[WP] "Make sure you lock your bedroom door tonight." My mother said. "It's that time of the month again." [Link to post.]
"Make sure you lock your bedroom door tonight." My mother said. "It's that time of the month again." We stood in my darkened room, with my mom staring out the window at the night sky. The sun already set, and I was getting ready for bed when she reminded me. A small lamp on my bedside table was the only light in the room. She tussled my short blond hair, and bent down to kiss my cheek. I hugged her tight and breathed in her perfume. She smelled like sugar cookies, my favorite scent.
"I'm scared," I said. It was barely a whisper, but I knew she'd hear me. She always did.
"Ooohhhh honey, don't be scared." Her arms squeezed me while her words comforted me. "It's nothing to be scared of, completely normal." I was 14. I knew better by now.
"That's not what my friends said," I regretted it the instant I said it. In an instant I was staring into her hard green eyes as she lifted my chin toward her face.
"You *TOLD* someone?" Her voice sounded sharp, I heard my full name in every word. I urgently shook the top part of my head. My chin would not move a centimeter in her grip.
"No mom! I talked around it though. I asked if they'd ever seen a were-" her hand covered my mouth. She held it there while she turned to look up at the ceiling and take several deep breaths. I saw a glimmer run down her check. She looked back down at me, with warm hazel eyes.
"Lisa, you're right. I'm so sorry, but you're right. We should have talked about this a long time ago, but I just kept putting it off. Ignoring it. It's unfair to you,.. to both of us." She turned her wrist to check the time.
"It's getting too late now, but I promise we'll talk tomorrow. After." She leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Time to lock up honey." She pulled away from me and walked out of the room while keeping her eyes on me. Tears flowing the whole time. "I'm sorry it has to be like this, but we'll talk about it tomorrow." I nodded and forced my face into something that would pass for a smile.
"Tomorrow," I repeated. She pulled the metal bedroom door closed, peeking at me through it until I only saw a single sad, soft brown eye.
"Lock the door," She whispered, then pulled it closed. I heard the latch click, and sighed. I walked to the other side of the room and worked the knobs that controlled the braces. Three knobs, three thick metal bars reinforcing the door. As I turned each knob, another bar slid into place.
"That'll keep me safe," I said aloud. I always tried to trick myself, but I never *felt* safe. I grabbed my comforter and pillow, then walked into the bathroom. After a really bad night a few months ago I started sleeping in the bathtub during that these nights. Usually it was only about three nights a month, but things were always normal the next day. Mom always had breakfast waiting for me the mornings after. Hot oatmeal, loaded with sugar and apple slices. Mom was head chef at a major high class restaurant, and she often teased me about making something as simple as oatmeal. But she always had a smile and steaming hot bowl waiting for me. After.
I closed the bathroom door, and tossed my bedding into the bathtub. I turned around to flip the lights off, but caught my reflection in the mirror. A long strand of pink hair ran down the side of my face, standing out from the rest of my short, spiky blond hair. I reached over to the light switch, but hesitated. I stared at my own light blue eyes in the mirror.
"I'm safe. I'm safe. I'm safe." I repeated. "I'm in control." I'd never watched the change before, but I decided to tonight. As long as I was myself, I wanted to see it happen.
I blinked. I didn't feel anything, but after my blink I saw a long purple strand of hair next to the pink one. Then I saw it happen. Orange colored light pulsed from the top of my head, and flowed down my hair. It stretched my hair until an long orange strand sat in front of the pink one. After another pulse of colored light a pink streak ran down the other side of my head, then I felt the familiar tingling. I knew I would black out soon. I stared at myself in the mirror. The color of my eyes cycled through a rainbow over and over. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, then back to red again. The tingling grew stronger and I stared at my forehead. A white light began to glow in the center, it was the source of the tingling I felt.
"I can't believe the guys at school never even heard of a were-unicorn," I said with a smile. Now that I saw how beautiful I was becoming, I wasn't scared anymore.
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