CHAPTER TWO

~ SATURDAY ~

"Allison Danvers! What the bloody hell were you thinking not telling your mother you were coming home? Were you trying to give me a heart attack? Do you have any idea how much I've missed you?!" Evelyn screeched.

For the past half an hour, all Evelyn Danvers had done was yell at her two children, cry and yell some more.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I wanted it to be a surprise." Ally said, looking down at the floor in shame.

"Yeah and a surprise it bloody was. I had no clue if you were ever going to come home again!"

"Of course I was going to come home. My family is here."

"But, what about your Mom in California? She's your family. How did she feel about you leaving?"

"Don't call her that." Ally said, shortly.

"What?" Evelyn asked, taken aback.

"Don't call her my Mom. She's not my Mom. And she was fine with me coming back here, as long as I promised to visit and keep in contact."

"You don't call her Mom? You lived with her for four years and you never once called her Mom?" Evelyn questioned, shock evident in her voice.

"She may have birthed me but at the end of the day, that woman didn't raise me, or change me, or clean me, or teach me how to walk and talk. She's just some woman who had an affair with my dad and left me the minute we got out of the hospital." Ally explained.

"But, you spent four years with her?" Evelyn mumbled.

"And I lived in the dorms at school and saw her on Wednesdays and Sundays. It wasn't much and to be honest, no one could ever replace you. My Mom." Ally smiled sweetly.

Evelyn gave her daughter a watery smile before pulling her in for a tight hug, stroking her hair like she did whenever Ally was sick.

"My beautiful girl. I've missed you so much. I'm so happy you're home." Evelyn whispered.

"And my beautiful boy." Evelyn grabbed Caleb and pulled him into the hug. "My beautiful children."

After Evelyn had fallen asleep, and Caleb Used to put her to bed, Ally was putting away her clothes and redecorating her room when Caleb knocked on her door.

"Hey Trouble. Was that true what you said earlier? Did you really not stay with your mother?" Caleb asked, coming to sit on the bed next to Ally.

"Yeah, it was all true. As much as I wanted to meet her, and get answers, I just couldn't bring myself to form a connection with her. At the end of the day, she hurt our Mom by cheating with Dad, and she abandoned me. That's not the woman I want for a Mom. We got close but there was always hesitation from me, I was so afraid of getting hurt again" Ally explained, resting her head on his shoulder, she could feel herself getting upset at the mention of her birth mom.

"Well, I respect you for that. Want to talk about something more lighthearted?" Caleb smoothly moved off the topic.

"Do I ever?" Ally laughed.

"Tyler and Reid are coming over tomorrow, and so is my girlfriend Sarah. I can't wait for you to meet her." Caleb said, his voice and his eyes filling with adoration.

"What about Pogue?"

Ever since they were children, Ally and Pogue were often inseparable. Once they turned thirteen, Ally took off for California leaving Pogue devastated and both of them with aching hearts. Quite literally.

"He's in the hospital." Caleb said sadly, remembering the series of events that had taken place only a couple of days before.

"What? Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" Ally shrieked, jumping off the bed and turning to glare at her brother.

"I'm sorry 'Ly. I got so caught up in you actually being home that it slipped my mind."

"It's okay 'Leb. I understand." Ally smiled.

"I'd offer to take you to see him tomorrow but Mom wants to spend the day with you and then the guys and Sarah are coming over." Caleb said.

"It's okay. I'll go and visit him Monday after school. Just don't tell him I'm home yet. I want to surprise him. I haven't seen him in forever." Ally said, getting excited at the idea of finally seeing Pogue Parry after all these years.

"I promise I won't. I'll let you settle in and get some sleep." Caleb gave Ally a kiss on the head before striding over to the door. "Also, before I forget, here are the keys to your car."

Caleb chucked Ally a set of car keys and she barely had time to dodge them hitting her in the face.

"Thanks Caleb. I would appreciate you giving the keys to me a little bit more if you hadn't almost taken my eye out with them." Ally smiled, cheekily.

