B008317UG0 EBOK

by Amy McClung

  Well first of all, “Eww,” that really grossed me out to think about. Second “Eww,” he wants me to lick his wounds now, no thank you. There had to be something else to this, I mean, how could just one werewolf bite kill him like it does a vampire, that doesn’t make sense. But what he was telling me made my memories clearer, I remember someone putting an ointment on my wounds that made it feel better and then I was locked in that cave and it got worse and then Will rescued me and two days later the sore was completely healed and unnoticeable. I had passed out on the way home and Will was with me, he could have treated my wound when we got to my house. Well I couldn’t just stand by and watch him die, so I started toward him but Quinn grabbed me by the hand and pulled me back to him, “I’m begging you, let him die, Parker, if you don’t he will kill us. We killed his sister, she is the one he did all of this for.” Will started to beg me, “please Parker, I will leave you guys alone, I promise, I will leave town and never come back…just don’t let me die, please. I didn’t come here for Liz, she came here for me. You are the reason I came to town, I was in love with you, and I didn’t lie about that. It seemed like the time was right for us to meet, I just came a couple of months too late. Liz came later when she found out he was here.” He pointed an accusatory finger at Quinn, “and she tricked me into helping her play these games, just like she did Jackie.” Looking at Quinn and then at Will, I let go of Quinn’s hand and apologized as I went to Will and started to work on his wound. This was the grossest thing that I have ever had to do but it was for a greater good, saving a life. The thought of licking his wound made my stomach churn so, as gross as it sounds, I just let the saliva fall from my mouth and rubbed it in with my hand. There were several times I had to stop and choke back the bile rising in my throat. Even though Will betrayed me, I couldn’t turn away from the kind of person I am, I could not stand by and watch him die.

  When I was done, I extended my hand to him to help him stand and then he grabbed me up in a chokehold and put a knife to my throat. “Give me Jackie and I will give you Parker,” he said. “Damn you Will, you are nothing but a liar!” I shrieked as I tried to walk with him. “It’s not my fault you are so gullible, Park. Don’t you know the saying, fool me once shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me?” I tried to kick him but he just turned my body at an angle. “Now Mitchell, why don’t you send Jackie over here and I will give Parker back.” Jackie looked up at Mitchell shaking her head that she didn’t want to go. “Jackie, it was not my idea to hurt you. Liz came up with that on her own. I love you and I know you love me too. You know I will never do anything to hurt you…you know that deep down.” Jackie looked like she was struggling with her emotions. She really does feel something for Will, I could see that now, but he lied to her so much that she can’t trust those feelings.

  Jackie stood up and Mitchell grabbed her hand but she turned to him, “I’m sorry Mitchell, I have to go to him.” You have got to be kidding me; she is going to break his heart again after he just risked his life for her. What is wrong with that girl, she has one of the greatest guys in the world and she just threw him away for this pathological liar with so many screws loose that it is amazing he can even stand up. She came and stood in front of us, she put one hand on his cheek and used her other hand to slowly take the knife from Will. He pushed me to the ground and I just lay there watching as she kissed him. Mitchell came over and helped me up off the ground. Jackie took Will’s hand and led him away from us, they were standing looking over the water when Will laid his head on Jackie’s shoulder and she turned her head and then he screamed out. He jerked back holding his neck with a look of utter devastation on his face and she put her hands on his chest and pushed him over the cliff into the water. She turned to us and had blood on her face, she had bitten him.

  “Will!” I screeched as I saw Will falling, I ran to the edge and looked over and he was floating in the water, lifeless. My hand went to cover my mouth and I turned to Jackie and threw my arms around her, “you saved our lives, I’m so proud of you.” Jackie was shaking in my arms, I pulled back and looked at her and she was crying, “I’m so sorry Parker, I hurt you guys so much. I was misled, Will was so convincing, he even made me think I was in love with him. I know now that it has always been Mitchell for me, I just hope it isn’t too late.” She looked at me sadly, “it isn’t too late for us is it?” I shook my head, “Of course not sweetie, we are best friends forever, and I don’t take forever lightly. I’m always here for you.”

