Ricochet.
This has not been edited; sorry about that. :P
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I spend the next two days mostly with Adam's mother, since she claims she wants me to apart of the dress making process fully. And she had even insisted we design my own mask as well. Grudgingly, I agreed and stuck through it.
Though all I wanted to do was sprint out of that damn house.
I also yearned to speak with Adam, about what I saw, but he seemed to be avoiding me. Every time I came between a five mile radius he'd run off in the other direction.
I just wanted to prepare myself for what was going to come, but clearly, Adam didn't.
And my days at school weren't any better. Liam wasn't around, while Anna still hung out with Mandy and Kara. But she had stopped by a few times to chat with me, but I just wasn't interested. So I guess it was my own fault.
I spend most of my time painting at home and when I'm not doing that, I find myself at the lake. I'm surprised that the past two nights Liam hasn't appeared out of no where and tried to converse with me. As much as I hated it to admit, I missed him being around.
The sad part was it had only been two days and I wanted to see him again already.
I mean, when had I become so clingy?
I wasn't sure, but the more time I spent apart from him, the more ancy I grew. And it was completely stupid.
It's not like I was with Liam. And nor had I come to accept we were mates, but I just couldn't help but worry about him.
I knew Liam was a rogue, though I didn't know the full extent of what he did to others. I had seen him fight with Adam, but I never saw him really lose it.
I hadn't seen the monster everyone claimed him to be. And I couldn't avoid it forever.
Wednesday morning comes around way too quickly. And I'm incredibly reluctant to get out of bed, but I manage to push me way up and get dressed in a pair of jeans, a long sleeved teal shirt, and my leather jacket, though I stare at Liam's for a minute or two.
I kick it aside, shaking my head and grasp my bag. I walk outside, just in time to see Adam speed off in his car.
I sigh and continue my way down the gravel path to the street. I walk slowly to school, figuring I'll already be late when I get there, but surprisingly, when I get there I have but minutes to spare.
Though when I walk into the school, I do get some stares, but I learn to shake them off. Recently, a new rumour has emerged.
That Anna and Adam are now dating.
Of course, I knew it wasn't true, but I cringed when I heard it. And I questioned if Anna would really date him after I supposedly was. Then again, I never confirmed if Adam and I were together. So I thought maybe Anna went for it.
I didn't care, either way.
I seemed to be in some sort of slump since I wasn't even making an effort to be pain to others. Instead I just grumbled and groaned whenever someone tried to talk to me or whatever.
It wasn't all that bad of a method. Mainly because most of Adam and Liam's fan girls left me alone once they saw I wasn't going to answer any of their questions.
And for that, I was incredibly grateful.
I pop open my locker, letting out a string of cusses once all my papers and books all fall to the ground. I immediately scurry to pick them up once the bell rings, but the kids around me don't bother to help. Instead they walk right on by. Some even step on my papers and books.
It's not till I see a flash of blonde hair that I realize I'm not alone, I glance up fully to see Anna helping me by collecting my paper and books. "How did this happen?"
"It all came out of my locker when I opened it," I mutter, standing up and thrusting all of it back into my locker. "Why aren't you in class?"
"I was late," She says, "I just got here."
I frown, when had Anna ever really gotten late to school?
She hadn't ever from what I recall. Anna's mom was really hard on her, but only because she wanted the best for her. It had been like that for a while. I remember once that Anna forgot to do a report for English and her mom totally flipped. She was grounded for a month. I could only imagine what would her mother do when she discovered she had come to school late.
I knew she probably didn't know right now. Since Anna's mom went into work early. She would probably hear about it when one of the teachers called and tell her that Anna has detention for being late.
I wasn't any better off, though. I too would probably get detention. Though I had no one to care if I did get in trouble or that I didn't. So perhaps I was luckier then Anna who would probably get the punishment of her life.
"Over slept?" I ask. Anna nods.
"Yeah, I guess I just had a long night," She mumbles, tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. She opens her mouth to say something when she suddenly pauses, reaching into the mass pile of papers and pulling out a white envelope. "What is this?"
My eyebrows furrow and I reach out, pulling it from her grasp. I flip it around to see my name neatly printed right on the front.
I peel it open and pull out a single ticket. I frown, not exactly understanding what it means till I pull out a small slip of paper that reads;
Come with me to the Young Artist exhibit. I think you'll find some of their works there interesting. - L
I roll my eyes and stuff the ticket and note back in the envelope before I place it in my bag.
"I didn't get to see it. Why are you being so secretive?" Anna questions, raising a brow at me.
I roll my eyes, "Why are you being so secretive?"
Anna makes a face, "What do you mean?"
"I mean about your 'long night' excuse," I explain slowly, "You're never late for school and I'm just saying it's a little weird."
"You never know, I could have just been doing homework and I stayed up late finishing it. That equals a long night." She crosses her arms over her chest, her eyes averting to the floor.
