"What?" I asked when I spotted the smirk on my brother's face.
"Someone is in trouble," he said.
My heart sank. My parents entered the kitchen, serious looks on their faces. I felt like running away.
Dad cleared his throat. "Robyn."
That was as bad as it could be. He never used my real name when talking to me. It was usually sweetheart, sweetie or blossom, or even Robbie, but never ever just plain Robyn.
I gasped lightly. "Yes?"
"We need to talk to you," he said.
I cleared my throat, trying to make that nagging feeling go away, the sensation that it was all over.
"Sit," Mom said - no commanded - and looked at the chair at the breakfast counter.
I did as I was told, feeling how the blood left my head. "Listen, Mom…Dad, I know it was wrong; I know I shouldn't have but he…" I started but my mother stopped me, a finger in the air.
"I don't want to hear it," she said. "We all know you did something wrong. Apparently, you can't seem to stay away from that boy, so we will make it easy for you. Your dad and I have talked."
Please, don't send me away. Please, don't send me to a boarding school. I won't survive it.
"And we have decided to…" Dad looked at my mom like he wanted help.
"…to take you out of school," she said.
"W-what?"
"We're homeschooling you. Starting next week. That way, you won't fall into any more temptation of seeing that boy. You'll be with us where we can keep an eye on you. All. Day. Long."
And just like that, I suddenly thought boarding school didn't sound so terrible after all.
Chapter Thirty-Three
"So, how are you adjusting to your new school?"
Jazmine's mother slurped her coffee and looked at her daughter. Jazmine was sitting at the breakfast counter, doing her homework. She looked up from her book, then shrugged.
"Okay, I guess."
Her mom tilted her head and approached her. "That is not a happy answer. What's going on?"
Jazmine sighed. Her eyes met her mother's.
"I get it. It was quite the scare out by the lake, huh?" she asked.
Jazmine bit her lip. Yes, finding that body out in the lake still bothered her, especially now that there had been another attack and it was all over the news…how they believed it was some animal, maybe even a wolf. But that wasn't why she was troubled.
"Mom?"
"Yes, sweetie?"
"Are you and dad all right?"
Her mother looked confused. "What on earth do you mean?"
Jazmine swallowed. She shook her head. "Nothing. It's just…well, you're never at home anymore. You used to be here all the time."
Her mother smiled. "It has been busy, I guess," she said. "It'll get better. Your dad has had a lot to do with his new job as well. It'll get better. I promise you it will."
Jazmine nodded, unconvinced. She stared at her mother, wondering about that night at the abandoned house. What were her parents doing there with the others? What was going on? Was it like a parent safety meeting because of the murder of Natalie Jamieson?
Jazmine and Jayden had talked about it the next day when he had come over. He was worried about Robyn, he said. But he couldn't talk to her. He knew that even trying would get her in trouble, so he didn't dare to.
"What do you think they were talking about?" Jazmine had asked.
Jayden had looked at her, then sighed. "I think they are accusing each other's sons of having killed Natalie Jamieson."
After living in Shadow Hills for a few weeks now, Jazmine had learned that Robyn's parents, especially her mother, were crazy as bats and that the two families, the Smiths and the Joneses were in some dispute that none of the children knew what was about. But what she didn't understand was why her and Amy's parents had been at the abandoned house as well. Was it just out of concern for their daughters?
Maybe.
Jazmine looked back down at her math problem, still wondering about her parents and all the secrecy she had sensed from them since they moved to this strange place. Why did she have this nagging feeling that her parents were up to something and that something had a lot to do with the other parents in this neighborhood?
She shook her head at the thought. Her mother observed her from where she was standing. Jazmine pretended not to notice, but she felt her glare and heard those long, painted fingernails as they drummed against the side of her cup.
Behind her on the muted TV screen, a man was showing off his shotgun that he was going to bring with him to the park tonight to see if he could get a shot at the wolf.
Chapter Thirty-Four
My parents left the kitchen. I was simply standing there, a million thoughts running through my mind, feeling like they might as well have punched me in the stomach.
Homeschooling? Homeschooling?
The thought made it hard to even breathe. The thought of having to spend the entire day inside this house with my mother all day, every day…
Every day!
I gasped for air and looked at my brother, who was still sitting eerily still in his chair, having not moved a muscle all this time. He was staring at me from the corner of the kitchen, a smirk on his lips.
I rubbed my forehead and leaned forward, breathing in raspy breaths. I heard my brother chuckle.
"What?" I asked. "You think it’s funny?"
He didn't say anything. He merely stared at me with his blazing emerald eyes. His lips were so red they stood out against his paper-white skin. The dog looked at him, then whimpered and left the kitchen.
I felt so angry with him, I wanted to punch him, to wipe that smirk off his face.
"You think it’s funny?" I asked again.
He chuckled. "Well, yeah."
