Chapter 1


    Chapter One: Calling Home


    Tillie


    Holding the phone up to my ear, I took a deep breath. I had spent the morning talking with my best friend


    and now I knew that taking a break was going to help me sort through everything that I had learned.


    Shifters, mates, sex demons.


    It was all so wild that these things were in my life and I hadn’t known about them.


    I knew that Charity was worried that I wasn’t going toe back if I left, but I knew that I had to. I


    couldn’t hide out at my parent’ske house forever. Hiding from everything that I had learned about the


    world forever, no matter how appealing that idea sounded. I had a job that I liked and while Tristian was


    cool with a lot of things; but I doubted that he would be cool with me never showing up to work again.


    “Hello.” My stepfather said, answering my mother’s phone.


    Damn, I had hoped that I wouldn’t have to talk to him. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Scott or anything. My


    mom had married him when I was a teenager and he doted on her and treated me like I was his


    daughter.


    He just tended to talk, a lot.


    “Hey Scott, is mom around?” I asked, bringing my thumb up to my mouth and worrying my thumbnail.


    “She went to the gym, kiddo. identally grabbed my phone instead of hers. Anything I can help you


    with?” He asked and I could hear banging in the background before he let out a low hiss. “Damn that


    hurt?”


    “You okay?”


    “Yeah, dropped a wrench on my foot.” He answered and I moved deeper into my apartment to sit on the


    couch.


    “Ouch, let me guess you were barefoot? Working on your baby?” I asked, trying not to smile. Scott had a


    Mustang that was older than I was that he’d been working for as long as I could remember but it still


    wasn’t running.


    “You know me too well, Tillie.” He chuckled and I could picture him in the garage hobbling over to sit on


    one of the metal bar stools that sat at his workbench. Tools spread out and the surface disorganized to


    everyone but him.


    “I was wondering if you guys were cool with me going out to theke house for a few days?” I asked,


    worrying my thumbnail with my teeth before pulling my hand away. It was a bad habit and something that


    I only did when I was stressed out and I knew that I needed to stop it or I wasn’t going to have any nails


    left.


    “Sure, kiddo. Did you want us toe with you? I’m sure your mom would love to see you?” Scott said


    and I shook my head before realizing that he couldn’t see me.


    “No, I just wanted to get away for a bit by myself. I’ll clean it up before I leave.” I said, hoping that it would


    be okay with him. While spending time with him and mom was always fun, I didn’t want to deal with her


    questions right now.


    Or her asking how things were with Jake. I didn’t want to tell her what happened between the two of us,


    or what I had happened afterwards. That was something that had me anxious. It was one thing to tell


    your parents that you were dating one guy. It was another thing to tell them that what you thought was


    going to be a one-night stand had turned into so much more and you were practically married to three.


    -Let alone the fact that they were shifters.


    “Sure, Tillie. You know you don’t have to clean it up before you leave. We know you’re not throwing any


    wild keggers out there.” Scott said and I could hear the smile in his voice.


    “I don’t mind cleaning it up. Thank you, Scott, tell mom I love her.”


    “Any time, kiddo. I’ll let her know you called. Drive safe and be careful out there.”


    Scott’s words made me smile. It was the little things that showed me he cared. He had stepped up to fill


    in the father role and


    20:23


    Chapter One: Calling Home


    (Lv.1


    though I had resisted it at first. I was d that I had given him a chance. He loved my mom and me.


    We said our goodbyes before I hung up the phone. Letting out a sigh, I leaned my back. Sinking into the


    well-worn cushions of my couch. At least I could count on my parents to still be the same as they always


    had.


    Belongs to (N)?vel/Drama.Org.


    I looked around my apartment. Jason had said that he wanted me to move my things into their house but


    I couldn’t picture myself giving this ce up. It wasn’t big, just a tiny one-bedroom apartment with


    eggshell colored walls and beige carpet.


    It was my space, though. I had decorated the living room with cheap white bookshelves filled with all of


    my favorite novels and nts hung up in front of the balcony’s sliding door. The paintings on the walls


    were ones that Charity, Jake, and I had done together when Jake and I had first started dating. There


    were so many happy memories here for me and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to them yet.


    I didn’t have a television in the room. I preferred to read or if I watched movies, it was usually at Charity’s


    house. She had her living room set up with an over sized couch and a television that was huge. The


    ckout curtains over her windows gave it the feel of being at the theater and I loved spending time with


    her watching cheesy romance movies or super low-budget horror.


    If I moved in with Jason, Ryan, and Travis, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my nts. I wasn’t


    going to give them up, that was for sure. The guys were just going to have to learn to live with them and


    maybe a few more. It was something that had driven my mom crazy. Anytime she would go out, I would


    sneak in another nt until our kitchen was full of them.


    They made me happy though and I mean, who doesn’t love pretty green things growing?


    Pushing myself up from the couch, I went to the kitchen and filled up my water pitcher. I walked back into


    the living room, watering my nts and talking to them. Telling them about the night that I’d had. Letting


    them know that I was going to be gone for a few days, but I would text Charity toe water them while


    I was gone.


    When I was happy with the care that they had gotten, I made my way back to the kitchen. Feeling lighter


    than I had before. I grabbed a dish towel from beneath the sink, drying the ss pitcher off before putting


    it back in ce.


    I made a mental list of all of the things that I needed to do before I left. The first thing that I needed was a


    shower. After that, I was going to call my boss and beg him for a few days off.


    Maybe I could bribe him with the offer to work overtime when I got back?