Her Legacy

XXXVII. Adjusting

"When it is becomes impossible to go back to normal ,we have to create a new normal and adjust to it." Sabine Shah

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Chapter XXXVII – Adjusting

I was in hospital for another two days for observation before they sent me home with strict instructions to come back if there were any complications. I had oral medication and they gave me a shot just in case.

After that, everything kind of went back to normal. Well, our new normal.

Shea stayed with me every night, coming in my window once Mom had gone to bed. It was becoming our routine and I loved it.

Mom let me go back to school the following week. There was only one week left before winter break, and I knew I would be spending the whole time studying to catch up, but it was so good to see my friends and catch up with everything that I had missed.

It turns out, getting kidnapped on a school trip, stabbed, and having your spleen removed, makes you a minor celebrity in Providence. I had practically spoken to every student and faculty member in one day who all wanted to know how I was doing, or the gory details of my ordeal.

I just replied with, "I'm doing great, thanks."

I finally got to catch up with Josh, who was in a real, public relationship with Zoey. They had gotten together in Charlotte, and he hadn't said anything as he didn't want to rub his relationship in my face when I was going through something horrible.

Zoey had also told him the truth about her, and after passing out, much to his humiliation, he was okay with it. Zoey was proudly still wearing a tube top in December just so that she could show off her new "Joshua" tattoo. Those in the know knew exactly what it was though, and I was happy for her.

That was until Josh told me about the consequence of them being together. When Zoey's parents had found out about her and Josh, they had flipped out. They kicked Zoey out of the house and she was now staying in Josh's room and hiding from his parents.

I knew I wanted to help them, but I had to figure out how.

My dad was around the house quite often now, and I still couldn't quite figure out what was going on between him and Mom. They looked like they were becoming friends again, but they were keeping anything romantic well hidden.

But with Shea there, too, the topic of the pack came up a bit more. It turned out that Shea and his family received a monthly benefit from his father's life insurance policy. However, no such policy existed. My dad had been the one paying.

When Shea had found this out, he felt really guilty and embarrassed, but my dad assured him that Robert would have wanted him to look after his family. Robert and my dad were best friends, after all.

"My mom and my sister are my responsibility," Shea had said, quite vulnerably.

"Your mom, Cecelia, and you, Shea, are my responsibility," my dad had replied. "You're still a kid, and you ought to be one."

It was like a massive weight had been lifted off of Shea's shoulders after that. Shea had always had the burden of looking after his family on his mind. He couldn't do anything for himself, and what life was that for an eighteen-year-old? Of course, he would always be there for his mom and sister, but he needed independence, too.

With my mom's blessing, my dad resumed control of the pack, and Shea took over the role of Beta, just as his father had been. This meant that Shea could have a lot more independence and could even go to college if he wanted to.