(Previous night before Humphrey had left Kates house)

(Kate's POV)

The house had fallen dead quiet as we all went to our individual rooms for the night. As I walked up the stairs i turned right and began walking down the hallway towards my room. Right as I reached my room and was about to close the door, I noticed Lilly walking up the stairs, Stormy following close behind her. It was a little weird to see them together if I was being honest. I knew Lilly and Stormy where really close, hell they were basically inseparable, but I figured that Stormy would be trying to stay as close to Humphrey as possible given the circumstances he was in.

Deciding not to dwell on it I continued in my room, closing the door before they made it all the way up. I walked over to my bed, throwing my phone over by my charger on the other side. I sat down on the edge of my bed before fully falling back on it, letting out a small sigh. The last few days had been so hectic and it felt like there was so much going on. I pondered my thoughts allowing my body to melt into the soft bed that laid bellow me. I wasn't sure what to make of the situation we were all in. I mean just last week I was going about life like normal, but now I had someone that I had never met until a few days ago, sleeping in my living room.

I paused to think back to our first meeting in the classroom, when Garth had tried to sit next to me and how Humphrey intervened. I felt a small smile come across my face as I replayed the memory. Humphrey seemed so quiet and reserved; I defiantly didn't think he would do something like that. There was something that felt different about him compared to the other boys that I knew at school. Most of the guys just try to prove their better than everyone else and are usually rude and disrespectful towards females. Garth was in that category, or better yet he probably is at the top of it being the jerk that he was. I remembered the accident Garth had caused from the last time I saw Humphrey. After that Humphrey seemed so determined on not going to the doctors to get looked at, whitch also seemed kinda of weird. Your not supposed to refuse help when you need it. I was lost in thought and hadn't noticed my mother poking her head in the door.

"Kate dear" Eve said as she opened the door some more, allowing her to walk in. I glanced over at her, now noticing her and sitting up to face her.

"Hey what's up mom, did you need me?" I said in a low tone as to not bother anyone else in the house. She just continued into the room until she was at the edge of my bed and took a seat.

"I was just checking on you to make sure you were holding up okay. I know the last few days have been kind of hectic." her tone almost as low as mine was. She was rubbing my back gently, which I wasn't going to lie felt good.

"Yea..I'm fine, I'm just thinking about the last few days and what to do from here..." I said looking blankly at the floor as if it would have the answers I wanted. My mom was pretty good at reading people, and almost always knew what they were thinking. It was actually kind of scary how accurate she could be at times. She stopped rubbing my back, bringing her hands back to her lap, letting out a small sigh.

"I know this is a lot for you dear, with starting school up again, and your friends, and your homework. You already have a lot to manage. " she said pausing for a second before continuing. "But we can't just leave this how it is, we need to be there to help them since we can" she finished looking me in the eyes.

"You don't think they feel like a burden do you" I asked with my eyes getting a little watery. "After all they have been through, that is the last thing I want them to feel like" I said trying to maintain my soft-spoken position. Mom didn't say anything for a second as she seemed to be in thought. After a moment she looked back at me.

"I'm sure that they both have a lot going on inside their minds that none of us could imagine, especially Humphrey. I can't even begin to imagine the state of that boys' mind at the moment. But regardless I will do everything in my power to make them comfortable for the next few days, while your dad and me figure out what to do." she said with a small smile. And with that she stood up and walked towards the door. "Me and your father will keep an eye on them for the night so try to get some rest dear" she said before disappearing in the pitch-black hallway and closing the door.

I thought about what my mom had said as I got up and changed clothes, preparing for bed. I walked over and picked up my phone and noticed I had a few notifications. Most of them where just missed emails or social media, but one of them caught my eye. It was the group chat me and my friends had together. I unlocked the phone and scrolled over to my messenger app giving it a light tap. I opened the group chat and noticed that Jane and Beth had messaged.

Jane: Anyone hear from Kate?

Beth: No, I haven't seen her since lunch on Wednesday, maybe she got sick.

Jane: No, she would have told us if she was sick. I tried to message her but she didn't reply.

Beth: Grounded maybe?

Beth: scratch that, we would have still seen her at school.

I felt bad that I hadn't told them what happened, I'd just been to focused on Humphrey I forgot to tell anyone. I tapped the message box but paused for a second. I didn't want them to know everything that had happened, that was Humphreys business and I doubt he wants anyone at school to know about it.

Kate: Hey guys, sorry I've been gone. Just had a lot going on.

(….)

Jane: Jesus Kate, you had us worried. Would it have killed you to send a single text.

Kate: I'm really sorry, just family stuff. Haven't had a lot of free time.

Jane: Is everything ok?

Beth: yea, you good?

Kate: yea everything will be okay. I'll be gone from school for the next three days. Just don't panic if I don't reply right away for the next few days.

Jane: What? WHY?

