Day Dreamer (Undeadly Secrets Book 2)

by Aaron L Speer

  Stupid, stupid boy, Nicholas. The wolf could’ve been in control of the boy’s body by now. But the boy had rejected the wolf by giving up on his mate. The wolf had to be patient; these were the actions of a boy, not quite a man. The beating? Another unfortunate lesson. A hunter does not give up. A warrior never retreats. An Alpha never quits. Nicholas could not deny what his heart wanted. Neither could the wolf. Nicholas could also no longer stray the line between who he thought he was and who he was destined to become. The girl was key. The passion of the wolf was always its greatest strength. But Nicholas continued to ignore its existence, disregard its importance. The wolf yearned to break free. The boy’s resistance was waning, the wolf knew, yet time was running out. The wolf could sense the danger to Nicholas.

  The wolf would try again. The wolf would not move from the bed, focusing its energy to heal him. It would push him. It would help Nicholas one more time. The rest was up to the boy.

  *

  Alex hunched over the kitchen table, thumbing through Nick’s phone to see if the pricks who had beat him to a pulp had left him any threats.

  Margaret stepped out into the hallway midway through a stretch. “Morning,” she mumbled through a yawn.

  “Hi.” Alex was not in the mood to be friendly with her mother right now. She still felt betrayed with the way she had contacted Dante without even talking to her first. Dante was NOT Margaret’s hired thug.

  “Where did you get Nick’s phone?”

  “I took it when we left yesterday. It was in an envelope with his watch and wallet. I’m looking through his messages.”

  “Whatever for?” Margaret asked.

  “Evidence. For when I go to the cops.”

  “There’s no need for that. They would’ve been taken care of by now,” Margaret replied, more than a hint of pride in her voice.

  What the hell is wrong with her? Alex thought. If she’d believed in body snatchers, she might have accused them of taking her mother and replacing her with this callous creature. “Dante would never kill a teenager.”

  “Who said anything about kill? He’ll surely have scared those little bastards out of their minds, though. There won’t be any need for police involvement because they wouldn’t dare touch Nick again.”

  Alex hid her distaste at Margaret’s overly confident tone by swallowing the last of her coffee. She deliberately slid her chair back as noisily as possible and got up to refill her mug.

  “Did you find anything else on there?” asked Margaret.

  “Yes.” Alex frowned. “Some missed calls last night from a girl called Nicole.”

  Margaret looked thoughtful. “Didn’t he say this whole thing was about a chicky babe?”

  Alex rolled her eyes. “‘Chicky babe’? Really, mum? But yeah, it’s got to be her.” Alex reached for the milk. “What if she’s been playing Nick the whole time?”

  “We can cross that bridge when we come to it. But right now, I think we should give her the benefit of the doubt. Besides, I don’t think Nick would be stupid enough to fight over a girl that wasn’t worth the pain and effort.” Margaret held out her hand for the phone. “You go have a shower and get ready for work. I’ll call her.”

  “Why would you call her? It’s none of our business.”

  “Rubbish. He’s in hospital, how else is she going to know what’s happened? She can’t be mad at him if she knows he’s unconscious.”

  “We don’t know that she’s mad at him at all!”

  “No woman leaves that many missed calls if she’s not mad. But, still. This might be a way for him to get a mercy hump if she doesn’t have any real feelings for him.”

  “Ugh, mum. Don’t be disgusting.”

  “Just kidding.”

  Alex was certain she wasn’t.

  *

  Nicole stood dripping on the bathroom tiles when she heard her mobile tinkle. She barely managed to wrap the towel completely around herself as she dashed across the hall and into her room. When she saw ‘Careful’ as the caller, she knew it was Nick. She felt a sudden wave of exhilaration and anger, both in equal measures. For a split second, she thought about ignoring it, or hanging up. But she couldn’t help herself.

  “So you can talk to me now?” she asked lightly.

