Chapter 9
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I flipped it open to find a text message from William.
Are you going to hang out with Miss Baylor the rest of the night? I looked up and William was leaned back against the front of his car, resting on his elbow with his feet crossed. Even from across the fire his eyes were mesmerizing. My heart fluttered again, and I wondered how long I would keep reacting to him like that.
Be there in a sec. I text messaged back.
“Um, William is waiting for me,” I said, breaking the silence.
“We need to talk about this, Gen.” She called out as I walked away.
I briefly turned to face her, and kept walking backwards. “We will.” I told her, but had no intentions of further entertaining this craziness she was trying to feed me. I’d definitely be talking to Aunt Bev when I got home.
I knew it was getting late, but I didn’t want this night to end. When I reached William’s car he smiled, but kept his distance, which bothered me. Luna came be-bopping over with her perky attitude and totally silly grin. She looped her arm through mine, pulling me slightly further away from William.
“Gen, it’s getting late. I have to be home by twelve,” she said, smiling dryly at William as if to say, “ha-ha she’s mine.”
I peered longingly at William and sighed. “I guess I need to get going.”
He pushed himself off of his car. “I’ll walk you.” He placed his hand on the small of my back and we started walking. Luna was a few steps ahead. His hand on my back felt like ice, but his touch set me on fire.
We reached my Jeep faster than I would have liked. I was disappointed after turning to face him, he didn’t even attempt to kiss me. He just opened my door and waited for me to climb in. I was crushed when he said a simple bye and closed my door.
I stared through the windshield and watched him until he disappeared somewhere on the other side of the bonfire. I sighed heavily and dropped my shoulders.
During the drive home, Luna was extremely quiet. She stared out the window while listening to Slick Puppies. Whenever she noticed me glancing in her direction, she would smile. But, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, when she thought I wasn’t looking, her smile was promptly replaced with a frown.
I finally couldn’t take it anymore. I reached, turning the music down. “What happened inside the cave tonight?” I asked incredulously. Of course, she attempted to play dumb, but the look on her face said she knew exactly what I was talking about. I slammed on the brakes, and skidded onto the side of a very desolate road.
“Gen!” She screamed when the seatbelt caught and jerked her neck. “Why are you stopping?” She asked apprehensively.
I narrowed my eyes and turned to her. “I want the truth, Luna! Especially if it involves me,” I shouted ominously. I glowered at her while waiting for an answer. I wouldn’t really do anything, like make her get out and walk, but I wanted to intimidate her so she would tell me everything she knew.
“Miss Baylor has these bonfires from time to time. She’s convinced her great-great-grandfather had a vision quest, and as the shaman of her family, it’s her responsibility to keep searching for the Adlet princess. That’s the only way there will ever be peace between the tribes and the bloodsuckers.”
“Okay…so…what does that have to do with me? I’m clearly no princess!” I snapped sardonically.
“I don’t know that it has anything to do with you, but I will tell you that the fire turning black tonight has never happened before. That’s why Miss Baylor was so freaked. I swear that’s all I know.”
I pulled back onto the road and drove the rest of the way to Luna’s house in silence. Before she climbed out the door, I touched her arm. “I’m sorry.” I dropped my shoulders. “I didn’t mean to go off on you like that. It’s not your fault.”
She reached back and hugged my neck with one arm, then smiled sadly. “We’ll talk tomorrow.” I sat in front of her house, even after she was safely inside, rubbing the back of my neck. When Luna hugged me, I guess it got irritated again.
Her house was a small wooden structure among several others, each sitting close to the next. Narrow but deep, they reminded me of row houses, kind of like the one my mom and I had when we lived in Maryland for a whole three months. I didn’t know who all lived with her and her three brothers, but the tiny place hardly looked big enough.
I felt really bad for coming down so hard on Luna. My temper seemed to be growing worse lately. Actually, I had been noticing other things about myself changing.
I was hoping Aunt Bev would still be awake when I got home. When I came in through the kitchen door she was getting off the phone and I overheard her telling whoever it was that she had to hang up because I had just gotten home. It was well after midnight, which made me wonder who she would be talking to at such a late hour and wondered what it could be that she hadn’t wanted me to hear.
I forced a smile. “Hi,” I said over my shoulder while reaching into the fridge. “How was your night?” I asked guardedly.
“It was quiet actually. I did some reading—a book that I’ve been meaning to read for a while.”
“Oh? What kind of book?” I asked skeptically. I don’t know how I knew, but she was being evasive.
Her normally open face closed up a bit. “Nothing you’d be interested in.” She changed the subject abruptly. “How was your night? Did you have a good time?” She sat down at the table across from me, watching as I made myself a sandwich. I noticed her brow furrow when I popped open a can of soda.
“What?” I asked, wondering why she all of a sudden looked so weirded out.
“Oh…nothing. She forced a smile. “You’re nails grow so fast. If you’re out of nail polish remover, I have some in my bathroom.”
“I just trimmed and painted…” My voice trailed off when I held up my hand and saw how long my nails were. The nail polish I’d just put on two days before was already gone from a large portion of my nails. “Wow!” I smiled nervously, tucking my hands under the table. “I, um…I guess they do grow fast.”
I lay in bed unable to sleep. The brightness of the full moon shone through the window above my bed, hitting me in the face. It made me think about everything that had happened at the bonfire. But mostly, it made me think about William. Even when he wasn’t around I couldn’t get him off my mind. When I thought about the way he had almost kissed me my heart fluttered again.
I got on my knees to draw the curtain closed, and I saw movement outside, down by the lake. I looked on curiously, thinking it was probably a moose or maybe even a bear. Although I couldn’t quite see it, I knew it lurked just beyond the yard, in the shadows of the trees that lined our property.
I was more curious than frightened and sat back on my knees, staring into the night, which at this time of year lasted barely a few hours. I quietly slid open my window a tiny bit so that I might be able to hear movement close by.
I cocked my head to the side and listened intently. It was completely quiet outside. I found it ominous that no animals moved, not even the nightly call of an owl I had gotten used to hearing every night. Suddenly, my heart about jumped out of my chest when the eerie silence was broken by my phone vibrating across the night stand. I had placed it on vibrate earlier just in case someone called while I was driving Luna home. With the music blasting through my speakers, I wouldn’t have heard it ring.
I took my eyes off the back yard and eyed the time displayed on my alarm clock before scooping up my phone. It was two thirty-seven. I flipped open my phone.
Are you awake? It was a text message from William.
My face lit up and my heart beat wildly. What are you doing awake so late? I wrote back, chewing at the inside of my cheek and was glad he couldn’t see how nervous and excited I was to hear from him.
Couldn’t sleep. He messaged back, in like five seconds. You wanna hang out tomorrow night?
Sure. But first I’ll have to ask my aunt. I was already going through i
n my mind what I was going to wear.
I’ll call you tomorrow. Sweet dreams.
A grin lingered on my face as I flopped over onto my back, staring up at the ceiling daydreaming about being with William until my concentration was broken by the familiar echo of a wolf’s howl wafting in through my window. It sounded the same as at the bonfire only this time it was closer…much closer.