by Holly Hook
I don't dare speak until the buildings of Main Street appear through the trees. We crest one last hill and then we're heading onto a gravel road that goes between the bar and the market where Gia works. The old vacation house is connected to downtown.
Tyler stops. "Your cousin is getting off her shift."
We're still at the back of the building and I don't see her. "How do you know?"
He lifts an eyebrow at me, drawing a blush into my cheeks.
"Oh." He must smell her or hear her.
"The Tower Market has one of those old punch-out machines in the back," Tyler says. "This town is behind by fifty years. I just heard her use it and say goodbye to the night girl."
"Interesting." Now that I've gone without nearly dying for a few hours, my curiosity grows. I'm in a fantasy story.
We stop. "I suppose I should let you walk home with your cousin."
"You're not coming with us?" I ask, disappointment filling my chest.
Tyler offers me a real frown. "Trust me, I wish I could. I don't think she'd like that. Say, if we're going to be around each other, it might be a good idea to keep things low key. The curse, you know?"
My blush intensifies, turning to the surface of the sun. This hot, supernatural guy wants to hang out with me, and I can tell from his own disappointment about not finishing the walk home with me that it's not simply out of a sense of duty.
"Should we do homework together in the afternoons?" I ask. "I'll need somewhere to go between school and Gia being at home."
Then he smiles, and it's as infectious as his curse. "I was thinking that just now. Homework together. At my place or at yours, if your cousin isn't around. Every day after school?"
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Sure, it's just homework, but the thought of hanging out with Tyler Rose after school every night sends pleasant shivers down my spine. I walk home with Gia with a skip in my step, and she asks me if I had a good day.
"The afternoon was good," I say, mostly telling the truth. Alan seems like a fading bad dream. He's banished, I tell myself. Tyler is the alpha of the pack with authority around here.
"I'm glad you're adjusting. I know Tower is different than New York," Gia says as we walk up her driveway. And no, she hasn't noticed my repaired backpack. But she has bags under her eyes and she still has to go home and cook.
"Just a little," I say. I saw something new, I want to tell her. But I can't. Gia must be affected by the curse just like everyone else, and if that's the case, she'll be terrified of the Rose Gang and won't be warm to the idea of Tyler Rose wanting to spend time with me.
She smiles. "Well, I'm glad you're adjusting. I was worried."
"Did my parents really send me here because of their marriage problems?" There. I've just blurted it out.
"Beckah, of course they did," Gia says without hesitation. She looks at Main Street as we walk along the gravel. Then we turn down the long driveway and step over the chain.
The mood drops as the cabin comes into view. The sky's going dark and bleak even though the rain has stopped. I suddenly want to run inside and call Mom. Gia, at least, believes she's telling me the truth.
But first I help her with dinner which consists of me picking some green beans from the garden and snapping off the ends. Gia works so hard despite always being at the market. And what for? She still has to grow her own food.
After dinner, I help her with the dishes (much to her appreciation) and retreat to my cozy room. I half-expect to see Tyler there at my window, knocking, but he's absent. I bet he has to sort things out with his pack.
His pack.
Werewolves.
My wall comes down. I throw myself down on my bed and stare into my pillow, taking panicked breath after panicked breath. Come on, Beckah. Get a grip. But this isn't normal. No amount of pretending things are will erase what's happened today.
Because now there's no denying it.
"Shit," I mutter. Am I going to go through waves of panic between all these normal periods? There must be a psychological explanation for this. Tyler might know the term.
I lie there, finally able to let my mind work without the presence of another person or of homework.
And then my stomach turns, ready to banish my dinner.
No. I can't throw up.
But Alan—
He must have brought me here. Scared my father into it. Maybe even tricked him or followed my parents back to New York. Was he gone for a while before I came here? I'll have to ask Tyler.
"Yes," I whisper to myself. "Ask Tyler. Just find the answers instead of worrying about them." But I also need to worry about Alan coming back. Tyler's vowed to protect me but that doesn't mean I can be complacent.
Tyler risked his life.
If I screw this up, I'll never forgive myself.
I pull my curtains shut, not wanting to see whatever's out there. Then I pull out my phone, unsure what I'm doing at first. Then I realize that I'm dialing Mom's number.
"Hey, Beckah." She sounds legit thrilled to hear from me.
"Sorry I haven't called all weekend," I say.
"Well, I left you some texts asking you to call me. Maybe the reception out there isn't very good."
"You did?" I wish I can see her. Mom would just smile and forgive me. "Dad hasn't sent me any messages, has he?" A new wave of panic rises. Not getting back to Dad is a cardinal sin in my household.
"I'll ask him and call you back if there's anything important."
I swallow. "So how are...things?"
"Your father and I are working on them," Mom says. "There have just been a lot of misunderstandings between us."
Then I feel her tension coming through the phone. She's carrying a weight that I can hear between her words.
"Misunderstandings? It doesn't sound like it."
"Well, your father and I are doing our best to make progress, Beckah."
Maybe my suspicions about Alan are wrong and my parents' marriage is worse off than I thought. "Why am I here? Really?"
