5

I stood in the art room of the high school and looked at the portrait I had been working on. It was nearly four thirty now, but I still wasn't quite where I wanted to be with getting my first real project done.

The silence of the room was only off set by the occasional footsteps of someone passing by the room, but that was okay. I liked working on my art in the quiet. That was why I liked the idea that I could stay after school and do this. It was a lot easier than trying to cram all of my details into one and a half hours.

However, I'll admit that now I also liked it because it gave me time to think over everything that had recently been happening to me.

The last two weeks had been more than weird, especially after the incident with thinking that I saw something outside of my window. I was so sure that I wasn't hallucinating, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out what it could've been.

My night terrors had also increased since that evening, and I was beginning to think that sleep was becoming almost impossible at night. It had even gotten so bad that I'd asked Michael to buy me darker curtains for my room. I had to think of a good excuse to give him too since he was very surprised by the sudden request. After all, I'd had my pretty white sheer curtains since I was a little kid there.

I ended up telling him that I'd seen some burgundy ones at Macy's at the mall that I'd loved, and thought they'd look perfect in my room. Thankfully, Michael bought the lie and agreed to my request.

When it came down to it, I don't think that Michael could deny me anything that I really wanted. But that was probably a good thing in this situation. I had hoped that it would give me a little bit more piece of mind at night.

But unfortunately, the darker curtains didn't help. Even after they were put up, I was still waking up to the terrifying sensation of being watched. The worst part of it was that it was now starting even before late at night. I'd be in my room, doing whatever, and the feeling would pop up. I'd come out of the bathroom after taking a shower, and the feeling would be there. Even with all of the curtains drawn and the lights all off, the feeling was as strong as ever, and I began to wonder if I was losing it, just like my mother had years ago.

I shook my head and dabbed my paintbrush into the white paint to work on my white lily. This had to be some kind of anxiety. Stress could make you have anxiety attacks, right?

I'd been very stressed about things since I'd come there. I hadn't been able to talk to my mother and make sure that she was all right. My phone calls to Miami were never answered, and on top of that, I was still getting used to my new school and newfound popularity. By then, the other kids had started talking to me more, and although I was friendly with them, I still tended to stay close to Raziel and Anna.

One thing I was thankful for was that Raziel was doing a little bit better. His back was still kind of swollen, but he seemed to be feeling better. Hopefully the swelling would pass too, for whatever it was. Anna had even commented on it, telling him that maybe he should see a doctor, but Raziel had brushed it off.

"It's nothing that's hurting me now, so we don't need to worry about it. It'll go away." he assured her.

I frowned, putting my brush down. It was very obvious to me how well Raziel and Anna's relationship was going. Those two were extremely close, and really seemed to love each other. I admit that I was a bit jealous. I knew what it was like to love someone, but he had to go away suddenly, and I'd never see him again. On top of that, the only boy who had caught my eye there was more than likely no good for me. Not that he wasn't around.

Sean Morrison was back at the school too. He'd come back within a day of us meeting Sara at Jameson, and seemed perfectly fine. But I didn't get a chance to talk to him, and he didn't speak to me. That was largely because Raziel made sure he wouldn't. Every time we'd see each other, Raziel would take my hand and lead me away. Sean never tried to stop him either. Instead, he'd always just smile at us.

A part of me shivered slightly as I thought of those smiles. They should've been friendly, but they didn't feel that way to me. It felt more like he was up to something.

I put my pallet down on the table beside me and took a short break. My mind drifted back to what had happened that morning. I'd opened my window to look outside and reassure myself that I was making everything up in my head, and I'd noticed something odd on the outside of the windowsill. It looked like scratches that had been gouged into the white wooden frame.

A shiver went through me as I pictured them. They were big, deep marks, and looked like they could've been made from claws. What kind of animal could do that? Those marks couldn't have been from anything I'd known to roam around Madison before.

"You're staying rather late today."

I literally jumped at the sudden voice. Whirling around to the door on the far left side, I was shocked to see Sean Morrison standing there. Dressed nicely in a white button down shirt and blue jeans, he had a knowing smile on his face as he regarded me.

