As we got to the house, we noticed something wrong. The windows had been broken, and there was an X on the door. Mom parked the van and got out, slamming it behind her. Taylor and I sat in the van and didn’t move as mom went inside. A few minutes later, she came back and looked out the door. “Get your butts in here and grab your things.” She said with anger still in her voice. Whoever trashed the place must have known that emergents lived here. That was the only explanation.

            Walking in the door, I was relieved to find that nothing had been stolen, so they stopped at vandalism. Not that that was any better. Taylor and I made our way down the hall to my room. We quickly grabbed our things, as well as Esme and Ashley’s. Next, I went into the bathroom and grabbed mom's blow dryer. Although I had the crystal, it was so exhausting wearing it all the time, so I would need the blow dryer to dry my fur after a shower.

            Once we had everything gathered up and packed into the van, I went back into my room and grabbed my computer and schoolbooks. I let out a soft sigh. As bad as the whole mob thing was, I could only imagine what it would be like to go back to school. I didn’t have long to think about it before I heard mom's footsteps coming down the hall. Having these ears were both a blessing and a curse.

            “What is taking you so long, Angel?” mom asked, looking at me. There was a hint of agitation in her voice. Shaking my head, I dissolved my wings before slinging my pack on my back.

            Nothing, mom, I was just thinking about how I was going to miss our house. I mean, now that we have to live at your place of work, we really aren’t going to be here anymore,” I said, sighing. I really didn’t want to have to live in that building, even if the room he gave Taylor and I was terrific.

            Mom sighed as she placed her hand against her forehead. Then she walked over and put her hand on my shoulder. “My sweet pup, I know it will be an adjustment, but just look at what happened to the house. Now imagine what could have happened if we were here. As much as I do not like the situation, we seem to be safer there than we are here right now,” she reassured me. I wanted to argue with her, but deep down, I knew she was right. After double-checking that I had everything, I headed back to the van.

            “Well, it looks like we have everything,” Taylor said with a little smile. Looking back at the house one last time, I sighed and got in the van. Mom looked at both of us and smiled before heading back to where she worked. As I sat there watching streetlights zoom past, I got a  text.

Fallen_Angel: Hey, I will see you tomorrow at school, right?

Xephirsoul: Yeah, mom was adamant about us still going to school.

Fallen_Angel: We, what do you mean we?

Xephirsoul: It is hard to explain over text. I will tell you tomorrow.

Fallen_Angel: Okay, tell your mom I said hi.

Xephirsoul: Will do.

            Turning to my mom, I noticed that she was looking at me. “Erin says hi, mom,” I said. I watched as a smile began to form.

            “Tell her I said hi. How is she doing, by the way? I haven’t seen her since all of this started.”

            “She’s fine. She just wanted to know if I was going to be at school tomorrow. I told her that there was no way that you would let me skip school,” I said. She just nodded as she continued to drive. I looked back at Taylor. It looked like she was off in space. I thought about asking her how she was doing but decided that perhaps it would be better to let her stay in her thoughts.

            When we arrived back at our new home, Mr. Carver was still standing outside. He waved at us as we headed towards the parking garage. I guess mom thought it better to have the van out of public view to leave the building without earlier problems. Mr. Carver met us at the van and offered to help get our stuff upstairs. How could we refuse?

            The ride up the elevator was quiet. No one really said anything. It had been a long day and night for all of us. Once we were back on our floor, we headed to mine and Taylors room. Mom and Mr. Carver sat our stuff down in the room.

            “Well, as you can see, I already have the air mattress set up for your girls. Your mom and I will take the others’ stuff to them. You two get some rest because tomorrow is the start of something new.” Mr. Carver said, smiling. Mom shot him a look. It was one of those moments where the phrase ‘if looks could kill’ was very appropriate.

            “Before you go making any plans, remember that they have school tomorrow, not to mention that tomorrow is Angel’s birthday. You are just going to have to be patient, Mr. Carver,” mom said in the tone that she usually used on my dad.  I was actually surprised that she would talk to her boss like that, but at the same time, he couldn’t exactly fire her if he wanted to keep his superhero dream.

            “Alright, we will hold off until the weekend. It will give me time to sort some things out anyway,” Mr. Carver said before walking away. I guess he didn’t like being on the receiving end of mom's temper.

            Mom looked at us both with a smile. “You two get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a big day for all three of you,” she said as she hugged both of us.

            “Only three? What about Esme and the others?” I asked, looking at mom curiously. She sighed and looked at me.

            “Well, from what Esme told me before she met Ashley, she and her brother were homeless and didn’t go to school. And as for the other two, I can’t really speak for them. Mr. Carver is going to have to sort that out. Besides, I have you four to worry about.” She said before cupping my face into her hands. Then she reached up and scratched behind my ear. A wave swept over me like I'd never felt before.

            “Mom, that feels so weird. I mean, it feels good, but it feels weird too.” I said as I tried to pull my head away from her hands.

            “Well, honey, you are technically a canine, so it's to be expected that you would enjoy some of the same things.” Mom said, smiling before removing her hand.

            “Good night, my sweet children.” Mom said before walking out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Taylor and I both looked at each other for a moment before the bedding on the air mattress. It was not going to be the most comfortable of beds, but we couldn’t complain at this point. As we laid in the bed, Taylor scooted over to me, resting her head on my chest. We laid like that for some time before I heard the soft sound of her shallow breaths. Smiling, I kissed her forehead before closing my eyes and drifting off into dreamland once more.