  Our arms entangled each others as we walked back to the guys waiting for us. Mitchell was standing there still in shock and Jackie let go of me and went to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, he pulled her to him and closed his eyes and held her tight. All I wanted now was to wrap my arms around Quinn and never let go. This was our special place and the perfect place for our romantic reunion to begin, I started walking toward Quinn to grab him up in the most passionate embrace you can imagine and he turned and started toward the car, mumbling “let’s get out of here guys, I’m a bit tired of this place.” My eyes met with Mitchell’s and he gave me a sympathetic nod and said,”You guys go ahead, Jackie and I will catch up.”

  “Will you stop…please?” I yelled as Quinn ran ahead and I finally caught up with him at the car. My hands were on my knees as I tried desperately to catch my breath, winded I managed to say “What is wrong, Will is dead, Lizzy is dead, shouldn’t we be enjoying the fact that we can be together in peace? I love…” he interrupted me, “Who? I’m sorry, who do you love…Mitchell, or maybe it’s Will? Because it can’t be me, I try to protect you and I try to love you as best I can but you keep turning me away! You keep choosing to trust anyone but me! I begged you to leave Will to die and you had to help him and you almost got killed!” I was completely caught off guard by his anger and grief towards me and couldn’t find the words to respond. He became angrier, “And what did Liz mean about Mitchell being your love…I saw the look on your face Parker, she was not lying, not completely at least, I deserve the truth so tell me. TELL ME!” Startled by his anger I jumped back and stuttered as I tried to speak, “I...I’m not in love with Will, he was my friend…at least I thought, but I just didn’t think I could sit by and watch him die. It’s not that I didn’t trust your instincts. I just couldn’t be the one to stand by and let him die, that’s not who I am. Please, I love you Quinn and I don’t want to lose you…” Quinn stopped me again, “So that takes care of Will, what about Mitchell?” The answer had to be written on my face because he turned away and started to leave. “Quinn! Stop!” he stopped where he was so I tried my best to explain, “I don’t love Mitchell, not the way I love you. When you were missing and Jackie pushed me away and Will was acting strange, Mitchell was all I had. We just grew closer…as friends.” I paused and he turned and looked at me, “Now is the time to tell me the whole truth Parker, get it all out in the open. Keeping secrets now would be the worst mistake you could make. I’ve seen the looks you two exchange. I saw how he came to your aid after Will threw you to the ground, he didn’t even bat an eye toward Jackie, and he was focused on you.” I continued, “We grew closer as friends but one night we did…kiss and I want to say it meant nothing but…it meant something to me. I just realized that it didn’t mean as much to me as you do. Please believe me, Quinn.” I reached out and touched his arm, “I love you…it’s always only you for me.”

  “You and Mitchell kissed?” Jackie said from behind me. Apparently she and Mitchell didn’t give us enough time and they heard my confession. When I turned she had dropped his hand and was staring at him with hurt in her eyes. “Is Quinn right? Are you in love with her Mishy?” He turned and looked at me. “I thought I was Jackie, I won’t lie, but I thought you had fallen in love with someone else. Parker was right, we are just best friends now and we were both scared of losing the people we love so much. You guys have to forgive us. It was just one kiss and nothing else. We were both in a really bad place, hurting like you couldn’t imagine.” Jack
ie turned to Mitchell and grabbed and kissed him passionately. Thank goodness I thought, I smiled and turned expecting the same thing from Quinn but he was gone. My knees felt weak and I fell to the ground. He was gone and he would never forgive me and I had no one to blame but myself.

