B008317UG0 EBOK

by Amy McClung

  He smiled, “Me too, Lupita. You know I have loved Jackie since I was five years old. There has never been anyone else that could affect me the way she does or that understood me. I never imagined being with anyone else but her either. Until the past few months being with you…” I sat up and started to interrupt him but he stopped me again, “You mean a lot to me Parker, but I am glad you stopped me that day when I wanted to kiss you again. I love you.” Hearing him say those words made my heart soar because I knew at that moment he loved me the same way I loved him, as the truest of friends. “But the best thing about what we have is that it’s uncomplicated and it is fun and I don’t want to lose that. One thing I can promise is that I will protect you until the end of time. No one will ever hurt you as long as I am around, not even Quinn. You two are meant to be together, just like Jackie and I, so if I didn’t believe he truly loved you, I would not encourage you to go to him.” Wrapping my arms around his neck I said, “You are my very best friend and I am so glad to be able to say that. I love you Fangs.” He kissed my cheek touching the corner of my mouth with his and said, “I couldn’t have said it better myself, Lupita.” He stood first and reached out to help me up. He took my hand, I wound my fingers in his and leaned my head against his arm as he escorted me back to the waiting area. Everyone looked up and I was afraid it was going to be weird with him holding my hand but it wasn’t. Quinn looked up at me and smiled sadly and I went to sit by my mom. Smoothing her hair behind her ears I said, “Mom, Mitchell is going to take you home to rest and I am going to take a ride with Quinn and then we can meet back later, is that ok?” She stroked my face, “of course sweetie,” she looks at Quinn and back at me, “You have a good one here, don’t let him go, he reminds me of your father.” It was nice that my mom was fond of Quinn again, I am just hopeful that he still wants to be with me.

  We walked out of the hospital and got into the car without saying a word to each other. Quinn drove and I kept glancing at him but wasn’t sure where to start explaining things. The drive was filled with agonizing silence. When he finally pulled over I knew exactly where we were. “The waterfall,” I said in surprise. “It’s our special place, I’m not letting anyone ruin that for us,” he said and then he was opening the door for me. He swept me up off my feet and I screamed in surprise and he ran me to the base of the fall. He set me down and disappeared and then was back again with the blanket and a cooler. He sat the blanket down and then got me out a soda and popped it open for me. “Jackie said to make sure I get you hydrated again. I can’t have a werewolf mad at me ya know.” I laughed, “No we wouldn’t want that.” It tasted like heaven going down my throat. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was.

  “I’m sorry,” We both stated at the same time and then chuckled. “Go ahead,” we both said again at the same time and Quinn threw up his hands and said, “Oh screw it” and grabbed me and pulled me into his arms and his lips eagerly met mine. I threw my arms around his neck and gave in to the desire and let everything else melt from my mind. Then reality came crashing back. Moving back from him I decided to start things off, “we can’t avoid talking about it, as much as I am enjoying this right now. I need you to tell me what happened, tell me about your time with Lizzy, please.” He stiffened and it seemed as though it was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

  His face became solemn as he began, “You may not want to hear this, I am not even sure I want to tell you.” I sucked in a breath and waited for him to tell me, expecting the worst in my mind of things like him cheating on me with her. He began, “She played mind tricks on me, something she is very good at. She held me prisoner and made me think Mitchell was helping her. She poured human blood down my throat to ignite my cravings for it.” He stopped to look at my face and judge my reaction, I stayed calm so he continued, “That is the only thing she would feed me. Most days she starved me and then when I was so weak, she would force it down my throat and I tried to fight it but it’s like trying to not chew a cheeseburger when you haven’t eaten a bite in days.” Shame washed over his face and he stared forward at the falls. “All I could think about was you, but she started twisting my thoughts. She was so vague about everything. She kept telling me that you had done something that I would never forgive you for, she said I didn’t know the kind of person you truly were. According to her, if I found out what it was I would hate you. Either she was talking about you and Mitchell, and she doesn’t know me that well, or she was just playing mind games again. She was so persistent she even said that even you didn’t know the size of the mistake you made.” That had me curious, how would she know about Mitchell and me? What could I have done to make him…no I am not going to let her play mind tricks on me anymore, she is dead and gone.

