*****
Later that night, everyone sat around the dining room table together, but dinner was subdued. The empty spot that Ginny normally sat in stood out like a sore thumb, letting everyone at the table know that something was missing, something that might not ever come back. Gwen couldn’t help but stare at it all night, wondering where her cousin was at that moment, whether she was even still alive or if she had died the night she went missing. Her obvious absence was affecting everyone else, as well.
Geoffrey and Grant traded glares throughout the entire meal, and Sandra pretended not to notice. However, their mother was very interested in their behavior, and Gwen could tell she was taking mental notes about it, just like she was. She really doesn’t know, Gwen thought, amazed. She’s as in the dark about this as we are, but it looks like aunt Sandra knows. What could have happened that was so bad he’d even keep it a secret from his wife?
When dinner was finished, Gwen offered to help clear away the dishes, but Sandra shooed her away and she didn’t need to be told twice. She went upstairs to her room, but before she could even try and settle down on the bed, there was a knock on the door. She let Gabe in, and he sat down on the end of her bed, crossing his legs beneath him. She closed the door and sat down beside him, neither of them saying anything for a moment. Finally, Gabe spoke.
“Are you really okay? I know how scared you are when it comes to wolves.”
Gwen shrugged. The truth was, she hadn’t done much thinking about the wolves since returning home. Her mind had been entirely focused on Ginny, the wedge, and what it meant. She didn’t have room in her heart to worry about Ginny and herself, and frankly, Ginny’s wellbeing was more important to Gwen than her own. So she had pushed the wolves to the back of her mind, but thinking of it all now had her heart racing again.
“I’m fine,” she lied. “Nothing happened.”
“You know, you have nothing to fear from most wolves,” Gabe said, for probably the thousandth time. Any time they watched a movie about werewolves, she would be on the edge of her seat, biting her nails and trembling while Gabe would be laughing at the crappy special effects. She could never seem to find the will to laugh about an animal that could rip her throat open in the blink of an eye, especially if it had human intelligence like werewolves often did in the newer movies.
“Did you come in here just to check on me? You could have done that before we got ready for bed,” she said, looking down at her fuzzy pajama bottoms. They were her favorite pair, mostly because Ginny had the matching pair. They were probably sitting in the back of her closet right now, where they might never be worn again. She tore her eyes away from the closet and looked at Gabe, waiting for his answer.
“I wanted to talk to you about something. Earlier in the woods, did you notice Uncle Geoffrey acting weird?”
“You mean like he lost all hope the second he saw that shoe? Yeah, I noticed,” she said, her voice quiet. “I saw the hope in his eyes die, Gabe. He doesn’t think we’re going to find her alive anymore, I just know it. I don’t understand why, when the shoe is a good lead, but he thinks she’s dead. I wish I knew why.”
“So it wasn’t just me that noticed it,” he mused. “I wasn’t sure if you picked up on it or not since you were so terrified. But I’m glad to know it wasn’t just me. Why do you think he has no hope?”
“I’m not sure,” she said, chewing on her thumbnail again. “Maybe it has something to do with whatever they’re keeping from us.”
“You make it sound like a conspiracy,” Gabe joked.
“It might be,” Gwen countered. “You never know. Maybe Dad and Uncle Geoffrey had dangerous past lives or something, and Ginny got caught up in it.” When Gabe shook his head, Gwen frowned. “It’s possible!”
“You’re insane. He probably saw the blood and his mind ran with the worst possible scenario. Hopefully he’ll come around when the search resumes tomorrow. He’ll see there’s still a chance we’ll find her, and things will get better. Maybe not between Dad and Uncle Geoffrey, but better about Ginny’s situation.”
“I hope you’re right, Gabe. But I just don’t know. There wasn’t that much blood to worry about. I mean, yeah it was more than a little nosebleed, but for his mind to run with the worst case scenario…that’s a bit of an overreaction. It was like she tripped and hit her head on a rock, not like she got hacked to pieces by some crazy psychopath. I think Uncle Geoffrey knows something about her disappearance he isn’t telling anyone, something that has him even more worried than we are.”
Gabe was silent, and Gwen could tell he was thinking about what she had just said. She could see the gears turning in his head, and she hoped he didn’t completely dismiss her worries. Finally, he sighed. “You could be right,” he admitted. “I don’t know what he could be keeping from us and the police, but it’s obvious there’s something going on. I highly doubt Dad and Uncle Geoffrey were ever involved in gangs or were spies or anything, but you might be right about secret past lives.”
Gwen felt a sense of pride knowing that she had convinced her brother. Even though her mind did initially go to something as preposterous as gang affiliation or even being spies, there was still merit to her thoughts. Maybe they testified against someone bad or maybe they knew someone that held a grudge against them. She wasn’t sure what the details were, but it was obvious to her—and now to Gabe as well—that they were hiding something from not only the police, but the rest of the family as well.
I wonder if Ginny knows why this happened to her or if she’s being kept completely in the dark?
Gabe leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, breaking her concentration. She pulled away from him, her eyes going wide. Gabe rarely showed affection except when messing up her hair. When he saw the look on her face, he smiled and shrugged, getting to his feet again. “I figured a little affection couldn’t hurt at a time like this.” He made his way to the door and stopped, looking over his shoulder at her. “Everything’s gonna be okay, Gwen. If you need me, I’m here. You know that, right?”
“Of course,” she said quietly, a smile forming on her lips. “You’re the most dependable person I know, even if you can be a dick sometimes.”
“Go to bed, Dork.”
He closed the door behind him, leaving her room in near total darkness. She lay back against her pillow, staring up at the ceiling above her as her mind wandered. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen tomorrow, but she silently prayed to anyone who was listening that Ginny was located safe and sound, with no permanent trauma to show for her ordeal. She has to be okay. The other option is too terrible to even think about…
As she closed her eyes, she heard a lone howl in the distance, and she immediately sat up, her eyes going wide. The animal sounded close—way too close for comfort—and Gwen hugged herself tightly as the call came again. It wasn’t the call of a hunter though, she was certain of that. It was the call of a lonely and sad creature, one that might have been lost or injured. Her mind flashed back to the small gray wolf in the clearing, the one with the sad blue eyes, and she wondered if it was still alive after its run-in with the larger wolf.
More wolves picked up the call, and a symphony of howls began. It was a powerful and mystical sound, one that had the blood pumping in Gwen’s veins despite the terror she felt. Something in their calls reached out to her, connecting with her on a level far too deep to understand. She almost went to the window and opened it to hear them better, but she thought twice about it and stayed rooted to the spot.
She fell asleep that night listening to the sounds of the wolves outside her window. It wasn’t until morning that she noticed the sad wolf had stopped howling and hadn’t joined in with its pack mates.