Kate: Just dealing with some family stuff. I'll be back by next Monday.

Beth: the first week of school and you're already skipping. To cool for school now? XD

Jane: I guess we will keep you posted on what you miss. Hurry and get back here. It's boring without you!

Kate. Will do 3

Jane: 3

Beth: 3

I plugged my phone into the charger and set it down on my bed. I pulled my blankets back and crawled into them getting comfy. I reached over and turned off the light letting the room fall dark. "Hopefully tomorrow would be better than today" I thought to myself before rolling over and drifting off to sleep.

(Time skip to 4 a.m.)

I woke up someone moving around in the house. I rubbed my eyes trying to adjust to the pitch-black environment around me. I reached over and checked the time on my phone letting out a rather big yawn. It was too early for the to be movement in the house. Dad didn't go to work for another two hours. After a moment I crawled out of bed to satisfy my curiosity. I opened the door to my room and walked down the hallway to the stairs. As I made to them and looked down, I could see lights on in the kitchen around the corner. I carefully walked down the stairs making my way to the kitchen, being careful not to make too much noise as to wake anyone.

Once I made it to the bottom and walked into the kitchen, I saw my mom and dad both standing at the table, mom holding a piece of paper. They were both still in the pajamas so they probably hadn't been up for long.

"What's up mom?" I asked sleepily, still trying to wake up. They both turned their attention over to me, but they didn't smile. In fact there faces where kind of down and sad looking. Eve put the paper into her robe and walked over to me, fiving me a small hug.

"We woke up and found Humphrey missing" she said pulling away from the small hug and walking back towards dad.

"What?" I said a little louder than I meant, instantly making my parents shush me. We waited to see if my sister or her counterpart woke up, but we didn't hear anything. I let out a sigh of relief as I walked over to them. "Do you know where he is?" I asked my concern still showing.

"Yes, we do..." Mom said her expression darkening a little. "He went home" she continued as she looked over at dad, receiving the same down expression. My eyes went wide as I pictured the last thing I remember from his home, and the first thing he would see when he got there. I got a chill down my back as I remember the horrific scene. We couldn't let him go back to that. Not after all he had been through. Before I could say anything though my mom was handing my dad the keys to the car.

"Don't worry honey... We will bring him back. Please just go back to bed" she said as she walked past me giving me a kiss on the top of my head, dad following suit. I watched as they walked out the front door, closing it behind them.

"How am I supposed to go back to sleep?" I asked myself before walking into the kitchen and pouring a glass of orange juice and sitting down at the table. A little while after my parents had left, I heard some commotion upstairs, soon followed by noise that could only be someone coming down the stairs. I turned my attention in the direction of the stairs and saw Lilly come around the corner into the kitchen. She was defiantly still asleep, as her hair was sticking up all over the place covering her face almost completely. I honestly what jealous of her beautiful white fur. It was so pure and bright, she defiantly got lucky. I don't know anyone else that has plain pure white fur. I fell out of my thoughts when I noticed Stormy come down the stairs behind Lilly. But she didn't turn towards the kitchen and instead went towards the living room. Not soon after she had disappeared, she came running back to the kitchen panicking.

"Lilly where's my brother?" she said quickly before noticing me sitting over at the table. She looked over at me with a questioning look. Lilly still processing what was going on , just stood there in a daze.

"He went back to your house" I said looking down at my empty cup of juice. I didn't need to see her face to know what expression was on it, because we all had the same one.

"What do you mean he went back to the house?" she asked, her voice wavering a little. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say to that. I didn't even know what possessed him to go back.

"I don't know why he left, but my parents are on their way to get him right now" I said trying to be reassuring. It didn't seem to work because here expression didn't change as she looked from me to Lilly, and then back to me. "I promise he is going to be okay" I continued not really knowing what to do in this situation.

"You don't know that! He could be out there hurt again!" she yelled causing me to jump a little. I wanted to tell her to calm down, but I also knew why she was getting worked up. I mean she wasn't wrong, Humphrey literally just got out of the hospital and was still injured. He really needed to be resting no moving about, much less on his own.

"Please Stormy, I know you're upset...you have every right to be. I promise my parents will bring him back, so just wait with me. They will be back shortly" I said pointing to the chair across from me. She looked like she was about to say something but was cut off by Lilly handing her a cup of milk and pulling her over to the table. Reluctantly she pulled out the chair and sat down with Lilly, looking at her glass.

Not much was said as time continued to pass by while we waited for my parents to return. Time seems to crawl at a snail's pace as I watch the clock over the stove slowly count up. Eventually the silence was broken by the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway. Before I could say anything, Stormy got up and ran towards the door, me and Lilly following close behind. As we made it to the door, the handle turned and my dad walked in turning the entrance way light on. My mom came in behind him causing us all to back up a little to allow them in. Soon everyone's attention turned to the grey wolf that crept in slowly through the door. My eyes went wide when he came into the light.

