“Property, probably.” I shrugged. “I don't know. I'm a little more focused on the here and now and...” My voice trailed off as my eyes fell on Derrick. He was standing alone at his locker just down the hall, pulling books from the top shelf, his face blank.
That seemed like the perfect excuse to insert myself. Gregory wanted my help and well, he would get it. Maybe not the way he imagined, but he would get it.
“Okay, I gotta jump,” I said. “Have to talk to Derrick.”
“Wait, what?” she said, dodging out of the path of a couple of senior wrestlers who were guffawing about something. “You’re actually going to get involved with all this now? I thought you were joking. Besides, if you’re trying to ditch the 'Queen of the Paranormal' title, this is not the way.”
“I guess I'll just have to outgrow it by becoming queen of everything,” I said.
“This is America, we don't do royalty here.” She paused, thinking about it. “Except maybe the Kardashians in a certain segment of our society and let's face it: that's a serious piece of social commentary about the state of us right there.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I said, waving her off. Once I was on final approach to Derrick's locker, I said, “Hey,” as brightly as I could muster. “What’s going on?”
Derrick turned to look down at me. His eyes were bloodshot and strained. He had bags under his glacier-colored eyes and there was dried toothpaste in the corner of his mouth like he'd picked up rabies from his dad or something.
“Oh, hey, Cassie,” he said. He gave Xandra a quick glance. She waved at him, her blue hair bouncing and only a couple shades off from his eyes, I noticed. “Not much. How about you?”
I leaned against the locker beside his. “Fine. I just wanted to see how you were holding up after yesterday.”
“My dad sent the entire school into lockdown.” He blinked at me.
I just stared back. “I know. I was there.”
“Well,” he said, drawing a long breath, “I’ve traumatized some students, especially kids in the younger grades. A lot of them are pretty angry with me. They expressed their feelings all over my Instaphoto, my Snoopchat and I found about ten thousand notifications when I woke up and checked my phone...”
His face fell and he closed his locker door with more force than I think he intended. “So yeah...I’m great.”
“Don’t let it get you down,” I said, catching a few freezing glares from a crop of freshmen girls as they passed. “In their heart of hearts, they know it isn’t your fault. In time, they'll figure it out.” Another group went by, senior girls this time and their looks were the same sort of disgust Xandra manifested the time I suggested she should let her natural hair color grow out.
“Then why are they acting like I’m the leper now or something?” Derrick still stared at his locker, even though it was now closed. “Some kid this morning told me that I should just go to a different school.”
“Not cool,” Xandra said, worming her way into our conversation. “But you've got friends, right? How are they treating you?”
“Most of them are totally avoiding me now,” he said, not looking up. “Paul Grantham – who I thought was my best friend – told me that he couldn’t hang out with someone whose dad was a psychopath killer.”
“Ouch.” My heart sank. Why were teenagers so mean? “What about Gregory?”
“Holt?” Derrick said. He paused to think. “You know, he’s been the only one who doesn’t act like I’ll give him the plague.”
“This is just…so wrong,” I said. “You know what? We should totally hang out.”
Okay, so I wasn’t totally honest with him about why I wanted to hang out with him. Yeah, it was a real a-hole move for his friends to up and leave him at this, his worst possible time. Some friends they were. It made me realize how lucky I was to have Xandra in my life, who backed me up pretty much no matter what happened. More people needed a Xandra on their team.
“Um…okay?” Derrick said, looking at me questioningly. “Sure?”
“And Xandra, too,” I said, grabbing her arm and pulling her against my side.
“Who, me?” Xandra gaped like a fish for a second until I elbowed her lightly on the arm. “Yes. Totally. I am in and for pitying reasons—” Another elbow shut her up.
“We are going to hang out,” I said and then pointed to a group of sophomores that were glaring as they walked by. “Because we don't think you are responsible for your dad being a giant jackass and messing up one day of our young lives. Unlike some others around here.”
“Well, I guess that I’m heading to the same class as you are right now,” he said.
“Great, let’s all go together,” I said, falling into step beside him and Xandra following closely behind.
“Okay. Sure. If you want to catch a social plague...” Derrick shook his head, feigning a laugh.
It was awkward, yeah. It definitely was. But it wasn’t like sending him a friend request on Instaphoto was going to do the trick.
This was good, I thought as we headed down the hallway. We were moving forward. I could almost feel the social freeze, though, the subtle chill as conversations ceased or moved to whispers as we got close. It sucked and I gave a good glare everywhere I thought it might have any impact, but protecting Derrick's feelings wasn't the point of this and I kept that in mind as we walked. There were other priorities, after all. He may have been an outcast here, but we had to protect Derrick from his crazy werewolf dad. Because as much as it sucked to be the subject of ire and distaste here in the halls of the school, it beat the hell out of being turned – or worse, eaten alive – by his father.
Chapter 9
“Well…um…thanks, guys,” Derrick said. “I mean, you kind of walked with me to every class…even if you weren’t in them.”
“No problem at all,” I said. Okay, maybe I had taken my new charge on a little strong.
Okay, a lot strong. But we gained trust. It was all in the name of gaining trust.
