With that, she laughed some. How right he was without even knowing it. “Who are you to him, anyway?” She bowed her head some. He sounded somewhat crazy to her, but at the same time, he did sound like he cared. She had to find out what that meant, and what this man was to her friend.
With that, he shrugged strongly. He turned from her and bowed his eyes to the steps. “I’m his best friend.” His eyes watered over some, but he couldn’t let her see him do it. “I need to know where he is.”
She could hear his voice tearing up. With it, she could tell that he meant what he said. But, how much would he believe her? Could he believe the truth? Could he even understand it? She could also feel his pain. Suddenly, hearing his voice, she felt guilty all of a sudden. She knew too much, and here he was, his best friend knowing nothing. “He left.” She stayed with the obvious. Was she going to regret what she just said, she wasn’t sure, but she would find out soon enough.
“He left? Where?” He crossed his arms over his chest again and winced.
She heard it and it convinced her that it actually made him sound relieved. It was her turn to wince some, as she began. “Jimmy’s in trouble.” She began with keeping it simple. She still had no idea who he was, and not knowing that, she knew that she had to keep it that way. She had to protect Jimmy. He saved her life. Even as a wolf, he came for her. She owed him so much more than that. “He had to leave because of it.”
Brandon uncrossed his arms, and placed his hands onto his hips. He now seemed to be finally getting somewhere, and it made him feel relieved. He opened himself up even more, thinking why she was there, crept up in his thoughts quickly. “Why did you come here if you knew that he was already gone?”
She stepped up another step, and came directly in front of him at the top of the stoop and stopped. She might not know who he was, but a sudden idea came up in her thoughts. He can help me. Maybe he can help me find Jimmy. If the two of them were as close as he said they were, then he might be able to give her more than she could possibly find out just by herself. It felt like a chance that suddenly seemed to be worth taking. “I was going to go to try to find him.” She smiled. “I wanted to bring him some of his things in case I did.”
Hearing that, he smiled some. “What happened with him?” If what she said was true, that meant that Jimmy was safe. He might be in trouble, but at least he was still alive. Knowing that also made him feel relaxed.
With that, she held her breath, which sounded more like a puff. “Can you help me find some of those things?”
Hearing that, he nodded. She’s not going to tell me. Okay—but I want something else in return. “I’ll help you, but you have to help me.” He raised his eyes back up to hers.
She listened and could only shrug her shoulders, truly not knowing what he was about to say.
“I want to come with you.” He nodded. He loved Jimmy. He wasn’t lying about that. If he was going to help him, he couldn’t do it there. He had to go with her. He had to find him. “I’ll help you, but I have to come too.” His smile grew larger and stronger. He felt excited. He felt overly joyed. Everything made him feel perfect again.
She nodded. “Okay.” She turned back to the street. She still didn’t see anyone there that might be watching them, but she still couldn’t tell for sure either way, so she turned back to Brandon. “Would you mind if we go inside?” She smiled again.
He smiled and quickly slapped his hands together in front of him. He now felt more than just excited, he felt almost elated. He couldn’t wait to get started. “Sure.” He turned back to the door. “Where do you think he went?” he had to ask.
“New York. He might be there.” She kept her voice to a whisper. She couldn’t take the chance that someone would hear her, so she had to.
He used his spare key and opened the door. He went inside first.
She followed him inside and closed the door behind her.
He moved to the sofa just by the door and stopped.
She now looked around his home. She never saw his place before, and that alone, made her feel somewhat odd. It felt almost like a longing. It made her feel somewhat empty. The living room looked basic. It looked normal with a simple small television set sitting just beneath the large bay window to her right. A simple black sofa sat in the center of the room and blocked it off from the kitchen to her left. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about the place, but the smell, well that felt like another story entirely.
It smelled somewhat stale, but it also carried the smell of a deep and heavy must that felt hard to describe, but one that she knew all too well. It smells just like the wolf. It smells just like he did when he grabbed me and ran through the basement. She took a deep breath taking it all in. Feeling him there with her again, she could see the massive beast break down the door to the conference room in her mind. She could see it step out into the hallway beyond the door and then stop. She could feel him take her into his arms and start to run. She could smell his scent as her face felt buried in his fur. With it all, it made her sigh strongly and caringly as she remembered that night again. With it, it made her miss him even more.
“New York City huh, that sounds great. I’ve always wanted to see the place.” He rubbed his palms together in front of him again almost looking like he tried to warm them on a cold winter’s day. “What were you intending to bring?” He felt better already. She knew where his friend was. He just knew it, and now hearing it, everything codified together in his thoughts. Now that that was out of the way, he couldn’t wait to help.
