Shadowed Strength: Shadowed Series Book One

by Wendi Wilson

  Chapter 14

  “What’s going on with you? I expected a full report on your day off with Jeremy and you’ve barely said two words about it!”

  “It was fun,” Melanie replied with little enthusiasm.

  “Mel! What the heck is going on? Did you two get into a fight or something?”

  “No, nothing like that, Tara. I’m just tired and I have to do some homework to make up for missing today. I’ll see you in the morning, K?”

  “Okay, but I expect you to spill tomorrow. I’ll see you bright and early. Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  Melanie hung up the phone and plopped backwards on the bed. She had no idea what she was going to tell Tara about today. She couldn’t very well tell her what had actually happened, but she didn’t like lying to her best friend. Not to mention the fact that she was horrible at lying and Tara would see through it in two seconds flat.

  After the big bombshell, Melanie told Jeremy she needed time to think, which seriously, could be the understatement of the year. He drove her home in silence. When he stopped in her driveway, she jumped out of the truck with a “see you later” and ran into the house.

  She had peeked through the window and saw him, sitting there in his truck, staring at her front door. He had waited for a full five minutes before he finally shook his head and backed out.

  “I have no freaking idea what to do now,” she whispered to the ceiling. “I really care about him, a lot. But this…this is too much.”

  She rolled over onto her side and started to cry quietly. She didn’t want her mom to hear and come in with tons of questions. Eventually she fell asleep, but she dreamed of Jeremy, dogs, werewolves and masked men.

  The next morning, Melanie awoke to her alarm clock with a groan. She was not looking forward to today at all. She briefly considered playing sick, but disregarded the idea. If she stayed home two days in row, the school would definitely call her mom.

  She rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. After showering and brushing her teeth, she stared in the mirror. She saw dark circles under her eyes, puffy eyelids, and a red nose. Lovely.

  “You are beautiful. Ugh, forget it!”

  She flipped off the light and went back into her room to get dressed. She threw on jeans, a hoodie, and some chucks. She went back into the bathroom and threw her hair up into a ponytail, barely glancing in the mirror to see if she got it all. Then she slowly made her way down the stairs.

  “Hey, hon, you want some breakfast?” her mom called from the kitchen.

  “No time!” she called back. “Bye mom! See you after school!” she yelled as she grabbed her backpack and flew out the door.

  No way could she let her mom see her face. It was going to be hard enough trying to explain it to Tara. If her mom got even a glimpse of her face, she would have no choice but to tell her what had happened.

  She was barely out the door when Tara pulled into the driveway. Melanie’s lips curved into a small smile. She knew her best friend. It was a given that Tara would be early this morning, hungry for details. Her smile dropped. She still didn’t know what to say.

  “Get in!” Tara yelled over the music as Melanie opened the door. “Hurry up!”

  “Okay, okay, bossy. I’m in.”

  Tara threw the car in reverse and slammed the gas before Melanie could even get her seatbelt on. Melanie clicked it into place as quickly as she could.

  “Slow down, Jeff Gordon. Are you trying to kill me?”

  Tara scowled at her and turned the radio off. “I might. I might just kill you if you don’t explain to me, right now, why you sounded miserable on the phone last night and you look like poop this morning!”

  “Gee, thanks friend.”

  “I’m being serious, Mel,” Tara said solemnly as she sped down the street toward school. “You’re really scaring me. Please, just tell me.”

  Melanie took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay. I’m sorry Tara. I’ll tell you.”

  After a five second pause, Tara said “Well?”

  “After he picked me up, Jeremy took me to Chris’s apartment,” Melanie began slowly. “He said he needed ‘to talk.’”

  “Uh-oh,” Tara interrupted. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “Right. That’s what I was thinking too. So, of course, I jumped right in, telling him how it was okay, that I totally understood why he was breaking up with me.”

  Tara glanced quickly at her, then back at the road. “And?”

