“You have to tell me.” I was adamant this time.
He paused. “It was like the one I had after we met on the hilltop. When I wake up I only remember bits and pieces. But by the time I’m out of bed, I forget it. I only remember brief images.”
“What do you remember?”
“It’s the same every night. I’m a wolf. Only when I run, I run like a man.”
He waited for my reaction.
“See — I knew you’d think I was crazy!” he said.
“No — it’s just that—” I began. “I’m afraid, too. To tell you the truth.”
“I’m not sure I want to hear it, but I think I know it.”
“Those first few nights — when the moon was full — those weren’t dreams, Brandon.”
He was startled and let go of my hand.
“I was there,” I said. “I saw it happen.”
“Then for the next couple of days — you said you woke up, and you didn’t come to school. Those were the days the moon appeared full. Then the moon waned and you don’t turn, but you continue to dream as if you are.”
“It’s not real, Celeste. It can’t be — I won’t allow—”
It was hard enough to prove Brandon’s transformation really happened and convince myself it was real. But for Brandon to accept his new fate could be devastating. Mrs. Clark was right. He should see the school counselor.
Brandon shook his head as if he was shaking the truth away from him.
“But you are so gorgeous and powerful,” I tried to convince him.
“But if I don’t remember, then it can’t be real? Right?”
“Maybe it’s best you don’t remember. Until we get you help.”
Brandon choked out the words: “What if I’m a monster?”
“You aren’t. You’re just stronger and more handsome… if you can believe that.”
“How do you know, Celeste?”
“I was with you.”
“The whole night?”
“Uh… no.”
“So how do you know who I am or what I do when you’re not there?” Brandon’s torment was palpable.
I put my arms around him. At this point, I didn’t care who saw us together. “Uh… I don’t. But—”
“Then neither one of us really knows, do we? How did this happen?” he asked. “How did this ever happen?”
“It’s my fault,” I blurted out. “I tried to tell you before. I was warned about the full moon… about the woods and the wolves… about the kiss. And now the moon, full or not, causes your nocturnal affliction or your bizarre dreams. It’s my fault this happened to you. If you hadn’t been bitten by that wolf. If we hadn’t kissed under the full moon. If I’d listened—”
“Celeste, promise me something.”
“Anything.” This was the moment that Brandon might be asking me to be his girlfriend — to stick by him while he went through his ordeal. He’d want me to bravely confront my friends and make our relationship public so I could finally support him the way he ought to have been supported all along.
He took a breath and stared deeply into my eyes. “Tomorrow is a full moon. Promise me that you won’t see me anymore.”
It was as if I’d just found out I’d failed every class I’d ever taken. I was devastated at the news. “I can’t!” I said. “I won’t.”
“At least until I have this figured out,” he said sadly, cupping my face in his hands. “I understand if you won’t wait… but you can’t contact me, Celeste. Don’t you understand? You can’t—”
“I know you. You wouldn’t do anything to hurt anyone.”
“I want to be with you, more than you know. It’s just at night… it’s best that you aren’t around me.”
My heart broke. I’d finally fallen in love, and I wasn’t able to be with the one person I’d fallen in love with. I felt as if he were being shipped off to an overseas boarding school never to return. But Brandon was here — in my classes, the hallway, and the lunchroom. He wasn’t saying we couldn’t see each other because he didn’t care for me. He was saying it because he cared.
I didn’t want Brandon to leave our secluded spot underneath the staircase. I was afraid I’d never be able to be with him again. He must have felt the same thing because this time he took a chance he hadn’t taken before. He drew me into him and gave me the most heartfelt kiss. It hit me through my heart and down through to the soles of my shoes.
It was as if he was saying good-bye.
Brandon disappeared into the hallway as I sat down and sobbed.
I didn’t have anyone to talk about my problem with — no school shrink would have the answers. No one would understand. No person could help. No soul would believe me.
Or was there someone who would?
Out of breath, I arrived at Penny for Your Thoughts to find the shop dark and a hanging sign with the word CLOSED.
I wondered if Dr. Meadows was sequestered in her back room giving another cliched reading like she had given to my friends. Or was she giving one like mine — dead-on?
Whatever she was telling her client, it couldn’t be more important than what I had to tell her. I knocked until my hand hurt.
A man the size of several normal fathers combined, with a shaved head and more tattoos than skin, lumbered out from the store next to Penny for Your Thoughts.
“She’s closed today. Can’t you read the sign?”
“Uh… yes. It was just that sometimes she puts the sign out when she’s doing a reading.”
“This is her day to stay at home.”
The man could have easy squashed me like a bug. Normally, I would have gotten back in my car and given way to the large, tattooed obstacle obstructing my goal. But Brandon’s life was on the line and I had to drum up all my courage to get to Dr. Meadows.
“Do you know where she lives?” I asked in my nicest voice. “This is very important.”
I’m not sure what that tattooed man deemed important — or if he was going to demand details. I wasn’t about to admit to him that my new love was a werewolf.
He obviously didn’t think I was the type to be hanging around a tattoo parlor and didn’t seem to want to be further bothered by my presence. I waited outside his shop as he popped inside — afraid the tattoo artist was going to ink Dr. Meadows’s address on my back. Instead, he returned quietly and was kind enough to write it down on a piece of paper.
I followed his directions closely.
I arrived at a two-story cottage home that appeared delightfully magical. Wood-carved sculptures lined the yard. Orbs of every color dotted what must have been a summertime garden. Ceramic and mosaic tiles spelled out New Age affirmations. Artistic symbols of every religion hung from the porch. I was met with the tune of a thousand wind chimes clanging in the breeze. I knocked on her door.
Dr. Meadows answered. Her long gray hair was frizzy, and she covered her flowing blouse with a South American shawl.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Dr. Meadows. But do you remember me?”
I could see she was trying to place me. I was all bundled up from the cold.
“Were you the one selling candles for your school band?” she asked. “I’ve been waiting for them to be delivered.”
I lowered my hoodie. “No. I came to your store for a reading with my friends.”
“Oh yes, of course.”
“Please, I must talk to you. I need your help.”