Being there, and having Jimmy flashing through her thoughts, she barely heard anything he said. She closed her eyes and blinked strongly, trying to get her mind back to focus on where she was. With it, she just shrugged her shoulders again as well. “You know him better than I do.” She smiled. The feeling that he was going to come in handy made her relax even more. The idea of bringing him along worried her some, but not much. Could she keep him from knowing the full truth was also still there? If he did find out, could he accept it? She didn’t know, but she knew that she had to take the chance. What else did she have to lose?
He sent his mind racing, trying to figure out what he might need if he was in Jimmy’s shoes. Shoes came out strongly, so he went with it. “How about some clothes? I’m sure that he never came back here, so that’s where I would start.” His smile now almost seemed to consume his face.
His boyish look impressed on her. She could see why Jimmy and he were friends. They were more alike than she ever guessed that they would be, when she first came to him on the steps. She nodded with agreement.
“I’ll raid the closet.” He left the sofa’s arm, still rubbing his hands together firmly and headed towards the bedroom with a bounce in his steps. He couldn’t believe how excited he felt. He felt like it was Christmas and he couldn’t wait to begin to tear into the presents that were sitting under the tree.
“What else would he want?” She watched him head to her left and watched him disappear to a small hallway that led to two separate doors.
“If you go into the kitchen, and go above the cupboard, just over the coffee pot, you’ll find an old coffee can on the left, just behind the new can. He has some personal things in there. It’s kind of like his safe.” Brandon shouted from Jimmy’s bedroom. He went straight to the closet first, grabbed several pairs of jeans and some shirts, and threw them onto the bed.
She nodded, moved behind the sofa and went into the kitchen.
The room looked quiet. It looked solemn. Everything felt deserted. She walked over to a small table towards the left of the room, and from there, she turned right and went to the first cupboard just over the coffee pot. She opened the small door and found a large can of generic coffee sitting on the center of the three shelves in the cabinet. She pushed it aside and found another large can behind it. She reached in, pulled the older can out, and shut the door. With it in hand, she moved the can to the kitchen table, set it there gently, and opened the lid.
Not only was the smell of coffee still in the can, but there was also a roll of what looked like money and several photos inside it. She removed everything and laid them on the table next to the can. With everything out, she turned to the photos first.
One was of a rather young looking couple, maybe in their thirties, maybe in their late twenties, standing in front of a single floor home. The woman wore clothes that looked very 1970’s, because of the telltale bellbottom jeans and her long strait black hair, and she held what looked like a baby wrapped in a blanket in her arms. The man wore glasses and had a large collar shirt on. He had his right arm wrapped around the woman next to him. The two looked happy. Their smiles looked real. She loved what she saw.
Brandon came back into the living room with the clothes he found in the closet all rolled up in both hands. He threw them down to the sofa and turned, seeing Rachel standing at the table in the kitchen. Seeing that she looked at something intently, he had to see what it was, so he walked over to her and looked down over her shoulder at what she held. He saw the old photo of what looked like Jimmy’s parent.
She felt him come over her and felt his eyes come down over her shoulder. “Is this his parents?” The man in the picture looked just like Jimmy did. The woman had some of his features, but the man looked more like him than what she did.
“Yeah.” He audibly winced. “They were killed not that long after that, I think.” He shrugged. He knew so little about Jimmy’s life before he met him in school. What he did know was that they died when he was still young. Jimmy didn’t talk about them all that much. He figured it was probably because he didn’t know them all that well himself.
Seeing them, she instantly felt her eyes tear up some, just from what he said. “He was that young.” She could remember him telling her about his parents dying when they went out for coffee that one time after work. She didn’t remember him saying anything about what age they were when it happened, or how it did happen, for that matter.
He nodded. “He was brought up by his grandmother, I think. I’m not sure how old he was. I know that he never really remembered them.”
The tears came stronger as she listened. One streaked down her left cheek, and in her mind, her thoughts turned to Robert, her brother. She always missed him, when she heard of someone else’s loss. Thinking of Jimmy’s loss, she found herself feeling connected with him in a new way. She liked the feeling. It made her miss him even more than she already did.
“Well.” Brandon slapped his palms back together again.
The sound was so close to her, and came so suddenly, she jumped just from the sound of it.
“I’ve got some change of clothes.” He turned back to the living room and walked to the doorway between the two rooms and there he stopped. “We better get going.” He paused, thinking. “Are we driving down, or flying?” He’d never flown before. Part of him didn’t want to do it, but another part did. He wasn’t sure how he would handle a flight, but he did feel like a drive would be better. He knew he could handle that.
She breathed from her little scare and looked back to the photograph. “Driving down.”
He nodded—relieved. “Well then, we better get going. It’s a long drive and it’s getting late.” He smiled.
She nodded. “Right.” They had to get going. Besides, it also felt like the perfect excuse to push her own hurt back down from her chest. She gathered the money and the photos, and put everything back in the can. She then replaced the lid. I’m taking this with me. He would want it, because I know I would. With everything gathered, she took the can into her right arm, left the kitchen, and joined Brandon back in the living room.