Mom hesitates and I don't like that. "Beckah, you're in Tower to get away from this. Your life is tense enough. I hated to see you go, but maybe your father did have a bit of a point for once."
I pull in her words and try to arrange them in neat lines as I take a breath. So Dad told Mom that he was sending me away for that reason. Her tone tells me she believes it. Picking Mom's brain isn't going to give me the answers to my terrifying question.
Only talking to Dad will do that and the thought turns my stomach.
"How are you holding up? I'm so sorry I haven't called you during the past few days," she asks.
"I'm doing fine. Gia's great. I've been helping her out."
"That's good. Just focus on that and your grades."
"Why did Dad send me here when Tower High School doesn't have the electives that Averly has? I know I'm supposed to focus on my grades, but weren't there other private schools in other places he could have sent me to?"
"I brought up that point, too. So I'm not crazy," Mom mutters.
"Of course you're not," I say quickly. Mom and I are so similar. We both love hiking and exercise. We both love the outdoors. And we also both ask ourselves if we're crazy on a regular basis.
"It's just hard to convince your father sometimes. And if I remembered talking to—never mind. There's no need to burden you with our problems."
"Taking to who?"
But Mom doesn't answer. I gulp. Does Dad think she was talking to another guy? Maybe even on the trip? I've been with Mom plenty of times while we were away from Dad and she never gave a hint that she was trying to cheat on him.
"It was no one," Mom says.
"It wasn't a guy in a leather jacket?" I ask, hoping that I sound like I'm joking. "Covered in tattoos and leaning against the wall like he's the Bad Boy of the Year?"
Then she laughs and this time it's real. "Of course not. Your dad and I got separated for a bit when we were hiking around Tower and I wound up in town, asking for
directions. Your father found me and it was like, oh, I don't know. He was tense. And I was asking a man outside the bar about the trails. We left quickly."
And he thought you were cheating? I wanted to ask. Dad can be very demanding sometimes, but Mom has talked to other guys before, at the gym for example, and never had a problem.
I tense.
This isn't about potential cheating. It can't be.
I'm shaking.
"I hope you two work it out," I say.
"So do I. We'll get through this soon. Your dad just needs time to think and come around," she says. "Have a good night, Beckah. Try not to think about the drama unfolding back home. It's not yours to shoulder. I'm sure you have enough on your mind."
And then we end the call. Already I miss Mom's voice. And I collapse to my bed for a second time, so drained physically and emotionally that I can't lift my head from the pillow.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Wondering about Dad's involvement in sending me to Tower, to the wolves, follows me like a shadow the next day, and the next. I try to look at it, to decipher its shape and meaning, but every time I look directly at it, the shadow vanishes or fades into the background.
But the more I think about it, the darker that shadow gets.
At least I have Marion while I'm at school. She's turning into an awesome friend, sitting with me at lunch, and Gavin stays with us, too. He's still a bit cold towards me and Marion, telling us we wouldn't get it when we ask him what's wrong, and going back to his homework, lunch, or twirling his truck keys every time.
And of course, the talk of the school is no longer me, but on Alan going missing.
Rumors fly everywhere: in our classrooms, in the cafeteria building, and of course, in the dirt parking lot where everyone gathers in the morning before the start of school. I hear the whispers everywhere.
"Alan and Tyler must have had a fight."
"Maybe Alan's father is coming back?"
"Nah. He's been gone for years."
"Well, Alan would be homeless if it wasn't for Tyler. So yeah, they had a fight and he left town."
"I'm jealous."
At lunch, the Rose Gang still sits in their place at the far end of the cafeteria building, close to the lunch line entrances. I try not to make it too obvious I'm studying them and I don't dare tell Marion that Tyler and I will be meeting for homework and study after school every day. Alan's missing, and his empty chair draws stares from everyone as they exit the lunch line. Apparently Alan was a sight around here and his absence is even more so.
"I wonder where he went," Marion says.
"Well, guys like Alan just end up in jail," Gavin says. "They're idiots."
I think of Alan's Statistics homework, the A minus, and a strange urge to defend him rises in me. But he tried to infect me and maybe even worse.
He might have had a hand in bringing me here.
So I stay silent, and so does Marion.
But was coming here a completely bad thing?
At the end of the school day, I meet Marion by my locker.
"Are you sure you don't need a ride home?" she asks. "I can sit in the back of the truck and make Gavin get over his pouty fit in no time. That would benefit both of us."
I let out a breath. So my apparent rejection is the cause. "I do feel bad, but I need to take these walks home. Walking helps me get out and clear my head." Maybe, one day, I should accept the ride home just to make Gavin feel better. But I'll need to talk to Tyler about that first. Gavin could drop me off and then Tyler could find me at Gia's cabin and walk me to the vacation house. Or we could just study there. Problem solved. "Maybe tomorrow."
Marion offers me a relieved smile and looks at the hall behind her for Gavin. "Great. That'll help things, I think."
"I'm happy to help. But I'm good today. Just tell Gavin, and sorry," I say before setting out.