  Jackie was beside me in an instant it seemed. She helped me up off the ground and then Mitchell was on my other side. They each took an arm and wrapped it on their shoulder but I pulled away. “I can walk. I don’t need to be carried like an invalid,” I barked at them. Immediately I felt guilty and my tone softened, “I’m sorry, I just don’t want to be babied right now. I want to be alone. I love you guys and I think it would be good for you two to have some time to yourselves as well.” My car was just a few feet away so I got in my trunk where I always keep a spare change of clothes. I grabbed out a pair of jeans and shimmied them on but left on Quinn’s t-shirt, it made me feel closer to him. Adjusting my rearview mirror as soon as I got in and I saw Jackie and Mitchell behind me. He lifted her into his arms and she shrieked in laughter and then they were gone in a flash. I laid my head back against the seat as the tears fell from my eyes. By trying to help Will I ruined everything, including the happy ending I wanted so badly with Quinn. Who knew an act of kindness could cause me to lose the man that means the most to me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  On the way home my phone beeped, I looked down and realized I had a message and I was hopeful it was Quinn. Instead it was from the call I ignored from my mom earlier. The message began and it was my mother’s voice and she sounded devastated, “Parker, sweetie, I need you to call me right away. Your father…well your father is in the hospital, call me or meet me there as soon as you get this.” Fear welled up inside me as I mashed down the gas pedal and headed straight for the hospital in town. My mom’s car was in the parking lot and it was parked all crooked as though she was in a hurry. She even left the door partly open so I knew something was terribly wrong. Running into the emergency room doors I ran straight to the counter where there was a woman on the phone ignoring my panicked state. She finally looked up at me, “My father’s been brought here, Harris…can you tell me where he is? What happened to him?” I begged. My name is heard echoing in the hallway and I turned and my mom is running down the hall toward me, she is drained of color and her hair is a mess, she has mascara streaks down her face from crying.

  “Mom, oh my god, is he…” I start to hyperventilate and she responds before I can finish, “he is fine, well he isn’t fine but he is alive for now at least.” I asked what happened and she began to relay the nightmarish story to me. “Someone found your father on the side of the road, he had been attacked and was bleeding to death. They think it was the same person that killed Christine Randall. His throat was sliced open but he was still breathing when they found him and they had to give him a blood transfusion. He is in a coma but the doctors are hopeful.” My heart could not take much more devastation today. My dad and I had always been so close, and I am not ready to let him go. How did Lizzy get to him, or was it someone else? I picked up my phone to call Quinn and got the same error message I’ve been getting, which must mean Liz destroyed his phone. I texted Mitchell and said I need you to get a message to Quinn for me. My dad is in the hospital, he may not make it, Lizzy attacked him, or possibly someone else, I don’t know. He almost bled to death. Just wanted to make you aware this may not be over.—Parker.

  My text received no response but it was only a matter of minutes before Quinn was standing at the door of the waiting room. He came over and sat beside me and put his arm around my shoulder and I just leaned into him and broke down panting for breath through the tears. He stroked my hair and just held me against him. I repeated the story to him that my mom had told me once I calmed down. “I’m so sorry Parker, I feel like this is my fault. Lizzy is dead though, and she won’t hurt anyone again,” he stated with sorrowful regret. “Are we sure it was Lizzy, what if there is someone else killing people?” as I asked this he was shaking his head in doubt. “I am almost positive it was her, probably after she left us and before she attacked Jackie…that is my guess at least, seems to fit the timeline you gave me for when he was attacked.” Jackie and Mitchell walked in and I jumped up and hugged her, she’d been crying. My dad was always like a dad to Jackie too, she loved him as one. If anyone knew how I was feeling right now it was her.

  The doctor came in at that moment and my mom about knocked me over trying to get to him. He told us that my dad was resting comfortably and that his tests look good and that they put him in a comatose state in order to allow him to rest and heal appropriately. There was no way to know when he would wake up but it shouldn’t be more than a couple of days at the most, they said the medicine can affect people in different ways. It felt like a weight lifted off my chest when he said that, and I could tell my mom felt better too, her knees buckled as she about collapsed with relief but Quinn caught her and helped her to a seat. She thanked him a bit cautiously, she didn’t know yet what to think with Quinn being there and Jackie and I talking. Things had done a 180 degree turn almost overnight. She probably didn’t need to get too used to Quinn anyway though, I am pretty sure that once my dad is better he will revert back to not speaking to me. At the moment, he is just here out of guilt.