We were standing out in front of the school, in the blazing heat of the afternoon sun, me, Xandra and Derrick. The buses were rumbling in the distance as they started up, ready to haul kids home to their suburban neighborhoods and a horn honked over by the parent pick-up loop.
“Well…I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” he said with a wave, turning away from us.
Now, a normal person would have been like, “Yeah, okay, see you later, new friend. I should definitely give you some space and allow you to process your day on your own!”
But not me and not when a werewolf was involved.
“Wait,” I said, hurrying after him. “We’ll go with you.”
“We will?” Xandra said, following after me like my shadow.
“To my house?” Derrick asked, hesitating. “Because I’m going home now. You know, to do homework and stuff.” By 'and stuff' I assumed he meant 'play video games'. Which I found boring.
“That’s totally cool,” I said. “We can just do it all together.” Oof, a lie. Backsliding and I recognized it as such, puckering my lips as it escaped them.
“Really, you guys, it’s okay,” Derrick said. “You don’t have to walk me home. I live all the way over in Westbrook. That’s a long way to go in this heat.”
“No big, we do it all the time,” Xandra said. “Besides, it’s on our way home, too.”
“All right,” he said, finally giving up. “I guess if you’re headed that way, too…”
As we walked, I realized that Xandra and I had walked this way home together almost every day after school, just like she told Derrick. But that this was also the path we'd taken that first night that Byron walked into our lives.
It was weird to consider that because of that psychopath she and I became friends.
I glanced at Xandra, who looked back at me. Something in her eyes sparkled in knowing recognition and she nodded. She must have been thinking the same thing.
We came to a street corner and Derrick’s steps slowed. Now he and
Xandra were arguing something about a video game. I was walking in silence, the soles of my shoes scuffing against the rough concrete sidewalk.
“Rangers are the best, seriously.” Derrick said. “They have the best chance to do critical hits.”
Xandra shook her head. “No way. Mage wins. You wanna deal lots of damage? Destruction spells and staves. You want to help your teammates? Using healing spells and potions like whoa.”
“Not that I'm not enjoying this argument,” Derrick glanced at his watch, “but you know, guys, really, I can take it from here on my own—”
But the rest of his words were cut off as the sound of screeching tires filled the air. I looked up the street and saw an old red Dodge sports car peeling up the road toward us.
“Holy crap,” Xandra said. “Slow down, buddy. Kids live in this neighborhood.”
Derrick’s eyes widened as the car came closer.
“Guys —” I said, grabbing them both by the arm and yanking them off the sidewalk. I was glad I did, because in that same moment, the car jumped the curb toward us, tires clanging in protest as they met pavement hard and leapt up onto the grass.
On the other side of the windshield, I saw the same face that had appeared in the window of my math classroom the day before. His eyes were wide, wild and fixed on Derrick.
It was his dad.
Chapter 10
“Is that...?” Xandra asked as the man behind the wheel threw open the driver’s side door.
“How did he – ?” Derrick was almost choking on his words. “The police – they’re supposed to be looking for him. How did they not —”
“Derrick!” The shout was harsh, almost like a bark. His dad stepped out of the car, stalking up onto the sidewalk. Every step seemed to ring out like a gunshot.
“What are you doing here?” Derrick just stared at his father. “Why are you doing this, Dad?”
“I’ve already tried to tell you, but you won’t listen,” his father said through gritted teeth. He wasn’t snarling yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he started to. “Come with me.”
The desperation in his tone just dripped. He seemed…frightened, almost, his eyes holding a sort of longing that was buffeted by rage. He licked his lips and it reminded me of a dog.
“No,” Derrick said weakly, shaking his head.
“Derrick, it is very important that you come with me,” his dad said, reaching out his hand. His dad stood on the stretch of grass that separated the sidewalk from the road, his car's driver-side wheels up on the curb.
We, on the other hand, were up on the lawn, only the bare sidewalk between us. A house was behind us, I saw quickly, with a fenced yard. If we tried to retreat in that direction, odds were good Derrick would faceplant into the grass while leaping the fence. Just a guess on my part, based on my observations of his coordination. That wouldn't be good for anyone, except maybe Derrick's dad.
“Why would I come with you?” Derrick spat. His voice shook and his face was dark. “Do you have any idea what you've done to me? How you've ruined my life.”
“Every teenager says that,” Derrick's dad said.
“I mean it,” Derrick said. “You have ruined...everything. My friends won't talk to me—”
“I've seen your other friends.” Derrick's dad's eyes scanned over Xandra and I quickly, then he shook his head. “You look like you've upgraded, especially in the looks department.”
“What. A. Pig,” Xandra said, standing shoulder to shoulder with Derrick, me on the side of him.
Derrick’s dad let out a sound of frustration that sounded way too much like a snarl. “There are bigger things happening here than your little teenage school problems.” He started pacing back and forth on the grass, rubbing his forehead. “It's time for you to grow up, son. To accept the responsibility that entails. Now...come with me.”
“Are you crazy?” Derrick said. “Did you even hear anything I just said?”
His dad stiffened, a subtle hunch appearing at his back. I stared at it and shared a look with Xandra. It hadn't been there a moment before and to me it suggested a transformation process, or at least the possibility of one.
