by Amy McClung
When I got to my room my phone rang, it was really late so it startled me, and it was Quinn. I hesitated to answer at first. “Hello” I said. Quinn’s voice was sad and quiet, “Hey Hun, I’m sorry to call so late, I just can’t stop thinking about earlier and I wanted to call and check on you and see if we were ok.” I didn’t say anything, I heard him sigh on the other end of the line. “We are good Quinn, I am sorry about today. I just am not ready to face Jackie with my secret. It wasn’t your fault it’s something I’ve been struggling with a lot. I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings by leaving so abruptly.” It was obvious that is exactly what I did though, hurt his feelings, I just hope he could forgive me for it. “It’s ok, I was just worried that I made you mad and I wasn’t trying to.” Quinn went on. “Could we maybe see each other tomorrow?” I told him that Jackie was coming over in the afternoon and he understood so we said goodnight and hung up. I put the phone on my nightstand and rolled over, on my pillow there was a white rose with a piece of paper that said Please forgive me.-Love Quinn. Love? LOVE? And then I couldn’t help but smile, I cradled the piece of paper in my hand and fell asleep.
The next morning I woke up and stretched my arms and my whole body cracked. As I stretched my hand touched the white rose Quinn had left. Lifting it from the pillow I brought it up to my nose and sniffed, I love the smell of roses. The fact that Quinn made such a romantic gesture made me smile. It also kind of gave me the shivers that he could just come into my bedroom at any time, but I was looking at the positive side of this. Heading downstairs, I jumped when I saw Will on the couch. I had forgotten all about him being here. He was still sleeping peacefully and he looked kind of cute actually.
Quietly I crept past him and went to the kitchen and started breakfast for us and the aroma must have woken him up. He stumbled into the kitchen rubbing his eyes. “Something smells fantastic, beautiful and a great cook, I am lucky you found me,” he grinned and it made me feel a bit uncomfortable and a bit flustered. He walked over and as I turned to look at him and he leaned down and kissed me and it startled me. I pulled back and he smiled at me, “Sorry, was that too forward? I have just never met anyone like you and you are so beautiful…” He brushed a hair behind my ear and I stepped back from his reach.
“It’s not that it wasn’t nice, and under other circumstances I would have really enjoyed it…” He looked confused, “I sense a ‘but’ coming on…” I then continued, “But…I am sort of seeing someone at the moment…I think.” He snickered, “um ok, well if you find out that you aren’t actually seeing someone, I hope I will be the first to know.” He went to sit back down and I couldn’t help but smile at him. This would only happen to me, boys never knew I existed before and now I have two gorgeous men competing for my attention…poor poor pitiful me.
He didn’t have clothes so I had given him some shorts of my dad’s to sleep in. He didn’t want a shirt because of our wolf temperature. When I am alone I wear as little as possible too. It was a bit uncomfortable sitting at the table with a half naked man, especially one that is so well sculpted. Will has short brown hair and blue eyes and he is about 6 foot and as I said, well sculpted. The shorts were riding low on him to where you could see the cut on either side of his waist that forms a V as it goes right down to…ahem, so back to breakfast. Fixing his plate with bacon, eggs and toast, I sat it in front of him and he literally dove into it. It was sad to watch, I’m guessing he hadn’t had many good meals on his own.
As we were eating, the doorbell rang and I wiped my mouth, of both food and drool at this point. I’m a single woman, sue me. I set my fork down and excused myself to get the door. It was too early for Jackie so I had no clue who I’d find there. Behind the door was…”Quinn, what are you doing here?” That beautiful smile of his appeared and he held out a box of pastries and a coffee. “I don’t cook but I can bring take-out. I wanted to surprise you this morning before Jackie got here, didn’t want to interrupt girl time.” He put his nose in the air and took a big whiff and then smiled “guess I am too late, you have already been busy making breakfast, is there enough to share? It smells fantastic.” Before I could answer, he stepped into the house and kissed me on the cheek. I was too shocked to say anything he started toward the kitchen and then I remembered Will.
