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"I'll do it in the morning," you say. You need some time to process all of this and figure out how you're going to explain yourself to the cops. "But Ma, that wolf-man in the forest, he said I was born this way... Do you think Wade has anything to do with this?"
Bringing up your father is usually a quick way to rile up your mom. She has never had anything kind to say about him. Even now, mentioning the guy is enough to cause her expression to sour and her lips to be drawn in a thin line.
"I don't know," she finally says with an exasperated sigh. "He weren't in my life for all that long, only a couple of months. All I know is that I was head over heels for that man. He was wild, dangerous, mysterious... I shoulda known better. Soon as Wade knew I was pregnant, he got outta town fast as he could. I never saw him again. I don't regret having you, but everything else I did with that jagoff was a mistake."
"He never said anything about Gaia, nothing like that?"
"Not a word. Wade didn't like being around a lot of people, took me outdoors much as he could. He had all of these weird scars but he never told me how he got them, no matter how much I asked. That was part of his mystique, I guess. Never said anything about any of this stuff though." Another sigh. "Look, Sam, let's just focus on the here and now, okay? We need to figure out how what you're gonna say to the cops."
"They all think a bear ate me, right? I'll just say that I ran away and got lost in the woods for a while."
"Oh yeah? What about your clothes? They're gonna be suspicious if you turn up like that after leaving tatters in the coal mine." She folds her arms as she points out all of the flaws in your plan, one by one, like she always does. "How the hell did you manage to get away from a bear? Where were you hiding out all night? How did it manage to tear your god-damn clothes off without leaving a scratch on you?"
Before you can answer your mom, the phone starts to ring. She hurriedly gestures for you to scram, since you can't afford to be overheard over the phone. For now, you better hide out in your room and put together a real plan.
>Your mom can call the police first thing in the morning and tell them that you've come home. They will have a lot of questions, but there's less risk of being caught.
>Rip up your clothes and go back out into the woods so that the cops can stumble across you. The plan will fall apart if you're caught on your way out of town.
>Rough yourself up a little. See if you can give yourself a few scratches here there, maybe a few bruises. It's not much but combined with the new scar on your forearm, hopefully it will convince the cops that you've had a rough night.
>Get serious. It's been a couple of years since you last self-harmed, but it's the only way to make it look like you've been mauled by a bear. You're bound to upset your mom though and it might be a while until you're able to heal those wounds.