  “What about Christine? Did she say why she killed her?” That had been bothering me for a while, if she had merely done it to feed than there would have been more killings. “She thought that Christine was you, because she smelled me on her” Before I could stop myself the tone of jealousy erupted from me in asking, “What the hell does that mean?” A look of guilt washed over his face and I started to grow more jealous. His tone was apologetic, “I’m an idiot, it was the day you and I were fighting because of that...” a deep annoyed breath sounded from him, “kiss with Will in the park. Remember I was cozying up to Christine in class to make you jealous. She kept rubbing my back and other things…” Again I snapped to attention ready to explode and he considered what he had said and recanted, “No…no, no, I meant that she was rubbing up against me, wait, geez Parker, nothing happened. She got frisky with my upper half and that’s it. Damn, I give up.” Watching him squirm for something that didn’t sound sexual was hilarious so I burst into laughter and he cocked an eyebrow at me in confusion. “I get what you are saying baby, continue.” He sighed in relief and said, “Anyway, she didn’t know who you were. When she smelled me on Christine she thought she was you and just killed her in rage. When she figured out who you really were, and that you were a werewolf she decided to keep you alive. She was going to have you turn against me and kill me and then I guess Will would have tried to win your affection at that time. I felt terrible that Christine was killed because of me, but I must confess that I am glad she didn’t get to you first.” I didn’t speak it out loud but I was thinking the same thing, even though I felt terrible that Christine died simply because of mistaken identity. At the same time I wanted to rip her throat out for putting her hands all over my man. Sorry, I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead but I can’t help it.

  “Jackie explained everything to your mom…well as best as she could. As soon as you guys went to visit your dad your mom started in on me about breaking your heart, which I fully deserved her wrath for how I left things at the waterfall earlier. Jackie came back just as I was getting ready to leave and told her that it was all a lie. She was great, you have an amazing sister there.” I grinned, “I am lucky to have her back, thought I lost her.” He squeezed my hand, “I was afraid I lost you all for a second. Mitch is my best friend and I thought he betrayed me and then I found out you had feelings for him and…well...” he stopped talking and just looked away.

  “There is something you should know about Mitchell though, and it’s completely my fault because I asked for it.” Trying to find the words was difficult with the look Quinn was giving me at the moment and he exploded, “What the hell did he do?” He demanded. It was my turn to burst out laughing at his assumptions, “No, nothing. I was just trying to tell you that I asked him to tell me about how…I asked him to tell me about the time you turned him.” Some sense of relief washed over him but there was now a look of dread, he took my hand and said, “I really wish he hadn’t done that, but I hope you know that…” I put my hand on top of his stopping him and said, “its fine, I know that was not who you are and it doesn’t make me feel any different for you. I just wanted you to know that he told me and that it was because I asked him to. You aren’t mad are you?” He shook his head, “no, just ashamed.” Le
aning over I kissed him and said, “Never feel ashamed around me, I will not judge you.”

  Taking a deep breath I continued with my ramblings, “As for my feelings for Mitchell, I was never in love with him, it was just a matter of two people who felt like they had lost everything, clinging to the only friend they had left. We bonded and are just the best of friends now. So things will seem different with us and I am telling you this so you don’t read into anything if he kisses my cheek or holds my hand too long. We talked about it and we both feel the same way, I love you and he loves Jackie and there is love between Mitchell and I but it is the deepest of friendship, nothing more. Do you get what I mean?” He winces a bit and says, “I will do my best to not want to rip his head off if you too are acting too cozy, but there is a line between what should be just for friends and what should be for couples, I mean kissing…” I put my hand up, “On the cheek only, that is just a thing we do, we have nicknames for each other too now and we have held hands for support and we will hug.” He flinches again, “so what is reserved for just me then?” Taking my hand I gently caress his face, “This” I say as I kiss his lips softly and lovingly, “and this,” as I kiss his neck. “You’re damn straight, I better not see you do that with him.” We both laughed and he pulled me against him and pressed his lips to mine.