He stopped just inside the kitchen doorway, I could tell he smelled what he was and the fact that Will was practically naked didn’t help. Quinn turned back and looked at me in my robe and then looked at Will in his shorts and naked chest. I said the first thing that came to mind, “It’s not what you think…he’s only 16.” Well that was good Parker, first that doesn’t really make sense seeing as how we are only a year apart and Quinn and I are like 60 years apart, and now I just hurt Will’s feelings. I smacked my forehead and started over. “Ok, let me rephrase that somewhat, I found Will when I was driving home yesterday, he was hurt and I stopped to help him, he needed a place to stay so I let him stay with me. He’s a werewolf like I am, but you probably already figured that out.” Will jumped up knocking the chair backwards, “I thought no one knew what you were!” I walked over to him, to get between him and Quinn. “Quinn figured out what I was, because he smelled it on me, he is a vampire.” Will backed up almost falling over the chair and started freaking out, “What the hell? Vampire? Are you insane??” I started laughing and he looked more freaked out. “Vampires exist just like Werewolves do, have you done any research on what is going on with you?” He shook his head no. I should have guessed that, being that he has been living in a cave he wouldn’t exactly have internet access. So I went over and took his hand and lead him up to my bedroom. I sat him down at the computer and showed him where I had kept notes on what I had found were truths versus myth. I had kept pages of information on word documents during my research.
Quinn was sitting at the table with a harsh look on his face and he didn’t even turn to face me before he started in about Will. “He spent the night here, with you, alone? Where are your parents? What were you thinking bringing a werewolf to stay here?” I had come to stand in front of him, forcing him to look at me as he spoke and I slammed my cup down, and shouted “Can I answer one question at a time please!” My cup shattered and cut my palm, Quinn was beside me in an instant and grabbed my hand and my first instinct was to pull back. He was hurt by that and calmly stated, “I’m not going to drink your blood Parker, geez. I’m checking your hand.” He wrapped it with a towel and I apologized. Then to make up for today and yesterday and any other time I have hurt him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him.
His lips felt wonderful on mine, at first it was so light and sweet and then it became more passionate as he wove his hands through my hair and pulled me tighter against him. His body was cold but it’s like his lips were just the right temperature against mine. His hands moved from my hair to the small of my back and my heart felt like it would explode with the feelings stirring inside me. We pulled apart at last and he smiled and apologized for acting crazy about Will. “I got your rose and note, thank you, that was very sweet,” I said as I brushed his hair out of his face. “You don’t have to be jealous of Will, I just need a friend that understands what I am going through. I’ve never met another werewolf before and he left his whole family behind and has been living in the woods all by himself. I just wanted to help him out.” Quinn let go of me without saying anything and walked upstairs, he came back with Will. Will looked a bit scared of Quinn, which was understood since he just found out that vampires are real. We all sat down and talked and shared our stories and it seemed like all was going well. Then there was a knock on the door.
I was a bit hesitant leaving the boys alone but it was my house so I went to answer the door. “Jackie, you are early!” I exclaimed. Jackie walked in, saw Quinn and Will and turned back to me with a big grin on her face, “Am I interrupting something?” she said. I rolled my eyes and led her into the living room. I introduced her to Will and told her that it was an old friend of Quinn’s that was in to
wn to see him. They both gave me odd looks but it would be kind of hard to explain that two new guys moved to our small town in the same year. Our population only goes up when babies are born. Quinn knew I needed time alone with Jackie so he said that he and Will were going to go catch up on old times. Quinn had his hand on Will’s neck leading him to the door. Will looked scared stiff so I walked them outside and told him that he could trust Quinn and that nothing would happen to him. I then gave Quinn a look to let him know that he better not do anything to Will or he’d answer to me. He seemed to get the point. He smiled, leaned over and gave me a big smooch as Will watched. Marking his territory, immature, but I am not complaining.
Jackie was eagerly waiting for me when I came back in. She has the crazy idea that I am seeing both Will and Quinn and that I got caught and made up some stupid lie to cover it up. She watches too many soap operas. I explained to her how I met Will, well I told her that Quinn came over this morning and had Will with him and asked me if he could stay on my couch so Quinn could get his place ready for company. I left out the werewolf part, the finding him in the street and the kiss part, that part I am going to leave out of all stories I tell, especially to Quinn. She didn’t buy it I could tell. This is getting harder and harder, I hate lying to my best friend.
