Chapter 5

As we roll into the driveway, the sun is beginning to set. I lead the way into the house, noticing a little note on the door. "I got called into the diner and David is at work. I saved some dinner that you can heat up when you get home. Hope you three are enjoying your time together. Mom." I smile as I take the note off the door and turn to Avi and Alyson, "Mom left us some food if you want to heat it up and eat in my room?"

"Sounds perfect," Avi says. "I'm starving."

"Ditto," Alyson says with a smile. I lock the door behind them after they walk in and run into the kitchen to reheat the three plates. Once they're all warm, I lead the way upstairs and into my room as we sit on the floor and eat.

"I forgot how much I missed your mom's cooking," Avi says as she shoves a forkful of food into her mouth.

"It is really good," Alyson says.

"There is something about working at a diner," I say with a chuckle, "you always make diner-style food at home." Silence fills the room again as we continue to scarf down dinner, none of us realizing how hungry we were.

A soft ring sounds out in the room as Alyson sets down her plate and reaches into her pocket. "Who's calling me?" she mutters and pulls her phone out. She glances at and says, "It's my Uncle Eddy. Let me see what he wants really quick. Sorry."

"You're fine," I say with a mouthful of food.

"Hey Uncle," Alyson answers. "Yeah, it's going really good actually. We were just eating dinner so I will have to tell you more about it later….What's going on?" There is a pause as Alyson's face contorts from a worried expression to one of horror, "What?! Who would have done this? This can't be happening…not after all this time. Do I need to come home? Does Tyler know?" Another pause as Alyson clutches her chest and her breath becomes fast and shallow. "I'll try getting ahold of him. What's going to happen to me, Uncle?" Another pause as tears start to trickle down Alyson's face. "I'll try. I love you too." Alyson drops the phone on the floor and covers her face and sobs.

"What is going on?" Avi says as she walks over to her. She sits down next to Alyson and puts a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Who was that on the phone?"

"My uncle," Alyson says as she calms enough to make coherent words. "He's not really my uncle, that's just what I call him. He's the police chief who adopted me after my mother died."

"What did he have to say?" I ask, scooting a little closer. "Is your brother okay?"

"As far as I know," Alyson says with a shaky sigh. "I guess if you trusted me enough to show and talk about the fact you're a shape shifter then I can trust you guys with this. The night my mother died, Tyler asked me to cut his hair. He went out to show my mom and she…she got really mad. She chased him with a shotgun onto our dock and threatened to kill him. He called out to me and I did the only thing I knew to do…I grabbed a pair of scissors and…and stabbed her…and she fell in the lake. I didn't mean to kill her…I just wanted her to stop trying to hurt Tyler."

Silence fills the room for a moment before I say, "I am so, so sorry. I can't imagine what it was like to be in that moment." Avi wraps her arm around Alyson's shoulders and Alyson lays her head on Avi's shoulder.

"Tyler took the blame for it all too," Alyson adds. "That's why he got sent away. We spent ten years separated…and I never got the help I needed because no one knew it was me. We lied to everyone." Alyson clutches her arms as Avi pulls her closer.

"What did that have to do with your uncle calling?" Avi asks softly.

"He said someone released an article stating they had talked to a witness who happened to be in the woods and overheard the situation," Alyson answers. "They're saying that it wasn't self-defense…that she was telling Tyler that she wasn't going to hurt him when she was stabbed. They didn't come out and say it was me who stabbed her but they referenced that it might not have been Tyler…and apparently all the locals are talking. Eddy doesn't think there is anything they can do to us legally since it happened when we were minors and Tyler already spent the rest of his childhood in a center for troubled youth. But our reputations could be destroyed…and Tyler may live in Juneau but I still live in Delos. Eddy said he's trying to get to the bottom of it." She sits up and says, "I've got to call Tyler." She grabs her phone and dials, pleading, "Come on, pick up, please." No answer. She calls three more times with the same luck. She drops the phone and puts her hands in her face again.

"Could Tyler maybe be working?" Avi asks. "Maybe he'll call back soon?"

"Yeah," Alyson answers, "maybe you're right. I'll try calling him in the morning if he doesn't call back tonight."

"And you said your uncle was taking care of this," I say gently. "I'm sure he will figure this out."

"I just thought we were past this," Alyson sobs. "We cleaned out the house and we got some answers to try and figure out why our mother was the way she was. I had my brother back until he moved with my best friend to Juneau and we knew what caused that night to happen. I don't want to drag this all out again. I struggled way too much the first time."

"Why don't we try getting some sleep?" Avi suggests. "Chloe can pull the air mattress out and you can sleep on that if you want so you don't have to be alone downstairs on the couch."

"That sounds great, thank you," Alyson says numbly. I take my cue to grab the air mattress and blow it up as Avi sits with Alyson. After a few minutes, the mattress is ready to go and I grab an extra pillow from the closet by the bathroom. I come back into the room and plop the pillow on the mattress.

"Bed's all ready," I say proudly. "Who's ready for bed?" Both Alyson and Avi nod as we all change into our pajamas and lay down. As I lay down next to Avi, I hear soft whimpers coming from the air mattress. I look down at Avi who nods and I get up and walk over to Alyson. "Hey," I say softly. "Do you want to go sleep on the bed with Avi? I know today has took its toll on you and maybe you shouldn't be alone tonight."

Alyson nods, "Thank you." She grips me a hug and I hug her back for a moment before she gets up and crawls into bed. I hear some whispers before Avi reaches over and hugs her tight. That girl is the most comforting thing I know, I think to myself as I watch Avi for a moment. I slide under the blanket on the air mattress, letting my thoughts drift for a moment before falling asleep.

I groan as I awake to the sound of a shrill ring filling the room. I rub my eyes as I hear Alyson answer, "Hello?" clearly still groggy.

"Hey Aly, it's Michael," a voice says through the phone. "Sorry to wake you." Either he's talking way too loud or she put it on speaker, I think to myself as yawn and debate falling back to sleep.

"You're fine, Michael," Alyson says. "What's going on?"

"Have you heard from Tyler?" he asks.

"I tried calling him several times last night and couldn't get a hold of him," Alyson answers. "What's going on?"

"I got home from work and he had left a note saying he was going out to Hoonah and would be back," Michael says. "I got home around 5 yesterday and he never came home last night and still isn't back. I'm getting kind of worried."

"Hoonah?" Alyson asks confused. After a pause, she straightens up and asks, "Isn't that where Tom moved after he lost the election?"

"Yeah, why?" Michael answers.

"He's going out there to visit Tom," Alyson says, color draining from her face. "Tom had to have been the one to write that article."

"The one about your mother's death?" Michael asks. "Why would he do that?"

"Because Tom is our father," Alyson says. She looks between me and Avi and says, "I've got to go back."