I worked hard to recompose myself, "Where did you come from?" I managed.

"I just slipped in because I saw the light was on and got curious. Did I startle you?" Sean answered, slowly walking across the room to stand in front of me.

His footsteps seemed to echo in the large art room, and there was a small, knowing smile still on his face; the same one he always seemed to have whenever we caught eyes. It made me feel even more uncomfortable as I realized that we may have been the only two in this part of the school.

I somehow managed to speak. I didn't want him to know that I was nervous. That might play into whatever game he was playing with me.

"You really did. I didn't think anyone else was still here." I admitted.

"I was on my way out, but like I said, I got curious when I realized that the light was still on in here. There aren't many who are willing to stay after in this class, even if it is considered advanced. Many say that the pictures in here unnerve them at times." Sean explained, looking around at the pictures of the various paintings that lined the walls.

He did have a point. Some of them did feel like they followed you with their eyes if you let your imagination run away with you.

"I know, but I like working like this. It lets me concentrate better." I informed him.

I turned back to my painting, acting like I was studying it. It looked good now. I could call it a day and get out of there. Besides, being alone with Sean like this wasn't comfortable at all. Needless to say, I wasn't ready to trust him, especially after Raziel's repeated warnings.

I froze as Sean walked up behind me and looked at the painting over my shoulder.

"That's beautiful. You're very talented." he commented.

I shivered as I felt him gently pull my hair back over my shoulders, allowing the long strands to run through his fingers. He was being very bold now. Not a good sign.

But I didn't know what to do. I was all alone in there with him, and the next person in the school may have been on the other side of it. They probably wouldn't hear a thing if anything happened. I had to try and get away from him however I could now.

"Thanks, but please don't do that. I don't like my hair touched. It bothers me." I lied, pulling away and turning to face him.

I'd decided that the best course of action would be to play him off and excuse myself. At least if I got to the hallway, I could run if I had to. In this art room that was so crowded with stuff, I didn't think it would be possible for me to get too far too fast.

"I'm sorry. I tend to have a bad habit of doing things without thinking." Sean responded, that smile still sitting on his face.

"You don't sound that sorry." I pointed out, doing my best not to look at him. I was coming to hate that smile.

"You wouldn't think so? I'm hurt." Sean pretended to put. But just as quickly, he changed the subject, "You know, you do have very beautiful hair Mia. I've never seen a blonde this close to the color of the sun before on a teenage girl that's natural. But then, you take a lot after your father, don't you?"

I stepped away from him, "Sean, don't you think you should be going? Raziel is coming to pick me up in a few minutes, and he'll be very mad if he finds you in here." I warned him.

It was another lie. I'd told Raziel not to worry about staying or coming back to get me. I'd be fine without him. Now I was kicking myself for that.

The sad part was that Sean knew this too.

"I know better than that. I did overhear you telling him to go ahead and leave. Besides, I can't see why you'd be so afraid of me. You know that I wouldn't really hurt you, and I was only commenting on how beautiful you are. But I suppose I should expect no less from a Renaldi. You certainly have no reason to trust one like me."

I took a step back, my leg hitting the table beside me. The sudden screech it made as it slid a little on the hard floor startled me, adding to my growing discomfort of the entire situation. My heart started beating harder, and I could feel myself getting more and more nervous.

"What do you want Sean? Why are you here?" I demanded, trying to sound braver than I actually was. I could hear my voice shaking a little as I spoke.

"What do I want? Why, only to know you better, and how could I pass up such an opportunity?" Sean answered.

"Opportunity?"

"Of course. You're the most beautiful girl around here. I think you'd be the perfect one for me to take."

Now I was scared. I backed up more, hearing myself knock down one of the paint cans. It clanged loudly as it hit the floor.

"What are you talking about?! What do you want from me?!" I managed to yell.

"You don't understand?"

He was suddenly standing directly in front of me. I stared at him in shock. How had he gotten there so fast?

