"Mom, I'm back!"
Lauren flopped down on the couch, as soon as she walked into the living room, adorned by antic stuffs.
"Hey, Darling . How's school today?"
Jane emerged from the kitchen, with an apron tied around her waist, her brown hair stained with the flour on her hands.
"Not any better"
"Oh Darling! You'll get used to it...I promise, it won't be the same again" Jane sat on the arm of the couch, near her daughter.
"Mom..." Lauren sighed. "That's what you said everytime, for the past six years"
"It wasn't six, it's three"
"Well, it looks like it!" She threw her hands up in exasperation.
"Fine, what do you want?" Jane sighed.
"I want to stop attending that hell you called a school, I don't want to learn, okay?!"
"Is my Darling getting all worked up?"
"Obviously!" Lauren rolled her eyes and Jane chuckled.
"I baked some cookies, would you like to..."
"Thanks Mom,by the way, I'm not hungry"
Rising to her feet, she grabbed her bag and made her way to the stairs.
"Just some cookies, not food"
"I have no appetite for one" Then, she stomped away. Jane sighed
Jane was bittered that Lauren had to face all those ridicules and when she saw her red nose, she knew she was being bullied again.
~•~
"Ah!" Lauren winced.
Romeo, her Dad had just kicked her in the stomach, which caused her to stagger.
"Come on, Lauren! You've got this"He cheered.
"No, Dad. I'm tired already, let's just put an end to this" She stepped back, cowardly.
"How will you defend yourself from threats and attacks around you, when you're this weak?" He snapped, and she flinched in fear.
"I'll handle it my own way..."
"Yeah, that's what you told me every single time, now look what happened to your beautiful nose!"
"Dad!" She whined, but he chose to ignore her.
He beckoned unto her. Lauren glanced at Jane who was watching from afar, before lurching at him.
"Ah!"
She threw her first towards Romeo's face but he effortlessly blocked it with his wrist,then he threw a punch in return to her face, which she successfully dodged, backflipping twice to land on her feet.
Still in her defense position, she moved swiftly and kicked him in the sheen, he kicked her in the face, and she fell flat on the ground. She didn't give up, instead,she moved her leg to tackle his own and when he fell, she used that advantage to punch him across the face, creating a deep bruise.
She made to throw another punch, but he would not let that happen, he grabbed her wrist and flipped her over, then he raised his fist to strike her, while she shut her eyes in reflex, awaiting the punch but none came. Instead, she felt him move away from her, and she opened her eyes to see her father's hand reaching unto her. She finally smiled, grabbing his hand, while he pulled her up.
"Good job today,Lauren"
"You're also not bad, Dad"She teased and they both laughed, moving closer to Jane who was already holding an ice pack.
Without waiting for Lauren to brace up, she pressed the pack on her bruised cheekbone. She winced aloud, trying to get away from her firm grip.
"It hurts so much... Mom...easy" She whined in pain.
"Stop being such a crybaby,you were acting all fierce back there and now you're a whimpering mess" She gave her a light smack on the back, and she winced.
"Mom!"
"Jane, easy with her. Don't hurt my angel"
"Ah" Jane let out a scoff. "I'm jealous" Then, she retreated inside... feigning being jealous.
Father and daughter stared at each other knowingly and winked.
"Dad, with what happened right now, I don't think your sweetheart will give us dinner tonight...why don't you go make up with her so I get to eat dinner. I don't want to go to bed, starving!"
She also went in, while Romeo stood still, observing his surroundings as if scared of something, before he went in, locking the backyard door behind him.
01:03am...
'No! Don't hurt her! Don't hurt my Mom!'
Lauren yelled as the black werewolf bite on Jane's fur and dragged her on the ground, while she watched her Dad's naked form on the ground, a deep gash at his rib. She watched helplessly, trying to break free of the strong grip holding her down. The black werewolf silenced Jane with his sharp claws. Jane's whimpers finally died down as she laid, sprawled on the ground before turning back to a naked form.
'Mom! No! No... please no!'
Lauren continued to cry out as she stared at her Mom's face, her eyes closed forever. She would not get to see that shiny eyes of hers, blood flowing down her chin, from her mouth. As the black werewolf took predatory steps towards her, she trembled.
'Now, it's time for you to die... chosen one'
'No, no... please no! No!'
With a loud cry, she opened her eyes, trembling and sweating, only to found herself in bed. She panted in the dark room, tears staining her cheeks and moistening her eyelashes. She glanced around the room, and sighed in relief when she saw and heard no danger lurking around. What had just happen? Was that a dream?
The door opened abruptly, startling her but when she recognized who walked in, she relaxed. Jane walked to her with Romeo trailing behind. With their looks, anyone could tell they were already asleep.
"What happened? Darling?" Jane took a seat beside her , patting her back.
"I'm sorry...did I wake you?"
"Yeah...kind of...but it's okay, what's wrong?" Romeo said.
"Nothing...I guess...just a bad dream"
"A bad dream? Like?" Jane pressed further.
"Trust me, Mom ...it's nothing..."
"No, I want you to tell us" She urged.
Eventually, Lauren gave a quick rundown of the dream she had. Jane shared a glance with Romeo and they both laughed.
"Our little wolf had that kind of dream? Romeo,why don't you say something?"
"It's really not funny. Do you know how terrified I was? I just have this feeling that..."
"Don't give yourself a hard time, no one is going to harm us, we're strong, aren't we? Now clear your mind and rest, you have a school to go to in the morning"
Romeo said while Jane tucked her back in bed, pulling the blanket up to he
r neck. Lauren smiled at them.
"Fine... goodnight, Mom, Dad.
Her parents placed kisses on her forehead before exiting the room.