Road trip home

"Here's your food, sir." The waitress of the diner I was eating lunch at said as she gave me my plate of fries and my burger.

"Thank you." I smiled, watching her leave and take care of another customer who just walked in.

The waitress was a pretty dark-skinned girl, with a cute uniform and a kind smile, long curly locks, and a voluptuous silhouette. From what I understood, she was the daughter of the couple owning and managing this small diner.

As I observed her, I was almost able to hear my skinwalker side whispering in my mind. How would it feel like to be in her skin? A cute countryside girl...

I shook my head and took a bite of my burger, doing my best to ignore it. These tempting thoughts often surfaced whenever I looked at cute women, but I had to stay strong... Despite my best efforts, though, I still glanced a few times at her while eating my lunch. She was really cute.

Once done, she came back, smiling warmly at me. "Was it to your liking?"

"Yes, thank you. It was delicious." I replied, paying for my food and giving her a nice tip.

"I'm glad to hear, I wish you a nice day."

"Have a nice day, goodbye." I said and left the dinner, returning to my car.

I glanced at the rear view mirror, looking at my face. Some signs of withdrawal were starting to manifest. I had awful nightmares and corrupting dreams these last few days, and my tone was getting paler. I was feeling colder and more exhausted, too, not as energetic as usual. These urges to skin someone I felt on the college campus the day I became a skinwalker were also slowly coming back. It was becoming more and more tempting to skin someone and slip inside their skin.

It's still manageable for now, but I don't know how long I'll be able to last...

I left the town I'd been living in with Claire almost four weeks ago. I spent another day as Rowana to recover more from my injury and then bought some clothes and an old rusty car with most of my savings. With a stuffed backpack, I drove away, starting a road trip to return to my hometown on the other side of the country.

I could simply have skinned a person at the airport and flown there, but I didn't want to wear anyone else for now. When I removed Rowana and properly became myself again for a while, it was like I could finally think clearly, realising what I had been doing, and how these powers had influenced my mind. Just how much I had loved Carmen and Rowana's lives was making me feel ashamed. I wanted to have some time for myself, as myself, without these dark desires corrupting me.

I was too afraid to take a plane, in case Aurora had ties with the authorities and told them about me, so I thought the road was the safest and least traceable way. It was a long trip, one that had cost a lot of money already, but I stopped at a few places to work for a day or two and earn some cash to continue my journey.

By now, I was so close to my goal, the city only being a few hours away. I'd be there during sunset if everything went well.

I'll be there soon, dear Father... I thought, smirking of excitement and anticipation.

Before starting to drive, I sent a short text to Claire, telling her that I was fine. I didn't tell her about my plan, obviously, just that I had found a well-paying job in another city and would keep helping her with the money I'd be earning. I was certain she didn't fully buy it, but she accepted my answer, at least, after promising that I'd regularly stay in touch with her.

Hours passed on the road while my phone was blasting some rock and metal tracks to keep me focused. As the sun was setting, I could finally spot some of the skyscrapers in the distance.

It's getting late, I'll find a place to crash for the night before doing anything else.

Tomorrow would be a Sunday, the perfect day to find my parents at home should I decide to pay them a visit immediately. I managed to find a cheap motel in the suburbs. It was far from being the most comfortable place, but it'd suffice for one night. The positive thing about it was that the receptionist was a bald, old man, so no skinwalker temptation there.

I laid on the rigid bed of my room, closing my eyes and trying to fall asleep. I was feeling this strange mix of excitement and uneasiness from being there again. After all these years, I was back in my hometown. I wondered if the comics store I often frequented was still open, or if my boxing coach was still practicing. There were a lot of places Claire and I used to frequent that I wanted to check on.

If I'm to stay here for the time being, I might as well pay them a visit too...

Despite the thick blanket, I was shivering from this unnatural cold, pressuring me to burrow inside a skin as soon as possible. It made me wonder if I should rush things and immediately go for my parents, or bide my time a bit longer. Maybe I should think about how to approach them first. And what I would do now that I was finally back.