"How interesting. You're a Renaldi. You carry the same aura as the rest of them, and yet you don't know anything about any of this?" he continued.

He blinked, and his eyes turned from green to gold. I stared in horror as this sunk in, and my mind went into fight or flight.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled, pushing him back and running to the nearby door.

But as I got out there, I stopped and realized that, in that moment of panic, I'd just run the wrong way. I was now out in the small garden area of the school. I ran to the far door on the other side that led back into the school and yanked hard on it, but it wouldn't budge. It had been locked from the inside.

Oh my God, I thought frantically, I've got to get out of here! He's going to get me!

I screamed as I heard the loud sound of glass shattering and spun around. One of the glass panels looking into the art room was now completely shattered. I turned to try and run back to the door leading to the art room, but was slammed into the wall before I could even attempt to move. It took me a few seconds to process that a hand was holding my throat. There was terrible pain there as I was held in place, and I could feel something warm starting to drip down my collar and chest.

I managed to open my eyes and realized that it was Sean holding me captive. Only, he didn't look human anymore. His ears had changed into animal ones, very large and white on the sides of his head, and his eyes were still that golden hue.

"Now, now. Is this any way to act? Running off like a scared little kitten? It's very rude." he chided me as he continued to smile. That smile was anything but friendly now. It made him look like a predator that had just caught its prey.

"What are you?" I choked out.

My throat was aching, and I felt like I couldn't move. The feeling of warmth was spreading down the front of my shirt. I was beyond terrified now. I was going to die there. I was sure of it. Sean Morrison wasn't human, and he'd been hunting me down. Raziel must have known something about this. That was why he'd tried so hard to warn me. I should've listened to him.

Sean continued to smile at me, "Let's just say that I may be your worst nightmare."

"Let me go!" I managed to scream.

It was stupid, but I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, someone would hear me and find us in time to stop him. That was, if they could stop him.

Sean's grip tightened and I felt the pain increase in my neck. My voice was cut off almost immediately.

"Forget it. There's not a soul here that's going to hear you. Besides, this won't hurt much. All I'm going to do is devour your soul. Don't worry. I'll make it quick too, beings you're so beautiful. It's a shame that you aren't more like me. We could've been perfect for each other."

I closed my eyes tightly, certain that I was about to die. My life was ending right there by this creature that I'd mistaken for a boy.

But as I did, I suddenly became aware of a powerful, deep voice within my mind. My eyes opened wide as it commanded itself through me.

"Awaken!"

Almost instantly, Sean was thrown to the ground. I breathed hard, managing to stand against the wall and holding my throat as he sat there and held his head tightly. I could see his ears turn back to normal as my heart pounded in my chest.

Oh God, I thought, I almost died!

I was sure that it had all happened, but somehow, something had stopped him, and I was now free.

After what felt like forever, although I suspected it was only a minute or two, I realized that I heard Sean's voice. I saw him staring at me with wide green eyes. To say he looked horrified would've been an understatement.

"Mia?" he breathed in shock.

The whole horror of the situation hit me at that moment. I quickly pushed myself away from that wall.

"Stay away from me!" I screamed as I ran back to the art room.

I somehow managed to grab my purse from the cubby I'd kept it in and raced out into the hall, slamming into the doors leading out to the parking lot. I didn't look back as I did to see if anyone was around to see me. Instead, I was frantically digging for my keys in my purse.

Finally finding them, I pounded on the button to unlock the doors and hopped into the car, slamming the door shut quickly. Shakily putting the key into the ignition, I prayed that the car would start. Thankfully, luck was on my side, and the engine roared to life.

I didn't think as I flew out of that parking lot and onto the road that led back towards Madison. In fact, I couldn't even really think about anything. I was too scared and confused. I didn't even know for sure where I was running to. All I knew was that I needed to get as far away from Sean Morrison as possible.