It was possible. But I wasn't buying it. Especially since she wouldn't meet my eyes, almost nervously she scanned the hallway. "You suck at lying."
She doesn't say anything for a minute till she mutters, "Really? I thought it was good."
"Not really," I shake my head, "Especially since you couldn't look me in the eye and say it. Maybe then I would have believed you."
"Oh, forgive me Queen of Lying," She rolls her eyes with a laugh.
"Only if you tell what you really did last night." I say, waggling my eyebrows at her, "Were you with a boy?"
Her cheeks immediately turn a shade of pink and I know I've caught her in the act.
"Oh my gosh!" I gasp, "You dirty skank. What did you do?"
"Nothing!" She squeals, burying her face in her hands to block me from seeing her blush, "I didn't do anything."
"Then why are you blushing so bad?" I tease, "Did you do the deed?"
"Ronnie!" She screeches.
"Oh my gosh, you so did!" I accuse, pointing a finger at her. "You used a condom, didn't you?"
"Ronnie!" She repeats, swatting my arm. "Shut up. I did not have sex."
I can't help but laugh at her obvious embarrassment. And it feels incredibly good that we're finally talking again without the awkward silence. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to even make an effort to talk to her. Nor anyone for the matter, but I couldn't help but taunt her once I heard her lame lie.
I was too curious to know who this boy was as well. "Whatever you say," I retort, "Just tell me who he is."
"You promise you won't tell anyone?"
"Who do I have to tell? I only talk to you," I roll my eyes at her and Anna quickly shakes her head.
"You could tell someone by accident. Or maybe you could-"
I cut her off, "Stop stalling and just tell me who."
She bits her lips, before whispering, "Cliff."
My eyebrows shoot up at that. "Cliff? Adam's friend, you mean?"
She nods, "Yeah. Him."
I can't help but stare at her with shock. I mean, what was Cliff doing hanging around Anna anyway?
I didn't know Cliff personally, but I had heard enough to know he had no interest with human girls but to sleep with them. And if they hadn't slept together, why was Cliff even bothering with her?
He had been rude to her at lunch too. What was Anna thinking?
What the hell was Cliff thinking? He was a bloody werewolf while Anna was just a human! He was putting himself more at risk of her finding out our secret then me!
"Cliff?" I repeat in disbelief.
Anna nods again, "Why is that so hard to believe?"
"I don't know," I say, though I really do know. Cliff is a jerk and he wouldn't spend his time on a human girl. "I just thought he wasn't your.. type."
"Why wouldn't he be my type?"
"Because," I begin, raking my brain for some kind of excuse. "Because he was pretty rude to you at lunch. He seemed like a jerk."
Anna waves me off, "He was just asking who I was. Not like he was insulting me."
"It's just weird," I mutter, frowning. Anna doesn't seem to like my reaction, since she scuffs at me.
"Why can't you just be happy that I found someone?"
"I am!" I protest, "I am happy for you. Cliff's just.. different from who I expected you to be with."
"Yeah, well, I didn't have much of a selection to pick from since you took the two hottest guys out of the league," Anna's tone is playful, but it still 'causes me to cringe at her words.
She didn't really think that, did she? That I was taking away every guy she liked?
Anna wasn't like that. She wouldn't get upset and let stupids boys get in the way of our friendship. Would she?
"It's not like I asked for it," I mutter. And it's the truth. All I really wanted to do was tell Anna the complete truth at that time.
This was practically eating me up inside and I just wanted someway to out my emotions. But I couldn't do that without spilling my secret that I'm actually a freaking werewolf. I'm sure Anna would never believe that, anyway.
"I know," Anna says lowly, "Besides, I have Cliff now. So I'm happy." She shrugs, "Hows things going with Adam?"
"Non existent," I reply, "Like it's always been."
"And Liam?"
"Same." I say, grabbing the rest of my papers and stuffing them in my locker before I close it abruptly making sure they won't fall out again. "I should get to class before I get any later. See you in dentition?" I joke. Anna laughs with a nod.
"Yeah, see you later Ron."
I give her a curt nod and turn on my heel, shoving my hands in my pockets while walking to the office. Though I'm glad Anna and I have finally talked, I'm still not so sure I really wanted to know about her and Cliff.
It just added to my list of things to worry about.
The morning drags on once again for the third day. Then again, I did spend half of my morning with Anna..
Either way, the morning goes by slowly and it's another agonizing day of teachers nagging at me. It's no surprise when I get detention for being late and not completing the homework assignment.
By the time I get to lunch, I'm ten minutes late for that as well. Though it's not my fault. It was my teacher's instead who decided it would be fun to lecture me on being responsible. I didn't listen to half of it. I only nodded and pretended to care.
All I really have on my mind is talking to Adam at the moment. Mainly because I'm desperate for answers.
I don't bother getting lunch since the line is too long by now. I make my way over to Anna who sits with Cliff closely by her side, giggling at something he's said. I interrupt when I say, "Have you seen Adam? I need to talk to him."
