Monster

We were driving home, slowly creeping west out of the city. We’d been gone all day, answering questions at the police station. To say I was stressed out was an understatement. We had a big problem… massive. Seth Roberts. The identical twin brother of Sam, our monstrous friend. He had found us and came asking questions. They were questions that neither Eleanor nor I was prepared to answer.

We had promised to keep Sam’s secrets for a long time now… no matter what. He had always made it clear that his secrets were in place to protect his family back home, the ones he left behind when his life was stolen and twisted into what he was. He thought secrecy was best… and who were we to question him? I needed to find Sam. I had to tell him what had happened so he could help… at least to know what he’d have us do. Seth seemed dead set on finding out answers.

Once the dark gypsy, Peter Grimwood was finally killed, the impending doom of everything dropped off… for like a second. Then, Seth came knocking. Someone had used his passport, flown to Europe, and never returned… on paper at least. I knew it was when he flew to Europe to get my son, Allen. Sam broke him free and brought him back to us. I guess at some point he used our address for something, and that’s how we ended up in this mess. But, I couldn’t fault Sam for any of this. If it wasn’t for him and what he did, Allen would still be gone.

The tires crunched through the snow as we drove down the empty road, the world outside a blur of gray and white. The headlights barely cut through the thick flakes falling in steady waves, and the windshield wipers fought to keep up. Eleanor was gripping the wheel tighter than usual, her knuckles pale, her lips pressed into a thin line.

I glanced over at her. "You okay?"

She didn’t look at me. "Yeah. Just... thinking."

We both knew what that meant. We hadn’t seen Sam since that night… when he’d taken Peter Grimwood out of this world like he’d just... evaporated into nothing. The memory of it still didn’t make sense in my head. Sam, or whatever he’d become, standing there, Peter at his mercy, then gone… both of them. Just like that.

“We haven’t heard from him since that night,” I said, trying to push through the silence that had settled between us again. “His phone’s gone, there’s no way to reach him.”

Eleanor sighed, her breath fogging up the window for a second before she spoke. "I hate this, Carter. Not knowing where he is... if he’s okay. After everything Peter did, everything Sam has had to do... Now his brother’s here. He’s his family, and we have to keep lying to him."

"I don’t know what’s worse," I muttered, staring out the window at the dark shapes of trees lining the road. "The fact that we don’t know where he is, or that when we do find him, he might not be the same person anymore. He seemed different…" I thought back to when we glimpsed him for those few seconds in our yard. The night Peter Grimwood came for us all. “He looked like he knew something… it was in his eyes. He knew what he was doing. It was… different.”

Eleanor didn’t say anything for a long moment, just kept her eyes on the road, her jaw tight. Then she spoke, her voice quieter. "We need to find him before Seth does. Before anything else goes wrong. Once Sam knows his brother is here, he’ll tell us what he wants to do… how to handle this."

I nodded, the weight of the truth settling over us like the snow falling outside. There was no telling how far Seth was going to take this investigation. He had indeed gone to the police like he said when I shewed him away from my property. Our inside man, Detective Ames worked in homicide and had no pull in cases from different departments. He couldn’t take the lead and brush this type of thing under the rug for us. Luckily we had played it off as not knowing anything, none of us had left the country recently or caused any suspicion that would point toward us. But it was only a matter of time before Seth’s investigation into our family revealed a secret of the supernatural underworld of the city. That was a can of worms that we needed Sam to be here for. If Seth found out the truth too soon... it wouldn’t end well. For anyone.

The silence returned, thick and uncomfortable, as we pulled onto our street. The snow was deeper here, untouched except for a few tire tracks from earlier in the day. Our house loomed in the distance, warm lights glowing through the windows, a sharp contrast to the cold night outside.

"She’s going to ask where we’ve been going… what we’ve been doing these last few days. Honestly, I'm shocked she hasn’t started asking questions yet," Eleanor said, her voice tense.

"Yeah," I replied, glancing at her. "We have to tell her. Autumn’s smart. She’ll know something’s off if we don’t."

Eleanor turned into the garage as soon as the door lifted, the car slowing to a stop as she killed the engine. We both sat there for a moment, neither of us eager to get out, neither of us ready to face the conversation waiting inside.