But after a few minutes of speeding down that road, I was finally able to make myself pull over. My throat was aching badly and I was now aware of the wetness on the front of my shirt. I managed to put the car in park and pulled down the visor to open the mirror. To my horror, I realized that the wetness I was feeling was blood. There were deep cuts in my neck from where Sean had held me. I looked at my hands and saw that they were also covered in blood from where I'd been trying to get him to let me go.

I broke down, hysterical cries escaping me. Even though I had no clue of exactly what all of that was back there, I was certain that he'd been trying to kill me. But what the hell was he? He had to be some kind of monster!

I was crying so hard that I didn't even notice the dark colored car pulling up behind mine. All at once, there was a hard knock at my driver's side window. I screamed when I heard it and yanked my head back up.

Relief immediately swept over me as I saw Raphael. I didn't think that I'd ever been so happy to see him in my entire life. I quickly unlocked and opened the door.

"Mia, what in the world are you doing out here? What happened to you?" he asked as I held onto him tightly. I could hear shock in his voice as he held me. No doubt he'd seen the drying blood on me.

I took a few deep breaths to answer, "He... he attacked me!" I cried.

Raphael immediately tensed up, but he kept his composure as he made me pull back and examined my neck. He then quickly went back to his car and grabbed a small spare blanket he'd had in there to press to my neck to stop the rest of the bleeding.

"Okay Mia, just calm down. Now, tell me what happened. Who tried to attack you?" he urged me, sounding gentler then I was used to hearing him be.

I took another deep breath, "Sean." I whispered.

Raphael immediately stopped, the shock reflecting in his dark eyes. It made me suspect that he knew more about this too.

That was when I remembered Sean's words. He'd said something about the Renaldis. But I couldn't make myself think straight enough at the time to even begin to question it. I was way too shook up.

Raphael stood up straight, "Come on. Let's get you in my car and see what else I have for your neck for now. It doesn't look like we'll need to rush to a hospital, but we need something more to cover it until we can get those wounds clean." he urged me.

"But... but what about my car?" I asked him as he led me to his car. I halfway noted that it was Michael's old BMW. So he had kept it after all.

"Don't worry about it right now. I can have Raziel pick it up later and bring it home, but for now, you need to think more about yourself. We need to get your neck cleaned up and straighten all of this out." Raphael told me.

He was back to being very calm and collected, yet I still got the distinct feeling from him that this had shook him up.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder if it was wise for me not to be going to a hospital. These wounds looked pretty deep, and I'd bled a lot.

"Are you sure I shouldn't go to the hospital?" I managed to ask as I sat down in the passenger's seat.

"Don't worry. They may look bad, but those wounds aren't as deep as you think. We'll be able to take good care of them without doing that." Raphael assured me.

I watched him get into the driver's seat, pulling his phone from his pocket. Turning on the car, he dialed in a number. I betted that he was calling Michael, and I was proven correct when I heard my dad's voice over the sync with the car speakers.

"I think you'd better stay at the office a little bit longer. I'm bringing Mia to you." Raphael told him.

"What? Why? Did something happen?" Michael asked, sounding very worried.

"Well, she's a little worse for wear, although not as bad as she could be. But we have a real problem now. Sean Morrison tried to attack her." Raphael responded.

The other end of the line went silent. I wondered what Michael was going to do about this. If they didn't want to take me to the hospital, then they obviously weren't going to call the police. That was also true if they knew more about Sean like I suspected they did.

Finally, he spoke again, "Bring her here and we'll handle it. Let me keep her close while we do."

"I'll leave it to you on what you want to do about this one. We'll see you shortly." Raphael agreed before hanging up. He handed me a tissue from the center console, "Are you sure you're feeling okay?"

"I think so. At least I'm not bleeding anymore." I replied softly, wiping my eyes as I pulled the blanket back to double check myself. I felt disgusted by the blood all over my chest and shirt. What a horrible mess. But seriously, what a horrible day.

"Everything will be fine. We'll make sure that this is taken care of. Just relax and trust us. We won't let him hurt you again." Raphael promised me as he caressed my cheek.

"Thanks." I whispered, feeling a little more comforted now. At least I was with my family. They'd make sure that Sean couldn't hurt me again.

