257
Tony
A child burst into tears as their father dashed out the door. My heart clenched as the child kept wailing and struggling to get out of the caretaker's arms. Parents peeled their children off of them before rushing out the door. I looked down at Quillan, who seemed to draw closer to me. A friendly caregiver approaches, her warm smile putting both Quillan and me at ease.
"Welcome! We're so glad to have you here. Do you need paperwork to fill out, or have you already done so?"
I blinked and smiled."No. I've got a copy."
I opened my briefcase and pulled out the folder, shuffling through the pages before handing her the documents.
"You must be Mr. Chance!" She beamed at me and then looked at Quillan. "And you must be Quillan. It's very nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too, ma'am."
He stepped behind me, barely peeking out from behind me.
She turned her bright eyes on me as I fumbled with the paperwork, my hands betraying a nervous energy I hadn't realized was there.
"Your brother was pretty clear about your situation and gave me most of the information over the phone. We'll get you registered and show you to the classroom quickly."
I nodded and got through the rest of the registration, thankful that Matt had really set it all up to go smoothly. Then, we followed another teacher down the hall.
As I walked with Quillan through the colorful halls of the daycare, the vibrant atmosphere did little to quell the knot forming in my stomach. I had to get to work. I was making great time, but somehow, this felt too real, too much too soon. I hadn't even known I was a father for long, and I was already dropping him off at a daycare.
"Here we are."
The daycare caretaker led us through a series of corridors to a door marked with a cheerful sign: "Cubs Club." My lips twitched at the word, wondering if they did that to keep under the radar with humans. As she swung it open, a wave of laughter and playful chatter spilled into the hallway. My tension eased as I stepped into the room, the atmosphere instantly more comforting. This was a space designed for werewolf children, a haven where they could be themselves. The scents of the paints and even the carpeting were vastly different than the rest of the building. It almost smelled like the forest.
Inside, werewolf children of various ages were engaged in different activities, from coloring to playing with toys. The room exuded warmth and comfort. The walls were decorated with forest scenes of wolves running through the forest, a moon hanging in the far corner. In place of the plastic apparatus I'd seen in that other space was a wooden one, polished and sanded down so it gleamed.
I looked over as the only adult in the room came towards us. He was a kind-looking man who greeted us with a friendly smile. Quillan's grip on my hand relaxed a little as the man crouched down and offered his hand.
"You must be Quillan. Welcome to the Cubs Club! We're going to have so much fun today. Can I help you put your things away?"
He hesitated before looking up at me. My stomach flipped as I ruffled his hair.
"Go on."
He bit his lip. "W-What if I hurt someone again?"
My eyes widened, and I swallowed. I remembered then that his last experience with daycare was why Ginevra had been brought to me in the first place. Now that I thought about it, I'd have to look into what happened. Had Quillan infected anyone or seriously injured them?
"You don't have to worry about that," I said easily. "All the kids here are just like you."
He looked unsure, but then he nodded and followed the man away. I watched him, feeling that anxiety growing like I wanted more than anything to take him with me, even if I knew that wasn't going to work out.
Quillan seemed to be relaxing quickly as the teacher introduced him to another kid. He helped Quillan put his bag up and choose stickers to decorate his little cubby. He seemed to be relaxing a little, and maybe I was too.
"Do you want to say goodbye before we get the rest of the paperwork done?" The caretaker asked.
I nodded and crossed the room. Quillan looked up at me, still on the fence about whether or not to join the fray or hide in a corner. I kneeled down to his eye level, offering a reassuring smile.
"Hey, it's going to be great. You make lots of friends and have fun, okay?"
As I stood to leave, a hint of distress flickers in Quillan's eyes. It was like a knife in my chest, unexpected and powerful. The weight of leaving him here felt like it was crushing me, so I pulled him into my arms, enveloping him in a hug.
I realized then that I hadn't ever held him before. He clung to me, shaking and letting out a soft sniffle.
"You're going to have a great day, Quillan. I'll be back to pick you up this evening, and we can talk about all the cool things you did today."
"Can we go see Mommy?" His eyes were glossy with tears, and I nodded.
"Of course."
He took a deep breath and nodded, still holding onto that look of uncertainty.
"Y-You'll eat breakfast, right?"
"I will."
"A-And you'll check on Uncle Matt?"
"I will. You don't worry about all of that and have fun, hm?"
He nodded and gave me one last hug before it seemed like he was ready to face the rest of the room. With a last reassuring pat on the back, I straightened up and made my way back into the hallway.
Every step away felt heavy, but I walked with the caretaker to the office to set up my payment details.
"We have connections to child psychologists," she offered. "Our brother said that his mother was... sick."
I nodded.
"Grief counseling might help a bit," she said, offering me pamphlets. "Just something to think about.... for you too."
I blinked and took the pamphlet with shaky hands.
Quillan's little face flashed through my mind, and I was jarred from my thoughts by the feeling of her hand on my shoulder. She smiled at me.
"I tell first-time parents this all the time, but in your circumstances, I think you could benefit from this a little more than others."
I blinked at her. "I'm all ears."
"Keep your head up, phone close, and have a little faith, Tony. In both Quillan and yourself."
I blinked and nodded. "Thanks... I should get going."
My chest felt tight. The door swung closed behind me, and the sound of it closing thundered through me. I felt like I was walking in a daze the entire way back to my car. Quillan was in good hands, yet I still felt like a total wreck. It was... something I knew from speaking with humans I went to college with was normal. Daycare was normal. Hell, a lot of them were probably somewhere on the continent doing the same thing today, yet it felt so foreign and wrong. The urge to go back inside and take him with me was almost overwhelming, but my phone chimed with a warning, telling me I needed to be at the company in about thirty minutes.
I cranked up my car and drove to the company parking garage. I still had about twenty minutes before I had to clock in, so I opened the breakfast Matt left for me.
It was oddly still warm. I frowned, looking at it. There was the faint scent of something on the parchment paper that I couldn't place exactly, but it put something in me on edge. I opened it and swore I could still hear the meat sizzling as if it had just been taken out of the skillet.
It was almost too hot to eat.
I finished my coffee, still pondering how strange it was, and got to my floor with more than enough time to log in to my computer at my usual time. I waved at the few people who didn't seem so suspicious of me and tried to make myself focus on the day ahead.
As I stepped into my office, Mr. D'Amico was in the seat across the desk from mine, flipping through a few pages. He was dressed as impeccably as always and frowning down at the pages. A sense of unease went through me.
"Sir?" I asked. "Is there something wrong?"
He looked up and waved the pages. "You know a Glen Norgard?"
I blinked at him, trying to gauge why he was asking. I went with the truth.
"Yes. Glen was an analyst at Chance Industries and should have been higher-tier than he was. Brilliant... Why?"
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