff and turf it, figured you needed


    those when I found them. Why didn’t you tell me you were on antidepressants?” I shrug not something I


    would tell anyone anyway.


    “I can give you some money to get more, I noticed you were nearly out” He says but I shake my


    head.


    “It’s fine, I will ask the pack doctor at Tyson’s pack, he will get them for me. I don’t want mum


    knowing and she will ask questions if I go to our doctors anyway” Rayan nods before cing his hands


    on his hips.


    “Oh and by the way I threw out your dirty box of secrets, no way I was salvaging those for you, but


    I got rid of them before mum saw them, you owe me big for that one. Some things I don’t need to know


    about you sis”


    “What box of secrets?” I ask him.


    “They are the buzzing type that lived in your panties drawer” He says before gagging. Iugh and


    throw his pillow at him before sitting on his bed.


    “So what are you going to do then, you have no school or are you thinking of going back?”


    “I don’t think I have a choice, I will enrol tomorrow across from you at the highschool. At least I can


    finish the year out and see you at break” I tell him and he nods.


    “I will ask Jacob to enroll you or dad, probably best if mum doesn’t go in, she might tell you not to


    bother but you should finish, you are smart, smarter than half the morons at that school” Rayan says. I


    nod my head.


    “Only a few months left anyway, I will just coast through the middle and be invisible” I tell him and


    he chews his fingernail nervously while nodding. Yeah there is no coasting through the middle when


    you are a freak mutation like me, especially when you have no wolf.


    Rayan helped me set up his room because he wanted me to share with him, said he was worried


    mum would lose it again, and he was right. I shouldn’t getfortable here, nothing goes right for me


    even when I try and I knew it would only be a matter of time before she finds another reason to kick me


    out.


    At dinner time Rayan and I were ying video games when his bedroom door opened.


    My stepfather walking in. “Hey kiddo,e here” He says and I rush to him, wrapping my arms around


    his huge frame, he kisses the top of my head.


    “How was mum?” He asks.


    “Fine I saw her earlier” I tell him and he nods before reaching in his pocket. He goes to hand me


    my keycards back that he must of stopped mum from cutting up. I shake my head.


    “Lucy take them please” He says but I refuse.


    “Having somewhere to stay is enough” I tell him, I wanted nothing from them and was nearly


    tempted to go live back in the woods just to get away from the guilt and pity in his eyes.


    “You will need”


    “Leave her be Dad, I already tried to give her mine; she doesn’t want them” Rayan says. My


    stepfather presses his lips in a line but nods.


    “You sort your room out?” He asks, looking at the boxes everywhere still.


    “Yep she is staying right here” Rayan says tapping the trundle next to his bed.


    “You do realise your sister is a woman not a kid Rayan, most teens don’t want to share with their


    baby brother” Ryker tells him.


    “Yeah but she is my sister and I have a bathroom to get changed in, nothing weird. You saying that


    makes it weird” Rayan says. Ryker gives him a look I couldn’t decipher but nods leaving the room.


    “What is up with you?” I ask Rayan, I wasn’t used to him talking to our parents like that.


    “Nothing I am just sick of the way everyone picks at you when they know nothing, sick of them


    thinking I am some good child while you are the bad one”


    “You are a good child” I tell him with augh.


    “Yes in a sense, but I am sick of everyone thinking you would somehow corrupt me, I am capable


    of making my own choices and I am not staying away from you just because they are worried, you''re


    my sister. You could kill someone and I would help you bury the body, because you would do the same


    for me” He says, folding his arms across his chest. I smirk, he had a point but I didn''t want him getting


    in trouble because of me.