In Spirit and Truth (In Spiritu Et Veritate Series)

by Reed, Zoe

  Again, before I could respond, the teacher interrupted as he stopped by our desks and announced to us that we’d be watching the modern version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. As he walked away, I looked at Camille shyly. “My place or yours?” I joked, and much to my pleasure she let out an amused laugh.

  “Yours if that okay. My house can get a little crowded,” Camille answered, still smiling slightly and laughing to herself.

  “I don’t mind, and I don’t think my uncle would care. When’s best for you to do it?” I was asking to be polite, but I was hoping that Camille would want to do it sooner rather than later. Chemistry homework had already been assigned and I still had to unpack, the last two things on earth I wanted to do. If Camille wanted to work on the project soon then it would be just the distraction I was looking for.

  She thought about it for a second and then shrugged, “I’m never busy so I’ll let you decide.”

  “Do you want to come over after school today? I’m not a big fan of procrastinating.” I lied.

  I was the biggest procrastinator I knew, but aside from the homework and unpacking issue there was the fact that recently I hadn’t been able to interact with kids my age as often as I’d like. Since we’d moved I wouldn’t have nearly as much responsibility as I did before, and I was eager to make up for lost fun-time. Camille’s smile grew and then faded as she poorly tried to hide her content with the answer. I was flattered that she seemed just as curious about me as I was about her, but I was also slightly confused. Why would someone like Camille, who obviously wasn’t a social butterfly, be excited about hanging out with me? She was probably just being extra friendly since I was new.

  “Yeah sure, but um, my brother drove me to school today,” Camille answered, timidly hinting that she needed a ride.

  I was more than happy to oblige. “You can ride with me and I’ll take you home later.”

  The bell for the end of school rang and Camille grabbed her backpack off the floor as I began packing up my own stuff. “Thanks,” she answered. “I have to go to my locker first, do you want me to meet you in the parking lot?”

  “I need to go too, so good thing my locker’s right next to yours,” I said teasingly, hoping the reminder of the painful incident earlier that day wouldn’t change her mood.

  She seemed to remember, but thankfully just laughed. “How could I forget? That’s fine, just don’t drop any books on me this time, okay?”

  I smiled and playfully made a crossing motion over my chest. “Cross my heart, hope to die.”

  We walked for a short distance in silence. I was trying to think of something to say, something to ask to keep conversation flowing. Even though we walked side-by-side Camille stayed quite a distance away from me. It was enough for me to even notice, and I began to wonder if she really was just trying to be nice. The space between us, however, was quickly closed when a boy running through the halls shouldered me so hard it flung me into her. I instinctively grabbed Camille’s arm to keep from falling while she threw her other hand to my opposite side, grabbing my waist to offer extra support.

  Once I had regained my balance, she let go so fast it was as if the feel of my skin was scalding, and put her hands in her front pockets. “Are you okay?” she asked awkwardly as we continued walking.

  “I’m alright, no thanks to that jerk,” I said.

  I was embarrassed that I had almost fallen, and even more embarrassed now that Camille shied away from me. I had never been the shy type, and so being near people had never been a big deal to me. However, now it didn’t seem like Camille was too comfortable with any kind of physical contact. She’d even been quick to pull her arm away when I’d touched her tattoo.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall into you,” I told her, feeling bad for the awkwardness and eagerly trying to get rid of it.

  “No it’s okay, really.” Camille relaxed a little, or tried to, and a few seconds later took her hands out of her pockets. “It’s not your fault. People shouldn’t be running like that.”

  The short remaining distance to our lockers was spent in continued silence, but Camille appeared to be getting a little more comfortable. When we got there a tall, muscular boy was waiting for Camille at hers, and by his rugged good looks and blondish features I made the assumption that he was one of Camille’s brothers.

  “Kyla this is my brother, Niko,” she confirmed as she introduced him.

  Niko’s wide grin reached his brown eyes as he stuck out his hand, which I gladly took. His skin felt just as hot as Camille’s. “Nice to meet you, Kyla.”

