The smell of chemicals, disinfectant, cleaning supplies and more was entering Gary's nose, and on top of that, there was one that his Werewolf self had come to know quite well, blood.
Despite this being a nicer hospital compared to the others, they all had the same smell in the end, and ever since that day, the day when he and Amy were standing outside waiting for the result of what had happened to his mother, Gary hated coming to the hospital no matter what reason it was for.
“She looks so peaceful since you moved her here,” Amy said as she rubbed her mother's hand on the bed.
Surprisingly, or not at this rate, Gary had his mother in a private room. In one of the best hospitals in Slough. Despite all of that, seeing his mother lying there, hooked up to a bunch of needles, bags and machinery all around her, none of it made him feel good, and he knew Amy’s words were just to make him feel better.
Sitting down in a chair by the bed, Gary reached out to hold her hand along with Amy. He looked at her, just breathing in and out.
“Looks like you're still sleeping, mum, I guess you're tired after looking after us two for so long, but you deserve all the rest you need. You always looked after us.” Gary said, his voice choking up. He had to look down on the ground for a few seconds, and could feel Amy rubbing his back.
“I'm sorry mum, after all this time, I still haven’t found the one who did this to you. But I haven't stopped looking, it's just on pause for now, but I promise I will make them pay, but let's talk about some good things.
“The family is doing well, Amy is able to focus on her grades, and she’s enjoying the new apartment I got her. I wish you could see it, I think you would love it as well. It has this big kitchen that I asked for. Honestly when I was thinking about it, I was thinking of you and how you loved to cook for us. I really…I really miss your meals. I really do.” Gary started to sob, his shoulders moving up and down as he couldn't take it any more.
Leader of the largest gang in Slough, part of the AFA, and an Altered on top of all that, well kind of an Altered. There were many that would dream to be in the position Gary was in right now, do anything to get what he had, but for him, he just wanted his mother back, for her to wake up at this point and time.
After a few minutes Gary had recovered and was just enjoying the time with his sister by his mother. They were sharing funny stories as if their mother was able to hear them, speaking out loud and laughing away, until a serious point came up.
There were no more smiles from Gary as he pulled out the letter that Amy had given him, it was still sealed, and the contents of the letter were unknown.
“I know he abandoned our family, he never came to visit while we were struggling, but you told us never to resent him despite all of this. You told us to trust him if he ever did come back.
“I still, honestly really can't and both me and Amy feel the same way. Which is why I thought it would be best if we open this letter here together as a family.”
Gary's heart was beating quite a bit. He didn’t even know what his father looked like and couldn’t remember his voice or even his smell. Which was why Gary found it hard to say he had a connection with such a person.
Yet, for some reason, he was nervous about the contents of the letter. The only reason why Amy knew it was from their father was due to what was on the letter. Stating to My family.
On top of that, from some old letters that their father used to write to them, there was a time when their mother had shown them that as well, and the handwriting had matched up well together.
“To the entirety of my family, It's been a long time since I last wrote to you all, and for that, I would like to apologise.
“I wonder how you are all doing, I wonder how much Amy and Gary have grown up. I hope that they aren;t having any problems, and I wish that the life you and them are currently living is a far more peaceful one than mine.
“There is a reason why I haven't written to you regularly, and I wish to explain that in person not on words on a piece of paper where they can mean nothing. I always believed that actions speak truer than words, and in your eyes I know that my actions have been little.
“As for writing to you know, the burden of not seeing you all has gotten a little bit too much these days. Which is why, I plan to end my journey as quickly as I can, so I can see you all soon.”
Gary read the letter out loud and it ended there, not really saying much of anything, apart from the last part.
“Does this mean, dad will be coming back to Slough?” Amy asked.
Gary scrunched up the piece of paper there and then.
“I don’t know, but he wasn’t here when mum was struggling, and he probably doesn’t even know about mum being in the hospital. He hasn’t been in our lives so far, so I wouldn’t count on him being in our lives anytime soon.”
Amy didn't know what to say about that, but as Gary left the room, he threw the letter in the trash can. She couldn’t help herself and picked it back out. Her feelings weren't as strong as Gary’s towards her father because in the end, her mother was the one that chose him, and there had to be a reason for that.
After visiting the hospital, Gary took Amy back to the apartment and was ready to say his goodbyes to her and White as he went to the Wolf’s pool club, but before he left, White had called Gary just outside the apartment in the hallway.
“Gary, it was a good thing to do, surprising your little sister like that. She was really happy that you were coming.” White said. “But next time, why don't you tell her you're coming? Sure, she is happy today, but if she knew you were coming, then she could have been happy the whole week knowing that you were coming. She really misses you.”
Gary waved her off and was thankful that he had met White, someone who could be by the side of Amy while he wasn;t there, because if she weren't, then perhaps it would have been too painful to leave Amy on her own.
Spending the whole day out together, the night sky was out, and the Wolf’s pool club, including several bars and establishments next to it. It was livelier than before. Gary remembered the days when the pool Club was on the border between two territories, constantly being involved in fights. No one wanted to establish a business here.
Yet, there had been a significant change to the place, this was the effect of the Howlers gang, and it was nice to see the Howlers having a positive change after witnessing what had occurred at the bakery.
Walking into the club, it was busy with customers inside, and Miss Degrace could be seen busy working away as she did. There was no need for her to work at the bar anymore, but it seemed like she was happy with her place and the work she did.
None of the others that Gary was looking for were inside, at least not on the public floor.
“They are downstairs and they have been waiting for you for a while.” Miss Degrace said.
Making his way down to the basement, where Kai’s office would be, Miss Degrace gave a few passing words.
“Welcome back, we have missed you, leader.” She whispered the last word but Gary could still hear it.
The one thing he still couldn’t get used to being called was leader, and his face would light up bright red every time he heard those words.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he could see that everyone was sitting there, split on two sofas, while Kai was sitting in his office chair, waiting.
“Gary! It looks like you finally made it!” Kai shouted.
Everyone said Gary's name, and gave him a big welcome. They stood up on their feet, giving Gary a punch here or there, or even a hug, especially Marie who had given Gary quite a tight squeeze. She wasn't sure if she was imagining things or not, but it felt like Gary had gotten slightly bigger than before.
“Okay, calm down, everyone, because I need to talk to Gary about something. Have you seen this?” Kai asked as he lifted up his phone, and there was a video, a video of Gary.
*****
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