  “Hello, dear,” a light voice answered.“Oh, uh—hello… I’m sorry, did you have the wrong number?”

  “Not if I’m talking to Nicole?”

  “Uh, yes you are. Who’s this?”

  “My name is Margaret, Nick is my niece’s son. The reason I’m calling you is to explain why he hasn’t been returning your calls. You see, he is in hospital.”

  Nicole felt her knees go out from under her. Fortunately, she collapsed onto her bed.

  “What? Is he okay?” She heard her own voice and how shaky it sounded.

  “He is a sorry sight, but he will be fine. They need to keep him here for a few days though.”

  Nicole sniffed and blew a slow breath out. Her mother came around the corner and was about to ask what was wrong, but a wave of Nicole’s hand silenced her. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “Well, it seems some scoundrels attacked him outside the building. Fortunately, my daughter Alex found him and called an ambulance right away.”

  “Thank you for telling me. At least I know what’s going on. I’m very sorry to hear it. He’s such a lovely guy. I don’t know who would want to hurt him.”

  “Neither do we, dear,”

  “Can he have visitors?”

  “Of course. He is in R.P.A. Just be warned about looking in on him, as it’s a bit of a shock. Hopefully he will be awake when you’re there. It would mean a lot to him to see you I’m sure.”

  “Thank you again.” Nicole hung up and made her way dazedly back to the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and burst into tears, which just made her angry at herself. Get a grip! Just get through the day. Just stay calm. He’s okay. You’ll go see him in the hospital after school today, and he’ll be fine. This is not your fault. But as much as she tried to tell herself that, the more she felt she was to blame.

  Nicole swiped the tears from her eyes with the heel of her hand and opened her make-up case. She dabbed the sponge but didn’t even make it to her face when her head lowered again. She thought of what he must look like given what Margaret had said. Nicole was stuck with images in her head, making them probably ten times worse because it was the guy she…appreciated a lot.

  *

  Nicole was proud of herself, she had made it all the way to lunch without breaking down a single time. She’d known if she could just get through the school day, she would be able to get to the hospital before visiting hours ended if she hauled arse. She didn’t care if Nick was asleep; she would be happy to just sit with him.

  She picked up her lunch from the school canteen. It was among the staff lunches as usual, but she felt like she was twelve again when she realized what she had ordered earlier that morning: chicken nuggets, a can of Coke, and a chocolate doughnut. Her typical personal-crisis meal.

  She carried her lunch across the quadrangle toward the office she shared with Mrs. Davies, thinking it would be good to talk and joke with her mentor about the lecture and why she wasn’t there. Something caught her eye and she slowed.

  Jason Trod and Trent Miller were standing nearby, and that wasn’t unusual. But Jason’s cheek was immensely swollen and purple. The bruising was so fresh that it was clear the injury could only have happened very recently. Like last night. She looked at Miller, who was deep in conversation with Jason. Miller’s eyes flicked to and fro suspiciously, as if he were afraid someone might overhear. Just then, everything came together for Nicole. Margaret had said scoundrels—plural—so Nick had likely been beaten by more than one assailant. Now here was Jason, a face full of evidence showing a whole heap of damage. But Jason never did anything without Miller, Nicole knew. She remembered back on the first day of Nick’s arrival and the touch football game, the cold way Miller had addressed
Nick at the café. Suddenly, it all made sense.

  She was not aware of when her hands became empty, she did not know what was propelling her forward, she did not have an inkling as to what she was doing. But she was closing the distance on them fast.

  Jason was the first one to see her approaching. Maybe it was the look on her face, maybe not, but something told him to back away. Nicole let him; she only had eyes for Miller.

  Before he knew what hit him, Nicole had unloaded with a fierce slap across his face. So hard and unexpected that Miller actually staggered. Not even thinking that all the students were watching or that Miller was three times her size, Nicole struck again with a fist. Someone whistled and cheered, but soon they all grew silent, watching the events unfold before them.

