Page 27 of Miles's Pact
"That's it. Stop the car. We're switching places."
It was for the best. While we wouldn't die in a car accident—not unless the car went up in flames and we were trapped inside—that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt, or that we couldn't hurt some innocent human who was passing by.
Duckie
In the end, shifting into my human form hadn't been as terrifying as I'd thought. Maybe it was because I knew those horrible men were long gone, or maybe it was the excitement of seeing my mom, or because I didn't want her to know how I'd spent the last twenty-one years.
Maybe it was a combination of all those things that gave me the courage I needed to shift, though it still took me a few minutes of standing in the bathroom before I could do it.
Once I'd shifted, I'd stood in front of the mirror for a full five minutes. It'd felt like looking at a stranger, but then I'd seen the tiny mole below my lower lip, and my face was mine again.
I'd been nervous about how Miles would react. I'd known Mateo would take it in stride, but that was also because our relationship was quite different to the one I shared with Miles. Mateo was becoming my best friend, but I didn't feel the same way with him that I did with Miles. Miles made my heart go crazy. He made me speechless and feel shy.
I'd wanted him to like my human form, so it was gratifying to realize he'd almost crashed the car because he couldn't stop looking at me. And he'd called mebeautiful. I liked that. I really, really liked that.
"So, are you excited to see your mom?" Mateo asked, and I hummed.
"I am. I wish I'd known. I wouldn't have..." I wouldn't have wasted years of my life existing like a common duck.
"Yeah, that sucks. But it's good that you know now, right?"
"It is," I agreed, then turned back to look at Miles. "Miles, I never thanked you for looking into it in the first place. Thank you. I never would've known mom was alive if you hadn't done that."
Miles's eyes sparkled, and I could almost feel the warmth that filled them. "I'm glad I did it too. This is much better than any closure I'd hoped to give you."
"It is. I'd like to meet your cop friend at some point and thank them too."
Miles nodded, and I turned back to face the front. Mateo kept me chatting, trying to keep me from getting worried. How was it that I'd known these two for two short weeks, and they were already such an important part of my life? I supposed it was partly because of the bond I shared with them. But mostly, it was them.
When Mateo stopped the car in front of a house that looked so very similar to the one I'd lived in as a kid, I'dalmostforgotten where we were going.
"Come on," Miles said in a soft voice, and I nodded, though I didn't move as they left the car.
A moment passed, and then Miles opened my door, peering in at me with a warm look on his face. "Come on, Duckie. You've got this." He held his hand out to me, and I grabbed it like a lifeline.
The three of us walked up the porch steps, and Mateo pressed the doorbell as I tried to regulate my breathing. I squeezed Miles's hand in a tight grip, and all he did was give me a gentle squeeze back, letting me use his hand like a stress toy.
Footsteps approached the door, and then it was pulled open. I stared at my mom as my breath caught in my lungs. She looked the same as she did in my memories. Her long black hair was in a messy bun on top of her head, and her dark eyes were wide as she took me in.
"Duckie?" she whispered, voice hushed and oh so familiar, and I nodded as my eyes watered.
A soft sob escaped her lips as she grabbed me, pulling me into a tight hug right there in the doorway. I let go of Miles's hand to hug her back, squeezing her to me as I dragged in a breath, the familiar scent of her settling into my bones as all the fear, anxiety, and grief I'd held onto all these years fizzled away. I knew it would be back. Dad was still gone. But for now, I was happy, and I clung to that feeling.
"Every year I visited the police station, they told me I needed to move on. But in my heart, I knew you'd come back to me one day, my sweet Duckie. I'm glad I never lost hope," Mom whispered as she held me tight, and I squeezed her, struggling to say anything.
I wasn't sure how long we hugged while Miles and Mateo waited behind me, but Mom finally pulled away, wiping the tears off my face with the edge of her shawl like she had when I was a kid. Then she wiped away her own tears before looking at Miles and Mateo.
"Sorry about that. Please come in. I'm Heather."
Mom kept a hold of my hand as she led us into the house, and to a living room that looked very much like the one from before. This wasn't the same house, but she'd decorated it just like our old one.
"It's nice to meet you, Heather. I'm Mateo, and this is Miles."
Mom waved them toward the armchairs as she pulled me onto the couch with her.
She cupped my face, her eyes roaming all over as if she was trying to compare every little detail to the eight-year-old she'd known. I hadn't been able to see myself in the bathroom mirror, in this face I hadn't worn in ages, but could she?
"Where have you been, my sweet child?" she asked, and I shrugged. I didn't want to tell her I'd spent the last twenty-one years hiding in my duck form because I'd been afraid those men would hunt me down. Men who'd been dead for years.
