Time passing went unnoticed. I could only focus on Sebastian’s positively limitless ambitions. I wondered if his hunger for knowledge—his constant request for more input—was what Helen Keller’s teacher experienced as Helen finally began grasping the world she lived in. Was she as entranced as her student? Like me?
Sebastian’s proud smile should’ve warned me when he told me he had a surprise. I excitedly tried to get information from him, but he was sly as a wolf—no pun intended—and told me I had to wait.
Every evening, another secretive late-night talk took place. Sebastian decided he believed in the thing called God because whenever he was in the forest, he sensed he was never alone. He told me that he was realizing he felt the same way in his human form. “There’s something all around us, Marley. I think the people who say he lives everywhere are correct.”
I inhaled deeply, thanking whatever brought this magnificent being into my life.
We only had one close call with my parents, and that was when Sebastian forgot to wake and become Romy in the middle of the night. I guess our late nights had finally caught up with us because neither of us woke when my dad came up the stairs one morning. I was late getting up for school, so my dad opened my door in two nanoseconds after one knock. The male body spooning me flew backward and tumbled to the floor.
My father’s voice boomed, “What the hell?” But Romy’s furry face peeked over the mattress to face the door.
I was sure one of my dad’s old pants were ripped and on the floor. With no time to undress, Romy’s wolf form had shredded Sebastian’s clothing.
My dad grabbed his chest. “Oh, Romy! You scared the shit out of me. I thought a boy was in my daughter’s bed.” My father looked at me. “Gracing school with your presence today, little girl?” He walked away, saying, “Thought I was gonna have to spill some young man’s blood—being in bed with my baby.”
My mother’s voice echoed from the kitchen. “Who was in her bed, Everett?”
Headed down the stairs, my father answered, “The only male allowed, thank God.”
On rare occasions, Mom and Dad treated themselves to a night out. This allowed for more learning with Sebastian. I came down the stairs after a shower to encounter a panicked new human and a laundry room in shambles. Sebastian was desperately trying to put back the incredible amount of bubbles overflowing out of the washing machine. I rushed in. “Sebastian, what happened?”
“I thought I would help with your chores, but this machine is very angry with me!”
I turned off the angry machine and grabbed some towels as I explained to Sebastian that one scoop of laundry soap would suffice—not four.
He soaked up bubbles with a towel I handed him. “I feel it is only right to help you earn your allowance since you spend it on my clothes.”
My mom would send me to town on an errand, and I would take advantage of sales for Sebastian. His thoughtfulness continued to amaze me. “That is so sweet, Sebastian, but maybe we should start you with a task such as dusting?”
The adventure of his dusting ended with his brute strength breaking one lamp and knocking over another.
“Sorry, Marley.”
I just laughed, following him around with a broom.
We moved to dishes. Somehow, Sebastian found this to be an exhilarating experience. The fact that you could put dirty dishes into a machine and then pull clean ones out had him pointing. “I’ve always wanted to know, who is in there scrubbing?”
Oh, boy.
Another night, my parents left to enjoy alone time. Romy became Sebastian, and we opted to snuggle on the couch and watch a movie. Eating snacks like the mischievous teenagers we had become was way more fun than cleaning a waterlogged laundry room.
“What is this called, Marley?”
Crunch, crunch. “Caramel popcorn.”
Crunch, crunch. “It’s wonderful.”
“Sebastian? Is there any food you don’t like?”
He smiled with a full mouth. “Not yet.”
The TV showed a kissing scene that was on the lighter side. Sebastian popped in more of our snack. “Did you like kissing Trevor?”
The question stunned me a little, but I recovered and understood Sebastian just wanted more data to learn from. I leaned my head back to rest on the couch. “Umm, yes, but it wasn’t like I’ve seen on TV.” He looked at me with a puzzled expression. “Well, watch that kiss.” I pointed to the screen. The kiss was building in intensity. “Don’t they look enraptured?”
Sebastian watched intently. “They feel something because of the kiss?”
“Yes, desire.”
“You didn’t feel desire?”
I took a deep breath with a touch of regret. “No, no desire, just a need.”
“Need?”
I stared at the TV with sadness because I wanted to be swept away with emotions. “Yeah, a need to please Trevor. I guess my needs were never met, huh?”
When I got no answer, I looked at Sebastian, who had stopped chewing and stared at the TV, completely distracted. I followed his gaze and saw the kiss was now full on. Mouths were opening, and after the guy kissed his girlfriend with exposed tongue, Sebastian—who couldn’t pull his eyes from what he was watching—asked, “Can I touch your tongue?”
“What?” I shrieked.
A deep chuckle rumbled in his chest. “Please? I want to know what it feels like.”
“You’re not sticking your tongue in my mouth, Sebastian.”
He thought for a second while swallowing his popcorn. “Can I touch it with my finger?”
I made a face that had him laughing out loud.
“Come on! Marley, let me touch!” He leaned toward me with his finger sticking out, ready to prod my mouth. I slapped his hand away, laughing. He pleaded. “One touch and I’ll leave you alone. Please?”