  After we’d finished shaking hands I opened my locker to give Camille a second alone with him. I tried not to eavesdrop, but it was hard to tune out what wasn’t near a foot away. “I have a project with Kyla, so she can take me home today,” Camille told him, and I could see the smile on her face out of the corner of my eye.

  “Okay, see you later. Have fun.” Niko gave her cheek a rough but playful pat and winked.

  I wondered what the wink was for, but dismissed it as Camille turned to me. “I’ll follow you.”

  As I led the way out the front of the school and to my old, black truck, I tried to think of something to talk about. The last question I’d asked from the worksheet had been about hobbies. “What do you like to cook?”

  Camille raised an eyebrow at me and teased, “You really don’t procrastinate. We haven’t even left school yet and you’re starting homework.”

  “I’m just curious!” I shrugged, laughing as I defended myself. “I like to eat!”

  She chuckled and shook her head sarcastically, but decided to answer anyway. “I cook whatever I’m in the mood for. Italian and Mexican seem to be recurring themes.” As she seemed to continuously be growing more comfortable with me, I could tell that her laughs were less forced. And the more genuine her laughs became, the more infectious they got. Every time Camille smiled or laughed, it made me want to do the same.

  “Two of the best kinds of food,” I agreed, and my mouth started watering as I pictured some of my favorite meals.

  “Maybe I’ll cook for you sometime,” Camille offered as we reached the truck.

  I smiled. “I’d love that.” We both hopped in and after buckling my seatbelt I started the engine. “We need to go to the video store and rent the movie?” Camille nodded as I pulled out of the parking spot, and we started our short trip to the video store.

  “So, popcorn,” Kyla started to ask as she walked through the front door of her uncle’s house with me following close behind her. “Is that a do, or don’t?”

  At the mention of popcorn my stomach growled in anticipation. Sure I’d eaten at lunch, but when you’re a werewolf, you never turn down a snack. “Popcorn is definitely a do.”

  I followed Kyla into the kitchen and set ‘Romeo and Juliet’ on the granite countertop as she began to dig through the cupboards looking for popcorn. I was more than thankful that I was becoming less nervous while talking to her. The whole half hour spent with her during sixth period I had been nervous as hell, and while I enjoyed getting to know the beautiful brunette, that’s exactly what it was – hell. For most of the torturous period I tried not to think too much before I spoke, even though I had to be cautious of what I said. Not to mention it took every ounce of concentration I had to keep from staring. So ninety percent of the time I just opened my mouth and hoped for the best. It seemed to have gone pretty well – Kyla smiled and laughed enough.

  Though, my knees had almost buckled from the closeness when she’d been pushed into me on the way to our lockers, and that was before I had time to react to it. After the fact I remembered my heart pounding wildly, my body aching to be close again, and the lingering warmth from Kyla’s hand on my arm, reluctant to be forgotten, it had put a desire in me like I’d never felt before. Of course I was more than old enough to have felt intimate cravings, to know what arousal was like, but something about Kyla drove me into a frenzied hunger. It was damn near uncontrollable.

&nb
sp; After she had regained her balance, I’d had to put my hands in my pockets before I’d become a slave to the lust that had begun to take hold of me. Even now it crept back in as I thought about it. It didn’t help that as a werewolf I had an amplified sex drive, but my irrational attraction to the new girl was already getting to me. Hopefully there’d be enough distractions for the rest of the day to keep me from losing my mind.

  “I’ve never been inside your uncle’s house before. It’s beautiful.” I pulled myself from my thoughts and couldn’t help but gaze in wonder at the marvelous kitchen. The dark granite countertops and the bright steel appliances were modern and refined, but Rob Walters had still managed to keep it modest and homey. Part of me wondered how he’d endured such a standard of living off of a farmer’s salary, but if I remembered correctly from years ago, his wife had been a dentist before she died.