“You know how close they were… how close they still seem. Part of me thinks we don’t realize how much so…” my wife sighed.

I finally broke my silence. "I don’t like her being tied to him like that." The words came out harsher than I meant, but I didn’t regret them.

Eleanor turned to me, her expression tight with frustration. "I know he’s not normal, Carter, but he’s done too much for us to just cast him away like that."

“I know he did, but look what he’s become,” I said, my voice rising, frustration boiling over. “He’s not... normal, Eleanor… not for Autumn… not for our little girl. I love Sam… he’s like a son to me…” I started getting choked up. “Whatever he is, it’s not safe. And I don’t want her mixed up in that; living a life that never allows her a family of her own. She deserves a better life than getting caught up in…”

“In what? In the truth… life?” Eleanor shot back, cutting me off. “She’s old enough to make her own choices, Carter. You can’t protect her from everything. Better to be with someone who loves her… cares for her than settling for safe… for normal.”

I knew everything she was saying was right… but I just couldn’t bear to say the words and give my blessing to something like that. I wanted so much more for Autumn than she had. I wanted her to have everything in this world, love, a family, kids… I wanted her to just be safe… happy.

“Remember how much my dad hated you in the beginning?” she reminded me. “He knew your family was rough… if only he knew the truth. He said a lot of things similar to what you're saying now, Carter. If I would have listened,” she looked me straight in my eyes. “We wouldn’t have all this; Allen, Autumn, this family.” Her words weighed heavily on me.

I clenched my jaw, staring at the dashboard. “I know.”

Her eyes softened a little, but her voice stayed firm. “She’s going to have questions about what's going on, about everything. And we can’t keep her in the dark. She’ll figure out we’re hiding something, plus we’ll probably need her help. What if Seth came back… talked to Autumn? She might call him the wrong name…”

I knew she was right. Autumn wasn’t a little girl anymore and keeping her away from all of this was next to impossible. But I couldn’t shake the that getting too close to Sam was dangerous, not just for her, but for all of us. But, if she accidentally outed Sam because she didn’t know Seth was around, that would be on us.

I opened the door, the cold air hitting me like a slap, and stepped out onto the messy garage floor. Dirty clumps of frozen dirt and melting snow lay scattered from the cars as we drove back and forth into the city. Eleanor followed, and we both made our way up the step to the side door in the garage, our feet crunching with wet grit.

When I pushed open the door, the warmth hit me immediately, the familiar scent of the house filling the air. But before I could relax, something caught my eye.

On the couch, Autumn was sitting on top of someone, her hands tangled in his hair as they kissed intensely. For a split second, my heart stopped. The dark hair, the obviously male boots on the legs sticking out from beneath Autumn. Sam. My stomach dropped, and I froze in the doorway. He was back… and he was like this with Autumn. I gritted my teeth.

Eleanor stepped in beside me, her hand flying to my arm in surprise. Her eyes were wide with the same shock. Was he back? Had Sam finally returned after vanishing that night in our yard, after disappearing with Peter Grimwood… killing him. We both stood in silence… unsure of how to enter the room with the two going at it so passionately. It was… awkward for me to see Autumn this way.

But then, as Autumn shifted, I saw his face. That was not Sam. That… was Patrick Wicklow.

His dark hair, once messy and loose in his youth, was now swept back into a sleek ponytail, the sides of his head shaved down to the scalp. The sharp lines of his jaw and high cheekbones, carved with the unmistakable features of his family's gypsy heritage, caught the light from the lamp, giving him away. His slim build was more common, untrained in the ways of the hunt. That was not his family’s way. He had powers… like Shelta, only weaker and inexperienced. He sat beneath her with confidence in the way he held my daughter as if he belonged there.

I blinked, trying to process what I was seeing. Autumn and Patrick… her ex-boyfriend, the one she’d dumped long before Sam had ever come into our lives. He was the one under her, their bodies entangled on our couch like nothing had changed. I know she gave him too much attention when Sam first disappeared when we first discovered his secret. But once he returned to us, I knew she had started moving back into Sam, emotionally. As much as I didn’t want her with Sam, this should have made me happy. To see her with someone else… a human, but it didn’t. It only made me confused. It didn’t add up. Why the hell was she with Patrick like this?

