by Holly Hook
Dad, on the other hand, would have told me to flaunt my former private school status even if it would just make me feel worse about ending up out here.
The thought of confronting Gia after her kindness is awful, and she probably didn't mean any harm, so asking Tyler himself might be the best plan. I get through my first few classes, with Valerie ignoring me, and make it to lunch. We stroll across the grounds and through the rain in scattered groups, gathering under umbrellas and close to each other for body heat. Marion sticks close and Gavin trails behind us, still making a show about my apparent rejection yesterday. Wow.
"Hey. There's plenty of room under here for you," I say, waving him forward.
"Nah. I'm good," he says. "But a free ride home is still available after school."
I don't like the way this is making me feel, like there's a pressure settling on my shoulders. I quicken my pace and we enter the cafeteria building which is full of people lining up. Already, Tyler Rose and the rest of the Gang sit in their corner of the room, occupying their table. The people exiting the lunch line make a wide berth around them. It's unmistakable. How is this normal?
"Don't go over there," Marion says, grasping my arm.
"I won't," I say, mainly because Alan is there. Okay, his image can throw some people back.
And is that a tan wolf tattooed on his head?
We grab our lunch and take a place on the opposite side of the room as Tyler, thanks to Gavin. We eat mostly in silence, and Marion's efforts to get Gavin in on a conversation don't work very well. I might have to give in and take that ride home, and I'm just about to let Gavin know I'll take him up on the offer when Tyler gets up, tosses his tray, and exits the cafeteria.
I see my chance. "I've got to go to the bathroom," I say, rising and crossing my legs.
Marion says nothing.
"See you back here soon," Gavin says. "Do you want me to hold my umbrella for you while you go?"
I exit the cafeteria to walk back to the main school building, since there seem to be no bathrooms in this building and Gavin just confirmed that if there are any, students aren't allowed to use them. "I'm fine," I say, rushing to escape before I make the tension at our table rise any higher.
Success. I burst out of the building, swallowing down a piece of broccoli. And I spot Tyler not walking back towards the school across the worn grass, but towards the wall of woods that marks the edge of the school grounds.
"Tyler," I call before I can stop myself.
He turns. "Beckah? I've got to go make a phone call." I can't talk right now.
"This will be quick." Why is he going to make a phone call, outdoors, where it's raining and threatening to go from a drip to a downpour? The sky to the west is an ominous dark gray. "I'm curious. Where did you hear that I live in New York and go to private school?"
Tyler works his open mouth while I stand there, waiting for his answer. If that isn't nerves, I don't know what is. Even so, he's still impossibly hot.
I hate that I'm doing this to him, so I backtrack. "I try not to advertise where I come from. I'm sure you understand."
Then his whole look changes and we stare at each other. His hazel eyes are intense. Strange. "Yeah. I heard some old ladies talking about it at the market. I guess the principal can't keep her mouth closed." Tyler faces the woods. "Look, I have to go. Please stay inside the school. You're safe there."
"From what?" I'm not finishing today without answers.
"Please stay inside the school!" And with that, he bolts towards the trees, vanishing into the dark between the trunks. It's as if he's running from something now, and that's my prying. I feel bad after he was nice to me last night, but I have the right to know where Tyler found out about me, and I don't think it's from old ladies at the market.
The way Tyler turned his back on me just cued me in to his lie.
And I still don't have answers about the rest.
I ball my fists.
That's it.
I'm marching straight to Rose Ranch after school.
CHAPTER TEN
"You're crazy." Marion trots beside me to my locker at the end of the day, and I'm convinced she's trying to stop me from hatching my plan.
"Tyler knows about me," I say. "And I think he's lying about hearing about it at the market where my cousin works. It was practically on his face. Then he ran into the woods and didn't come back for the rest of the school day."
"Why are you so worried about that?" Marion asks as I open my locker. I know she's just trying to stop me.