  “Thanks,” Kyla smiled as she pulled a stool out at the island in the middle of the kitchen and motioned for me to sit, and then sat in the seat across the corner from mine. “I thought so too when I got here yesterday. I wasn’t expecting it to be so nice.”

  “You mean you’d never been here before yesterday?” Despite the fact that I’d lived in Tranquility for a while, I didn’t know the Walters, or any other family, well at all. I wouldn’t have even been able to guess if Rob had any other family, but now I would’ve at least expected Kyla had visited her uncle’s home before moving here. The more I thought about it though, the more it made sense, seeing as I’d never known about her before. She had a scent that was hard to miss.

  Kyla shook her head shyly, a sadly reminiscent gaze glazing her eyes. “No, we could never afford to fly or drive here. It was always Rob coming to visit us.” She paused while I fought hard for a response, but when I couldn’t find anything to say, she continued. “The move was real sudden. Within a week of hearing it from my parents we were on our way here.”

  I shook my head in sympathetic disbelief. “I’m sorry, that doesn’t really seem fair.” I’d obviously struck a sore spot, but now that we’d started the conversation it would be more awkward if I avoided it. So I averted eye contact and kept talking. “It couldn’t have been easy moving so suddenly, and with everything you must’ve left behind.”

  “I can’t say I was shocked at having to leave. We were fixing to move eventually.” Kyla shrugged forlornly. “I think the hardest part had to be leaving my boyfriend on such short notice.”

  “Oh,” was all I could manage through the acute bite of hearing Kyla had a boyfriend.

  I hadn’t expected that she would’ve been single her whole life, and I definitely wasn’t going to assume that she liked girls, but deep down I was hoping the move would have left her available. I glanced up to see Kyla looking at me like she too was trying to think of something to say.

  Deciding I had to get over the news and carry on the conversation I started, “So you’re going to try the long distance thing?”

  She was in the process of nodding and about to answer when someone opened the front door. “Kyla, you home?” the female voice called. Moments later a tall, thin brunette woman walked in carrying two large boxes, the top one stuffed to the brim. “Oh, there you are.” When the woman took note of me she smiled and looked back at Kyla. “Look at you, bringing home friends already.”

  I held back a grin as I reached the conclusion that this was Kyla’s mom. Aside from the obvious resemblance, that accent was so thick and southern I couldn’t have mistaken it anywhere. As I watched the woman make her way to the counter to set the boxes down, I noticed a vase in the top box on the verge of falling out. My body tensed, and right as it began to fall to the floor I reached out, catching it before it could shatter.

  “Nice catch!” Kyla’s mom hollered, the panic on her face fading into relief as she watched me stretch from my seat to set it on the counter. “Thank you darling.” No one had ever called me darling before, and it was more of a – dahlin’. I couldn’t keep the grin and a bit of laughter back at that, and I could see Kyla watching me with an equally amused smirk.

  Once the woman had set the boxes down she turned toward us, and Kyla hugged her hello. “Mom this is Camille, she’s my film studies partner. We have to watch a movie today. Camille, this is my mom.”

  “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Walters.” I smiled as pleasantly as I could as I stood and stuck out my hand. I’d talked to Rob Walters plenty of times and was never nervous, but something about meeting Kyla’s mom gave me an intense desire to make a good impression.

  “Pleasure, Camille.” With a friendly smile Mrs. Walters shook my hand and then leaned back against the sink. “What are you girls watching?”

  Kyla held up the DVD so her mom could see the cover. “Romeo and Juliet.”

  “Ah, Romeo and Juliet, great choice,” her mom grinned, looking pleased with the movie her daughter held. “What’s in a name?” she began poetically, and I couldn’t help but laugh as an extremely embarrassed Kyla immediately began to push her out of the room. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

  Mrs. Walters continued to recite lines until Kyla had her halfway down the hall, at which point Kyla returned, cheeks flushed red. “I am so sorry. That’s really embarrassing.”

