Revealing the truth to Claire

Sarah and I were standing in front of the door of my flat. I observed the door for a moment, my insecurities coming back, but Sarah squeezed my hand gently to reassure me. I took a deep breath before unlocking it and walking inside.

"Claire, I'm here." I announced.

It didn't take long for her to appear, still wearing her pajamas since it was a day off.

"Welcome home, Ed. Oh, Sarah is with you?" She asked, surprised to see her by my side.

"Good morning, Claire. How are you? It's been a while." Sarah said, giving her a warm smile.

"G-good morning Sarah. It's been a while indeed." Claire replied a bit more timidly. "Ed told me you two got back together?"

Sarah nodded, squeezing my hand again. "Yeah, we did."

"I'm glad. Is that what you wanted to talk about, Ed?" Claire then asked.

I shook my head. "No, it's... something else."

The three of us went to the living room, sitting at the table. I closed my eyes, wondering what to say.

"You seem so serious, what's wrong?"

"Remember when I didn't go home three nights ago?" I started.

She nodded. "Yeah, I do. You really had me worried."

"I.... omitted something very important when I told you what happened..."

Claire looked away. "I... had a feeling you were hiding something from me. What is it, Ed?"

I sighed. "I saved a woman, back then. She was being harassed by two drunks. I escorted her home like I said, but... she wasn't human."

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"She was... a skinwalker. And to thank me for saving her, she turned me into one." I said as I rose my hand and freed the spines from my fingers, shocking Claire. "I was **** all night due to that."

Claire stayed silent, staring at the alien protrusions coming out of my fingertips for a moment, her eyes wide open.

"I... I didn't want to make you worry, so I lied to you..." I continued. "I confronted her again the next morning after you left for work, meeting her on the college campus and asking her what she did to me. And she explained everything."

After what felt like an eternity due to my nervousness, Claire spoke slowly. "So... You're... You're not human anymore?"

"No..."

"What does it mean?"

"I can... turn people into skinsuits with these spines and wear them... Become them, with their memories and soul to fully act like them." I anxiously answered.

"You... You can become other people?"

I nodded weakly. "Yeah... But it's not so much that I can, it's that I must..." Claire didn't seem to understand, so I kept going, taking a deep breath. "If what the other skinwalker told me is true... I'm condemned to lose my own skin someday... forcing me to take another person's life as my own."

After a moment to comprehend everything, Claire got up and went to hug me. "I... I don't really know what to say, or think, it sounds unbelievable... But what I do know is that you're my brother. I love you and I trust you, Ed, and that will never change, even if you're no longer human."

"Thank you, Claire. I love you..."

As I hugged Claire back, Sarah smiled. "See, I told you she'd accept you without a doubt."

"You're right, sorry for having doubted you, Sarah." I replied with a soft sigh, crying of relief.

Claire and I kept hugging for a while longer before she broke free from the hug smiling at me.

"I suppose that you and Sarah being together again has something to do with your... situation?" She asked.

"After confronting the skinwalker, he was pretty depressed. He almost looked like a zombie." Sarah replied. "So I invited him to spend the evening with me to cheer him up. After drinking a bit too much, he accidentally skinned me."

"S-skinned you?"

I blushed. "I-I restored her as soon as I regained consciousness!"

"And then he explained everything to me." Sarah continued. "We saw the skinwalker again yesterday, Ed wore one of my colleagues for the day to quench his new... impulses, we explored his abilities, and then, after Ed spent the night as my colleague, we came to see you this morning to tell you the truth."

"You... wore someone else?"

I timidly nodded. "Y-yeah... A professor Sarah works with. I had these... urges to skin someone, and Sarah helped me. Now I'm fine, though."

Sarah giggled. "My colleague is a woman twelve years older than me. So Ed got to experience what it's like to be the opposite gender for a day."

Claire seemed surprised. "Really? You became a woman?"

I hid my face with my hands, ashamed. "Yeah..."

After another awkward moment of silence, Claire spoke again, curiosity in her tone. "What... What did you think of it? How did it feel?"

"I... I liked it." I admitted with a soft sigh. "Sarah's colleague, Katherine, she's a French professor too. When I... became her, I could use all her knowledge so easily, speak French fluently and know everything about the lectures she taught. It was... incredible... And being a woman, it was... very interesting..."