"That's funny. I want to ask you the same question," I say, grinning and turning to her. The last thing I want to do is be mean, but I have to point out the hypocrisy of it all. "Everyone's too scared to talk to Tyler and they're worried over what might be nothing."
Or the Rose Gang might be—
No. Stick with logic, Beckah.
But I have to know about the tan wolf. The other wolf who jumped in and stopped the one trying to tear out my throat. I have to make sure that I haven't met them more than once even if it's just to put my racing thoughts to rest.
Marion bites her lip and goes silent as I arrange my books on the top shelf, making sure the spines are out and easily readable. I go over my list of homework, itching to get out of there, but I can't let my emotions screw up my studies.
Tyler Rose might be—
No. I've got to know if he spoke to my father or met him. If he knows what Dad was thinking when he left Tower. My parents did encounter the vacation house. It's very possible. It's not as if Dad will open up and let me know why he sent me here.
"I thought you just wanted to walk home by yourself?" Marion asks. "Gavin will be by any second." It's clear she doesn't want any more drama and I'd like to avoid that, too.
"I do. I just need to make sure I've got everything. One missed assignment can really lower your grade and then it's really hard to get back up."
"True," she concedes.
I get all my stuff packed and then Marion leads me away from the exit at the end of the hall. "He's waiting in the parking lot. Gavin does that every day," she tells me when I shoot her a questioning look.
"Got it," I say. "We'll go out the other way."
Marion leads me through the clearing school and to a back door. At least the rain has turned into a faint drizzle, maybe mist, and the sky has gone from a threatening gray to a dirty cream. The ground's wet but it's nothing I can't handle. "Thanks," I say.
"Good luck," she says. "I'll stall him."
My logic's gotten to her, at least. But she's not going with me. I should have expected it. "Is that sense of dread really that strong?"
Marion offers an exaggerated frown and slowly nods.
"Then don't feel obligated to go," I say. I'd been hoping that Marion would at least walk with me to the front gates of Rose Ranch.
But her reaction is making me want to go. I can't explain it. A tingle runs up my spine and I hike my backpack up. At least I only have to take home my Statistics book today and that's not heavy. If I need to run—
Stop it.
"I wish I was brave enough. Just going near the mansion is intimidating," she says.
"I'll just check very quick and see if he's around," I promise her. "Then I'll head home. I swear."
Marion forces a small smile. "See you tomorrow. I'll distract Gavin the best I can and try to keep him from catching up."
"Thanks."
I know I've left Marion with a monumental task, but with a weight lifted off my shoulders, I set across the grounds of Tower High School, getting my shoes wet in the grass and listening to the silence of the grounds. No one is practicing any sports or cheers in this weather.
Checking behind me for Alan or Gavin's truck, I make my way to Rose Ranch, which is about a quarter mile down the road from the school. It's just past the hiking trail that leads off into the woods and the hills. Easy to remember. I talk to myself as I draw closer to the front gates and the happy sign, narrating the crappy weather,
my coming homework, and what I might help Gia make for dinner. My stomach is starting to protest with nerves and I almost stop right before I reach the front gates, which to my shock are open to a long, curving driveway. Rose Ranch sits well across a flat expanse, so anyone walking up to the mansion will be in full view.
I gulp. Cars sit in rows in the parking lot and a woman leads a horse to a barn. The Roses have what look like six barns, all trimmed in magenta and looking like they were constructed yesterday. Fitting.
And no one stops me as I stroll up the gravel driveway, which becomes paved about halfway up. Amazingly, this part of the drive is clean. The mansion itself is set back several hundred yards, but there's an office right next to the parking lot, trimmed in the same magenta painted wood that lines all the barns. One door reads EMPLOYEES ONLY while the other reads CUSTOMERS ENTRANCE. Not my first choice, but the mansion, it turns out, is set behind a wooden fence that's just high enough to let me know that the Roses don't want visitors just strolling up to their house. And the driveway does branch off to there, but there's a closed wooden gate over that, too, that reads NO TRESPASSING.
