I quickly tried to fight the urge to cry in front of Brenda. I even had to change back into my spare clothes before coming home and throw out the torn shirt so that they wouldn’t notice.
At the very least, I didn’t want Brenda to worry further about me when I could still manage to hold it in.
Back at Brenda’s tiny apartment, the usual sound of Calix’s playful laughter filled the room, a joyful reminder of everything I was fighting for. He was sitting on the floor with his favorite toy truck, making those usual vroom-vroom noises he loved doing while playing, completely absorbed in his own little world.
I sat on the couch, still trembling from the encounter with Billy Joe earlier, trying to calm my racing heart. But the memory of those sharp golden eyes and the black wolf’s growl wouldn