The ride to the office wasn't very far from there. They worked in an office that was set in a larger warehouse building, although that area of it was fairly small. The building was part of the shipping company the two ran together, and the main space was used to store goods that were going out on trucks. This time of afternoon wasn't busy there because most of the people had already headed home for the day.

Raphael pulled around the back where no one could see us, and Michael was already out there waiting for us. He looked horrified when he opened the car door and saw me. Guess I did have a lot of blood on me.

"My God Mia, are you all right?" he asked as he helped me out and hugged me tightly.

"I'm okay now. It's just a lot of blood." I promised as he looked at the wounds on my neck.

Raphael looked around as he got out, "It may be better to take her inside Michael. I don't think anyone else will come around here, but we shouldn't take any chances right now." he spoke up.

"Yes, you have a point." Michael agreed. He tossed his keys to him, "Do me a favor and run back to my house. I need you to bring Mia a new shirt. I'll help her get this cleaned up and make sure that it'll be all right. If need be, we'll call Gabrielle to look at it further."

Raphael nodded, "All right, but don't do anything about the boy until I get back." he requested.

"Fine. Just make it quick." Michael responded, although he sounded a little reluctant.

He took off his coat and gently wrapped it around my shoulders as Raphael left. For the first time, I realized that I'd forgotten mine back at the school, and the cold was finally hitting me.

"Come on. We'll go in the back door to my office. I have a bathroom there where we can clean you up." he told me.

I agreed, following him into the back of the rectangular white building. The back door was off to the side, and opened to a long hallway. About halfway down it was the door to Michael's office. The familiar sights and smells greeted me as I stepped in. I'd been there plenty of times off and on as a kid during the summer, and I knew it well.

The bathroom he was talking about was right off of it, and we headed in there. I sat down on the closed toilet and slipped off the coat. My neck was still aching from the deep cuts in it. Thankfully, they'd completely stopped bleeding now. But looking at my hands again, a realization dawned on me.

Oh no, my car's probably full of blood too!

Michael knelt in front of me, gently cleaning the blood off of my neck and collar with some wet paper towels.

"It's all right now Mia. I know you're scared, but you need to tell me what happened." he requested.

I took a shaky breath and wiped my eyes, doing my best not to start crying again. I had no idea of where to even begin explaining any of this, but I had to try.

"I don't know what happened. He just showed up in the art room, and he was talking weird; and he was so fast. I tried to run away, and I ran outside, and somehow, he broke the glass and was out there. He grabbed me and his ears were different, and his eyes were... gold." I managed to explain.

"His ears were different, and eyes were gold?" Michael confirmed.

He didn't stop what he was doing, but his eyes reflected surprise over what I'd said. I had the sense that he wasn't surprised over the ears or eyes thing though. Instead, it was more that I'd seen them.

I managed to nod, closing my eyes as he cleaned off the cuts on my neck. That really stung.

"Yeah, he looked like some kind of cross between a man and an animal, and he said that he was going to kill me, and it was too bad I wasn't like him because he liked me." I continued.

"So that's how it is." Michael muttered. He sounded angry now.

"Dad, what in the world is..." I was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Yes?" Michael called.

"It's me. I've brought her a shirt, and I called Raziel. He'll be picking up her car and bringing it to your house." I heard Raphael say.

Michael stood up and opened the door, "Sounds good. Did you tell him anything?"

"No. There's no need for it right now. It'll only cause more trouble. Like I said before, it's also your choice on how to handle Sean; although I did tell you before that we shouldn't have sat back on this one. That boy's always been dangerous to allow around here." Raphael answered, handing him the shirt for me. It was one of my blue sweaters.

"There was no real telling on this. Besides, Sean's been here for nearly five months, and we've never heard a peep out of him until this. But we can't let it go either. I'm calling Sara and having them come over here right now." Michael told him. He handed me my sweater, "I'm sorry baby, but we need to do this now. Do you think it's okay if we keep you like this for just a while longer? I think we need to prove our point, as terrible as it sounds."