  Quinn agreed to stay with my mom while I went to see my dad. Jackie came with me and held my hand. I never have liked hospitals, the way they smell, the general feel and look of them, just depressed me. My dislike started back when I was visiting my maternal grandmother and she was hooked up to all these tubes and machines and she looked like a shell of her former self. Now anytime I go into hospitals I feel a sense of dread.

  As we approached the door to my dad’s room, I squeezed her hand tighter. She opened the door and reassured me it would be ok as I walked in. He looked like he was sleeping, he was just so pale and fragile looking. There weren’t too many machines hooked up which helped. We each sat on a side of the bed and took his hand in ours. Jackie started talking first, “Hey Mr. H, hope you haven’t heard too many bad things about me lately. I got into a bit of trouble and did some things I am not proud of, but I am back to my old self now. I am ready for you to wake up and challenge me to a game of pool, or to pick on me about being too skinny.” My voice cracked as I tried to talk, “Daddy, it’s your princess. I am so sorry about this, it’s all my fault.”

  Jackie came over to my side of the bed and put her arm around me and I placed my head against hers as we both sobbed. It seems all I do these days is cry my eyes out and wonder how I am going to survive any more heartache. She got up when the nurse came in to check his vitals. I wanted to stay longer so I waited in the hallway and Jackie went on back to the waiting room. When she turned the corner I slid down to the ground and put my head in my hands.

  There were footsteps coming toward me and then someone sat beside me and put their arms around me and cradled me to them. It was Mitchell, I could tell by his cologne, I just laid my head again his chest and he rubbed my shoulders. “My sweet Lupita, Jackie went to get you something to drink, she said you were going to dehydrate with all these tears and I think she was right.” His index finger swept across my cheek to remove some of the tears I had shed. “She asked me to come take care of you. Hope you are ok with that,” Mitchell said as he kissed my forehead. “You are a good friend Mitchell, I am sorry…” he stopped me before I could finish, “You have nothing to be sorry for Parker. We were all brainwashed and taken advantage of in some way. Trust is a hard thing to maintain even among the best of friends. You can trust someone with all your soul and the minute a piece of doubt is planted it can grow so strong, especially when it is nurtured. Quinn told me that Lizzy can condition people and that is what happened with Jackie. She convinced her to trust Will and even to think she was falling for him. That persuasion broke once Liz was killed. Remember how you felt so confused? You had everyone telling you different stories and you had no clue who to trust, well that is how Will forced Jackie to fe
el for the last two months and that is the way Quinn feels right now. You need to go and talk to him and try to work things out. Your dad is going to be asleep for a while. Jackie and I will take your mom home, or stay with her in the waiting room whichever she wants. You need to take Quinn and go somewhere private where you guys can work things out.”

  “He hates me Mitch, he’s not going to want…” as I was saying this he put his hand up to my mouth to stop me. “You know that isn’t true, he could never hate you, trust me. He and I talked, in fact I was talking to him when I got your text and all I got out was that your dad was in the hospital before he just took off in the middle of the conversation to be here for you. He is just torn like the rest of us. We all have the same tortured feelings right now, betrayal, hurt, grief, shame…” he reached out and lifted my chin to look him, “love and heartache as well. Go talk to him…please.” I smiled and kissed his cheek. “You know how when you are feeling down, it can make things easier to think about a time when you were the happiest?” He nodded, and I continued, “Well I was sitting here thinking about that day we played Laser Tag, you just have no idea how happy that day made me Fangs. It was just nice to spend the day with a friend and be normal for the first time in two years. That day will always mean a lot to me.”