  “Well, he was all serious and broody, but assured me that breaking up with me was the last thing he wanted.”

  “Well, that’s a good thing, right?” Melanie nodded. “Then what was it? What’s the problem?”

  “He needed to tell me a…family secret…and, I’m sorry Tara, but I can’t tell you the details.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “It’s not my secret to tell, and he trusted me with it. I care about him too much to break his confidence like that. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, I‘m really curious now, but I get it. If he trusts you and cares enough about you to share family secrets, that’s good, right?”

  “I guess.”

  “Then why are you so obviously upset? Is it something terrible? Are they a family of serial killers or polygamists, or something?”

  “Serial killers or polygamists? Where do you get this crap? No and no. It’s nothing terrible. It’s just surprising and I don’t really know what to do with it yet.”

  “Okay, well, you know you can trust me, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “So, if you decide you need to talk to your BFF about it, he’ll never know. I swear.”

  “Thanks, Tara. I know that. I just want to keep his confidence on this one.”

  “Okay. Oh shit!” she yelled as she swerved into the school parking lot and fish-tailed into a spot. Thank God the place was still pretty empty.

  “What? What is it?” Melanie yelled back at her.

  “Family secret? As in his “entire” family?”

  “I don’t know, why?” At that, Tara looked at her hard. Understanding dawned and Melanie replied, “Chris is his cousin.”

  “Bingo.”

  “I don’t know, Tara. He only mentioned himself and his parents.”

  “Can you ask him? Because if there is a big family secret that pertains to my man, I need to know.”

  “Okay, I’ll ask.”

  They sat in the car talking for another ten minutes, then gathered their things and got out. Before the car doors even shut, Chris was beside Tara, draping his arm across her shoulders.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said as he nuzzled her neck.

  Tara stood rigid for a minute, then relaxed. She hugged him around his waist and laid her head on his muscular chest.

  “Hey, babe,” she said back as they turned and started walking toward the building.

  Chris turned his head back toward Melanie and looked at her with his eyebrows drawn down. Then he nodded his head back gestured with his chin to a spot behind her.

  She turned quickly and saw Jeremy standing several feet behind her, hands in his pockets and his left toe scuffing back and forth across the concrete in front of him. He looked as terrible as she felt. He had bags under his eyes and a frightened look in his eye.

  When Melanie saw that look, she nearly crumpled. What was she doing to him? Jeremy was strong and confident. He was never scared or unsure of himself and that was one of the things she loved about him.

  She sucked in a deep breath. Love? Wasn’t it too soon for a word like that? She thought about it for what seemed like forever as they stood there, yards apart, staring at each other but not making a move. Melanie had crushed on him forever. He was hot. He was also nice, which is a hard combo to come by in high school. He was smart, and funny, and a total goofball. He was protective and full of honor.

  He was also a dog. That was the part Melanie was obviously having a hard time coming to grips with. That side of him was scary an
d confusing, but it had also saved her life.

  In that moment, staring at his face that was full of fear and insecurity, she knew without a doubt that she loved him. She loved every part of him, without reservation.

  Hell, I told that dog I loved him before I knew the truth, and I did. I do love him, she thought to herself.

  She smiled a little at the thought and saw Jeremy jerk in a quick breath. Her smile grew even bigger and she dropped her back pack before sprinting toward him. He dropped his too and opened his arms as she leapt into them.

  As he picked her up off of her feet and spun her around, she rained quick kisses all over his face between “I’m sorrys” and “I don’t cares.” He set her back down on her feet and silenced her with a deep kiss.

  “Jeremy, I…” she started as she broke off the kiss.

  “Shh,” he interrupted. “It’s okay. You have nothing to be sorry about.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I am just so relieved you’re speaking to me, after…everything.”

  Melanie laid her head on his chest and hugged him tight. She knew she could and would work this out with him. She had to try. Despite this whole bizarre situation, she knew Jeremy was it for her. He was everything she had ever wanted and more. Much more than she bargained for, but worth it.