I let out a long breath, "I think so, but what is all of this Dad? What is he, and what are we to him?" I asked him.

"I promise, I'll explain everything to you later, but for now, just let us take care of this. Raphael and I are both here, and we'd never let him hurt you." Michael promised.

I had no choice but to agree, but I was determined that he'd keep his promise and tell me the truth about all of this later. It was obvious that Michael and Raphael knew what Sean was, and I was sure that Raziel did too. But at the same time, it seemed like they knew that they would be able to stop him if he tried to do any more. That was at least a little bit of comfort for me.

I slowly got up and followed Michael into the office. As I sat in the chair near his desk, he hit the speaker button on his phone and dialed a number.

Raphael leaned against the desk near him, "Do you think she'll pick up?" he asked quietly.

"She knows better than not to, especially if he's already gotten back to tell her what happened." Michael responded.

He was mad now, even though he was making himself remain calm and collected. It was odd for me to see Michael like that. He never really lost his temper. He was probably one of the most patient people I'd ever met.

The phone was answered after a few rings.

"Hello?" Sara answered, sounding very hesitant. I had no doubt that Sean had gotten back to tell her everything. Or, at least, his version of everything.

"It's Michael, Sara. I think you already know why I'm calling you." Michael told her. He kept his tone even, although it was easy to tell that he was angry.

"Yes, I do." Sara breathed, "Unfortunately, I think I do, and I promise I'll handle it now. I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea that he was going to do this."

"Maybe not, but I want Sean brought over to this office right now. I want both of you here or I will call the police." Michael demanded.

"Yes. We'll be there right away." Sara agreed without hesitation. Then she hung up.

Raphael stood up straight, crossing his arms, "You do realize that the charade is over." he informed Michael. His tone remained even and quiet.

"I'm well aware of that, and I'll keep my word to her. But for now, please go ahead and wait for them out there. I need to speak to Mia alone." Michael requested.

"That's fine. I'm going to put in another call to Raziel too. I don't want him showing up here, especially after he sees the inside of that car." Raphael responded.

I watched as he walked out and the door to the office was closed. What a mess. I was glad that they were going to stop Raziel from coming there too. I didn't think I could handle him yet. I wasn't even sure that I could handle having to face Sean again, even with my father there beside me.

Michael stepped over and knelt in front of me, "Mia, listen to me. When he comes here, let us handle it, okay?" he said softly as he took my hands in his.

I managed to nod, "Okay. I trust you about that. But what is he?"

Michael looked down. I could see regret in his eyes now.

"Something that you weren't supposed to know about yet, but it looks like time wasn't on my side. Please, just trust me for now. I'll take care of it, and I'll explain everything to you later tonight. Okay?" he promised me.

"Okay. As long as you will." I agreed, although I still felt a little bit reluctant.

But I was in too much shock to really do anything else. Too much had happened too quickly for me to demand any answers yet.

The two of us looked up as we heard a car pull into the gravel parking lot. I remained in the chair as Michael stood up.

"They're here." he said quietly.

After another few minutes, Raphael came back in. Sara and Sean were following him. I was a little bit surprised as I saw Sean. He certainly looked very different from the last time I'd seen him, which was about an hour before. Though he still wore the same shirt, which had bloodstains on the sleeves, he now stood there with his head down and his long black bangs obscuring his eyes.

But I didn't miss the pensive look on his face. It was like he was deeply regretting things.

Michael let out a sigh as he took in the sight of them.

"So, this is where we are now?" he finally said.

"It seems like it." Sara breathed.

She looked at me and I saw her expression change to one of pure shock. Okay, so maybe she hadn't believed that it was as bad as it was. Maybe she hadn't even fully believed that Sean had done anything, whether he'd admitted wrong doing or not. But all of the blood on us and the wounds on my neck immediately dashed any doubts she may have had.

"Oh my God." I heard her whisper.

"I think you see what this is about, if you had any real doubts at all. But you remember what we said when you first came here Sara. You made your promises to us, along with your son." Michael reminded her.