Chapter Seven
It’s Monday morning, the weekend went by way too fast. As I walk down the hallway at school I notice Will is standing at a locker filling it with books. Then Jackie walks up and starts talking to him. If Will is going to start going to school here that will blow my story, how will I explain that? I made my way over to them as they were both laughing at something. “Hey guys, Will what are you doing here?” I asked. “I’m going to start going to school here, Quinn likes it so I figure I will give it a shot too. I’m going to stay with him till I find my own place” Whew, he is going along with the story I made up, that helps. I will have to catch him after school to get the real scoop from him. “So, speaking of Quinn, where is he this morning?” Will just shrugged and then said he had to go to class and walked away. He was acting a bit weird, well I guess I really don’t know him well enough to know if it’s weird but it seemed like he was dodging my question. I have a few minutes before class so I search through my purse for my phone and dial Quinn’s number. No answer. Well, maybe he slept in, or maybe he is in class already and his phone is off. I need to get to class and I’m sure he will be there waiting for me. I grabbed my books from my locker. I swing the door open and quickly peruse the room…no Quinn. I suppose that I will try again after class.
It is lunchtime and I still haven’t been able to get in touch with Quinn. I am starting to get worried that he left town or something, but that would be ridiculous, I mean we didn’t fight or anything. We even left things on a really good note. Maybe I’m worried for nothing, maybe he just needs a day to himself, and people need those once in a while, right? I am so stressed about this that I can’t even eat my sandwich today because I can’t stop freaking out inside. I keep scanning the lunchroom. Jackie and Mitchell are at a table together, he looks a bit weird today but Jackie doesn’t seem to notice. They hadn’t spent a lot of time together lately with him tutoring Quinn so I wanted to leave them alone at lunch. Wonder why he isn’t eating, does he know something about Quinn? Oh geez, what is wrong with me, I am just going to eat my sandwich and stop acting like a stalker girlfriend. I jump when my phone dings; it’s a text from Quinn! Sorry I missed your calls, see you tonight. Everything is fine, I’ll explain my absence later. – Quinn. Big sigh of relief, thank goodness he is ok.
It was a wasted day at school. I barely learned anything because of the anxiety to find out what happened and just to see him. Who would have thought I could be one of those girls that needed to see her guy all the time. I just feel, incomplete without him around. That sounds so cheesy I know, but there is no better way to describe it. Someone was calling my name as I headed out the door. I turned around and it was Will coming toward me smiling. “Hey, I’m kind of in a hurry, on my way to see Quinn, can we talk later?” He said sure, although he looked uncertain and then asked if he could walk me to Quinn’s house, so I said it was fine. As we were walking, I got the impression he wanted to tell me something but couldn’t. Could be that I am just being paranoid again, or not.
Will started, “I think there is something you should know about…” and before he could finish I jumped his case, “Look you don’t even know Quinn, and for that matter you barely know me so before you try to tell me what a horrible guy he is, just keep it to yourself because I don’t want to hear it!” And he continued with little hesitation, “As I was saying, there is something you should know about…Mitchell.” I stopped at glared at him, “What are you talking about? He is dating my best friend, from what I can tell he is a great guy and I have known him for many years, you just met him. What could you know about him that I don’t?” His face was somber, “why are you getting so mad at me? I am just trying to talk to you and you keep jumping down my throat, what is wrong?” Taking in a deep breath I calmly said, “Nothing, I’m just a little on edge right now, just go inside and send Quinn out and I will talk to you tomorrow at school, right now I just want to see Quinn.” He threw his arms up in the air in defeat and walked into the house and a few minutes later Quinn comes out.