This won't be as easy as I thought. But I don't get why Marion was so nervous when you can't even walk up to the Rose house. But I can see why Tyler has a reputation.
So I go through the CUSTOMERS entrance and find a small office with a few chairs. It reminds me of a principal's office where people wait to hear their punishments. The plain white walls are devoid of any paintings and the only sign that the receptionist even likes horses is a horse-shaped pad of paper on her desk.
The receptionist looks up at me and lowers her glasses, narrowing her gaze. "Are you here to drop off rent?" Confusion fills her words. She must be used to seeing the local people in here. "Late payments have a seventy-five dollar late fee attached, no exceptions."
Wow. Talk about great customer service. "I'm not here to pay rent."
"Oh, so you're an out-of-towner. I'm sorry," she says, lifting her tone several octaves. Then she plasters a smile on her face and opens a drawer full of files. "I'm Trixie. Which horse did your family have boarded?"
So that's what Rose Ranch does. They board horses for families who can afford them. And it's clear that I do have to flaunt my status here or I'll get waved out like a fly. "Actually, I don't have a horse. I'm the girl from New York who used to go to Averly Academy. I'm staying with my cousin out here for a while and I'm wondering where Tyler is. You see, we were paired up on a school project and I just need to ask him something." Part of that is a lie, of course, but this woman seems like the type to turn on a dime. I've got to play the game.
Trixie leans back in her chair, relaxed. "So you're from New York? City or state?"
"Both?"
"Clever," she jokes. "I'm sorry, but Tyler is not available. It is best not to come around here and ask for him." At that, she frowns, and I know she's done. "Unfortunately, Tyler is rarely seen here at home."
That's because he's out in the woods—
"Is he that bad?"
"No one asks for him," Trixie says. "It is just the way it is. Now, I apologize, but I have to check on a mare for a customer and phone the local vet."
I hike up my backpack, just so I can have something to do that doesn't make me look frustrated. The longer I'm in Tower, the more off everything seems. "Thank you." And then I turn and exit the office.
"Well, that gave me a clue," I mutter. "No one likes Tyler because his family rules this town with an iron fist." It's such an obvious explanation that I can take comfort in it. Maybe the other students are scared that crossing Tyler or his inner circle will mean their families get harassed by the Roses and they might even get hit with unfair fees and evictions. And that's even though Tyler doesn't seem too fond of his father from what I heard.
But why haven't the other students thought of that? Or just said it out loud?
I gulp, thinking of what Gia told me. If I were stuck here and poor, I probably wouldn't want to admit that a single family has power over my whole life like that.
Gavin's truck rolls past the ranch entrance, and I spot two silhouettes inside. Marion's got a ride home, at least, and she's not in the back. I smile, glad I saved her once again. Gavin must not see me because he doesn't even slow, and soon his truck is out of sight.
Silence falls.
And I exit Rose Ranch, passing the sign. I turn to take the long walk home.
A bit of rain starts again, and I notice the sky once again morphing from a thin cream to a billowing darkness. Great. I up my pace, but then the sky opens and I'm drenched in a matter of seconds. I rush to the wooded part of the road, but that doesn't help much, and the rain still bashes its way through the pine needles. Then I lift my backpack and hold it over my head.
A sense of dread socks me just as I do that, and before I can react, something heavy slams into my backpack, throwing me forward. My books strike the back of my head, and spots dance in my vision as the ground rises and crushes my cheek.
A scream of shock rips from my throat.
A heavy, thrashing weight settles down on me.
A growl sounds.
My backpack rips.
I scream again. Turn my head. And face the sharp teeth of a monster as they gnash at my face.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"Get off!" I shout as the teeth close inches from my face. Disgusting breath washes over me and makes me gag. Claws rip at my backpack with a high-pitched ripping sound. The rain beats into my eyes. I'm on my stomach but I can't turn my head away since I'm pinned. The creature's weight makes it hard for me to breathe.