I meet Tyler at the mouth of the trail, opposite Rose Ranch, every afternoon. I don't feel like I have to fear going back and forth anymore. I look forward to our homework sessions after school. We lie on the floor with snacks, side by side, books spread in front of us. Tyler makes the whole process go faster, and he even answers the occasional question about what it's like to run around as a wolf. Apparently, it's liberating, and he can leave all his human worries behind for a bit. His senses are sharp and the world comes to life. Even though we haven't talked about all the details of his curse, it's been enlightening.
My world is opening.
And I think I like it now that I've had time to process the information.
On Friday, I meet Tyler at the trailhead. Alan hasn't come back and the rumor mill is calming down, and I'm starting to feel a lot better about doing time in Tower. I wave and he grins.
"We're about to complete our first week of homework sessions," he says with a grin. "Glad to see I've been keeping you on task."
I blush. I've really got to stop doing that, because I'm sure Tyler's vision is as good as his hearing and sense of smell.
"I've got a problem, though," I tell him, knowing this is my chance to answer another question about Tyler without asking. "Marion and Gavin. Gavin's been sour lately and it's straining their friendship. He's been like that ever since I turned down a ride in his truck because he wanted Marion to ride in the back. And he's not getting over it. So soon I might have to take a ride home and you'll have to meet me at Gia's cabin. Well, the edge of her property."
I swallow because it's not technically her property. It's the Roses' and Gia pays to keep living there.
But my statement has the desired effect.
Tyler stiffens, but his words are harsher than I predict. "You shouldn't be pressured into taking a ride with a guy that you don't even want. If Gavin is acting like this around you, trying to make you do what he wants, then he's not a very good guy."
"Well, I did hurt his feelings."
I'm shocked at how angry Tyler is over something so minor. "Look, I don't like Gavin that much. But I know Marion and him have been friends for a while and I'm doing this for her."
"Gavin needs to deal with his own butthurt," Tyler says, balling his fists and turning his back on me. He storms down the trail and away from the road. A faint growl emerges from his throat and he bends over as if a horror movie transformation is about to come over him. He's shaking.
"Tyler!" I shout. "Are you okay?"
Another growl rips from his throat and I jump back. Tyler wraps his arms around himself and takes a sharp breath.
"What's wrong?"
At last, after he trembles for a long moment, he sighs and slowly straightens.
And he faces the trees for a bit before turning.
"I'm not mad at you," he grunts out. "Beckah. I'm sorry. This happens sometimes. Used to not be so bad, but it happens."
For the first time, I back away from Tyler. "What happens?"
"Strong emotions. They can make me transform. And I lose my humanity for a bit."
"You just...get angry and transform? Whoa."
He whirls, eyes wide, with no trace of a coming change on his face anymore. He's regained control. "Beckah. I'm sorry. Even if I hadn't been able to hold it back, I wouldn't have attacked you. I've never wanted to attack a human." Tyler holds up both hands. "Animals, yes, but never humans. Heck, I'm human part of the time."
"But you bit the other members of the Rose Pack?" I asked, trying to joke around. "Shame on you."
"I only bite those who need it," he says again. "And so far as I know, as the alpha of the pack, I'm the only one who has ever done so."
I don't want to mention Alan. A new layer of Tyler has just revealed itself to me and I'm not sure how to feel. "How often does your anger...do that?"
Tyler, once again, is not offended by my prying questions. "I was just upset that a guy is using elementary tactics to try to manipulate you. It's not right. You've dealt with this all your life, haven't you?" As he speaks, Tyler slowly steps closer and lowers his eyebrows at me.
"No
. I haven't," I say quickly. "I just want to make sure everyone is happy."
A sad look comes over Tyler's face and he shakes his head.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
He extends a hand to me and smiles. "You don't have to do that."
"Well, my life is a mess and if I'm going to put it back together, I sort of have to." Despite that, my mood rises.
Tyler is interested in me.
His extended hand...his brief jealousy...it's getting more obvious by the day.
And I take his hand.
"So, homework?" I ask, glad that everything's smoothed over. But I can't help but wonder: would Tyler have attacked Gavin as a wolf in his mission to protect me?
Tyler flicks his gaze back and forth, but not in a cautious way. "Say, Alan's been gone for almost a week now. His scent is fading from the forest around Tower."
My heart leaps and I want to hug Tyler. "That's great news."
"It is. I was thinking that we could get our homework done tonight, and then I could take you out to a beautiful spot outside of Tower where I go a lot. We could pack a picnic. How does that sound?"
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I'm not sure if my intent to accept one ride home from Gavin has had an effect other than making Tyler almost go into wolf mode, but I can't help but wonder. Without that, this might have been just another homework session at the former Rose vacation house, but I can't know for sure.
If I've made Tyler jealous and eager to one-up Gavin (totally unnecessary) he's not going to just tell me that.
Tyler lies on the living room floor of the vacation house and scribbles on his homework, obviously wanting to get done, while I pack us a picnic from the snacks in the cabinets. Of course, Tyler keeps no meat in the house since there's zero electricity anywhere, and he probably prefers his raw anyway. But there's plenty of everything else.
"When do I get to meet the rest of the Rose Pack?" I ask. Tyler hasn't spoken about them or how his banishment of Alan went over with them.
"Soon," he promises from his position on the floor. "They're still coming to terms with what I had to do."