Truthfulness

These urges were becoming stronger and stronger but I couldn't do that to Sarah. I loved her too much...

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I would try my luck, I would tell the truth. She's always been supportive and caring, I didn't see why that would change now. I took a last glance at her deflated form and stabbed her, restoring her. My skinwalker side was displeased by my selfless act, but I didn't care. I felt the warmth of her soul leaving me through my fingertips, a feeling of hollowness replacing it.

It feels so awful...

I stayed by her side waiting for her to regain consciousness, and used this time to think of how to explain my situation to her.

She woke up shortly after, slowly opening her eyes. "Hmm... Ed...?"

"A-are you alright?" I timidly asked.

She got up and examined her body. "I... I had a weird dream... I dreamt that you stabbed me with something and my body suddenly started to flatten... It was very scary."

I looked away. "It... It wasn't a dream..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I-I don't remember anything after drinking my fifth beer, I completely blacked out. But I... I did do that to you... I saw you when I regained consciousness... as an empty husk..."

She was obviously skeptical, so I held my hand in front of me. "It's... related to something that happened to me last night. It's the thing I've been struggling with all day... I haven't even found the courage to tell Claire yet, but, after what I did, I think you deserve the truth... I trust you..."

I let free of the spines, eliciting a jump of surprise from Sarah. "W-what is this?"

"A 'gift' from Dahlia... You wanted to know more about her? She's a skinwalker. A being who can turn humans into skins and wear them. And when I saved her last night, she turned me into one as a 'reward'... Ever since I woke up after Dahlia turned me, I've been fighting these new urges that apparently come with being a skinwalker. The urge to wear someone... During my blackout, I somehow used these on you, these skinwalker instincts most likely taking over during my moment of weakness..."

"You... turned me into a skin?" She asked while staring at my hand.

I looked down, fearful. "I'm sorry... I... I restored you as soon as I regained consciousness. I never wanted to do that to you... or to anyone else... I promise..."

An eternity seemed to have passed before Sarah spoke again, her voice softer. "Can you... explain what happened exactly since last night?"

I nodded and started to tell her everything. How I saved Dahlia, what she did, how I woke up and decided to find her again for more explanations without telling Claire, and what Dahlia told me. She looked at me intensely the whole time, fully focusing on what I had to say. She was stunned to discover that monsters existed, obviously, and needed some time to process everything.

There was another moment of silence before she went to hug me. "I could never have imagined how bad it was when I saw you..."

I hugged her back, even starting to cry. Maybe the **** and the depression were making me more emotional.

"My life sucks but I still don't want to lose it... I don't want to be **** to steal someone else's life... and lose Claire..."

She gave me a warm smile. "Take a deep breath and let's think about it clearly, alright? Why do you think your sister would reject you after learning what happened to you?"

"I... I don't know... I became a monster..."

"I'm not so sure. You're still you, and as long as you keep your morals, you won't become a monster, far from it. Right, mister knight?" She said while giving me a teasing smile.

I chuckled slightly while she continued. "Besides, you sacrificed so much for your sister, and the two of you clearly love each other. I only met Claire twice but that's something I am certain of. I trust you, and there's no reason why she wouldn't do the same."

I smiled weakly, feeling like a weight has been lifted from my chest after hearing her words. "Maybe..."

Some annoyed squawks could be heard coming from the living room.

"Wait, what time is it?" Sarah asked while checking her phone. "God, it's already this late? Give me a minute, I need to take care of them."

Sarah left to the living room, and I followed her. I was so relieved that she took it well so far.

She immediately rushed to the cage. "Sorry, sorry, mommy couldn't cover you earlier. Goodnight, I love you~."

She gave both birds a quick scratch and covered the cage with a sheet. Meanwhile, I decided to help by putting our sushi plates and bottles of beer into a garbage bag.

"Sorry again..." I said as she approached me.

"Well, it was frightening in the moment but you returned me to normal, so I suppose no harm was done? Apart from my babies staying up late. Let's talk more in my room, otherwise they'll get grumpy again."

We returned to her room and sat on her bed. Sarah seemed like she had a lot of questions.

"So... From what you told me, does it mean you could have... worn me? Become me?" Sarah asked curiously as she looked at herself.

"I... I think so... Dahlia told me that gender or size didn't matter... But I haven't worn anyone yet to confirm it... And my skinwalker instincts keep pushing me to do so... It was... really hard to resist the urge when I regained consciousness and saw you... Even now, it's still nagging me constantly..."

She smiled and put her hand on mine. "And yet you restored me. Thank you."

I looked away and blushed slightly. "I couldn't have done that to you... I care too much about you..."

"I know. You still have feelings for me, right?"

I weakly nodded. "I did a bad job at hiding it today, haven't I? I thought I had moved on but, as soon as I saw you, everything came back..."

"You told me that Claire was becoming more independent, so maybe we could have another shot at it? I do still like being with you."

I looked back at her, surprised. "Huh? What... What about the guy you mentioned?"

"Well, I am getting along well with him, but it's still recent. I know he has feelings for me, and he's a nice guy, but it would have taken more time for me to fall for him. We're not in a concrete relationship yet. For now, we're just coworkers on friendly terms. You know I don't fall for people easily."

"I see... But... Even if we rekindle our relationship, I'll... I'll eventually lose my body... I don't see how it could work..."

She gave me another hug. "Ed, relax. Dahlia told you that you still had time, right? We can think of something in the meantime. And also what to do to satiate these urges."

I sighed. "I'd need to wear someone, apparently, at least for a short while..."

Sarah seemed to be lost in thought. "Hmm, maybe one of my coworkers could work? It wouldn't be hard to get the three of us alone in the same room. If you can really restore people and change their memories, it shouldn't be that much of an issue to wear one of them for a few days. I know you wouldn't do anything to ruin their lives, and we could be together at college too. It might be a fun experience for you and we could see how your abilities work exactly. I admit that I'm curious about that."

"You're... You're serious?"

"Yeah. Better that than having these instincts take over again, no? It's getting late, though, we should try to sleep and continue this conversation tomorrow, and also think of what to do about Claire."

I nodded apprehensively. I wasn't fond of the idea of wearing someone, but these urges were becoming stronger as time passed, and I felt like they would soon become too much for me to handle.

I was about to leave the room when Sarah interrupted me. "Where are you going?"

"I'll... go sleep on the couch."

"No need, you can sleep here. We shared this bed multiple times already." She said as she patted the space next to her.

"I don't want to stab you again by accident..."

She stood up and grabbed my hand. "If you do, then just restore me again tomorrow, it's okay. Now come, I won't take no for an answer."

I smiled weakly, knowing how futile it'd be to argue more. She was as stubborn as me at times.

"Alright. I do remember how comfortable your bed was."

"Did you miss it more than me?" She teasingly asked as I removed my shirt and trousers.

"Nah. I missed you a bit more." Despite the cold and depression still present, I felt better enough to joke with her.

We both laid on her bed and held each other's hand. Just this simple act was enough to make me relax more.

Sarah spoke. "I'm still shell-shocked by these revelations, I admit. When I'll wake up tomorrow, I'll most likely be wondering if everything was just a weird dream caused by some spoiled sushis..."

I chuckled. "I get you... But thank you... Talking about it with you helped me so much..."

She hugged me. "Everything is going to be fine, trust me. Goodnight, Ed."

"Goodnight, Sarah."

I peacefully fell asleep shortly after.