My Name is Not Cupcake

I walked out of the room and down to the car. I hoped in, both excited and nervous to see my brother and father again. Elias held a cloth bag up.

"I'm sorry, I have to do this," he said. I sighed and allowed it. At least he was letting me see my family. Elias drove straight to my house. He stopped the car in front of the house and took the bag off. I turned to him confused.

"How did you-"

"I do my research, Nova," he answered before I even finished. The way he said my name made me sigh. It just rolled off his tongue like the sweetest desert. I cleared my head. I had to stop thinking that way. I sighed and looked at the house. The lights were on. They were home. "Here, wear this," he said handing me an earpiece.

"Why?" I asked.

"I'll feed you what to say, and I'll be able to hear what you say. It's best they don't look for you at all. People will get hurt if they try," he explained. I sighed before I put the earpiece in. He put one in himself.

"Can you hear me?" he tested. I nodded. He held my hand gently.

"You'll be okay," he assured me. I nodded before I walked up to the door. I rang the doorbell and waited. My brother answered the door. He eyes watered immediately when he saw me.

"Nova," he breathed. He wrapped me up in a suffocating bear hug. I returned it with my own.

"Nolan," I said softly. I peeked over his shoulder and saw my dad standing, watching on shocked.

"Nova," he whispered.

"Dad," I smiled through my tears. Nolan let go of me and I rushed to my dad. We hugged each other tightly. I felt a wave of relief sweep over me.

"Novalyn, we thought you were dead," he cried. He pulled away and looked at me.

"I'm alive," I smiled gently. "I'm fine," I said.

"Nova, I'm here. Be careful what you say next," Elias said in my ear.

"How? What happened? Where have you been?" he asked quickly. They pulled me into the living room and sat me down on the couch. I shook my head, not knowing what to say.

"Nova, say this..." Elias said in my ear. I listened before I turned to my dad.

"I went for a walk a-and I got lost. When I finally got back, everyone was gone. A man found me and helped me out with clothes, food, everything. He finally figured out how to get me home," I lied.

"God, Novalyn, we were so worried about you," he said. My smile dropped slightly.

"I know but that's not all," I continued.

"Breathe, Nova," Elias said sweetly. "Here comes the hard part and you only have a little time left," he informed me. I sighed and listened before I felt my eyes water. Nolan was staring at me curiously.

"But... I can't stay," I continued. They both looked at me confused. "I just wanted you to know I was alive. I didn't want you to think that the same thing that happened to mom happened to me. It's complicated, but I love you both. Don't look for me. I don't want to be here anymore, and no one is forcing me to do this. Just know that I'm alive and I love you guys. But I hate it here and I was planning on leaving anyway, so I already have."

"Nova, no, don't leave, please. We just got you back," Nolan said. I sighed and shook my head, sliding a piece of scratch paper and a pen towards me.

"Well, what's going on? Why do you have to go? I'm sure whatever it is we can fix it. We always have." Nolan asked. I wrote 'help me!' on the paper. They read it and looked at each other before I saw them start to panic. I wrote 'Rigor Moon' on the paper, praying they would figure it out.

"I can't tell you, and I can't stay. I don't want to," I whispered. The words felt like vomit.

"Breathe, Nova. You're out of time. Stand and leave," Elias said in my ear. I almost forgot he was there. I stood on shaky legs and wiped my tears.

"I have to go," I said quickly before I headed to the door. I couldn't stay any longer. If I did, I wouldn't be able to leave. I ran out the door and down the street to the car, but I knew that my family got the message I was trying to send.

"Nova!" I heard my dad yell after me. I sobbed as I shut the door behind me. In the car, Elias squeezed my hand tightly as he took off.

"Why did you make me do that?" I sobbed.

"Because they can't look for you. The town... they will be very protective of you. They already love you and claim you as their own," he said.

"But they don't know me," I countered.

"I know, but I'm technically... in charge of the town," he said hesitantly.

"So you're the mayor?" I asked, calming down slightly.

"Something like that... and you're like... the first lady," he said. I had a feeling it was more than that, but he wouldn't elaborate. "Wait, the entire town? How is the entire town on one page?" I asked.

"We're a very close town. We hold monthly get-togethers and communicate on a daily basis. It's not uncommon for our town to be very friendly. We're practically one big family," he said. The way he was talking about seemed more like a cult than a town. We made it back to the house and I just felt exhausted. I collapsed on the bed in my temporary room and sighed.

"It'll get easier, Nova. I promise," he said. I nodded. I didn't believe him, but I nodded anyway.

"What am I supposed to do here in the meantime?" I asked. Elias came and sat next to me.

"Get to know the town, me, everything," he sighed.

"I was supposed to go to college this fall. I was going to be a nurse or teacher," I ranted as I paced the floor. He sighed and came to stand in front of me.

"You can still do all of that. We have schools and a hospital. You can do whatever you want except leave. You don't even have to go to college. We have certified trainers who can certify you for nothing. No student loans, or bills, or anything. I'm going to take care of you, Nova. And I'm pretty much going to give you whatever you want," he said. I gave an exasperated sigh before I stood and started pacing.

"What about clothes?" I asked.

"Check your drawers and closet," he smirked. I looked at him shocked before I checked. Sure enough, they were stocked in my size with everything I could think of.

"But how did these get here? How did you know my size?" I asked.

"The nurse who changed you took your measurements and had some of the women in town go shopping for you, " he answered. It didn't even occur to me that anyone else knew about me here, or had even seen me. And here they were buying a stranger clothes. They even bought shoes and jewelry. "I financed them, of course. You're my responsibility and I'll be damned if I cut any corners when it comes to you," he explained.

"But why?! Why are you going through all this trouble for me? I thought kidnappers were supposed to be mean and rude and manipulative. You've been nothing but nice to me," I rambled. He chuckled and stood in front of me, catching my eye. My breath hitched at our close proximity and his intense gaze.

"When are you going to get it? It's not my intention to hurt you. It's my job to protect you and take care of you. And the whole pa-town will stand behind me on that. They might not know you personally yet, but we take care of our own, and you're a part of us, or you will be eventually. You are more special than you think. You are my main priority, and I'll always be here for you; no matter what," he said softly. He picked a book out of a small selection of books on a shelf and handed it to me. "Here, it's a good read, whenever you find the time," he said. I looked over the thick leather cover. It wasn't 'Harry Potter' big, but it was a descent-sized book. Lycan Revealed was the title.

"Why?" I asked. He chuckled.

"You ask too many questions. We'll talk about it when you finish if you want. It's just something to pass the time. Get some rest, Nova," he said before he kissed my hand and left. My skin was cool and hot where his lips touched me. I covered my hand quickly as I felt a blush creep up my neck. I shook off the feeling and looked back at the book curiously.