Staring down the slavering maw of a monster was a terrifying experience. This though, having the cold penetrating stare of my mother’s eyes on me, and feeling like they were boring right through my skull was frightening on a whole other level.

Did she see me with Gunderson when he dropped me off? She must have, why else did she answer the door and stare at me with such a menacing aura? Was she going to ignore my question and just glare at me until I turned into dust? Maybe she just didn’t hear me, I guess I’ll repeat what I said.

“S-so Mom, what are you doing home so early today?” I asked in a feigned and stilted attempt at sounding casual and polite.

She didn’t respond at all. She just kept standing there, still as a statue. Her eyes only seemed to bore deeper into my skull, trying to unearth the secrets I kept buried inside. I began to fidget then, unsure of what I should do or say. The only change that came about after a while was my mother finally letting her eyes begin to roam around the front yard and the street that was running adjacent to it.

“Mom, this is getting to be a b-bit awkward, are you going to let me in now or are we just going to stand at the front door like this all day?” I asked, a little bit of confidence borne from my feelings of desperation and irritation.

Her eyes returned to mine, and I could feel the renewed sense of judgment and pressure that her gaze was inflicting upon me. She compounded this action by crossing her arms in front of her, fortifying her disapproval and the position she held blocking the door and my entry.

“Mom, this is silly. Can’t you just tell me what's on your mind, or at least just let me come inside? I haven’t had a chance to eat lunch, and I’m actually feeling kinda hungry.” I said earnestly.

“Oh, your new boyfriend didn’t buy you lunch? Is he really that cheap, or were you two too busy doing…other things?” My mother asked, finally breaking the soul-crushing silence.

“B-boyfriend!? That guy isn’t my boyfriend, he’s like over twice my age!” I exclaimed. My eyes darted around in frantic nervousness, while my cheeks colored brightly with embarrassment.

I knew this was the ridiculous assumption she would come to, but hearing it out loud still felt mortifying.

“Uh huh, an awfully nice car he’s got. I could hear it pull into the driveway while I was busy cleaning and chopping up some vegetables in the kitchen.” She informed me. “He must make decent money at least, I'm guessing he works in the financial sector to afford a car like that.”

“Mom it’s really not like that. Like, not at all. I just met that guy today!” I protested.

“Only met him today, and he already gave you a ride home in his fancy red convertible. You’re moving pretty fast, don’t you think? What have you two been up to today?” She asked with the intensity of her stare still trying to divine the truth from my eyes and face.

Okay, I need to get control of this situation, fast. I should use the same cover story Gunderson used with the principal. It’ll sound more plausible when she checks later with Mrs. Temple to confirm my story.

“H-he’s with the FBI, he was just questioning me about the incident l-last Thursday.” I tried to explain. “I met with him and Principal Temple in her office where we w-went over what had happened.”

“Really?” She asked, one of her eyebrows raised in suspicion. “That person was an FBI agent driving around in a car like that. In fact, why would he be driving you anywhere?”

“He uh, offered to buy me lunch, but we uh got distracted talking about the case he was working on with his coworkers.” I tried to lie while skirting as close to the truth as I could manage.

My mother’s eyes squinted at me in suspicion. “And if I were to call Principal Temple right now, she would confirm all this.”

“Yep. Absolutely. Call her right now, I’ll wait.” I told her cheerfully, feeling my victory almost at hand.

She continued to stare at me in silence for what felt like at least another minute. Time seemed to stretch out to infinity as I was left standing there awkwardly outside of my own front door.

“Fine.” My mother finally proclaimed. “Come inside and put your things away first, I still have more questions I want to ask you.”

A partial victory, but it was progress. As my mother stepped clear of the door and left me a path to enter, I eagerly took my chance and walked inside and then past her. I didn’t stop or slow down at all until I went upstairs and finally reached my room, and the welcoming feelings of safety and security it gave me.

I tossed my backpack onto the floor and placed my magic textbook on my desk. I however, collapsed unceremoniously onto my well used desk chair. A weary and very unladylike groan escaped my mouth. What a long day it’s been.

I looked at the textbook I had just put down. I’d hoped I’d hid it well enough for my mother not to see the title, but I was still worried she would try to question me about it and demand to look at the strange new book I was holding in my arms, especially after the suspicious scene I arrived home in. Maybe I actually just lucked out this time.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Unwilling to leave the comfort of my chair and go back downstairs for further interrogation, I lingered for a while longer, staring up at my bedroom ceiling.

“What do I even tell her?” I asked the plain white ceiling looking back down at me. “The truth isn’t an option for multiple reasons. I guess I’ll just have to stick with the lies and cover story he’s already created.”

Letting out a resigned sigh. I stood back and made my way back downstairs. Walking down each of the steps felt like I was marching down to face my own execution.

I quickly spotted my mother standing there waiting for me. She’d been waiting with her arms crossed at the bottom of the stairs, having not moved very far from where she had been blocking me at the front door.

“H-hi, what else did you want to ask me then?” I prompted her.