"Well, I don't," I said and approached him, wanting to face him, to even punch him for thinking this was funny. But as I did, I felt a cold emerge from him, almost rushing over me, causing me to freeze and stop. I stared at my brother, unable to recognize anything about him. The smirk became a grin. Not a grin he would ordinarily give me, no, this was vicious. Malevolent and it scared me slightly.
"You want me to tell them about your little nightly adventures, huh?" I asked. "Maybe they'll homeschool you as well. Then you can see what it’s like. That it really isn't that funny."
I had thought the threat would at least wipe the grin off his face, but it didn't. It only made it worse.
"You wouldn't dare to," he said with a small hiss, sounding an awful lot like our mother.
"Yeah, really? Well maybe I do and maybe I don't. Try me. If you dare, that is."
He scoffed and got up. He moved toward the door, looking like he almost floated, but I thought I had to have seen that wrong.
"Fine," I said. "Maybe you can just sneak out like you always do and get yourself shot."
That made him stop. He turned and looked at me.
"Haven't you heard?" I asked. "They're bringing guns out there tonight to shoot the beast. The one that attacked the girl the other night. They think it might be a wolf. The entire town is going hunting."
Adrian stared at me for a few seconds, then shrugged. "So what?"
He walked away, while I yelled after him, surprised, "Don't you even care?"
I sat down at the breakfast counter with a sigh.
Come Monday, he will be your only ally around here. He will be your only contact to the outside world.
The future suddenly didn't seem very bright.
Chapter Thirty-Five
For the first time in my life, I didn't do my homework. I didn't care to since by next week I wasn't going to be at the school anyway. What was the point? What was the point in getting up the next morning? To say goodbye? Say goodbye to my entire life?
I was sitting in my room at my computer when I heard the front door slam right before midnight and I spotted Adrian walking out into the night. I shook my head at him, wondering if he thought he could just continue to sneak out li
ke this without getting caught. I also wondered if our parents really didn't know. They had to, didn't they?
He is eighteen, after all. What can they do?
It seemed like they knew when they were discussing things with the Smiths in the abandoned house. It felt like they all knew that both older brothers went out at night. Why was it such a big deal anyway? Because they were scared they did drugs? Because they were scared that they were somehow involved in the killing of Natalie Jamieson? It could hardly be an issue now that it was believed it was an animal.
I wondered about the meeting we had witnessed in the old house as I had done many times since. I wanted to talk to the others about it, but I didn't dare to. Amy had texted me the day after, asking me if I was all right. But I had never texted her back, just deleted the text. My mother checked my phone often and I didn't want her to ask any questions.
I decided I didn't care about Adrian or what he was up to. For all I cared, he could do all the drugs in the world, the bastard. After the way he had treated me today and laughed at me, there was no way I was going to waste my time and worry about him.
Yet, I still did. He was, after all, still my brother. My flesh and blood. Growing up, we had always stuck together. It wasn't until he hit puberty that he started to act like an idiot. Before then, he would always play with me when I was younger. I adored him. We were inseparable. And because he was only two years older and I was a girl and girls are often taller than boys when younger, people often thought we were twins. We liked to pretend like we were when we went places.
I chuckled at the memory. Back then, I had believed that we would always have each other. Always. We were a team against those crazy parents of ours. Against an all-too-controlling faultfinding mother who never stopped nagging us. Against a dad who was obsessed with keeping his wife happy; he never voiced an opinion of his own or ever protected us from her craziness. Adrian had been the one I had gone to when I was so angry with my mother I was about to explode. Then, we could share stories and laugh at how crazy she was. Yes, he could be extremely annoying and make my blood boil, but what brother couldn't?
What happened to us?
Now, I felt like I couldn't even talk to him. It was like we didn't even belong to the same race.
My eyes returned to the computer screen and the show I was watching on Netflix. I had decided to stay up all night and binge-watch it. There really was no reason not to, was there?
I had just finished the third episode when I heard the shot.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Adrian!
My heart sank. I didn't think about it twice before storming down the stairs and into the street. In the cul-de-sac, I met Jayden. His hair was tousled, and he was wearing nothing but a T-shirt and boxers, a phone in his hand that looked like the only thing he had grabbed as he rushed out.
"Did you hear it too?" he asked, his brown eyes showing deep concern.
I nodded. "Yes. Scared me like crazy. Do you…think…?"
He nodded. "Yes."
"Maybe it wasn't either of them. Maybe they just shot at the wolf. Maybe they even got him," I said, but I wasn't convinced.
"I don't…I don't know," he said.
We looked at one another briefly, then back toward the park. "What do we do?" I asked.
"There really isn't much we can do, is there?" he said. "I mean, if we go out there, we might risk getting shot ourselves."
I nodded. He was right. It was dangerous out there right now and, for all we knew, our brothers were somewhere else. Maybe hanging at someone's house instead.
"I’m scared," I said.
Jayden exhaled and put an arm around me. "Me too. But I’m sure they're fine. Why would they be in the park anyway? It's freezing out. There’s nothing there."
I shrugged. "Some kids go there to drink beer or smoke."