My mouth went dry. Eleanor stood next to me, her hand still covering her mouth in stunned silence. Neither of us moved, the shock of the scene in front of us freezing us in place. This wasn’t Sam. This wasn’t the return we’d been half-expecting, half-dreading. This was something else entirely. Something... unexpected, and off.

Autumn broke the kiss, her head snapping up, eyes wide as she finally noticed us standing there. For a second, there was a flicker of surprise in her gaze, but then nothing. No embarrassment, no shame. She just... smiled. Like everything was completely normal.

"Hey," she said casually as if we hadn’t just walked in on her making out with her ex-boyfriend on our couch. "You guys are back early."

I couldn’t speak. I just stared at her, then at Patrick, who had the nerve to grin sheepishly at us, sitting up slightly as if to give us some space, though it didn’t help. The air between us was thick with unspoken questions, and I didn’t have the first clue how to ask any of them.

Patrick cleared his throat, finally breaking the silence. "Uh, hey, Carter, Eleanor," he said, too casual, his tone grating on my nerves.

My mind was still reeling, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. Patrick? Out of all the possibilities running through my head, Patrick Wicklow was the last thing I expected.

Eleanor shifted beside me, her lips parting slightly, but no words came out. I could see the same confusion in her eyes that I felt. We hadn’t seen Patrick in a little while now. The recent deaths of his father and grandmother had destroyed his family, but here he was. He seemed… lighter and happy. Autumn hadn’t even mentioned him, not once since Sam became such a figure in our family. Even though I feared their bond, her connection with Sam was noticeable. It was a silent bond that you could see in the way they moved and acted around each other. And now, here Patrick was in the place I fully expected to see Sam.

Autumn sat up straighter, adjusting her shirt like nothing had happened. "What’s with the looks?" she asked her tone light, almost teasing. "We were just hanging out." She brushed her dark brown braid over her shoulder, trying to break the awkward tension.

I finally managed to find my voice, though it felt strained like I was pushing through a fog. "Patrick?" I asked, the disbelief still thick in my throat. "What are you doing here?"

He glanced at Autumn, his smile slipping for just a second before he plastered it back on. "Oh, uh, Autumn and I have been talking again. You know, reconnecting."

Reconnecting? That was one hell of a word for what we had just walked in on. I stared at him, then at Autumn, trying to piece together how this had happened. Patrick Wicklow, of all people, was back in our house, acting like he belonged… with her. I knew she had made it abundantly clear that they were over… many times. He had practically begged her at times to take him back.

Autumn shrugged, still unfazed. "Yeah, it’s no big deal. We’ve been talking for a while now. After everything… Bartley… Annabelle," Autumn actually started to tear up at the thought of Annabelle. She shook it off, trying to regain her composure. “We just decided to stop stepping around each other and admit what we want.”

Eleanor’s voice finally cut through the fog, soft but sharp. "Autumn... you never said anything. We had no idea."

Autumn gave her a look as if she didn’t understand what the problem was. "Well, I didn’t think it was that important. I mean, it’s not like I have to announce every detail of my life."

I couldn’t stop staring at her, at them. This wasn’t like her. She wasn’t acting like herself. And Patrick... something was off with him, too. He was too comfortable, too... present.

Patrick leaned forward slightly, his hands resting on his knees, and for a moment, his eyes met mine. There was something there, something unspoken. Like he knew we were questioning what we were seeing. Like he knew exactly what was going through our minds. This just didn’t add up.

Autumn looked between the two of us, her smile still in place, but her tone shifting just slightly, a hint of defensiveness creeping in. She knew the questions we were trying to figure out how to ask. "What’s the big deal? It’s not like I owe Sam anything. He was just… a phase, I guess. I’m allowed to move on with my life."

“Autumn this is all… so sudden. I just didn’t think…” Eleanor cut herself off, unsure of how to continue.

Eleanor flinched at the mention of Sam’s name and struggled to speak in the situation. I felt my heart tighten. This wasn’t right. None of it was right. And the worst part was, I didn’t know what to say to make it any better. Part of me wanted this; a normal relationship for Autumn. But to see it in front of my face, knowing everything I knew… it wasn’t right.

