Hot damp breath gurgled across my cheek and the grass scratched my skin. I could hear the others. The scampering in the leaves, the rough wisps of panting that grew louder with each step. The one closest to me went first and his jowls ripped my shoulder. My own fear buried my screams as I sealed my eyes shut, waiting for it to be over. The pain made me dizzy. It seemed to last forever.
'Charlotte.'
My lids flew open at the sound of Liam's voice. Had he come to save me? Only the wolf looked back at me, his lips curled in a familiar smirk, but razor sharp canines shown down.
I started to shake. "No, no, no!" I thrashed and scrambled to get up off the cafeteria bench. My tray fell to the floor with a crash and Ty grabbed my arm. The entire room went silent.
"Let go of me!"
"Charlotte, it's Ty. It's okay. Relax."
I froze and the school lunchroom came back into focus. My chest rose and fell erratically and I felt cold drips of sweat run down my back. My lower lip trembled as my eyes misted over. I buried my head in my hands.
Someone else joined us, but I didn't bother to see who. "Take her down to the nurse's office. She may have had a panic attack."
"Yes, Mr. Atterson," Ty said. Her arm circled around me, ushering me to stand. "Come on, Charlotte."
"No. I'm fine. I just..." I rubbed my temples. What happened?
"You're not fine," Ty said, holding my arm fast. "You're coming with me to the health office."
"I've just had a lot on my mind." Ty gave me a look that said, 'argue and die', so I groaned and stood up. "All right, lead the way."
"Think of it this way, we'll get out of Chemistry."
I rolled my eyes.
The class bell rang as we entered the small nurse's room and I took a seat on the hard metal cot. I felt ridiculous, not to mention embarrassed. The nurse did her thing and checked my vitals. Everything turned out normal, but she did allow Ty and me to stay through class. I even convinced her not to call Dad for fear of amplifying the stress.
I lay back on the small bed and turned to Ty. "Am I a freak?"
"What? No. Everyone has a panic attack at least once in her life. It's not a big deal."
I shook my head. "No, I mean with Liam. Am I that much of a freak that even a freak doesn't want me?"
Ty's face fell. "Charlotte..."
"I know. I need to stop thinking about that. Just can't help it. I don't know what I did wrong."
"You didn't do anything wrong."
"Then why'd he leave me? I thought he liked me, Ty. I thought we actually shared something that night. I feel so stupid." Anger burned inside me and my eyes stung. "I never want to see him again."
"You really like him a lot, don't you?"
I didn't answer.
"I'm sorry, Charlotte. I don't know what to say. It's his loss."
"Yeah."
I fiddled with the loose hem of my jeans, trying to convince myself I really felt that way. Liam's words, 'there really is something different about you' hurt more than I wanted to admit. All my life I'd felt left out and alone, like no one understood. Liam, by far the strangest person I ever met, and he proved me right. My head hurt.
"Ty?" I asked, looking up from my jeans. "Did you see anything strange about Liam that night? I mean, besides the whole freaking out and running from the house thing?" My fingers still jittered and I tucked them in my lap.
"Um." Her gaze shifted to the door the nurse left open when she left for lunch. She quickly got up and shut it. "What exactly do you mean by 'strange'?"
"You know," I whispered. "The eyes and my shirt for starters? Did you see my shirt, Ty?"
Her lips tightened into a hard line as if contemplating exactly what to say and she twisted her locket around her thumb. "Okay, I saw the eyes." Her face sallowed. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier, it's just you've been so upset. I just didn't want to make it worse."
I broke into a quick fit of laughter and rubbed my head.
"That bad?"
"Ty, you have no idea how relieved this makes me feel. I've doubted my sanity for weeks. This means I'm okay. I don't need to be shut away in some nut house."
The expression on her face told me she felt the opposite, but I didn't care. I got up and gave her a hug, knocking the locket from her finger. I jumped.
"Ouch. Your necklace shocked me."
She quickly tucked it into her blouse. "Sorry."
"You're the best, Ty." I cleared my throat and stepped back. "So what do you think?"
"About you or the boys?"
"Very funny." I glowered.
Ty laughed and then nodded. "You're right. Majorly freaky."
"And the shirt?"
"Who was I to guess what you guys were up to in there?"
"Ty!" My jaw dropped. "You thought...you thought we were doing something?"
"Weren't you?" She picked up a plastic container labeled band aides, and then put it down.
"We kissed, Ty. That's all. It was just a kiss."
She seemed confused. "Then what happened to your shirt?"
I felt a little nauseous, the sound of the ripping replayed in my memory, and I shivered. Ty's face turned a weird shade of muted green.
"Did he hurt you?"
"It's not what you think."
"Then what is it?"
"He kissed me..."
"Yes?"
She found her locket again.
"Well, it was good, really good. So I started kissing him back." I paused, my focus strangely mesmerized by the way she played with the tiny metal leaf as if it soothed her. Blinking my thoughts clear, I shifted on the cot. "That's when things started getting weird."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"His irises turned gold. That's when I heard my shirt rip."
"So you think it was an accident? You know, from him pulling away?"
I shook my head. "Well, you may be right about it being an accident, but that wasn't it. He was...changing into something." I didn't want to believe it myself, but I knew what I saw. The images from my panic attack crept into my head and I did everything I could to force them down. I didn't need another episode.