Caleb rolled his eyes, stuck his tongue out at her before closing the door before she chucked a pillow at him. Smiling at the closed door, Ally laid down on her bed relishing in the joy of being back home.

The steam from the shower fogged up the window whilst Ally stood under the hot water, letting it wash over her. Rinsing the soap off of her, Ally felt the hairs on the back of her neck raise. Someone was watching her. Opening her eyes, she looked around the room but didn't see anyone there. She was alone. Turning back to the water, Ally wrapped her arms around herself as she rinsed off the last of the soap suds.

"Alllllllyyyyy."

A sharp voice whispered her name. Placing her head against the cool tiles of the shower, Ally convinced herself that it was all in her head. Her nerves were just fried from coming home and seeing her mother and brother again. It was all in her head.

"Allllyyyyyyy."

The voice echoed throughout the bathroom. Lifting her head up from the wall, Ally turned to grab her towel when she saw it. Stood in front of her was a Darkling. Ally clapped her hands over her mouth to muffle the scream that bubbled past her lips. The Darkling let out a terrifying screech before disappearing. Gasping for breath, Ally hunched over and emptied the contents of her stomach down the shower drain. Once her sobs had subsided, Ally shut off the shower, wrapped her towel around herself before storming into Caleb's room to confront him. Not one member of the Sons was capable of creating something so evil. Yet they were the only members of the Covenant left. Or so Ally thought.

"Ally, could you at least have put some clothes on first? And dried off. You're getting water everywhere." Caleb exclaimed.

"No! I could not have put clothes on first. Now, I demand you tell me what the bloody hell happened whilst I was away!" Ally practically shrieked, sounding hysterical.

Caleb tensed up but noticed the tear stains on her cheeks and his expression immediately became concerned.

"I-I don't k-know what you're on about." Caleb lied, looking at the floor guiltily, wanting to shield his little sister from the truth.

"Don't lie to me, Danvers. I just had a shower with a DARKLING! I felt the power that was used on the night of your ascension and I know that it wasn't your power! So, you better tell me right now - who is the Son from the Putnam line? And how the bloody hell is he alive?!" Ally yelled.

Caleb, shocked at what Ally had just said, wrapped his arms around her and told her everything that happened. He told her about Putnam's descendant and how they had befriended him, only for him to try and steal Caleb's power, attack Kate and Sarah, and put Pogue in the hospital. They talked for hours and hours. Eventually catching up on the past four years they had missed out on together.

"I'm sorry about Dad." Ally said softly, laying on Caleb's bed in one of his t-shirts.

"Me too." Caleb whispered. "Despite the fact that he wasn't there for us. He sacrificed himself for me in the end. When it mattered."

"He did love you, Caleb. I know he never showed it but he did."

"Mom said the same thing." Caleb let out a watery chuckle. "He loved you too."

"Maybe. I wasn't worth much to him though, he didn't think I'd have power and by the time I was thirteen, it was too late." Ally said, fighting tears.

"He still took you in when you were a baby."

"That's because Mom forced him to and I was a baby, he had feelings then."

"I'm not sure he ever had feelings."

"Power hungry is a feeling." Ally pointed out.

The pair of them were staring at the ceiling thinking about the few memories they had of their father. Memories that weren't filled with an old, unresponsive man.

"I hope you're happy now, Dad. Maybe you're better now." Ally said, her eyes not removing from the ceiling, as if she was staring up at the sky.

"Maybe you can forgive yourself." Caleb said, his eyes not removing from the ceiling.

Somewhere in a house in the woods, Chase Collins let out an angry yell. She had returned to Ipswich and now she would ruin all his plans. The only upside was she didn't know who he was. Letting his anger get the best of him, Chase's power exploded causing a wall of the house to explode. Chase would get the Sons and he would deal with her. There was no way he was going to let that girl interfere and stop him from taking all the power. Even if that meant he had to kill her.