"I do, and I'm so, so sorry. I had no idea that Sean would ever do such a thing. He's always been a very gentle child. It's not like him at all to do this, no matter what his born nature is supposed to be." Sara apologized.

She looked genuinely upset now. It really seemed like she was telling the truth. She'd had no clue that this was coming.

"You must have had some inkling about this Sara. You know of Sean's nature with what he was born as. Any of them, even the ones like him, have this capability within them, and his interest in Mia from the beginning should've been a red flag to you to try and keep him away from her." Raphael reasoned, leaning back against the desk and looking squarely at her.

Sara didn't argue against that, "I understand, and you're right. He did have an attraction to her immediately, but I didn't think that there was anything wrong with it. Sean's always told me how much he likes Mia. He wouldn't have attacked her if he hadn't lost control this one time. All we wanted was a peaceful life here. We'd never intentionally do anything like this. We're not like that." she pleaded.

She was sounding more desperate now. It made me wonder if my father and uncle could really drive her and Sean away, or worse.

"Really? I'd think that it shows all of the warning signs for one like him. Remaining aloof is much better for them." Raphael commented.

"That's how it's always seemed." Michael agreed.

But before anymore could be said, Sean suddenly spoke up. His voice was soft and cracked, but he managed to do it. To my surprise, it looked like he'd been crying when he looked up. His face was tear stained, and his green eyes looked very light.

"If I may, I think I need to say something to all of this as well."

Michael nodded, crossing his arms, "Go on."

Sean took a deep breath before continuing, "I want to start by saying that my mother had nothing at all to do with any of this. I was the one who allowed myself to make that foolish choice. But I have never wanted to intentionally harm Mia. I approached her that day because I wanted to know her, and I've watched her since the day she came here for the same reasons. I didn't want to hurt her, and it horrifies me to think that I truly lost myself and did just that. I feel that with everything I have, and I could never do it again even if I wanted to. So, if you must do something with me, please, that's the truth. But leave my mother out of it. She's innocent in everything." he explained.

Raphael and Michael exchanged knowing glances. It was almost like they were relaying unspoken messages between each other.

"I see, and I'm sure that you're very worried about your mother now." Michael finally said.

"Yes. Very much so. I will admit that I stand guilty of what I am accused of. Mom had nothing to do with it. If anyone has to suffer for it, allow it to be me. But you have my word, I will never cause her harm again. I cannot anymore." Sean assured them as he looked at the floor.

There was a piece of me that actually felt a little bit sorry for Sean now. This certainly didn't look fake, and if it was an act, then he deserved an award for it.

I unconsciously touched the bracelet on my wrist. Something had happened out there to stop him. I was sure of it now. That voice I'd heard echoed in my mind. It was familiar somehow. I just wished I could place where.

Michael let out a quiet sigh, making his decision on what he wanted to do.

"Very well. I'd be willing to believe you and let this one go, but I don't want you around her anymore. I don't care if the two of you meet up within the school, but I'm not willing to trust you alone with her, and if I find out that you've done anymore to her, I won't be so merciful." he warned him.

"Agreed" Sean quietly acknowledged.

Sara put an arm around his shoulders, holding his arm with her free hand.

"So we're free to go then?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes. But no more trouble." Michael confirmed.

Sara immediately agreed, wasting no time in leaving with him. I had the feeling that she was incredibly shook up. After all, now she understood all too well about what Sean had done, and he'd admitted to it. I wondered what would happen now. I was sure that Sean was being sincere in his words too. What had happened to him out there? And could I have somehow done it?

Raphael looked at Michael, "So, here's the million-dollar question. Do we trust them to keep their word?" he said quietly.

Michael agreed, "No kidding, but only time will tell now. Something's happened to that boy though. I know you sensed it too."

At the time, I had no idea of how they knew this. I could've probably reasoned that they just felt it in their gut like I did, but I really didn't think it was that. There was something more to this side of my family then I'd been told. I was sure of it now.

But for now, I'd have to wait to get my answers. The only thing that worried me was whether I really wanted to know them.