“Autumn, I think what your mother is trying to say, is that we are just a little concerned is all. How will Sam react? It seemed like you two were reconnecting before he disappeared. What if he really is still alive… and he comes back? He is something… someone,” I corrected myself, “that we have to think about. I’m pretty sure that,” I pointed between the both of them. “That this will affect him in a way.”

“I’m not going to let anything, or anyone get in between me and Patrick again” she spoke out loud as a pure fact. “Not anymore.” Autumn sat back on the couch with Patrick, draping her legs over his as she stared at us, waiting to see what we’d say next. “Obviously it might be a little weird for him to be around us… but, he’ll just have to move on. If he can't handle it, I'm sure he’ll just leave. He’s good at that… just look at how he left his own family!” She scoffed.

“AUTUMN!” Eleanor snapped and started yelling. “WATCH YOUR FUCKING MOUTH! DO NOT EVER TALK ABOUT HIM LIKE THAT AGAIN! YOU DON’T GET TO JUST THROW AWAY HIS SACRIFICES LIKE THAT!” Eleanor stared daggers at our daughter. Patrick and Autumn were both shaken from the outburst, not expecting such a reaction from her own mother. El stormed off, pacing upstairs in a fury.

I was beyond confused. What she had just said… is something my daughter would have never said… not about Sam. Something was going on… why was she doing this?

Patrick just sat there like a bystander watching a fight between two parties he wasn’t associated with. He didn’t want to get involved even though he was a centerpiece in this problem.

Eleanor and I were in the kitchen later that same evening, talking about the problem with Seth, and now with Autumn. We stood there, caught in the moment, the snow falling outside, while inside, everything was unraveling. We didn’t tell Autumn about Seth… she was too occupied. Part of me thought that, with how she was acting, she wouldn’t care. The notion alone was outlandish to me.

The thought of Sam seeing Autumn like that… so comfortable, so at ease with someone else… it made my stomach churn. I never liked the idea of my daughter being tied to someone with Sam’s kind of darkness, but even I couldn’t deny they cared about each other. But now? Now, it felt like she was moving on. Quickly. Too quickly.

“If Sam sees them together, after all he's been through, it could push him away for good,” Eleanor murmured. She wasn’t wrong. Sam was already hanging on by a thread at times, his whole life torn apart by what he’d become… what he’d done.

“I don’t know how he’d handle this.” My voice was quieter than I intended, the weight of the words sinking deep. “Patrick and Autumn doing this now? It’s bad timing. It’s…” I played scenarios in my mind. “Am I crazy, or is this just… wrong? Like this just doesn’t seem like her… like nothing she’d ever do.”

“I wonder if Kayla knows… if not, what will she think?” El thought out loud.

I sighed, “That poor girl has been chasing Patrick around as long as Patrick has been after Autumn. Once she finds out… after losing her father… this might be too much.” I shook my head, “What the fuck is Autumn thinking?”

We both sat there, the tension thick in the room. I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that everything was slipping out of control. And then there was Seth.

“If Sam doesn’t come back,” Eleanor said, her eyes filled with fear, “what are we going to do about Seth? He’s not going to stop. If he keeps pushing, it's only a matter of time. He’s already shown up at the main office asking questions. He’s throwing our names around town too much.”

Seth had been to the police, and spoken with detectives about a stolen passport. He claimed we had it somehow and just let the wild goose chase begin. We knew that he didn’t have much to go on, but he was searching for anything. I think he knew he wouldn’t get anything out of his talks with the authorities since we denied all claims and spewed the same lies we told Seth when he first came knocking. I think he was just trying to frazzle us, get us to slip and say something. We just had to hold on a little longer and hopefully, he’d leave. He had to have a life to go back to… a family of his own. It was also very odd to see him in person, since he shared such a striking resemblance to his twin brother, our friend, Sam.

I shook my head. “We’ll have to keep stalling. Buy ourselves time. Maybe we can figure out something. But we need to talk to Sam first.”

“If we can even find him,” she said, her voice cracking with worry.

That was the heart of it, wasn’t it? Finding him. The last time we saw Sam, he disappeared into the night after taking Peter Grimwood out of this world. No phone, no contact. Just… gone. We had no idea where he was, or if he even wanted to come back.

“If he thinks Autumn’s moved on,” I said, swallowing hard, “would he have a reason to come back here? I’m not sure he would.”

