Hi everyone! I hope you're well and that there are still a few of you with me.

I'm sorry it's been so long. I've had a serious case of writer's block again. It's been painful to write, which is a pretty weird feeling for me I can tell you.

Initially this chapter was a bit longer but I wasn't quite how I wanted it to go, so expect the 'second half' soon.

Thank you so much for all you support and patience! I can't tell you how much it means to me :) now on we go. Please forgive the editing as always.

Chapter Four – Tender Mirror

"...Unintelligible cries

Of an animal in the night

Mean more to my ear than the noise I hear..."

– Jolie Holland

Lili had been sitting in the student learning centre for over an hour. Her chem homework was placed in front of her but she hadn't moved to start on it since she'd sat down.

Ever since the night of the that poor girl being attacked in Kilderry Park, Lili had felt even more off than usual.

She had been doing everything in her power to keep that strange buzzing out her mind. She eyed the container sitting on the table next to her homework. It was filled with her latest attempts to keep her mind occupied. It may have been selfish to focus on herself when something so horrible had happened, but it was all Lili could do to keep herself from going completely crazy.

'Completely is right.' She huffed to herself, allowing her body to sink further into the uncomfortable plastic seat in the dimly lit room. Her left thumb absently picking at the Felix the Cat band-aids on the tips of her middle and ring fingers on the same hand.

The brown haired girl had barely noticed when the bell had ring. She had been sat at the same table since her free period which happened to be in the block just before lunch.

Now, it was only her and few other students hurriedly working on their homework or group projects for their next classes.

Lili had intended on doing the same but her ability to focus had been increasingly drained by her recent restless nights. Lili knew that she looked like a mess and her late night activity was likely contributing to her haggard appearance. As much as she knew that, she didn't like the idea of sitting still trying to fall back asleep with her thoughts especially alone in the quiet hours of the morning. Whatever had been going on in her brain had been too weird for her to deal with in the moment. So she had taken to baking very early in the morning to distract herself, much to Peter's pleasure.

She played with chain around her neck now and allowed herself a small smile at the thought of her cousin.

Peter had developed a habit of stumbling out of bed in his boxers with bleary grey eyes to go to the bathroom, usually just as Lili had finished baking. Typically he'd mutter something unintelligible, squint in at the glow of the kitchen light, and snipe one of the sweets Lili had made before rubbing his belly and shuffling half awake back to his room with is his treat.

Lili supposed that she should be grateful. With all her rustling around in the night she had expected that Theo would at least wake up, but the training for his new job had been so demanding that he was already exhausted everyday when Lili would pick him up from the White Tower. He had found a new route for his nightly runs as well, so by the time he'd arrived back at the trailer he could hardly focus on anything but his postcards and Casper.

He had to have known something was wrong though. Lili had noticed Theo had being sliding postcards in her direction in the evenings while she did her homework on the rickety dining table with him.

And more obvious, he had taken to tethering a bit of string with a fair bit of slack around her foot that was tied off at the other end at his wrist. Lili had realized this the first night after the discovery of the body and sleepwalking incident. She had finally fallen asleep for what had felt like 2 minutes when she woken up to go to the bathroom and nearly fallen flat on her face when the string pulled tight as she started to make her way down the dark hall. He explained he was 'taking necessary measures'.

It was difficult to not find it endearing, so now in the mornings when she got up for what was quickly becoming an early morning routine she made sure to untie the string around her ankle.

She knew that he was just trying to reassure her and himself in his own slightly off beat way.

Peter and Lynda had been supportive as well. If not quite as obvious. Lynda had been more sweet and open than Lili thought a person could be in their awkward situation. She had been telling the stories about other cousins and relatives that she wanted to introduce Lili and Theo to.

While Peter had continued to be himself, smiling and joking but he had clearly not been voicing the concerns he was habouring.

'Definitely has the whole quiet brooding thing down.' She thought of the way he's dark eyebrows would draw together with more frequency, as though he was trying to sort out a difficult problem. Sometimes he'd be looking at her, other times he'd been looking up at the stars and, lately, more often than not at his eyes would wander over to the undeniably beautiful Letha Godfrey.

Lili had to admit that she had been worried about Peter's focussed looks, she wondered one more than one occasion if the rumours were starting to get to him.

The image of Peter rubbing his hairy belly with his eyes barely half open as he stumbled back to bed filled her head. She had to scoff at the idea of anything like a couple of crazy high school whispers about werewolves bothering her laid back cousin.

… Still the whispers around town might have been harder for him to ignore then he was willing to let on. He could've have just been trying to put on a brave front.

The sound of a moan caught Lili's attention.

She glanced up towards the far end of the room. There she spotted the familiar form of Shelley Godfrey attempting to find a place to sit for lunch. Judging by the expression on her face which was half hidden by her long dark hair she had not expected quite so many people to still be in the learning centre. She typed something into her phone after standing behind a boy who seemed to be deliberately trying ignore her. Lili bristled as the boy laughed and moved his chair a fraction to allow Shelley to pass by him without bothering to meet her eye when he did.

