My Hockey Alpha
#Chapter 89: The Blanket and the Photograph

Nina

My eyes widened at my mother's words.

"What?" I asked, momentarily pulling away from Taylor as my hands started to shake. “How do you- My mother sighed and bowed her head. She was silent for several long moments that felt like an eternity before looking back up at me with tears in her eyes and speaking again. “There's so much I haven't told you, Nina,” she said. She patted the seat next to her.

I stood there for a few moments, blinking incredulously, before slowly and warily sitting down. My mother turned toward me in her chair and took both of my shaking hands, squeezing them gently as she leaned closer to me.

“I found the baby picture in your room when I went to visit you,” she said, reaching into her pocket with one hand and producing the photograph. I snatched it away and stared at it for several moments before looking back up at her.

"Why didn’t you say anything then?” I asked.

My mother sighed again. “I wanted to be sure before I said anything that might scare you,” she replied, then reached out and tapped the part of the photograph that showed the blanket with the oddly familiar pattern on it. “You were wrapped in that blanket when I found you. This picture was tucked into your basket, too. It was burned like this already, though; if it wasn't, I would've found your real parents by now.”

“You're gonna be okay,” I whispered, taking his hand again. I noticed now that our mother was standing on the opposite side of him, holding his other hand, but I didn't look at her. I couldn't, not after what she had just told me. She kept my true identity hidden my entire life... And she hadn't even had the decency to ever show me the two things that may have linked me to my past: the picture and the blanket with the strange pattern on it. None of that mattered now, though. What mattered was that my brother was going to be okay. For now.

“I'm always okay," Taylor said with a sly smirk. “I'm a superhero. Remember?”

I smiled, thinking back to the game we always used to play when we were kids. We made up our own superheroes when we were little and would play as them day in and day out, pretending to save the world from evil, only stopping when it was time to go home for dinner. Even as teenagers, we would still talk about our game. Taylor always liked to draw, so he often drew our superheroes, saying that one day we really would save the world.

“Yeah,” I said, laughing through the tears in my eyes. “You are a superhero.”

The doctor came in then with two nurses, interrupting our emotional reunion.

“Sorry to barge in,” she said, walking up to the end of Taylor's bed. “But now that the patient is awake, we need to run some tests. Is that alright?”

My mother and I nodded and reluctantly stepped away from the bed while the two nursed unhooked Taylor from the machines and wheeled him away. Soon, we were alone again.

I looked down at my phone for the first time since I had gotten the initial call from my mother saying that Taylor was in the hospital and noticed that I had over a dozen missed calls from Enzo, Jessica, and Lori. They must have all been worried sick since I had been in such a state when I left, and I had completely forgotten to tell them that I made it to the hospital safely.

What I also realized as I looked at the date was that I had an anatomy presentation in just three hours, and it counted for 25% of my grade.

“Shit,” I whispered, slipping my phone back in my pocket and looking at my mother. “I hate to say this, but I have a presentation,” I said.

My mother furrowed her brow. “Are you sure you'll be okay driving? I can drive you, if you want.”

I shook my head. “No, I actually feel fine,” I said. Maybe my newfound werewolf abilities were helping me to stay awake... Or maybe it was just the leftover adrenaline in my system from worrying that my brother was going to die, and that I would suddenly become exhausted on the highway and fall asleep behind the wheel. I hoped that wasn't the case.

“Okay,” my mom said, coming over to me and squeezing my shoulder. “I'll keep you updated on Taylor.”

I nodded, grabbing my bag and heading for the door. Just before I left, I stopped to glance over my shoulder at my mother, who stood in the middle of the now-empty room. She looked so small now that the room was devoid of Taylor's bed, like a scared child, and I realized that maybe I was too harsh with her, and that she was just as distraught as I was over Taylor's hospitalization.

"Hey," I said quietly to get her attention. She looked up from the floor, tears in her eyes. “I love you, mom.”

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