I rolled my eyes. “This is so weird.” I opened my mouth.
He looked so inquisitive as he stuck his finger in my mouth. Gently, his finger rubbed the top of my tongue. His eyes widened. “Wow, it’s so… smooth.” He kept touching. “Oh Marley, let me lick you there.”
I pulled away. “Do you have any idea how wrong that sounds?”
He just kept smiling in amazement. “Want to touch mine?”
“And it’s getting worse.”
He opened his mouth, sticking out his tongue, and tried to talk. “Ca on, tuch et. Yu know yu wunt ta.”
I did want to touch him. “I’ve already touched a tongue.”
He sat up straight. “With your finger?”
“Well, no—”
He opened his mouth again and leaned toward me. “Ca on, et’s cuul!”
Curiosity won, and I timidly stuck my finger in Sebastian’s mouth for an examination. He patiently waited as I touched and touched. I was just amazed feeling life under my touch. “You’re right. Silky.” I retracted my finger.
Sebastian proudly smiled. “Told ya so. Now tongue on tongue?”
“No.”
“Why?” He whined like a child.
“’Cause I said so,” I replied like a parent—even though I was quite sure kissing Sebastian wouldn’t exactly be a miserable experience. He might not be Hollywood material, but I found him handsome nevertheless.
Suddenly, I remembered something. I jumped up from the couch. “I almost forgot!”
I ran up the stairs. Sebastian followed. He was becoming very quick on his feet. It was as if his wolf begged to be set free and run, so his human form had no choice but to become faster.
After digging in my backpack, I said, “Go back down to the couch, and close your eyes.”
“Why, Marley?”
“And don’t open them ’til I say.”
Sebastian ran down the stairs and waited—
well, ate more popcorn with his eyes closed. I removed the bowl from Sebastian’s grasp then sat down. “Put your hands out.”
He did, and I placed his surprise in his open palms. “Open my eyes now?”
“Oops. Sorry. Yes, open your eyes.”
He did and smiled in realization. “Marley, my first pair of shoes.”
A pair of sneakers, size twelve.
“I’m sorry I didn’t think of it sooner.”
Sebastian started sticking them on. “I can’t wait to see what they feel like.”
“No! You have to put these socks on first, or they will get stinky.”
“You hate when I make stinkies.”
His mature, deep voice sounded out of place while making a childish comment. I chuckled. “Boy, do I.”
Just the thought of his catastrophic events had me plugging my nose with one hand and handing him socks with the other. Sebastian handled the socks as if they might do tricks at any moment, but eventually we got his feet into them, and his first pair of shoes was on.
“Let’s go run, Marley!”
Yes, we, Sebastian and Marley, ran through the woods under the moon with his new pair of shoes. And that is how Romy, Sebastian, and I spent the days and nights: running through the woods, learning each other—growing into young adults. The leaves eventually turned to beautiful fall colors, and soon fell to the earth, leaving the trees bare. Romy’s fur thickened, and his appetite grew. Snow on the ground was the only thing that slowed us down—well, me down.
My teeth chattered. “I don’t want to go inside. It will be hours before we get to talk again.”
Sebastian had already taken off his shirt to prepare for his transition. His arms circled me. “It is the better alternative. Otherwise, I will have to thaw out my Marley popsicle.”
His embrace was so warm it entranced me. “Hmm?” His hot, bare skin next to my frozen cheek closed my eyes involuntarily.
“Well, you upper half seems happy now, but what about your toes experiencing frostbite?”
His scent sang to my nostrils as I snuggled to him. “Who needs toes?”
Sebastian’s laugh echoed in the woods. He grasped my face in his heated palms, lifting my closed eyes to his. “I love you and don’t like to hear your heartbeat change when you’re this cold.”
My eyes opened as my head still tilted. “You can hear my heart?”
“Always.”
It felt like time stilled to allow me this extraordinary moment. Magnificent gray eyes looked so deeply into mine, causing my heart to—
“See? Picking up speed. I think your heart is stressed trying to keep your body warm.”
“Uh.”
Sebastian’s lips descended. He kissed the tip of my nose. “Feels like ice.” Then he stood up straight. “You heart is thundering, Marley!”
“Uh—”
He grabbed my hand and began gently dragging me away. “Home we go.”
I stumbled behind him, wondering why the thought of him kissing me had me so flabbergasted. Clueless Sebastian kept marching in the opposite direction from where I wanted to go. I wasn’t getting a say in the matter, and that was annoying me. “Home we go,” I complained as I lazily followed. “Always wanting me home if one little thing seems off to you.”
He pushed a branch aside for me. “The only thing off is your blood circulation.”
Not altogether true.
The long cold season made Sebastian and me appreciate spring once it arrived. The sun on our faces was just as bright as the light that shone from inside Sebastian. “So you have no school for a whole week?”
“Yep! Spring break is almost here. Can you entertain me?” I teased and pointed to the trunk we were scaling, deep in the woods. “Now focus!”