Another small moan escaped Shelley as she slid passed the seated boy, inciting a round of sniggers at his table.

Biting her lip to maintain control of her mouth, Lili smiled and waved her hand in Shelley's direction. Even from where she was sitting Lili could see the taller girl's face light up at the gesture.

Shelley moved her way slowly and anxiously towards the table Lili was seated at. Lili held out the open container of cookies to the standing girl, who took one with a bashful smile.

"Why don't you join me here? It's way too crowded over there... " Lili darted her eyes around and leaned forward to add "…besides I still don't really know anyone at this school, so you'd be doing me a big favour." She pushed the chair beside her out with her foot from under the table.

Shelley bobbed her head enthusiastically and gave another small series of moans. The larger girl moved to sit down, obviously trying to hide her flinch at the sound of the people sitting at the table behind her laughing.

Lili frowned. Her eyes flitted past Shelley's body for a moment.

Instead of acting on her instinct, Lili let her gaze fall back to the younger girl, who seemed to be engrossed in the process of hunching into as tiny a shape as possible while breaking her cookie into small pieces on the table in front of her.

"Hey..." Lili moved her hand towards Shelley. She had intended to rest her fingers on top of the larger girl's bandaged hand but stopped when Shelley shrunk away from her. "Sorry." Lili drew her hand back, realizing for the first time that within just a few weeks of being around Lynda and especially Peter so many of her rules about touching had started to bend… slightly. She felt the pressure of her mother's ring on her chest. "I just wanted to let you know that those..." Lili nodded, with a soft smile at Shelley's crumbled cookie, "... usually work better when you eat them."

Shelley bashfully raised her face to look at Lili. She winced out a polite smile and raised the phone and stylus hanging around her neck to type out a response to Lili's statement.

"Letha says the same thing about sweets…" the automated voice spoke for Shelley from the phone. "But mother says that I have to…" the voice paused as Shelley appeared to be deciding on whether or not she should continue typing, her large brown eyes unable to meet Lili's once again.

"Well…" Lili started, her teeth worrying her bottom lip before she spoke, unsure if she was making the right move, "... I heard that daughters are meant to rebel a little to keep their mothers on their toes. Keeps 'em young."

Shelley shifted her gaze back to Lili, giggling when she realized that Lili had been joking.

"That must be true. My mother looks younger than most moms." Shelley typed with impressive speed, especially considering the bandaged state of her hands. "I think Roman rebels more than enough for the both of us though. Some of the things he says..."

Lili resisted the urge to frown at the sound of that particular name. 'Jerk.' Though she tried her best to control her features she still felt herself bristle at the thought of the interaction that Theo and a that boy had on their first day in this town.

Apparently she didn't do a good enough job, either that or Shelley was far more perceptive than she let on because the next words from the automated voice were: "He's really not that bad."

Lili managed a tight smile, she chose to pick up a cookie and munch on it before responding. She had barely seen the guy since her first day at the school, but some days she felt that burning stare was still on her. And it irked.

However, the last thing she wanted to do was offend the sweet girl in front of her with her true thoughts about that sports jacket wearing, entitled ass… who also somehow happened to look at and treat his little sister as if she were made of precious glass.

"I'm sure he's a great big brother."

That reply seemed to please Shelley as the larger girl nodded her head and let out a few enthusiastic grunts.

"The best." The voice from her phone said over the sound of the girls from the other table mimicking the noise and motions Shelley had just made.

Shelley shrunk herself back down and this time Lili had to scowl. She wanted so badly to get up and tell them to shove it, but with one look at Shelley's embarrassed face she knew she couldn't. It wasn't her fight. And it wouldn't be right for her to create a scene that Shelley would in all likelihood not appreciate.

"Don't listen to them." Lili spoke as softly as she could to her companion. "They're lives are just too empty, they can't think of anything better to do. You don't need to be drawn into their drama."

Shelley didn't look up, but nodded her head in a way that seem to tell Lili that the younger girl did not completely buy what she was saying.

'Should I…'

Lili had barely finished her reflective thought before her mouth decided to screw it and speak.

"I have a brother too." She blurted out.

That got Shelley to raise her head in interest.

"A big brother…" Lili went on as Shelley's expression prompted her. "He's my best friend and he's the best brother anyone could ask for." At that Shelly lifted an eyebrow as if to quietly and good naturedly object. With a smile on her face Lili continued, "I know. I know. I'm sure you and your brother are solid." She relented before going on, "Anyway, I guess I just…" Lili faltered as she watched Shelley's open face. "Nevermind. It's not my place. I'm sorry. Let's talk about something else."

Shelley lifted her phone. "Please. I'd like to hear what you have to say." She added a soft moan urging Lili to carry on.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Lili felt her heart flutter as she nervously cleared her throat. "I feel super awkward even bring it up now… Um, so Theo… my brother, he's on the Autism spectrum." She eyed Shelley face carefully for any signs of discomfort regarding the subject.

"Roman had mentioned something." Shelley tapped on her phone.