“So, the FBI came to question you about what happened? What did you tell them? Are you in trouble?” She asked in a rapid-fire series of questions.

“Uh, the same thing I told you basically, and no I’m not in trouble.” I said nervously. “They uh, wanted to see if I had more details about the incident, for the case they’ve been working on.”

“That's interesting to me. I had no idea the FBI investigated wild animal attacks.” My mother said, trying to poke holes into my story. “It was my understanding that their investigations focused more on criminal activities. Was the incident with the wild animal attack criminal? Was that wolf you encountered actually an escaped felon wolf with an extensive criminal record.”

“N-no Mom. That’s ridiculous.” I had to think fast and come up with a plausible reason for Gunderson to have an ongoing case about what happened. “H-he was just investigating the death of the other students, and uh seeing if there was ah um, a case for criminal negligence that could apply here.”

“Oh, does that mean Damien and his family are in trouble then?” She asked, genuinely curious about my answer now.

“N-no, I think my answers, and the story I gave him, helped convince him there wasn’t a need for the FBI to investigate the incident anymore.”

“Hmm, well it's good that the Carlisles won’t have to deal with any more trouble than they already have, after what happened at their home.” My mother concluded. “That poor family, to have all that happen in their own home, I can’t even imagine continuing to live in a place where such a thing occurred.”

“Yeah, it was…it was pretty awful.” I told her.

My mom turned her head to get a good look at me again. Her expression started to soften as she saw the expression I must have had on my face.

“Oh sweetheart, I can’t even imagine.” She comforted me.

I looked back down at my feet, trying my best to not let my emotions get the better of me again.

As I did this though, my mom came up and wrapped me in a hug. I didn’t protest, and decided to just let it happen.

“I’m sorry I’m asking you so many questions. I’m just so worried about you.” My mother confided while still holding me close to her.

“I know Mom. I get it.” I tried to reassure her in return.

Having enjoyed the hug, I was still the first one to separate. Otherwise, I might’ve been stuck there hugging my mother for the rest of the day if I let her.

I should try and change the subject, hopefully away from more problematic topics. “So, what are you doing home so early Mom? It’s not even two o’clock yet.”

“I decided to take a half day at work. With this being your first day back to school, and our disagreement about you returning so soon, I was feeling…stressed out and decided to take some personal time off.”

“Mom…you know I wasn’t trying to worry you when I said I wanted to go back to school today.”

“Yes sweetheart, I know. But still, I couldn’t help feeling worried for you.” She confessed. “Your father and I already had a long…argument last night about this already so I don’t want to re-litigate things, but seeing you dropped off by a…FBI agent has not done much for my level of stress dear.”

“I’m sorry about that, he offered me a ride home, and it seemed like it would be rude to refuse someone like that right?” I asked her rhetorically.

“You’re probably right. So that FBI agent…what was his name again?” She asked, having noted I’d never actually told her yet.

“Uh, Gunderson, Special Agent Gunderson.” I revealed, hopefully, this worked with his cover story. It is what he told Principal Temple after all.

“Right Agent Gunderson concluded that there wasn’t a case that needed to be investigated, and everybody can do their best now to move on from what happened?”’

“Uh yeah, at least as far as the FBI is concerned. I don’t know what's happening with other people, like the local police and the school administration.”

“I see, well that’s good to hear at least.”

“So you didn’t have any houses to show today? Or did you get someone to cover for you?” I asked, trying hopelessly to change the topic once again.

“I technically had some clients scheduled for today, but those I couldn’t reschedule, I just had Jenice cover for me. She didn’t mind as it meant she had a chance to get her hands on some of my commissions for herself.” My mother had a predatory grin as she told me this. “As if I’d really ever let her actually beat me.”

“Uh right, I’m glad you two are still…getting along so well.” I said with uncertainty.

My mother had been working at a local real estate company for as long as I can remember. Working there she had garnered a reputation for being quite competitive and a little cutthroat. Jenice was, apparently, her chief rival at Redwood Valley Realty.

Having let herself drift off into imagining herself crushing her rival, my mother quickly turned her attention back onto the present and on to me unfortunately.

“So, that man’s really not your new boyfriend or anything?” She asked again.

“Mom!? Seriously, I already told you, no he’s not. I told you already, he’s like fricking twice my age.” My loud protests would hopefully finally convince my mother of the absurdity of her insane theory. “Plus, he’s probably at least as old as Dad, if not older.”

“Some girls are attracted to that kind of thing.” She casually informed me. “You wouldn’t be the first young woman to try and seduce an older man.”

“Mom! Stop it, seriously. I’m just going to walk away if you keep trying to goad me.” I told her defiantly.

“Oh don’t be dramatic. You’re the one who showed up in our driveway in a shiny red convertible, sitting next to a man dressed in an exceptionally well-tailored suit.”

Before I could fire off another angry rebuttal, the front door opened, and my brother Elliot stepped inside.

“Who’s driving Jenni around in a red convertible?” My annoying little brother asked us brusquely.