Start of the summer break

During the month after Mother and Minh left, we all tried to return to our usual routines, more or less successfully. Sherine was blissfully unaware of what Minh did to her, simply being her usual shy but cheerful self. Claire went back to working at the station, still thinking about Mother from time to time, but otherwise feeling fairly fine. Dahl, Lia, Laura, and I focused on uni, studying hard and passing our exams successfully. I also did a few modelling jobs with clothes some brands sent me, Dahl and Lia becoming my new photographers. Dahl stayed in touch with Cecile and Marion, having called them a few times.

Laura was slowly getting better, but what happened clearly affected her still. There wasn't much we could do to help her, unfortunately... We could just stay by her side and support her. One thing we noticed was that she was smoking less. She was trying to stop, apparently.

With Laura and Claire, we had a small birthday party organised for Dahl, since she had her original birthday in June. It wasn't anything grandiose, especially since it fell during the exam period, but we had a lot of fun, eating delicious meals I prepared and a cake I baked especially for this occasion.

Summer break was here, and Dahl was getting ready to get back to Lia's hometown, alongside Laura. This time, with me accompanying them. Dahl really wanted me to meet her and Lia's family, to fully make our engagement official. She didn't tell them yet about the ring, preferring to make it a surprise. Despite the apprehension I had about leaving Claire alone, she reassured me, telling me that she'd be fine on her own, and that I should take the time to meet my future family-in-law.

We'd be there for four weeks, so I packed a suitcase full of clothes, also bringing a few gifts to make a good first impression. Dahl told me her younger brother loved manga and games, so I got him a new game she told me he wanted. For her parents, I bought a bottle of good wine and a box of Swiss chocolates.

"I hope they will like my gifts." I said to Dahl while we were waiting for Laura in front of her student dorms. "I won't deny that I'm slightly nervous meeting them."

"Don't worry, love. They're really nice, you'll like them." She replied, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Trust me, they'll welcome you with open arms."

I kissed her back. "Alright, I'll take your word for it."

Laura approached my car, her suitcase in hand. We would be using my Audi TTS to get there. The trunk wasn't big, but it and the fourth backseat were enough for our three suitcases. Dahl got out and went to sit at the back, as she was the shortest of us three, while Laura took her place next to me.

"Morning, Laura. How are you?" I asked, smiling at her.

She smiled tiredly. "I'm alright. Thanks for driving me home."

I chuckled. "No need to thank me, we have the same destination, after all. How are your parents?"

She was about to lit up a cigarette but paused and just put it back inside the pack. "They're doing well. My mother is on her way to get a raise."

"Oh, that's great!" Dahl replied enthusiastically. "She's such a hard-working and kind woman, she deserves it."

"Yeah."

I started to drive, Laura and Dahl guiding me while on the road. We had about two hours before reaching their hometown, so we spent the time listening to music and talking about various subjects.

"What are your plans once college is over?" I asked them.

"I'd like to be a professor, so I'll keep studying a while longer." Laura answered, looking at the scenery.

I smiled. "Oh, neat! You'll make for a great professor, you made skateboarding so easy to understand."

Her lips curled slightly. "Thanks. What about you?"

I pondered about it for a moment. "I'll continue my modelling career for the time being, but maybe I could open a gym or become a coach, someday. I'm not sure yet."

"I see, I wish you luck. And you, Dahl? Still plan to succeed your father?"

"I'm... not so sure anymore, to be honest." She admitted with a soft sigh. "I've recently been thinking of maybe opening a florist shop."

"You've always loved plants, so it doesn't surprise me." Laura commented. "Where did you get this passion from, by the way?"

Dahl seemed lost in thought for a moment, before relaxing and replying. "From when I was still human. My former wife was passionate about flowers."

It almost made Laura ****. "Your... Your former wife? You were married?!"

Dahl nodded. "I was, yeah. I ran away after becoming a skinwalker, too afraid of hurting her and our daughter, terrified of the... monster I was becoming..."

"You had a daughter too?!"

"My life was... fairly cozy before. Apart from the dysphoria I constantly felt and repressed, things were fine. I had a loving wife, a cute baby daughter, a stable job with good incomes..." Dahl replied. "I didn't choose to become a skinwalker, an asshole chose this life for me, ruining what I had built for myself and my family."

Laura took her time to reply. "I see... It must... have been hard. I can't imagine abandoning my own family..."

Dahl smiled. "It was incredibly painful, but things are better now. I was able to meet them again thanks to Yun, during our stay in London. I explained to them what happened, and we're staying in touch." She sighed softly. "I always believed that becoming a skinwalker would forever condemn me to a life of solitude, a life of playing roles, that I would never be allowed to be myself ever again. But ever since I met Yun, my beliefs shattered."

"I haven't done much, Dahl." I replied, blushing slightly at the praise.

"You stayed by my side and kept supporting me, love. You did a lot for me, and helped me make peace with my past. Now, it's... easier for me to talk about it."

After a moment of silence, Laura spoke again, hesitantly. "Do you think... those who came before also had families they... abandoned...?"

"I... don't know..." I replied. "I didn't try to learn more about their past. All I know is that Minh did seem to consider my mother as his own mother. And my mother... apparently cared for Claire and me, too..."

"They seemed to share strong bonds between each other. They probably see themselves as family." Dahl commented. "It's unusual, the skinwalker group I was briefly part of in London was a lot less united. They were simply skinwalkers with lots of influence sharing similar... 'hobbies', but they didn't care in the slightest about one another, as long as it didn't threaten their own ways of life. The one who turned me only accepted to teach me about skinwalkers because he was bored."

"I see..." Laura simply muttered.

Laura didn't speak much more for the rest of the drive, mainly looking outside, as if she was lost in thought. She was most likely processing what we said. It was her first time learning about Dahl's story, after all. And I also had no doubt she was still thinking about Minh and Mother, considering her question earlier...