  “YOU SON OF A BITCH!” she shrieked. “YOU FUCKING LUNATIC!” She had never been in a fight in her life, but she had never felt so uncontrollably livid before either. A left haymaker clocked him on the side of the head and a right uppercut grazed his temple before Jason grabbed her from behind, trapping her arms.

  Miller laughed, taking his fingers from his nose and flicking some drops of blood to the ground. He walked closer, and whispered in her ear. “Nice going, Nikki. Fucked your career now, haven’t ya? And for what? You put up more of a fight than he did.”

  Nicole broke free of Jason’s grip and began to launch more furious strikes at Miller. It was him! He had admitted it; he had been the one to ambush Nick. She wanted to hurt him in any way she could. Miller could’ve pummelled her but seemed too shocked to do anything but squint and try to put his hands up to protect his face.

  “Nicole, what are you doing?” Mrs. Davies shouted from her office before rushing over. “Have you lost your mind?”

  Nicole stopped struggling when Mrs. Davies pulled her back toward her office, but Nicole did not move her eyes away from Miller. A hatred filled her that was not simply going to go away. “You’re going to pay for this, Trent. I swear to god. You too, Jason. I don’t care what it takes, but both of you cowards are going to get what you deserve.”

  As she was led away, Miller shouted after her, “You’re getting a little worked up, Nikki. Dunno what is wrong with you. You’ll be all right, baby! Try a heavy flow pad!”

  The other students laughed. Nicole seethed.

  *

  “What evidence do you have that Mr. Miller was responsible?” Principal Parkins asked.

  “Jason’s bruises. They are very new, and today Nick is in the hospital, what do you think?” Nicole fidgeted. She knew this evidence didn’t sound as rock-solid as it had when she’d come to this conclusion earlier.

  “They are rough kids, Nicole. Always have been. They are always getting into fights inside and outside of school. That doesn’t prove a thing.”

  “But look, Trent has been eyeing off Nick from the day he got in.” She told them about the touch football game.

  “I admit, that I heard the same from Mr. Schubert, he was refereeing and saw the whole thing,” Mrs. Davies said to Parkins before turning back to Nicole. “But that is nothing compared to what he has done to other kids over the years. He is a creep, Nicole, yes, but you completely humiliated yourself, not him, out there today. Nothing you have said gives us any possible reason we can use to defend your behaviour.”

  “What about the fact the he admitted having done it to my face, right out there?” She pointed back toward the quadrangle.

  “Nicole, it’s not that I don’t believe you,” Principal Parkins said. “Of course I do. Normally I would back you with anything, but I just can’t. We have no way of proving he said this. If Trent presses charges, if his parents find out, if the board of education come down here, you’re finished, and I can’t help you. How am I supposed to explain the reason you went haywire is because of a scenario you put together in your own head? What makes matters worse is the situation raises the question of why you took this particular incident with Mr. Slade so personally in the first place.”

  Principal Parkins studied her as if he already knew the answer. “Something that caused you to become violent with a student,” he added softly.

  Nicole felt her cheeks burning. Even if she liked Nick, she hadn’t done anything with him. Trent was going to get away with this! “It’s not like that. I am sick and tired of Trent Miller having his way around here. What about all the times he has come on to me, and made unwelcome advances? Pinching me on the arse, trying to grab my breasts and all that? Doesn’t that count for something?”

  “No because this was you against him, not the other way around. That happened a year ago so it’s very difficult for us use that to form a defence against this.”

  “Excuse me? I told you about it!”

  “Yes, and I’m sure you remember what I advised you?”

  “You advised me not to make a formal complaint and to think of myself, and the school.”