El barely got the words out. I think she was trying to convince herself, “No… don’t say that.” Her eyes were heavy with sadness that ran deep. Eleanor was connected to him too, in a way none of us could understand. Sam had traded his life for Eleanor’s when she was killed by the chimera, Phineas. He had done so much for her, for Allen, our whole family. For me.

The thought sent a chill down my spine. Sam was already carrying more than any one person should. And if he thought he had nothing left to return to, what reason would he have to stick around? Why fight for a life that was crumbling?

I stared at the empty hallway where Autumn and Patrick had disappeared through, a knot twisting in my gut. I didn’t know what was going on with her, with him. I didn’t understand why this was happening now, of all times. But the bigger question loomed over all of it. Where was Sam?

The air was cold one evening, the snow had stopped falling, and the wind had died down. Being outside was more bearable, but still frigid. It seemed like that storm had finally let up. I was standing by the window, watching the shadows stretch long into the forest, my mind still caught up in the mess tangling my family. I didn’t even notice him at first… just a dark figure moving in the tree line, almost blending into the blackness. Then I saw him. Sam.

I froze for a moment, my heart lurching in my chest. It had seemed like forever since we’d seen him since he’d vanished with Peter Grimwood like a ghost in the night. He looked different now, rougher around the edges. His frame was bulkier, his clothes hanging ragged off his muscular body. His black eyes caught the dim light from the house, glinting like dark mirrors, and even from a distance, I could feel the weight of his presence.

Without thinking, I bolted for the door, throwing it open and rushing outside, the cold air biting at my skin. "Sam!"

He didn’t move, just stood there at the edge of the tree line, half-hidden by the darkness. But his gaze locked on mine, and for a brief moment, I saw a flicker of relief in his eyes. He was back. But as I got closer, that relief faded, replaced by something heavier, something darker.

“Carter,” he said, his voice low, almost hoarse. “It’s been... a little while.”

“Sam.” I stopped a few feet from him, my breath coming in sharp puffs. “Thank God. I thought… I thought we’d never see you again. When you left that night to go to Martin’s to kill Peter… they told us he took you. We thought you were dead… then you came back and…” he cut me off.

He lowered his head slightly as if the weight of everything that had happened was too much to carry. “I didn’t know if I’d ever come back. I was… stuck for a while.”

I glanced over my shoulder, towards the house. Fear of what he might sense inside stirred in me. "Listen, we need to talk. But… out here. Not inside."

Sam frowned, his eyes narrowing. "Why? What’s going on?"

I hesitated. How the hell was I supposed to explain this? "Autumn’s here," I started, my words slow, careful. "But... she’s not alone."

Sam’s expression darkened, his jaw tightening. "What do you mean?"

"Patrick’s with her. They’re... together. Again. I’m not sure if you knew… I just…"

He stared at me, unblinking, the words sinking in like lead. I could see the shift in his posture, the subtle tightening of his fists at his sides, but he didn’t say anything. Not yet. His silence was more telling than anything he could’ve said. His eyes remained black the whole time we spoke. It was unsettling.

I pressed on before he could react, trying to keep my voice steady. "There’s more, Sam. Seth… your brother… he came by the house."

Sam’s head jerked up, his black eyes locking onto mine, wide with disbelief. "Seth?" His voice caught in his throat as he shook his head in confusion. "Wait… wait… here? In St. Louis?"

His whole demeanor shifted like a wave had hit him. Whatever numb, monstrous calm he’d been holding onto started to crack.

I nodded slowly, feeling the weight of what I was about to tell him. "Yeah. He’s been talking to the police. About identity theft. About a stolen passport."

At that, Sam’s face drained of color, and I could see the fear crawling up through him. His usually tough, composed exterior began to fall apart, and for the first time since I’d known him, he looked genuinely scared. Not the cautious, calculating type of worry I’d seen when he was trying to contain what lived inside him, this was something deeper.

“The passport…” His voice dropped to a whisper as he could barely get the words out. His eyes darted, unfocused. “...fuck…”

The weight of that single word hung between us like a blade ready to drop. He was piecing it together in real time, the full impact of what he’d done hit him all at once. I saw his breathing hitch, his chest rising and falling faster, the air suddenly too thick around him.