  My head was racing still with today’s events and out of nowhere I pulled back from his embrace and started to rant, “There is some other stuff from today is bothering me. I still can’t believe that Will was the one that changed me and that he is Lizzy’s brother?!” He took my hand in his and as he looked at it noticed the dried blood; he brought it closer to his face and at first I thought he was hungry from the smell and then he calmly asked, “Where is your fingernail?” The memory flooded back of Will grabbing me and dragging me along the ground as I answered, “Back in the woods not far from here. When I took off running to find you, Will grabbed me and threw me to the ground and when I realized it was him I tried to get away but he grabbed my legs and pulled me back to him and as I was clawing at the ground it ripped out of my skin.” A hiss escaped his lips and he brought my finger to his mouth and kissed it, “Damn him, it’s a good thing he is dead, because if he wasn’t I would rip his throat out for hurting you.”

  A confession left my lips that I didn’t expect to tell him and I wasn’t sure why I did, but he pulled back from me and demanded I repeat what I said because it came out as such a light whisper. “I thought he was going to rape me…he was tugging at my clothes and his hands were…” I stopped and Quinn looked devastated, he reached out and pulled me close to him and I heard his voice crack, “No one is going to ever hurt you like that I promise, I am sorry sweetheart. I’m sorry he hurt you, I am sorry you were scared and most of all, I am sorry that I wasn’t there for you.” The anger was welling up inside me, I pulled away from him and as I watched how guilty he felt it made me hate what Will did even more. “You do not need to apologize, he…I just can’t believe I wanted to spare his life…I…it’s my fault you couldn’t be there for me. I…I just thought he was my friend, I thought he was misled and that I could save him, but I am so stupid. And then all the ways he tricked us, the way he manipulated Jackie…it just makes me so…so angry!” My hands were shaking with rage and Quinn reached for me but it was too late, I jerked forward and my body wrenched in pain and I was a wolf in minutes.

  There was terror in Quinn’s eyes as I looked up at him. He was not expecting me to change. I started toward him and he backed away from me. Thinking happy thoughts helped me to shift back and I was standing there naked as he stood frozen in place. “I’m sorry; my shifting is starting to be more random now. If I get too angry it is hard to stop from changing. I don’t understand why it just started happening. I mean I have always been able to calm myself.” Quinn seemed to be putting something together in his head so I start looking around for my clothes. I saw they were sitting on the ground shredded, I picked them up and held them in the air, “damnit, I am so sick of ruining good outfits.” He laughed, thank goodness. I was beginning to think he was in a state of shock. He took his jacket off and came forward and wrapped it around me. As he reached around my shoulders to cover me he whispered, “This is my favorite part of when you change into a wolf, seeing you when you shift back.” His breath at my ear and the words he was saying sent shivers down my body and then he lightly kissed my collarbone. He turned the conversation serious again instead of letting us get carried away in the moment.

  “The reason you are unable to calm yourself as easily is because you never had a true reason to be angry.” He chuckled at what must have been a totally lost look on my face. “Ok, you started having more episodes of shifting when I disappeared right?” I nodded slowly trying to foresee his conclusion. “Ok, well you are not an angry person. You aren’t going to want to kill someone just because they made fun of you or they played a joke on you. That rage that causes you to shift spontaneously, it happens when someone you love is in danger or threatened…right?” Biting my lip I looked upward as if I was trying to see what was in my own mind and muddled through the thoughts in my head, finally I shook my head in agreement. “You had me, Jackie, and Mitchell in danger, now your dad. The people that mean the most to you are the key to your rage. If they are in peril, you will be vulnerable to shifting. Make sense?” Laughing hysterically I said, “So basically I hulk out. Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I am angry. Roar!” and I lunged at him with my arms raised and tackled him. We rolled on the blanket wrestling and laughing.