  “We’ll talk about it later, okay?” she said to him when she finally pulled away and looked into his dark eyes.

  He still looked nervous, like he was trying to placate a scared animal, when he said “Okay, sounds good to me.”

  Melanie took his hand and threaded her fingers through his. She gave it a squeeze as they started walking toward the school building.

  “Don’t worry, Jeremy. We’ll figure this out. I promise I won’t run from you.”

  Jeremy squeezed her hand back and smiled, a real smile without fear or doubt. “I know we will, Mel. I know we will.”

  They breezed through the doors and stopped at Melanie’s locker. They stood there silently staring at each other for several seconds, until Melanie smirked.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You have to let go of my hand if I’m going to get this locker unlocked.”

  “Oh!” he said and released her hand abruptly. Melanie laughed softly and started turning the dial of her combination lock.

  “You know,” he said as he leaned his shoulder against the locker next to hers, “Chris is going out with some friends after school. That means it’s just going to be me, all alone, in that big empty apartm…Melanie, what’s the matter?”

  Melanie’s face had gone pasty white and her backpack dropped to the floor with a thud. Jeremy straightened quickly and leaned forward to see what she was staring at inside her locker. Inside was a single white rose. Melanie lifted her fist to her mouth and let out a slight whimper.

  “Melanie,” Jeremy said quietly, rubbing a hand up and down her back, “what’s going on? You’re shaking.”

  Melanie lifted her hand and pointed inside her locker. Jeremy could see fat tears building up in her eyes and start to tumble down her face.

  “Mel, calm down. It’s just a flower. I don’t understand why you’re freaking out.”

  Melanie shook her head quickly and, still without saying a word, pointed out a tag that was attached to the flower. Jeremy removed his hand from her back and reached inside and pulled out the rose.

  “From Your Perfect Match, may we meet again soon,” Jeremy read aloud.

  Jeremy let out a menacing growl and slammed her locker shut. He ripped the tag off of the rose and put it in his pocket. Then he grabbed Melanie’s hand and pulled her down the hallway, dumping the rose in a trash can along the way. He pulled her into the library and practically dragged her all the way to the back.

  They sat down on the love seat and Melanie put her head in her hands and cried quietly. Jeremy rubbed her back for a few minutes until she calmed down enough to pull her hands from her face and look at him.

  “Thanks,” she said as he handed her a tissue box from a nearby table. “Jeremy, I’m really scared.”

  “Mel, listen to me. I will not let anyone hurt you. I swear it. These scare tactics are just that, scare tactics. This creep is just trying to get under your skin and you can’t let him.”

  “But Jeremy, don’t you see? That rose wasn’t slipped in my locker through the vents. He had to know my combination to open my locker.”

  Jeremy frowned. “Does anyone besides you know the combination?”

  “Only Tara. But she isn’t doing this!”

  “I know,” Jeremy said. “It couldn’t be her.”

  “But who? How? If no one else knows or has access to…”

  “What?” Jeremy asked when her face went pale again.

  “Tara programmed it into her phone. She has a terrible memory, so she saved it with my contact information in case she ever needed to get something from my locker for me.”

  Chapter 15

  Melanie sat in first period English, trying to concentrate but failing miserably. The bell had rung and interrupted her conversation with Jeremy, so they had to book it to class. They were late, which had gotten a Jeremy sneer and her a disappointed look from Mr. Hughes.

  It was the same story in second period math. Tara spent most of the hour trying to get Melanie’s attention, but Melanie pretended not to notice. She knew she was going to have to tell Tara that someone had somehow gotten into her phone and stolen the locker combination. Melanie was not looking forward to that conversation at all.

  She managed to make it through band and when class was over, she found Jeremy waiting in the hall outside. He gave her a smile and held out his hand. She smiled back sadly and took it.