“Let's just turn down the temperature on this, daddy-o,” I said, looking right at Mr. Bauer. “See how I subtly appealed to your inner dad, there, with the thermostat reference?”
“I caught it,” Xandra said. “Subtle, but very much on point.”
“Go home, girl, this doesn’t concern you,” Mr. Bauer said, sparing me only a quick glance.
“Dad, come on,” Derrick said. “They’re just my friends. Leave them out of this.”
“I’ll leave them out if they stay out,” he said, his gaze hardening.
“I think it’s best if you leave, Mr. Bauer,” I said coolly to him. My hands weren’t trembling. My voice was steady. I wasn’t afraid. Because one werewolf had to be way easier to take on than thirty vampires, regardless of how dirty they fought.
“You.” Mr. Bauer turned his full attention to me. “Who are you?”
“Derrick’s friend, like he said.” I stared him down. “I think that you should get gone before I call the cops on you. Again.”
He let out a growl, thrashing his head around like a dog ready to pounce. His eyes never once left me and that hunch on his back grew subtly taller, his head lowering.
Derrick shuddered behind me and Xandra was still keeping her distance.
“Why is everyone trying to keep my son away from me?” Mr. Bauer's teeth showed between his lips, which were stretching at the edges like he'd swallowed a razor blade sideways. “He’s my son. Mine!”
He crossed over the sidewalk toward us, moving quickly but not as fast as a vampire. In all the fights I’d seen with werewolves, which wasn’t many, I’d seen them act as a group, trying to take down their foes from all angles. They used their numbers to their advantage, not their speed.
Even still, he had a lot of strength. He darted toward Derrick, but I slid between them, shoving Derrick with an underhanded push of my palm, sending him back as Mr. Bauer lunged for him.
Mr. Bauer snarled and tried to dart around me, but I moved to block him again, sliding like Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk.
He towered above me, his shoulders curled in, his teeth bared, his chest heaving. I caught a whiff of his breath and man did he need a milk bone or a toothbrush to take the edge off.
Darkness passed over his face once more, like a shadow and he tried to shove me out of the way.
Bad move, wolf boy.
I grabbed his arm and yanked him toward me. Just before he collided with my shoulder, I stepped out of the way and he stumbled away from us, now ungainly on two legs, as though his partial transformation made him the worst of both worlds, wolf and man.
“Dad, stop,” Derrick said. “This is insane. You’re fighting with a teenage girl!”
He hit the ground, landing on his palms, sending dirt and sand flying and I worried that I might have actually hurt him in some way. I didn’t exactly have a weapon, but maybe a good punch to the nose would be enough to disable him. Especially if I broke it.
He was on all fours and for a second, I worried that he might try to shift right there –
He whipped his head around, staring at us and the sight of his eyes made my mouth fall open. They were dark and feral looking, nothing like the eyes of the werewolves I’d met before. Those had been clear and it was obvious they were in their right mind.
Mr. Bauer, however, had the look of a real wolf. He bared his teeth and I realized that they were now jagged and long. His jaw and nose seemed to grow more pointed with every passing second.
Oh, crap. This wasn’t good. If he transformed...
He'd overwhelm us. Xandra and I would probably get hurt. Derrick would be kidnapped. And there'd be nothing I could do.
Time seemed to pause as we stood there, Mr. Bauer on all fours on the ground, little hairs elongating on his face, his eyes a dark shade, tending toward black in the afternoon sun. I c
ould almost feel his rage, like impossibly small sparks of electricity running across my skin.
But just as quickly as Mr. Bauer’s face darkened, it cleared and I wondered if I had even seen the distortion in his face, in his form, or if it was just a trick of the light.
He pushed to his feet, the hunch on his back now gone. He gave us all one last look, not saying a word, his gaze lingering lastly on Derrick, before he turned and ran back to his car. He threw himself into his front seat and the car into reverse with a thump as his tires left the curb. His engine revved as he burned past and I caught one last look at dark, angry eyes as he drove off down the street, leaving us all behind.
Chapter 11
“Did you see that?”
Understandably, Derrick was…well, freaking out.
“Did you see his eyes?” His hands were clasped on either side of his face and he had no color in his cheeks. His blue eyes were staring up the road after his dad’s car, which had just disappeared from sight.
Xandra was giving me a look. None of this surprised her, though I could see that she was still concerned. A werewolf was an entirely new set of trouble, because we didn’t have the protection of daylight from them. They could attack at any moment, as demonstrated by his dad’s appearance.
“Something's wrong with him,” Derrick said in a low voice. He was starting to pace up and down the sidewalk, fighting with himself. He seemed to be torn between fury and terror. “What is going on?”
Xandra was still giving me that look.
I shrugged. What do you want? I asked with my gaze.
Tell him, she mouthed.
Why me? I mouthed back. Why couldn’t she tell him? Why did this always fall on my shoulders?
Derrick was facing away from us, one hand knotted in his blond hair. He was watching in the direction his father had gone, as if afraid that he was going to come roaring back around the corner at any moment.
Heir of the Dog (Liars and Vampires Book 6) Page 5