  We sat back on the blanket and he began to kiss me again and then my text went off. He picked it up and looked and pulled away from me. Great, what now? “It’s from your mom, your dad’s awake” he said and I beamed up at him, “let’s go!” Running to the car I realized how naked I was and we had to make a stop at the house first. It might be difficult to explain to my mom what became of my clothes.

  We arrived at the hospital in record time and I ran to his room. Taking a deep breath I opened the door and he turns to look at me, “Hey Princess.” There were never two words I wanted to hear more at this moment. As soon as I got to his bedside I gave him a zerbert on the cheek which is something we have always done since I was a kid. It’s something I saw on the Cosby show, Rudy, the youngest in the family used to give her dad zerberts. It’s where you put your lips against their face and blow hard, it’s a raspberry but on the face instead of the stomach.

  He chuckled and told me to pull up a chair. “Did you see the person who did this to you daddy?” I asked him as I held his hand in mine. He looked at me with total bewilderment, “No sweetie, they came up from behind me, I couldn’t even tell you if it was a man or woman. It all happened so fast, I just remember being grabbed and then feeling a burning pain at my neck and I grabbed for it and felt the blood gushing out and then everything went black and I woke up here a few minutes ago.”

  After talking to my dad for a while I left my mom to spend the night with him and Quinn drove me home. Mom said it was ok if he spent the night with me tonight so I wouldn’t be alone. I am sure that meant he should sleep on the couch but she didn’t specify so he came to the room with me. I changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed with him; he wrapped me in the blanket and kissed my head. “I love you” we both said at the same time. “We really need to get out of each other’s head,” I said giggling.

  “Before we go to sleep, I wanted to talk to you about something Will said. The part about you being gullible for trusting him. He was wrong.” That was unexpected and I turned to face him, “But you basically said the same thing about me trusting Will, so…” His head was shaking in disagreement, “I was upset that Will betrayed you…more than once even, but I don’t think you are to blame. Trusting someone, and giving them a chance to prove they have changed, does not make you an idiot, or gullible. It makes you Parker, one of the reasons I love you so much. You have the biggest heart and you are always wanting to open it up to people. The on
es that betray your trust, the ones that hurt you, they are the fools. I just didn’t want the past few months and all this betrayal you have faced to make you bitter or angry.” He kissed my head and with his arm around my waist he pulled my body closer to him.

  My phone rang and I reached over to answer it, “Hello, yeah I saw him and he was doing great. Yeah I know, I miss you too sweetie and we will make time for each other soon. I’ll call you in the morning. Don’t worry about me, I am fine. I love you. Goodnight.” Hanging up the phone I turn to Quinn and he looked like he was trying to fight anger, “What is wrong?” I asked anxiously. He took his index finger and thumb and pinched the bridge of his nose, “I’m sorry but hearing you tell him that you love him and hearing you call him sweetie is more difficult than I imagined.” Snickering I said, “Goofy, that was Jackie, not Mitchell.” He covered his face with hands, “I’m sorry Parker, I’m a douche. I will do better, I promise. I’m glad you have forgiven Jackie and you guys are friends again.” Sighing I said, “I am working on it at least. I know that someone was feeding her bad information, but her betrayal of trust was the worst I faced. I just wish she had more faith in me and was able to fight it better than she did. Of course, Mitchell has it worse than I do, he had to see her making out with Will, and you should have seen the devastation that caused him. We were both hurting so badly over the last few weeks. I do love Jackie and I want things to get back to the way they were, but that is going to take some time, for all of us I think.” He nodded and said, “Just make sure you get there. Don’t let Liz and Will ruin that for you, she is your sister in every way that counts and that is something you don’t want to lose.”