It's the tan wolf. The savage one. The one that reminds me of—
The monster stops, still on top of me. Its front paws grind into my backpack and shred the fabric. Ribbons of purple rise and tangle between the creature's claws. Its hard brown eyes, full of animal savagery, stare into my own. I freeze, even though throwing this wolf off me will be impossible. It's bigger than me.
And my arm is under me, tangled in my backpack's strap.
I'm trapped.
"Go away!" Ice fills my body as silence falls, and the wolf glares into my eyes, just a foot from my face. We study each other for a long time. Rancid wolf breath blasts into my face. I want to vomit. A voice in the back of my head urges me to do it, that maybe that'll get the animal to back off.
Is this wolf smiling?
I've got you, he seems to be saying. And I'm going to relish this moment.
I tremble. Another low growl rips from the wolf's throat as he shifts his gaze between my neck and my shoulder. As if he's choosing a place to start tearing at my flesh.
My left arm is tangled and pinned under me, but my right arm isn't. I grip dirt and gravel. Rain.
Maybe I can reach my bear spray.
Move slowly, Beckah. My senses sharpen despite the terror. Maintain eye contact. Slowly, I move my left hand down and touch my backpack. Yes. The zipper. "Get off! Go away!" I scream, masking the sound of me reaching into the compartment.
The wolf looks at my hand. He snaps at my wrist. I yank it back, barely missing teeth.
And once again I freeze.
He knew what I was doing.
And why is he just pinning me here? He should have started attacking by now. Slowly he turns his gaze from my neck and looks at my legs. As if they have more meat on them.
Yes. I'm going to puke. Maybe I'll pass out and I'll get lucky. Someone will drive past and shoot the wolf.
A second growl emerges from the left, and I turn my head just enough to see a dark brown wolf, one with faint rusty highlights, bolting out of the trees.
My heart soars. It's the savior wolf.
And he's back, unharmed and charging my enemy through curtains of rain.
Instantly the huge tan one backs off, allowing me to breathe. My body moves and I push myself up. My backpack twists around me. The tan wolf backs off from the dark one, eyes widening, and I take the opportunity to roll to the side, freeing my tangled ar
m. Then I shuffle back as my Statistics book falls out of my shredded backpack and onto the road.
The second wolf wastes no time circling the tan monster. He charges, ramming right into the tan wolf's side, and biting down on the creature's back. A loud yelp of pain rises and the tan wolf claws at the brown one, drawing three bloody lines on his snout.
But the smaller wolf doesn't protest.
Run, a voice shouts at me.
The animals turn into a rolling tangle of growling, snarling, and flying droplets of blood. I rise and hold my backpack close, leaving my book behind, and I freeze, unable to tear my gaze away from the fight. What is going on?
Is the dark brown wolf defending me?
Something makes me fish my bear spray out of the side compartment. With a shaking hand, I hold it up, moving the can back and forth, trying to aim at the right wolf. I should get out of here while I have a chance. Primal fear pumps into my legs, urging me to run. But I can't.
I feel like that's not the right thing to do.
The two wolves untangle from each other, face off again, and then leap into another round of fighting. The air smells of blood. Droplets fly and land on the gravel. The rain pounds down even harder, making my grasp on the can slippery. Then the wolves untangle again, and this time Tan is on the top.
The brown wolf has his belly exposed. His eyes roll in my direction.
Help, it means.
And Tan is shaking, staring at the brown wolf's throat.
I know one thing: I can run, but Tan will kill his rival and them come after me.
"Hey! You!" I shout.
Tan looks right at me and peels his lips back, and just before I press down on the spray nozzle, his eyes widen like he knows what's about to happen.
I let the orange spray rip with a satisfying hiss.
Tan whimpers and backs off, leaving the brown wolf free. The brown wolf springs up as I stop the spray, careful not to hit him too, and Tan continues to back off, wiping his face with his paw.