He nodded. I could see his breath in the air in front of him. We stood like that for a little while, not knowing quite what to do. We couldn't stay there since our parents might see us, and we couldn't go back to bed either, since neither of us would be able to find rest, not knowing if our brothers were all right.
"I'll shoot him a text," Jayden said and looked at his phone. "Just to be sure."
Jayden's finger danced across the phone, and he sent it with an exhale. He stood for a few seconds, shifting his weight back and forth, looking down at the phone, then back up at the park behind the houses.
"Nah, he's fine…right?" he asked.
I looked at my phone that I had grabbed on my way out of the house too. I didn't really want to text my brother since he would only tell our parents that I was up at this hour and then I would get into more trouble. I couldn't really think of any way to get deeper in trouble than I already was, but knowing my mother, I knew there was always another level.
As my eyes left the phone, it suddenly vibrated in my hand. I looked at the display, then let out a light gasp.
"It's him," I said and looked at Jayden. "It's my brother. It's Adrian. He's calling me."
"Well, pick it up," Jayden said. "Hurry."
I did and put it against my ear. "H-hello?"
There was nothing but a heavy raspy breathing on the other end. My heart stopped.
"Adrian?"
Still, no one was speaking. I looked at Jayden. "He's not saying anything," I said. "But I can hear him. At least I think it’s him."
"Maybe he butt-dialed you?" he said. "My brother does that from time to time."
"Maybe," I said feeling pearls of sweat appear on my upper lip, despite the biting frost. "Adrian? Are you there?"
Still nothing. Now I could hear him moaning. My eyes widened. "Adrian? Speak to me? Are you all right? Adrian? This is not funny! ADRIAN?"
I looked up at Jayden once again. "I have a bad feeling about this," I said.
"Check his position on Snapchat," he said.
I opened Snapchat without hanging up on my brother. My eyes met Jayden's as fear spread through my body.
"It says he's in the park."
Chapter Thirty-Seven
"Put on some pants," I said and looked down at Jayden's hairy bare legs. "Fast!"
He nodded while running a hand through his hair.
"Give me a sec."
He rushed inside, then came back a few seconds later wearing jeans and carrying a baseball bat in his hand.
"In case we run into the wolf ourselves," he said when he saw me glaring at it with big eyes.
We ran toward the lake and into the park, not knowing what we expected to find. I was praying for my brother's well being. I had watched those men on TV all afternoon, the ones stating they wanted to kill the beast, and I knew those types were relentless. If you got in their way, they wouldn't hesitate to shoot. I didn't know what my brother did at the park, if he met with a girl or if he was drinking with his friends, or maybe even doing drugs, but if he was at the wrong place at the wrong time…well, then…I didn't want to think about it. Deep down inside of me, I had a feeling something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. The moaning I had heard on the phone was no joke. If it was, then it was one I would never forgive him for.
We followed the Snapchat map that showed where Adrian was right now. Or at least where his phone was. I hadn't hung up on him and now I walked with it gripped to my ear.
"Hold on, Adrian," I whispered into it. "We're on our way. We'll find you. I promise."
I heard my brother breathe heavily, then let out a deep groan that sounded like he was in severe pain.
"This isn't good," I said to Jayden with a slight whimper of worry. "I think he’s in trouble."
As we approached the trail where both Melanie Peterson and Natalie Jamieson had been attacked, Jayden moved slower, looking carefully for any hunters. Following the tracker in the app, we crossed the trails and were led in between the tall trees. I kept looking around me, deadly frightened that I would suddenly hear a shot. If I did, what would I do? Throw myself on the ground? I knew there was no way I could m
ove fast enough to avoid being hit by a bullet if some hunter had seen me and thought I was the wolf.
This better be real, Adrian. For me to risk my life for you. You better not be setting me up or even joking.
"Go to your right here," I said and pointed. "We're getting close."
Jayden led the way when suddenly we heard another shot fired. I screamed while Jayden turned around and threw himself on top of me, forcing me to the ground. I was shaking underneath his body. I looked into his eyes as the moonlight hit his face. His lips were parted slightly, his tongue playing worriedly with his lip.
"It wasn't here," he said, panting. "I think it was at the other end of the park." He removed himself from atop of me and grabbed my hand, then pulled me up. I felt relieved and stressed at the same time.
"Thanks," I said. "For…"
He nodded. "Let's find your brother before they shoot again, okay?"
I nodded and looked at the app, slightly baffled, fumbling with the phone.
"According to this, he is right…over there."
I pointed to my left side and we started to walk in that direction cautiously. My heart was still pounding in my chest from the scare. I feared hearing another shot that might be even closer.
"I see something," Jayden said and pointed. "Come."
How he could see so well in the darkness was beyond my comprehension, but Jayden had always had remarkable sight.
"I think I see him," he said and rushed through the trees and bushes. I followed him the best I could. Soon, I spotted him kneeling next to something and, as I came closer, I could see it was my brother.
"Adrian!"
I rushed to him, then knelt next to him. "What… what…"
"He's been shot," Jayden said.