  “You ready for lunch?” he asked as they walked slowly down the hall.

  “No. I don’t think I could eat anyway.”

  “You want to take off?”

  Melanie squeezed his hand. “I would love to, but I can’t. I can’t run away from this. Besides, after skipping yesterday, I’m sure the office would call my mom if I left. Then I’d be grounded, which means I couldn’t see you, and that would totally suck.”

  Jeremy smiled at that. “Well then, let’s go to lunch.”

  After buying their food, Melanie and Jeremy sat down at the table where Tara and Chris were already eating. They all said hello to each other, and Jeremy and Chris started talking about sports.

  Melanie felt a tap on her foot and jerked her eyes up to Tara’s face. Tara’s eyes darted in Chris’s direction and back and she mouthed the word “Well?”

  Melanie shrugged and mouthed back “Sorry,” as she shook her head.

  “What’s up with you two?”

  They both jumped at the interruption. Tara leaned into Chris’s side and answered his question. “Nothing, babe. Just a little girl talk. It’s nothing you’d be interested in.”

  Melanie let out the breath she’d been holding. Jeremy leaned over and brought his mouth close to her ear. He exhaled lightly and a shiver ran through her.

  “I’d be interested,” he whispered, and Melanie blushed as his lips lightly brushed her earlobe.

  Jeremy chuckled at that blush and sat back up. Melanie decided a little turnabout was fair play. She put her hand under the table and onto his knee. Taking a deep breath for courage, she ran her palm up his thigh and squeezed lightly.

  Jeremy sucked in a breath and she heard a light growl deep in his chest. It was her turn to chuckle, but as she started to remove her hand, he quickly put his on top of it and held it there. He kept his eyes forward, focused on Tara and Chris, but Melanie could only stare down at her tray. Her heart was beating out of control and there was a fluttering in her belly that she had never felt before.

  “Are you okay, Mel?” Tara asked. “You look a little green.”

  Melanie snapped her head up and looked at Tara, then at Jeremy. He took pity on her and released her hand after a light squeeze. She quickly pulled it back into her own lap and cleared her throat.

  “I’m, ahem, fine.”r />
  “Are you sure? You look kind of flushed and sweaty, too.”

  “Tara! I’m fine!”

  Jeremy barked out a laugh and Tara looked at him strangely. “Oh, umm, sorry. I just remembered a funny joke Chris told me.”

  “Huh? What jo…” Jeremy kicked him under the table. “Ugh! Oh, yeah, that joke. Yeah that was…funny.”

  The bell rang, saving Melanie from the strange conversation. As she started to get up from the table, her eyes met Sissy’s across the room. Sissy’s lip was curled in disgust and her eyes were filled with anger and hate. Before Melanie could break the eye contact, Sissy shook her head with malice and flounced away.

  Melanie glanced quickly at Jeremy to see if he caught that exchange, but he was busy slapping Chris on the back of the head in a playful manner.

  While they were occupied, Tara quickly moved to Melanie’s side and whispered, “Don’t forget to ask him.” Melanie nodded and Tara grabbed Chris’s hand and dragged him out of the cafeteria.

  “What was all that about?” Jeremy asked after they left.

  “Okay, don’t be mad.”

  He arched a single eyebrow, but said nothing.

  “I had to tell Tara something about yesterday. She could tell I was upset and she wouldn’t let it go.”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I didn’t tell her the truth, obviously. Well, I didn’t lie, either. I just told her that you had a family secret that you entrusted me with and that I couldn’t share it with her. I told her I couldn’t break your trust.”

  “Okay, why would I be mad? You kept my secret, just like I knew you would.”

  Melanie sucked in a deep breath and released it. “It was my choice of words, Jeremy. I called it a “family secret.”

  “So?”

  “Chris is in your family. Now she wants to know if whatever the secret is pertains to him too. And if it does, she wants to know what it is.” As she finished, she started rubbing her hands together and biting her bottom lip.