He barely stepped off his porch before I threw my arms around him almost causing him to lose his balance. He laughed and said that was the best greeting he’d ever gotten. “I told you everything was fine” he said as he patted my hair and I clung to him as tight as I could. “Are you ok sweetheart?” Sigh, he called me sweetheart, melting again. I pull back from him and look up at the worried expression on his face. “I’m fine, I was just worried about you, why weren’t you in school today? What happened? And why is Will telling me I should know something about Mitchell? Is he bad news for Jackie, did he cheat on her, what?” He put his hands on my shoulders, “calm down Hun, take a deep breath and let’s go for a walk,” he said as he took my hand and started to lead me away from the house. Will was standing at the door watching us. Ok, that was a little creepy.
Quinn was holding my hand as we walked, this is the best. Things are starting to feel normal for me; I am just a normal teenage girl with a cute boyfriend. For the moment, let’s just forget that we both have alternate personalities. Life seemed so good right now; it almost made me forget that I had questions that needed answers. Almost.
We stopped about two blocks from his house and sat down on the curb. “How was school today?” I cocked my eyebrow at him and said, “Really…small talk? Come on now, something is up, just tell me.” My hand was placed on top of his and I squeezed it for support. “I didn’t come to school today because I knew I was going to have to tell you the truth, especially after Will found out last night. Mitchell isn’t tutoring me. I guess you could say that I am tutoring him.” Confused, I said. “Huh?” Apparently that was pretty funny because he started laughing nervously and a bit hysterically. “Um…ok, you are acting kind of weird,” I said to him. He stopped laughing, “It’s because I don’t want you to hate me. I’m a nervous wreck telling you this. We seem to be at a good place right now and I don’t want to ruin it. But I don’t want to start this relationship with secrets between us either.” Rubbing his back and telling him that I could never hate him he went on, “I wanted to wait for the right time but Will knows now and, well I just couldn’t wait anymore. Remember I told you how vampires have to feed to live and they can either turn someone or kill them? Well, when I first came to town it was hard for me. I had never lived in a small town so I could always find food without an issue; sometimes I even bought blood from a butcher or stole it from a hospital when I was desperate. I was in the woods one day hunting and I smelled a human and I was already in my hunger phase and I couldn’t control myself. I took off running and came upon a guy in the woods and, well I bit him. I was able to stop myself and I fed him my blood to turn him. I felt horrible about it, so I took him in and
started to teach him what he needed to know. That guy was…” Images ran through my mind of Mitchell wearing sunglasses all the time, the fact that his appetite has changed recently and he hardly eats lunch, inviting him into my house the same time I invited Quinn. My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets I was so shocked…”Mitchell?!” I exclaimed. He nodded and I stood up immediately and took off running toward Jackie’s house that was a few blocks away. Quinn grabbed me in a flash and lifted me in the air, “Please stop, please just let me explain…just listen to me” he begged. I kept punching him telling him to let me go and he eventually gave in and set me down.
Jackie’s house was just a few blocks from where I left Quinn standing. Running up to her house, I began banging on the door when Mrs. Martin flung it open and I burst through yelling Jackie’s name. “What in God’s name is wrong with you Parker?” her mom yelled. “Where is Jackie??” I screamed. Just then Jackie came out of her bedroom white as a ghost and said my name. I ran and hugged her tightly. “Are you ok Parker?” Jackie asked. “Why are you freaking out, have you gone completely mental?” Now it was my turn to laugh wildly. “Ok, you are freaking me out now Parker, what is up?” Jackie asked exasperated. “Where is Mitchell?” I demanded. “At his house, why?” asked Jackie. “Come on, let’s go to my room. Mom, Parker said she is sorry she scared you.” yelled Jackie. We got to her room and she shut the door and turned around and glared at me. “What is going on Parker?? You are acting really weird. Mitchell has been acting weird lately too and I don’t know how much more I can take. You guys are the two most important people in my life and I feel like I don’t know either of you lately!” Wondering if she already knew something I had to ask her to elaborate, “What do you mean he’s been acting weird? How?” She sat herself down on the bed and started fidgeting, “He’s been pulling away from me Park, and he barely touches me lately. The only conclusion I can come to is he is cheating on me.” I sat down beside her and put my arm around her, “Mitchell is not cheating on you, I promise you that. There are a few things you should know about Mitchell and about me as well.” She looked nervous and I realize my words made it sound like I could be leading to a different outcome so I needed to make her understand before she started jumping to crazy conclusions.