Exactly six and a half years after we had finally found peace, Lucy and I had to leave Emma and the rest behind in the loop and made a trip to America so we could visit my parents. After a long time of sitting in the car, listening to the most ridiculous songs and talking about our plans for the coming weeks, we decided to stay in a motel until we were ready to drive again. I did not care much about the kind of motel we were to stay in, but Lucy did have some conditions. I could not possibly win the argument from her, so after inspecting six of them, we finally found a motel that was good enough for her. It was a sunny day so we stayed outside almost the entire day and we talked about everything that needed to be discussed, before Lucy were to meet my parents.

The next day we were back on the road, again listening to those songs Lucy liked so much.

"What do you think is going to happen when we meet your parents Jacob?" she asked suddenly.

I took a moment to think and then said: "I don't know, but I think they will be startled."

"Why?"

"Well, they have not heard from me in a while," I joked nervously. I knew all too well why they would be more than surprised to see my face again. Not only had I not contacted them, I had kept secrets from them. About Grandpa Portman, but about me as well. I could not imagine how they would react when they heard I was just like my grandfather and that my girlfriend could run fast as hell.

"And uh, what about me? Do you think they will like me?" Lucy asked softly, like a little mouse that's about to face a dangerous predator.

I smiled and grabbed her hand. "Don't worry about that, I am positive they will love you."

We talked about the past years for the following three hours. We talked about Miss Peregrine, who was trying her best to be happy for us, but I had seen that she was worried. Worried about the dangers that we might encounter. Dangers that might not have left the earth just yet.

Then suddenly the sunny days were wiped out and replaced by the darkest clouds I had ever seen. The rain began to fall and the sound of the thunder became louder than the music on the radio.

Luckily, we had only fifteen minutes left to drive and my parents' house was easy to reach. But the closer we came, the more nervous I got. Uncertainty and fear began to cloud my mind. Absorbed in thought, I did not hear Lucy shouting my name.

"Jacob! Jacob! Watch out! What are you doing?!"

I came to my senses and saw that I was about to hit the car in front of us, so I pushed the brake. I was so embarrassed and apologised to Lucy, who seemed more angry than scared. The rest of the drive I let her behind the wheel.

When we arrived at the house, I was as nervous as I could be and I could not understand why. After all, they were my parents, so it could not be that bad. Lucy grabbed my arm and I felt she was tense, too. We walked to the door and rang the bell. It was my mother who opened the door.

I could not find the words just yet, so fortunately my mother spoke first.

"Jacob… is that you? What…"

"Hi mom," I started. "It's been some time but-"

My mother did not let me finish my sentence and hugged me. She quickly let go and then I saw my father standing behind her in the doorway. He stood there as if he'd just seen a ghost.

"Hello, dad" I said, wondering how long he was going to stand there like that.

"Jacob," he whispered. It was so soft, I almost could not hear him.

"This is Lucy, my girlfriend."

My mother introduced herself to Lucy, but my father still stood there in the same dumbfounded way like he had been for the past two minutes.

"Oh Jacob, I'm so glad you've come home. But please, you ought to tell us what's happened. Come on inside." My mother said kindly.

And so Lucy and I stepped inside the house, which, apart from minor changes, still looked the same as it did many years ago. I tried to smile to my parents, but my nerves hadn't vanished yet. My mother directed us to the couch and asked us for something to drink. Five minutes later she and my father came back from the kitchen with tea and I knew that this was the moment. And I did not know whether they would believe me or not, but I had to tell them the truth that I've been keeping from them for so long.

Surprisingly, my parents reacted quite well to my stories. After two hours of talking about our latest experiences and elaborating the letter I had left them many years ago, they asked some questions about Lucy. I noticed that they did not really know what to say, but they wanted to show interest too.

Ten minutes later Lucy and I said our goodbyes and went to the car.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, was is Jacob?" Lucy asked with a smile on her face.

I laughed. "No, it was not. Though, for a second I saw my mom give my dad this look that gave away that she was not sure she believed me."

"But we can't do much about that now, can we?"

I shook my head and as I started the car I said: "Now we can go home."