The morning finally came, and I was thankful for the small amount of dim sun rays peeking out from behind my drapes. I climbed out of bed to draw back the curtains and let some of the refreshing light fill my room. It left me a little disappointed to find it wasn’t terribly warm or sunny, but it was daylight, nonetheless.
On my way to the bathroom, I could smell my mother cooking in the kitchen. After I showered and dressed for school, I planned on heading in there to steal a little bit of whatever she was cooking posthaste.
One of the perks of being home with my parents was being able to enjoy real breakfast and dinner, rather than in a vampire's house where cooking was never done nor needed, and I tended to forget to eat much. I bet if I weighed myself today, I’d have lost at least a good five pounds since moving here.
“Morning, Mom.”
I inhaled the mouth-watering smell of bacon and eggs along with freshly squeezed orange juice. My mom, being unable to sit still for too long, made great meals any time of day.
“Good morning sweetheart, are you hungry?”
“I can definitely use some food. I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
My dad put his paper down once I sat down at the counter, digging into the plate my mother had already fixed for me.
“Why’s that, kiddo? I thought I heard you moving around the house last night, but when I got up to check it out you were sound asleep in your bed. That’s the problem with these old New England houses, they all have their own worn in sounds.”
“Did you hear a wolf howl too?”
He raised his eyebrows at me laughing. “Can’t say that I did, but I did hear a spoiled cat meow when he wanted out of your room for some food.”
He thought he was being cute, but I couldn’t seem to return the smile he had on his face. I was being completely serious with my question.
A knock on the door interrupted our awkward conversation. I knew by the soft rap at the front door that Gretchen was here to pick me up for school, since I wasn’t allowed to travel alone for the time being.
“That’s Gretchen, love you guys.”
She couldn’t have come soon enough. Taking one last bite, I got up from my chair, grabbing my book bag off the floor and charged out the front door where Sully was waiting for us in his Mustang.
“So, how’d you do your first night without Davin?” Leave the curiosity to Gretchen.
“I did fine. I’ve been without him plenty of times before. Besides it was only one night, he’ll be back tonight for the Fall Harvest Dance.” At least I hoped so. Something told me Xander was closer than we thought, and it was only a matter of time before he surfaced.
We arrived at the school right as the bell rang.
Sully kissed Gretchen with a quick peck, the way I would kiss my mom, then turned to me. “I’ll take you home after school, so meet me here when the bell rings. Davin would kill me if I let you do otherwise.” He smiled, running his fingers through some of his silky long strands that had fallen out of place.
Gretchen watched him with googly eyes as he walked confidently down the hallway to class.
Robbie noticed right away that Davin was gone at lunchtime. After looking at me, down the table at everyone who was seated, then back at me, he took the open seat next to me ignoring the glares from Sully. Davin being absent always gave Robbie the impression there was an open invitation to sit together or hang out no matter how many times I turned him down.
“What’s up, Adde? Where is your boyfriend at today?”
“He’s home with a headache.” It was the only believable excuse I could think of. I hated being put on the spot.
“Oh, I see. Sucks for him,” he commented, completely uninterested.
“You sound so concerned, Robbie. I’ll give him your best wishes.” I rolled my eyes at him and tuned in to the other parts of the table’s conversations.
“Hey Adelay, I’m sorry. I’ll keep my snide remarks to myself, okay? How about I buy you a Coke for putting up with me?”
He put his arm around my shoulder, giving me a quick friendly squeeze, and pulling a crisp dollar out of his pocket.
I smiled, batting my eyes. “Why Robbie, what a gentleman you are. Too bad your friend doesn’t know how to treat a lady.” I shot a mean look at Andy, who shyly looked down.
So yeah, I was over the whole Gretchen/Andy episode that happened at The Cell, but that didn’t mean I was going to let him live it down. He did almost get me killed by his stupidity -- even though he didn’t have any clue werewolves were stalking me.
He looked up at me again, and then turned away just as quickly.
“It’s okay Andy, I’m not going to rip your head off.” Gretchen was obviously over it already, but I loved being able to give him shit.
He smiled nervously then looked to Robbie. “So, what are your plans for the Fall Harvest Dance tonight, Rob?”
“I’m working on them right now, man.” He winked at me.
I shook my head snagging the dollar that was still in his hand. “Thanks for the Coke. That still doesn’t mean your charm is gonna get you any further though.”
“Ouch that was quite the burn, Adde.” That was probably the longest sentence Andy had said to me in a while.
I figured