"What do you mean, Charlotte? Changing into what?"
"I don't know." I paused, then decided to just spit it out. "He had grown these sharp canine-like teeth. He spun around really fast so that I couldn't see him, but I saw them."
"Are you messing with me Charlotte?"
"I swear." I could feel my temple pulse. "He also told me that all of them stick together like they do because they're different. Of course you do realize what this means Ty?"
"What?"
I looked straight at her. "All of them can change just like Liam did."
"A pack of sharp tooths?"
"I saw Byron in the cafeteria, Ty. I'm not crazy."
I think.
Her calm reserve surprised me after such news, yet she did seem curious. She probably thought I needed counseling. Everyone always did. "So what do we do now?" she asked, sitting down next to me. "I mean, what are they?"
Flashes of salivating jaws ripping my flesh burned across my mind, but I pushed it out.
"I don't know." I glanced down at my jeans, feeling a little numb. "I guess we do nothing. I mean, they left, remember? I'm too weird even for them." I forced a tight smile and Ty shot me a glare. "Sorry."
Ty sighed. "It's okay. You like him."
"But I shouldn't, not after what he did to me. This whole thing is just insane. I mean, he could be dangerous, Ty."
She placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Then we stay away from them. They're gone. We move on."
"Right."
If only my feelings believed that.
The nurse walked in, our signal to leave, and the rest of the school day passed like sludge. I watched the gravel under my feet as I walked by the parking lot over to the area where the buses parked. My fingers hung to the straps of my backpack with a death grip, hoping that would keep my thoughts in check. I almost made it all the way to my bus, when a strange rush of goose bumps trickled down my back, making me stop.
The musky scent of pine filled my nose and every nerve in my body came alive. I refused to acknowledge it. I held my breath and started for the bus.
"Charlotte," Liam called.
"Go away," I said, barely loud enough for anyone to hear.
With my heade down, I pushed past several students lagging along the walkway. My fingers painfully dug into my strap. I wouldn't falter, despite the pounding in my ears.
"Charlotte, please?"
He sounded closer. What a surprise. Stalker. I quickened my pace, when he stepped in front of me, making me jump.
"What are you doing, Liam?" I tried to catch my breath. "How did you? You know what? I don't care." I started to walk around him, but he moved in front of me. "Move out of my way, Liam."
"Charlotte, please," he said. "Just give me one minute. We need to talk."
"We did that already. I know where that led me. You made yourself pretty clear."
Liam ran his hand roughly through his ashen hair. "I'm sorry about what happened. It's not what you think."
"How do you know what I think? You didn't stick around long enough to find out."
I saw my words sting him, but I didn't care. I couldn't. He had his chance.
"I shouldn't have left like that, Charlotte. I'm sorry. Something didn't make sense. I freaked and ran. It was a mistake. At the time I didn't know what else to do. I'm sorry. Please."
I turned and started past him.
"Please give me another chance. I'm sorry."
I spun around on my heels, and my words whipped off my tongue. "Why did you leave?"
Two students walked by, staring, and Liam fidgeted. "Can I give you a ride? We can talk in the car. Please? This is kind of private." The classmates whispered to each other, giggling as they continued on their way.
"I like taking the bus."
Liam arched an eyebrow. "Have you been eating the school food?"
"Not funny, Liam."
He smirked tightly at his failed joke. "All right, all right. But come on, Charlotte. Please? Give me a chance to at least explain myself." He fidgeted and lowered his voice. "You know I can't talk here."
"How am I supposed to trust you?" I whispered, but for whose benefit I didn't know. "You don't tell me anything. Everything with you is a secret. Now you want me to get in your car? Put yourself in my shoes, Liam."
"All right. I know." He groaned and rubbed his forehead. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for putting you in this situation, but I don't know what to do. I'm crazy about you, Charlotte. My leaving had nothing to do with that. You have to believe me."
"Then tell me why you did it."
"Charlotte, I...I can't. You don't understand."
It hurt. I wanted so much for it not to, but it did.
"Then I'm not getting in your car."
"Charlotte...Please..."
"Goodbye, Liam." My lip trembled and I bit it as I started to walk away.
"Your scar," he whispered. I don't know how I heard it, but I stopped. My hand touched my shoulder and my body went cold. I was six again. Blinking the past away, I slowly turned around. "What do you mean?"
Liam reached his fingers out to me and I watched with an almost out of body experience as they threaded through mine. I didn't move. I didn't know why. My pulse throbbed in my ears. "Please. Come with me. I'll give you answers. Just not here."
I trembled. Everything felt surreal. "You really have answers?" I hadn't realized until then how much I wanted them, needed them.
He nodded in a way that told me this went deeper than him running away. He knew things, secrets about me. "How do I know you're not going to leave me again?"
Liam's body deflated with relief and a small smile lifted at the corners of his mouth. "I won't. I promise." A newfound energy seemed to spark through him. "I never met anyone like you, Charlotte. I didn't even know someone like you could exist. It scared me at first, but I know what I want now."
I swallowed hard. "What do you want?"
Liam gave the most sincere smile I had ever seen. "Just come with me."