He was covered in dried blood on his face and cloths from head to toe. His face was a mess and he had bags under his eye, clearly showing signs of sleep deprivation. He took his shoes off by the door which were also covered in dirt and blood. I looked from my dad to my mom hoping for an explanation, but she just gave a look that said "Don't say anything". I looked back over to Humphrey who seemed to be avoiding eye contact with everyone for the moment.

"Humphrey what happened to you!" a voice yelled as a panicked Stormy pushed her way through to her brother latching on to him with an embrace. He immediately let out a whimper from the pain causing her to quickly let go of him. Mom reached to pull her back but Humphrey stopped her waving his hand up. Mom stopped stepping back again still watching him carefully. He looked at Stormy making eye contact with her. This was the first time I've been able to see his eyes in while. They were much darker than they used to be. The seemed dulled and void of life. It made me want to cry thinking about it. His eyes where so beautiful and rich with color, it was too painful to see them like this. He just looked at her for a moment, as if lost in thought before speaking.

"I just had to take care of some things" he said with a course dry voice that caused him to cough vigorously. Stormy stepped forward in concern for her brother but this time was stopped by mom.

"Stormy hun, let's give him some time to rest. Humphrey dear please go sit down ill bring you some water." Mom said placing an arm around Stormy directing her down the hall back towards the kitchen. Dad followed mom and me and Lilly followed behind Humphrey. He walked over and sat on an empty spot on the floor, carefully bending down as to cause himself discomfort. Not to soon after mom came in with a glass of water, stopping when she saw Humphrey.

"Humphrey dear you can sit on the couch" she said gesturing over to where his folded blankets rested. He didn't reply but instead just looked down at his cloths before looking back up. "You can shower in the morning dear its fine. We can put down blankets so you don't damage the couch." she said with a small smile looking back at Winston who was standing in the door way. He just nodded and walked away, presumably to get said blankets. I looked back to Humphrey who hadn't shown any signs of moving. She just sighed and walked over kneeling down in front of him. "If you don't want to that fine dear, but will you at least drink the water, you need to hydrate yourself." she said handing him the glass of water.

Humphrey looked up to her, studying the glass of water for a moment. "Do you mind if I have some water?" he asked softly, almost a whisper.

"You don't need to ask dear, just take it" she said moving her hand a little closer, still presenting the glass of clear liquid. Still seeming hesitant Humphrey slowly reached up and gently grabbed the glass from mom. He took a drink, before quickly downing the whole glass. Honestly it didn't surprise any of us. He didn't drink anything since he got back from the hospital.

Mom accepted the glass back and turned to set it on the coffee table. Dad came around with the blankets and spread them out on the couch, setting out the previous one's mom had pulled out as well. We all sat and watched in silence as mom continued to sit in front of Humphrey not saying a word. Just kind of watching him. It made me kind of uncomfortable, I'm sure he felt the same way at the moment. I looked over to him and noticed he was looking towards me. I was slightly caught off guard since he really never looked at me before. We just kind of stared at each other not saying anything. It was weird though, his eyes where still dull and sullen but there was something in them that felt different.

I continued to study his eyes, who knows when the next time he would look at me again would be. I just wished his eyes where the crystal blue that they originally were, rather than the dark dull blue. After a few moments I noticed, his eyelids were starting to close. he moved his arm to rub his face, but mom intervened grabbing his hand and pulling it back down softly. "Just relax Humphrey" she said it a low smooth tone. It was an oddly familiar tone that she used on me and my sister normally when we were sick.

Humphrey blinked a couple of times focusing back on my mom. After a few more moments his eyes where almost completely shut and his head was starting to lean. "Is he falling asleep?" I thought to myself. I mean it would make sense with him being up most the day and all night. My heart stopped as he started to fall over, but he was quickly caught by my mom who placed his head on her lap. She gave a small smile as she brushed some of his fur out of his eyes.

"Finally..." she said softly looking over to my dad who just gave a reassuring smile back.

"What do you mean" I asked obviously missing what she was talking about. She didn't turn to look at me and instead kept her focus on Humphrey. "I mixed some sleeping medicine in his water before I gave it to him" she said. I just stared at her in bewilderment.

"You spiked his drink? That doesn't seem right.." I said not sure how to feel about what she just said.

"Honey as a nurse I promise I would never do anything to hurt him, and you know that. But he's sleep deprived and his emotions are all over the place. Hes exhausted and dehydrated. I need him to rest and this was the only way I could make it happen." she said looking over to dad. He made his way over to Humphrey and picked him up, bringing him over to the nice laid out blankets. Mom walked over and pulled the blankets up to cover him and grabbed the glass of the table. "Alright now everyone out, let him rest. I will keep an eye on him "she said shooing us out of the living room. I turned to look at him one last time before she closed the door. I hopped he would sleep peacefully.