I began to show Sebastian—to the best of my abilities—how to climb a tree. It had been many years since such an attempt. “See, you reach up like this and grab a branch,” I explained as my arm stretched over my head. “Then pull yourself up while having your feet try to defy gravity” I grunted during the next part while I struggled through my poor example. “And walk up the tree trunk—ah!” I screamed as I fell but stopped when I landed in safe, strong arms. Being cradled, I looked at Sebastian and shrugged. “Like so.”
“Hmm. How about you stand on my shoulders to avoid more humiliation.”
It was a childhood activity that I’d grown out of long ago and had thought was in the past until I sat in the tree—where I had been hoisted courtesy of Sebastian—and witnessed the pure joy of the young man slipping and sliding in his new—now old—shoes, until he managed to climb on a limb and appreciate yet another view of life.
“It feels like belonging, resting in the arms of a friend.”
I smiled, knowing his only example was me, and observed as his long back leaned against the strong trunk, and his legs effortlessly lounged over the sturdy branch supporting his body. Yes, Sebastian was being cradled by a friend. Nature. And he was appreciating every moment. I appreciated every moment I got to watch Sebastian. He seemed to be at such ease simply being either Sebastian or Romy. Or so I thought.
While I was pulling a book out of my locker, getting ready for third period, Jimmy approached me. “So, the Spring Dance?”
I rolled my eyes. “Can you believe people actually go to that?”
“You know you’re a girl, right?”
“Do you know that I’ve hung with two guys named T and Hound all my life and have been ruined when it comes to girly stuff?”
Jimmy laughed. “So now this is my fault?”
“You stand guilty as accused. I’m not going to a dance—ever!”
“Excuse me,” someone said from behind me. “Could you tell me where room one-twenty-two is?”
I turned around and made an unrecognizable sound in my throat.
Jimmy stared at my odd reaction, while I stared at… Sebastian.
Chapter Nine:
Correct and Questionable Conclusions
“Oh, Jesus,” I whispered, as I stared into my favorite light grays smiling back at me. Immersed in a normal school day, I never saw this coming and felt adrenaline racing through me.
“Do you know this guy?” Jimmy asked with some agitation.
“Umm…” I was too astonished to give Jimmy much of my focus. I could only see Sebastian as my mind tried to comprehend how he was standing in my school.
Jimmy faced Sebastian, since he was not getting answers from me. “Who are you?”
“My name is Sebastian. I am new here.” Sebastian studied me.
All I could muster up was “You’re new? Here?”
Jimmy asked me, “How do you know someone I don’t know that you know?”
Ignoring Jimmy and his confusing question, my wolf proudly answered me. “Yes. I’m a student.”
Jimmy kept watching Sebastian and me stare at each other. “Where do you know him from?”
“A student?” I grabbed my chest. “A-are you going to be okay?” I asked my wolf.
“Are you?” Jimmy asked me with sarcasm.
Sebastian kept smiling but finally broke our stare to look around the hallway full of students. “Everything is so much.”
Instantly, I was worried and tried to assure him. “It’s okay. I will walk you to your class and, and, and help you.”
Jimmy looked perplexed. “What? Why? The kid is smiling from ear to ear.”
In a panic, I explained to Jimmy. “He’s new!”
“Not to the world, Mar-cakes. What’s going on here?”
This extremely reasonable question became a brick wall I ran into. The realization of what Sebastian had done slammed into me. He had opened himself up to the public and was now exposed to all these questions—ones I had no answers to. And since Jimmy was waiti
ng for a reply, I couldn’t ask Sebastian what the hell he was thinking.
After a deep, not-so-calming breath, I said, “I owe you an apology, Jimmy.”
“Why do you need to apologize?”
“Because I lied to you. I do know Sebastian.”
Jimmy rolled his eyes. “You don’t know how to lie. The only time I think you ever did was—” He stopped in thought. Then, with reservation, he said, “Was the night Romy was sick.”
I could not get air into my lungs as Jimmy put all the pieces together. This was it, the moment I’d dreaded for months, the moment I could no longer keep my Romy safe as I’d promised Mother Wolf.
Jimmy nodded in a surrender of the unbelievable truth. “He’s the guy I saw in the tracks. He helped you with Romy?”
I blinked. What?
Believe it or not, I was somehow surprised that Jimmy didn’t guess that Sebastian was Romy—some sort of werewolf. I had been living with this miracle for so long I thought others would easily jump to the correct conclusions.
As if it all made sense now, Jimmy told Sebastian, “You must be a hunter and came across Mar-cakes and her sick wolf and helped them.” He offered his hand for a shake. “Thank you so much. She was so upset.”
It wasn’t the case, but I was relieved that Jimmy’s conclusion made sense and that he was satisfied with it. And best of all, it wasn’t a lie! Sebastian did help me with Romy—in a way, which did help me. And Sebastian was a hunter—in the form of Romy. It was close enough for me to inhale with relief, and agree with Jimmy. “Yes, that is exactly what happened.”
My Wolf and me Page 8