Sam trailed off, his lips parting as if he was going to say something, but nothing came. His breaths were shallow now, his whole frame tensing like an animal cornered. The panic was seeping in, his mind racing through the implications. He knew. He knew exactly what this meant; that Seth, the brother he’d been trying to keep distant from this twisted supernatural world, had somehow gotten sucked in. Because of him. What would happen if he found out the truth… if his wife or the rest of his family found out the truth?

"I didn’t think it’d lead him here," Sam finally muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. His hand went to his forehead, fingers pressing hard into his skull like he could physically push the thought away. “I… I didn’t think he’d ever come looking.” His mind was far off in another world.

I could see his panic mounting, a storm brewing behind those blackened eyes. Sam wasn’t just scared; he was coming undone. All the walls he’d built, the distance he’d put between himself and his old life was crumbling in front of him.

"Sam," I said, stepping closer, trying to ground him. "You didn’t know. You couldn’t have…"

He cut me off, his voice shaking now. "I should’ve known. I used his name, Carter. I used your fucking address… like a fucking idiot! I did this. I brought him here." His eyes flicked up to meet mine, a mixture of terror and guilt swirling behind them. "If Seth finds out… if he gets pulled into this mess, it’ll kill him. I was ready to go back… find out a way to tell them the truth… but not like this…"

There was a rawness in his voice, a deep fear not just for himself, but for his brother. The brother he’d kept at arm’s length for so long, thinking that distance and death would protect Seth from what he had become. But now that same distance had drawn Seth right into danger.

"You didn’t mean for this to happen," I tried again, my voice gentler this time, but firm. "We can figure this out before it gets worse. How do you want to handle this? We could bring him in, prepare him maybe… so you can talk to him. Show yourself to your brother...."

"But what if he reacts… bad?" Sam’s voice was sharp, his gaze searching mine for an answer. "What if he doesn’t accept it… what if he tells the rest of them that I’m something unrecognizable…" He trailed off, unable to finish the thought, his expression clouding with dread.

I didn’t have an easy answer for him, not one that would take away the weight of what he was carrying. I could feel his fear and desperation hanging in the air between us.

He finally lowered his head, staring at the ground, his fists clenched tight. "I have to fix this," he muttered under his breath. "Before it spirals out of control. Before he gets hurt." His voice wavered as if even he wasn’t sure if it was too late.

I stood there, watching him battle his own thoughts, and then, as if a fresh wave of pain hit him, his whole body stiffened.

“Sam, listen to me,” I said, stepping closer. “Seth doesn’t know the truth. He’s poking around, trying to figure out who used his identity, but he’s still in the dark about... everything else.”

Sam shook his head, his hand coming up to rub at his face, his eyes wide and unfocused. “But if he keeps digging, he’ll find out. And once he’s in, there’s no getting out. The supernatural world... he’s not ready for that, Carter. I have to stop this. I have to protect him.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to steady him. “We’ll figure it out. Let me speak with Wayland about this… he might be able to come up with a way to lead Seth away. He’s tech-savvy and might be able to swing something that will get rid of your brother for now. I just didn’t want to do anything until I spoke with you first; to see if you wanted help maybe telling him the truth?”

“No,” Sam replied. “Not right now… not like this. I have a plan, but this is too soon. I have other things going on right now… important things. I can’t go to them yet. But once this is over… maybe. Then… I might need your help… telling him, all of them the truth.”

We stood in silence as I nodded, agreeing to work with Wayland on finding a way to lead Seth away from the city. He had contacts that were even better with computers than he was. He used those contacts a handful of times when our hunts and investigations into humans that were linked with creatures required it. I knew he could think of a way to give him a lead that would get him off our scent. Now that I had the go-ahead, and Sam did not want to open this can of worms yet, we’d move forward.

I waited to see what Sam would say next. He didn’t look okay. He still had his monstrous black eyes that warped his face, but he looked human. His face looked defeated… strung out, and tired. Between everything I had just dumped on him, and whatever else he had gone through, Sam was having a moment.

“Autumn.” His voice cracked, and I could see the pain flickering in his eyes. “She... she’s with Patrick?”

I didn’t know how to answer that. Not in a way that wouldn’t hurt him even more. But he already knew. The look on his face said everything. He just wanted to hear me say it again. “Yes. I’ll be honest, Sam… I don’t understand it either. It just… happened all of a sudden.”