'Retard.' The asshole's voice echoed in Lili's mind, causing her nose to twitch.

Trying to brush it off, Lili swallowed and went on. "Anyway, he… he didn't… couldn't speak until late in his adolescence." A small sliver of anxiety entered Shelley's eyes. "Look, I promise I'm not saying this to be… I mean I don't even really know why I'm saying this. You've probably had a bunch of specialists and world renowned doctors supporting you. I just mean you never know what you're capable of… 'cause everyone said Theo would never talk but then some random homebrewed speech therapy regime thing developed by some chick and her stubborn mother and well… um, I'm sorry for even bringing it up." Lili suddenly rushed out in one breath, unable to even meet Shelley's gaze now. Her cheeks felt hot and she felt like fool for even approaching the subject. Her mind raced to find other ways to backpedal. "I…"

She was cut off by a single question from the automated voice. "You helped him to speak?"

Snapping her eyes back to the dark haired girl, Lili nodded slowly. "My mother mostly. I think out of sheer force of will really, but like I said I'm sure you've had specialists and doc…"

"Roman didn't like them. I didn't really either. They were all mean. And scary." Shelley interrupted Lili's rambling again, adding, "Except for Doctor Pryce."

"Listen, Shelley." Lili spoke with uncertainty, trying to find a way to get through whatever it was she was trying to say.

While she was still thinking the automated voice sounded once again. "Would you teach me?"

Lili's mouth opened but she didn't know what to say.

"If you're scared it could be like a secret. Like a surprise for Christmas." The automated voice urged.

She began to shake her head, but the look of utter trust and faith that was plastered on the kind girl's face stopped her. Who was she to deny Shelley a chance she wanted to take? Just like Theo, it was Shelley's right to make a choice based on the options available to her.

"It's not like there's a detailed lesson plan or anything to follow." She explained her mouth dry, hardly believing what she was agreeing to herself, "And from what I remember it's not gonna be easy."

Shelley nodded in understanding, her lips drawn in a line of determination.

"And it might not even work. I won't make any promises. I'm only human… as far as I know," she added with a giggle to break the tension that had built in her body, Shelley let out an endearing chuckle as well, her braces glinting the dim light. "But if you're in." Lili held out her her own bandage hand, palm up across the table, watching as Shelley timidly placed her larger hand on top of hers. "I'm in."

Lili frowned at the sight of Peter getting into Roman's ridiculous little red car that afternoon. She had planned on going job hunting after school anyway and had told Peter that he'd probably have to find his own way home, but she hadn't thought that his own way home would constitute hitching a ride with Roman 'stick up his butt' Godfrey.

The tall asshole seemed to sense her watching them because he'd raised his eyes to pass her smarmy smirk before stepping in his car.

She felt inept. A hint of betrayal trickled down her back at Peter's actions. The nearly constant buzzing in her ears was beginning to grow and muffle out the sound of the other students milling around her.

Lili was shocked out of her daze by a sudden bursting bright voice next to her ear. "Don't forget to buy your tickets for the Halloween dance this Fri… oh..." Lili had turned her head in just enough time to see the smile fall of off the lips of the girl who'd been handing out flyers. Clearly the girl, one of the Sworn twins, hadn't noticed that she'd been speaking to 'gypsy scum' prior to that moment. "Nevermind." The girl winked at her twin sister then turned on her heel to continue passing flyers out the students as they exited the school.

Lili let out a steadying breath through her nose. 'Just ignore it.'

She was about to take a step down the stone stairs towards the parking lot when she saw that the twins' constant brown haired shadow was still standing on the landing eyeing her with a strange look on her face.

Something about it caused Lili to shiver and the dull buzz in her ears heightened.

Lili recognized her as the girl who, according to Peter, had spread those rumours about him at the start of the school year.

"Christina, right?" Lili asked politely. As annoyed as Peter had seemed about the rumours, he had made it clear that Christina was obviously a sad little girl, with too much time on her hands. He most sounded sorry when he'd talked about his weird encounters with her over the past Summer.

The small girl nodded slowly, clutching her notepad to her chest and pushing her bushy brown hair behind her ear.

"I'm Lili Rumancek."

"I know that." She replied bluntly, pausing for a second. "How do you do it?" Christina asked genuine curiosity colouring her features.

"Do what?"

"Live with him…" the girl half whispered, her dark eyes zeroed in on Lili as she spoke, "knowing what he is?"

Lili could honestly say that she was taken aback. She nearly gaped at the intense conviction on Christina's face. 'Wow… she really believes that he's a…' Lili couldn't even finish the thought she found it so crazy.

It was too much. And to keep from outright laughing in her face, Lili chose to make a joke. "Haven't you heard of wolves defending their pack? We're family so I shouldn't have much to worry about, should I?" She scoffed, deciding that this odd exchange was over she began making her way down the steps again.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Christina managed to throw one last remark as she walked off in the opposite direction.

Hope you enjoyed this short chapter.

Like I said I hope to have the next one up really soon. Just workshopping a few things.

In the meantime if you're still out there let me know what you think!