  I started laughing again, shaking my head reassuringly. “Don’t even worry about it. I’d hardly call it embarrassing.” I resumed my seat on the stool as Kyla finally found a bag of popcorn and shoved it into the microwave. Turning, she caught my eye and then looked away, quietly avoiding eye contact while she waited for the popcorn to finish. While she leaned against the counter it seemed she was uncomfortable without knowing what to talk about, or she was just still embarrassed.

  “So,” I began after a few moments of silence. Whatever the reason for her discomfort, this was my chance at making sure Kyla and I got off on the right foot, and I wasn’t about to let it be ruined by awkward silences. “Do you want to finish the question sheet while the popcorn’s cooking?”

  “Yeah, sure.” She nodded and grabbed the assignment from her backpack.

  I rummaged through my own backpack, which I’d dropped next to the island. I always got good grades, but organization had never been my strong suit. In my entire academic career I couldn’t remember owning a single binder. So it took me a minute to find the paper, but when I did I set it on the counter and pointed my finger at the next question. “What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?”

  “Like a vacation?” Kyla asked curiously, to which I shrugged. “I’ve never really been anywhere. I guess this is the farthest I’ve ever been from Texas.” I held back a sigh. Strike two. Strike three and I’d officially be on Kyla’s most-depressing-conversationalist list. Stupid worksheet. Everything I asked kept reminding her of how far she was from home. “What about you?”

  I shrugged again, this time thoughtfully. “I’ve never really been anywhere either. I used to live in Oregon though, when I was a little younger.”

  “Really?” Kyla asked, genuine interest lighting her eyes. I suppose it was one thing we had in common. “Why’d you move here?”

  Because being a werewolf in Oregon was too dangerous. “My dad’s job. It was better for him to be out here.” That was as close to the truth as I could allow. I’d wondered how long it would take for me to have to start lying. Not even twenty-four hours. Nice.

  “Is that why you were homeschooled? Because you moved?” The microwave beeped and after Kyla retrieved the popcorn she sat back down, offering me the open bag.

  I grabbed a handful before answering. “Well, I moved here in elementary school, but I homeschooled even in Oregon.” I noted the questioning glance Kyla gave and answered before she could verbalize her curiosity. “My parents didn’t have a lot of trust in the public school system. They wanted to plant our roots before sending us off into the crazy world.”

  Another half-truth. I really did home school until freshman year, but not because my parents didn’t like public schools. My whole childhood
had been devoted to preparing for the Change that was to come. Half of my ‘classes’ and studies were devoted to werewolf history and practicing mind and body control. Most kids have to worry about scraped knees and cootie bugs, and when the time comes, puberty.

  I got to turn into an animal. My first Phase was at the age of twelve, and it took three years before I had enough control over my instincts to be surrounded by other people all day long. My eyes dropped to the large tattoo on my arm. I remembered the day I got it. Luna and I had gone together. With adolescence came the biggest change of our lives, and getting the tattoo had made me feel less out of place. I was prepared for the Phase, but the tattoo was something I had more control over. I got to choose where and how big I wanted it, whereas my transformation regarded my thoughts and desires none whatsoever.

  “Oh, wow.” Kyla tilted her head thoughtfully before shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “Which one do you like better?”

  “Well,” I stared down at the homework assignment as I thought about my answer. Public school really wasn’t much better than home schooling, I still didn’t make any friends and the work wasn’t any easier or harder. At least with home schooling I could be myself. “They both have pros and cons. I didn’t really mind either way.”

  Kyla hm-ed and nodded in acknowledgement, but deciding she didn’t have anything else to say on the topic, moved on the next question. “If you could have any super power, what would it be?”

  I thought about it carefully for a minute. I’d never wondered what it would be like if I could do something other than Change. I could swim, but I wasn’t too crazy about deep water. If I couldn’t get out quick enough I felt weak and vulnerable, and the only thing that might make it better would be the inability to drown. That sounded like a good enough response to me.