“I told her once, Carter… just like I told you and Eleanor. I said if she ever wanted me gone, all she had to do was say the word… I guess… she couldn’t say it…” he shook his head, trying to connect some kind of dots that would make sense to him.

“Sam, it’s not like that,” I said quickly, though I wasn’t sure if I believed it myself.

His shoulders slumped, the weight of everything pressing him down as if he was finally beginning to buckle under it all. “I thought I had more time,” he whispered. “More time to fix this. To come back.”

There was a long, heavy silence. The kind that stretched and grew, as though the space between us widened despite how close we stood. I could feel the tension in the air, thick and suffocating. Sam had been through hell; more than anyone could fathom, and now, just when he thought he could return, everything had shifted. His world had moved on without him.

“Is she alright, Carter?” His voice was barely above a whisper. “Is she safe… happy?”

A knot tightened in my chest, his words striking harder than I expected. There was nothing I could say to ease his pain. Nothing that could fix this.

“Yes, Sam. As far as I can tell,” I admitted, although it pained me to say it. The words came out strained, my jaw clenching after.

He looked up at me finally, his eyes hollow, numb. "Have you noticed anything strange about Autumn or Patrick?" His words were more inquisitive and his attitude shifted slightly.

I frowned, shaking my head. “What do you mean?”

Sam’s gaze darkened, his voice dropping lower. “When I got Peter’s name… and saw the vision of all the fucked up shit he had done… I saw something.” Sam gritted his teeth at the memory. “Peter Grimwood was in Autumn’s dorm room… he killed her roommate…took a hairbrush of Autumn’s. I don’t know what he did, but he cast some kind of power into it, some intent, and gave it to Patrick.” His eyes flared with something between fury and desperation. “I saw him whispering things into Patrick’s ear… meeting with him. Patrick didn’t want any of it… I know that for certain… but Patrick... Patrick never told anyone about it. Did he?”

The knot in my chest tightened even further. I stared at Sam, unsure of what to say. That sense of looming dread, the one that had been sitting just out of reach, suddenly closed in around me. Peter Grimwood, manipulating Patrick? It wasn’t just a fear; Sam had seen it. Hadn’t he? Would he lie about something like this?

“Are you sure?” I asked, though deep down, I already knew he was.

Sam nodded, his gaze drifting back to the ground. “Patrick never said a word. I don’t even think Annabelle knew. The power could have died with Peter… but I don’t know. I just want to make sure that Autumn is safe.”

I didn’t know what to say. The implications of it twisted in my gut, making everything feel even more out of control. What had Peter done? What had he whispered into Patrick’s ear? I just nodded.

“I’ll keep watch, and look into this. If what you are saying is true… Patrick is going to have a lot of questions coming his way. From everyone.”

Sam’s shoulders sagged even more, his voice raw as he spoke again. “What do I do now?” He wasn’t talking to me.

I shook my head slowly, swallowing the rising panic, answering him anyway. “I don’t know. But whatever happens, we’ll figure it out. Seth... Patrick and Autumn... all of it.”

Sam nodded, though it was a hollow gesture, devoid of any real belief. He stared at the house, eyes fixed on the soft glow from the windows, the light casting long, eerie shadows across the ground. “I don’t belong here anymore, do I?” His voice came out fragile, broken like he was barely holding himself together. It wasn’t a question for anyone, only for himself.

I didn’t answer. Deep down, I knew he was feeling something that no words would heal. Only time could do that.

I turned to look at the house, that warm light spilling into the night. For a brief second, I thought maybe… just maybe, there was still something left to hope for, something that could be salvaged from this mess tonight.

But when I turned back to Sam, he was gone. Vanished into the darkness. Only the cold, empty air remained, and with it, a creeping sense of unease.

I stood there for a moment longer, the night swallowing any trace of him, before looking back toward the house. The glow from the windows suddenly felt much further away.

I started walking back towards the house, trudging through the high snow. I already had my cell phone out, and I was calling Shelta. If what Sam had just told me was true… I was about to raise a fucking shit storm. What kind of threat did Peter Grimwood's power still pose to us? What kind of interactions did Patrick have with the dark gypsy, and why didn’t I know about it before now. Why did it take Sam to tell me this shit?