He already made his way to the coat closet near the front door. There, he opened the door and found a box on the floor of the closet. He shut the door and moved it back to the sofa. He wadded up all of the clothes and threw them into the box. As he did so, a new thought came up into his mind. With his haste to grab the clothes, he had completely forgotten about socks and underwear. That didn’t surprise him much, because he rarely wore either of both. “Do you think I should grab a change of undies?” he had to ask. He wasn’t sure if he should or shouldn’t.
With that, she smiled. He sounded rather goofy to her. “I would.” She nodded and her smile grew stronger yet.
He nodded as well.
She watched him leave for the hallway again and head back towards the bedroom. It didn’t take him very long to return, carrying with him several different pairs of white colored underwear, and several different pairs of socks.
He took them to the sofa and threw them all to the top of the box. After folding the top of the box together, he now felt ready. “You ready?” He turned to her one final time.
She nodded. It felt like the time to go. Of course, he was right. They had a long drive ahead of them, and again, she could only hope that she would find him after they made it there. She couldn’t wait to find out.
Neither of them could.
He opened the door and carried the box to her car. She opened the trunk for him, and he set it down neatly inside it. Finished, she closed the trunk back shut and made her way to the driver’s side door.
Brandon went to the passenger side, and together, they climbed inside.
She started the engine and they were on their way. It was already early afternoon. It would be close to deep night when they would finally get there. She could only hope that she wasn’t already too late.
10
Across the street, Gary watched everything closely.
Seeing Rachel come by the freak’s apartment confirmed everything that he already suspected. Of course, she lied about not knowing what happened to him that night. Of course, she knew where he was. Of course, she would protect him. Of course, she would head out after him when she could do it. Watching her made everything make sense. With it, he didn’t know what she saw in him. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out why she would even try to help him, but not all of that seemed to matter anymore. The fact that she was, he would have to use it to his advantage. He took it as his mission. He took it as his purpose in life. He had to do what he had to do.
The neighborhood seemed overly quiet with no one really around him. With all of it, he found it rather easy to blend into the masses. There were cars parked along the street, and with all of them there, he knew he wouldn’t stand out. Therefore, he kept quiet, watching her from down the street. He knew that she wouldn’t see him. She even looked right at him, but didn’t react.
When she and the other man left the apartment with a box, he knew what they were doing. They were heading out to find the freak. They were going to take him some of his things. They would lead him right to him. Now, all he had to do was follow them, something that he felt determined to do. What the bastard did to him had to have an answer for it. It hurt him. It broke his hand. It escaped, and because of all of this, he felt determined to end its life.
He watched the two of them load the box into the back of Rachel’s trunk and then watched as they both climbed inside the car.
He watched them as they backed out of the driveway and pulled out onto the street.
He watched them come to the next intersection and stop at the stop sign, and when he felt sure that they wouldn’t see him, he started his car, and pulled out onto the street as they turned the corner. He had to keep some distance between them, but still had to stay close.
He followed them as they left town and started off, heading south. As they drove along, it wasn’t long before he had an idea of where they were going. They were going back to where all of this began. They were heading back to New York. It made sense. That’s where they found Collins. Knowing it, he felt excited. He almost felt like he was heading home.
Heading down the New York State Thruway, he felt his excitement grow with each passing hour that went by. What was he going to find down there? Were there others? Was he going to have the chance to find out how deep all of this went? Just the thought of all of his
questions turned him on to all of the possibilities that he had to find.
He couldn’t wait. They were heading to the heart of what he liked to call freak’s land. He couldn’t wait to set everything back right.
11
Jimmy took his time heading north along the river. He didn’t want any more surprises, so he kept the walk smooth—he kept it light. As he walked, he thought about everything that happened. So far, nothing went as planned. He didn’t find the help that he needed, but at least he had somewhere to go. He felt somewhat disappointed, but yet, still felt somewhat hopeful that all of it wasn’t lost. He wasn’t sure if what the woman told him was going to give him his answers or not, but he did feel something. He just felt like it was going to be a matter of time before he knew for sure. Before hand, he had to remain calm and collected.
He didn’t know what might be around the very next corner, and not knowing that, seemed the hardest part of all of it. He wasn’t sure what to expect, so he stayed to the shadows as he walked. He tried hard to go unnoticed.
When he made it to 157th Street, the sun already looked firmly staked out overhead. It helped him with the shadows. It helped with his movement. It helped him to remain calm.
Coming onto 157th Street, the memory of seeing the bright red colored door, set up against a row of doors, came back fresh on his mind. Now, seeing those same rows of doors, made the memory feel real. Seeing them, he knew that he had been there before. In fact, it felt like years since he was. With it all, he couldn’t believe everything all at once. It all felt so strange. He had no choice but just to swallow the feeling back down inside him as he walked down the sidewalk.
A Werewolf's Saga Books 1, 2, & 3 (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets) Page 35