The More Things Change by Emily Holloway

Author:Emily Holloway [Holloway, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Paranormal, Lesbian, Romance, Bisexual
ISBN: 9781684314881
Publisher: Less Than Three Press, LLC
Published: 2019-05-13T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Jackie slogs through the last couple weeks of winter as well as she can. She takes Valerie on another run to Solomon's, carrying more supplies for the people in town. They focus on children, carrying diapers and wipes, and the elderly or ill, smuggling out painkillers and hot packs. Valerie somehow manages to track down several boxes of crayons—the troops keep them for emergency candles, of all things—and several mothers start crying when she hands them out.

Valerie has been unusually quiet lately, and Jackie tries to draw her out, but she doesn't really want to talk much. Jackie knows that it has to be hard on her, seeing her family for what it really is. But she doesn't know what to say. Not until Valerie finally asks, "Why do you do this?"

"Because I have to," she says.

"No, I know that," she replies. "I mean…why did you start doing this? What made you…not believe in the…the rules?"

"Oh." Jackie chews on her lower lip and tries to decide how much to tell her. "You know that Mom and Dad kept us sheltered from all of this as much as they could. Well, when I ran away when I was thirteen, remember the old woman who helped me? She told me about how things really were. I just…opened my eyes, after that."

"It probably helped that Mitchell treats you like crap, huh," she says glumly.

"Sure as hell didn't hurt."

Valerie nods a little. "Can I…can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure," Jackie says, and gestures. "You know some of mine, what am I gonna do?"

"It's just…I know that hunting down the supernatural monsters is important, safety of the townspeople, can't control their instincts, et cetera," she says, and waves this off. "I just…I really miss Dominic. I know it's silly, I'm only seventeen, but…I thought Dominic was the one for me. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. And now, he could be dead and I wouldn't even know. I wish more than anything that I could see him again."

Jackie reaches out and squeezes her hand. She can't tell Valerie that she knows exactly where Dominic is and that he's actually doing pretty well, all things considered. Valerie might miss Dominic, but she wouldn't take well to a bunch of werewolves. "Maybe someday you will."

"You're not mad?" Valerie asks.

"Why would I be mad?"

"I know you hate werewolves, so…"

"I don't hate werewolves," Jackie says, and Valerie looks at her, surprised. "I hate the werewolves who killed my parents," she continues, "but I don't know that all werewolves are like that. I know that's what Mitchell wants us to think, but…I just don't know, Val. I mean, humans can do horrible things too. Humans can commit murder. So the fact that werewolves killed my parents doesn't mean I hate all werewolves."

"But…you're in the militia."

"Yeah, because that's how I could get access to the supplies," she says. "Mitchell was going to make me join anyway, I mean, because of my pubescent rage, so I figured I might as well use the opportunity as much as I could.

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