  “That’s right. As a junior counsellor it is a bad look for you to be making accusations against students for something like that. You’d be seen as a troublemaker. Now if it was physical violence you reported—that is another thing entirely. We could perhaps have gotten pictures of marks and bruises. But unwanted groping, as bad as it is, would have dragged your name through the mud, as well as his and the school’s for months, even years. In all that time, you might have been in and out of potential lawsuit offices instead of actually learning and studying your trade. Now this isn’t my personal view, but I have seen it happen to others older than you, and I would hate to see you go through it.”

  “Are you serious?” Nicole asked. “You’re telling me that you won’t do anything about this, again?”

  “Again? What do you mean, again? We are talking about different things here. The first incident, no matter how inappropriate, was a separate issue to today’s. That was you and him. No witnesses and no proof, just your word—and yes that is good enough for me, but a claims officer? I don’t think so. You attacked him in front of the entire school! His case is won without lifting a finger. Even if I presented your case to the board, they would be treated as separate incidents. Yours is violence. You could’ve been arrested!”

  “Nicole…” Mrs. Davies started.

  “No! Wait a minute, are you saying you agree with this? You’re protecting him!”

  “We are protecting you!” Parkins replied. “For god’s sake, he is a teenager running on testosterone and whatever other junk he has been putting into his system. You are older and I thought more mature than he is. You are supposed to be the bigger person.”

  “So that’s it? Just forget it? Let it go? Apologise to him maybe and hope he doesn’t sue me?” Nicole said, pinching the bridge of her nose before almost jumping out of her chair. “You know what? I don’t have to stand for this. Goodbye!”

  “Nicole, wait!” Mrs. Davies reached out a hand.

  “No!” she said, facing them both. “This is such bullshit. I listened to you before and I shouldn’t have. Now I have to go through this again? Is this the system I’m trying to enter into? One where we look out for the abuser first?” Nicole didn’t wait for an answer. She whipped around and grabbed the doorknob.

  “Where will you go?” Mrs. Davies asked.

  “Who knows? Maybe I’ll go find someone who actually cares about me more than themselves. Wouldn’t that be something?”

  She left, not bothering to close the door.

  *

  Alex was surprised to see Nick sitting up in bed. “Hey there! How are you feeling? The doctor told us you were unlikely to be awake until later!”

  “I’m a little sore.” Nick began removing his head bandages.

  “I don’t doubt it,” Margaret agreed. “Hold on, there. I don’t think you’re supposed to be doing that.”

  “What are they going to do, arrest me?” Nick pulled off the last of the bandages and opened his mouth wide, flexing and moving it around. He was sporting heavy stubble and his hair was beginning to cover his ears.

  Alex thought
she remembered his hair being quite short merely two days ago. “God doesn’t that hurt?” she asked. “With a fractured jaw I mean?”

  Nick pressed his fingers along the jawbone. “Yeah, it’s a little sore, but I don’t think it’s broken. It doesn’t feel that bad. God, it’s so boring here. Can we go home now?” he moaned.

  Both women laughed and sniffled a little. Only last night Nick looked like he was on death’s door. They had no idea what state he would be in when he woke up, what medication he would need. And now, he was suddenly fighting fit. He looked renewed and energised.

  Alex was amazed. Wow, Dante’s blood sure did the trick.

  Chapter 21

  Goodbye, Farewell, Amen

  “Hey, Charlie! You in, mate?” Senior Constable Solomon Crane wheeled the heavy gurney into the morgue.

  “Shop’s closed. Come back in the morning.” Charlie appeared from around the corner and when he spotted the full body bag, his eyebrows shot up. “What have we got here?”

  “Belinda Normacky…Normakai?” Solomon peered at his notebook. “I dunno. Seventeen. Another overdose. Parents found her in her bed this morning, thinking she was asleep. They tried to wake her, but she was already as cold as a witch’s tit.”

  “Fourth one this fortnight. What are these kids doing to themselves now?” Charlie shook his head. “Why’d you bring her here to the university and not take her to the piggy bank? I’m not your coroner; I can’t do a proper examination.”

  Solomon ignored the pig reference. “I’ll tell you in a minute.”