There was no point hiding how I felt since Sarah knew already. I now had the confirmation that Claire wouldn't judge me, so it helped me be more truthful despite my embarrassment.

"It must be interesting to be the opposite gender, I can imagine." Claire said with a smile, before appearing more serious. "Although... You said you'd... lose your skin?"

I sighed, glancing at my hands. "Apparently... It might take a few years if I wear other people's skins often, but if what the skinwalker said is true, I'll be **** to give up my own life sooner or later and steal another person's life..."

Sarah hugged me. "You still have time, Ed. And we can think about how to deal with that together, the three of us. Or maybe four if Dahlia wants to help as well."

"Maybe..."

Claired tilted her head. "Dahlia?"

"It's the identity the other skinwalker uses." I explained.

"She does care deeply about you, so I'm certain she'd want to give you a hand." Sarah said.

I couldn't really deny her claim, Dahlia did seem to truly wish for my well-being, regretting her act and trying to help me adapt. Our conversation yesterday while I was Katherine proved it to me.

Claire's stomach growled, making us look at her. "S-sorry. I woke up late... Haven't eaten yet." She said with an embarrassed giggle.

"Let me cook something. Lunch is near anyway." I said, smiling. "Do you want to join us, Sarah?"

"With pleasure, but let me help you." Sarah added.

"Thanks."

The two of us went to the kitchen and started to cut vegetables together and boil some water. Claire went to take a shower meanwhile.

"I made a mental note of a few recipes Katherine knew, I want to make them someday." I said.

"I tried to cook some French dishes a few times before, but you know how bad I am at cooking." Sarah replied with a chuckle. "I haven't improved at all since we broke up."

"I'm not an expert, but I'll try to teach you."

"Wanna hang out with me tonight?" Sarah offered, kissing me on the cheek. "We could have my first lesson? And maybe renew our relationship properly?"

I blushed, fully understanding what she was insinuating. "I'd love to, Sarah. But there's work..."

"You can miss another day, it should be fine, no? Just relax one more night and return to work tomorrow."

"Fine, I'll warn my boss, give me a minute."

I quickly texted him, warning him about my absence tonight, but promising that I'd be back tomorrow. I wouldn't be able to work there for much longer, but I wanted to give my best, to repay my boss' kindness.

Sarah and I finished cooking lunch and we all ate together. Everything felt normal, even though my nature had changed. It was comforting to see Claire treating me the same way, and Sarah was so supportive too. I was so lucky to have them. I remembered my conversation with Dahlia, about how she didn't have anyone she could trust when she became a skinwalker. It must have been extremely hard for her. I couldn't imagine the state I'd be in without Sarah and Claire.

Maybe I need to give her a proper chance...

I sent her a short text, asking to meet tomorrow to hang out. It didn't take long for me to get a reply, Dahlia gladly accepting my request and asking where to meet. I opted for a cafe near Sarah's building, since I'd be there tonight.

"Is it Dahlia?" Sarah wondered.

I nodded. "Yeah. Your words earlier made me want to see her again, to give her a chance."

"How is she like?" Claire timidly asked.

"Hmm... I don't really know... When I first met her, she was very flirtatious and confident, but when I spoke to her afterwards, she seemed more insecure and emotional. But as Sarah said, she was genuine when she said she'd help me and regretted what happened, I have no doubt about it."

"I see."

Sarah tried to engage in some small talk with Claire as we ate, asking how she was doing since they last saw each other. The two of them got along well, even if Claire was still a bit shy with Sarah.

It's good that they get along.

Once we were done with lunch, the three of us spent some time playing games together. Sarah wasn't a big gamer, she mainly played when she was younger, and only popular stuff like Final Fantasy, Ratchet & Clank, or Zelda. Still, we had a lot of fun, until Sarah decided to get back to her flat. She wanted to work on her PhD and her lessons a bit before we'd hang out this evening. She gave me a tender kiss and left me alone with Claire.

"I'm... really glad the two of you got back together." Claire said.

"Thanks. She helped me a lot. I'm lucky to have met her again. I was so nervous, so afraid to tell you, but she kept encouraging me."

Claire hugged me again. "You're my only family, Ed. You know I'll always support you."

"I know, I was stupid not to realise that." I replied, smiling as I returned the hug.

With Claire and Sarah by my side, I thought that my future didn't look as bleak anymore. I had hope.