Anna scowls me, obviously annoyed I've stepped in on their conversation, though she replies, "No."
My eyes slowly drag over to Cliff, "Have you?"
"I heard he was rehearsing for the play," He says with a shrug. Mandy glares at him from the corner of her eyes, probably upset that now I know where Adam is so I can talk to him. What a jealous idiot.
"Thanks," I give Cliff a nod and Anna one as well before I jog off out of the lunch room, down the hall, to the theater. I swing open the heavy set of doors to see Mr. Taylor yelling at everyone once again.
I don't need to ask him where Adam is, since Mr. Taylor sees me first and says, "He's in the back. Make it quick."
"Sure thing," I mutter and find my way into the back, though I have to dodge a string of dancers who are performing once I get up on the stage.
I hurriedly yank the curtain back and find Adam sitting at his high chair, mumbling to himself while playing with his fingers.
I could only bet that he was rehearsing his lines.
"Hey," I say, catching his attention. I can see him stiffen and shift uncomfortably in his chair.
"Hello," He responds in a monotone, keeping his eyes on the sheet of paper before him.
"Cliff and Anna, huh?" I muse and take a few steps closer to where he is, resting my hand on the desk in front of him and staring at his reflection in the long mirror.
I can see his jaw clench and he gives a jerky nod, "Yeah."
"What's your father got planned?" I blurt, unable to hold it in any longer. Though I've only been here for what, three minutes? And I'm already dying of anxiousness.
Adam doesn't reply. Instead, he stands and makes a move to get away. I don't give him the chance when I grap his elbow and wrench him back to me. "Don't walk away from me."
"You've done it to me plenty of times, why can't I?"
"Your life isn't on the line, isn't it?" I shoot back. He goes silent at that and I release my tight grip on him, glaring at the back of his head. "I didn't think so."
"It's not my fault you don't listen to my father," He spat, turning to face me with burning eyes. "If you listened, you wouldn't get hurt."
"I'm not about to be anyone's lap dog," I say and clench my fist at my side. "I'm not going to follow your orders nor your fathers. I'm not a coward. I'm not a coward like you."
"I'm not a coward," He says it so calmly, so lowly, as if he's trying not only to convince me that he's not a coward, but himself.
"You are," I prompt, "If you weren't, you wouldn't have stopped being my friend because of what people said about me. If you weren't, you wouldn't have left me when I needed you most. If you weren't, you wouldn't let your father do this to me, Adam. You wouldn't."
My voice is thick with strain. And it's almost painful to force these words beyond my lips. It's because I've never voiced them before. I've never voiced how much it hurt when he left me in the dust when I needed him most.
Again, Adam greets me with silence. And it only seems to anger me. Why can't he give m a answer? Why can't he just tell me why he truly stopped being my friend?
Then again, why did I care? I didn't need him. I didn't.
I bit down painfully on my lip to keep down the scream that's building up inside of me. I force myself to bite down my harsh words. He's not worth it. He's not worth my breath, my time, nothing.
Still, I can't help but whisper brokenly, "You were supposed to be my best friend."
Though the feeling is light, I can sense the thin line of blood that runs down my lips. And soon enough, I can taste my coppery blood in my mouth.
"You're right," He admits slowly, "I'm sorry."
"Sorry doesn't cut it," I reply harshly, pushing away the pain that tightens in my chest. "You have to help me, Adam. You have to tell me what he's going to do."
"I can't," He shakes his head, and I'm ready to object when he says, "The night of the formal ball. Be careful and don't do anything stupid. Maybe it won't happen then."
"You have to tell me so I can avoid it," I say, "Tell me. Please."
"I can't, Ronnie," He repeats. Though this time his voice is stronger. "Just be careful, alright?"
I don't reply. And he doesn't give me the time since he's off. I don't chase after him. Instead I stand hopelessly watching him walk away. Just like he had done four years ago.
I stay majorly late after school. Since I have both detention and the back drops. Lucky for me, I managed to worm my way out of detention half way and got to go to the art room.
I worked alone, painting in silence, which wasn't that bad. Because it gave me time to focus. I bet if Liam was with me, all he'd do is distract me. Still, I missed him.
And I sat staring at his normal seat for a few minutes with a frown, as if I was just expecting him to suddenly appear.
I just wanted to know where he was right now. What he was doing. And that might seem a little stalker-ish, but I was worried. Could you blame me?
I mean, what could be more important than coming to school the past two days? Never mind. That was a stupid question.
Anything was way better than coming to school.
But he had been here most of the time to annoy me, and now that he wasn't here, it was just weird. The suspense was killing me, and I couldn't resist thinking, what if he was hurt?
Then the worst thought occurred to me, what if he was hurting someone else?
As much as I liked to believe that maybe meeting me had changed him, I doubt it. He couldn't change his ways in such a short period of time.
And if he did, it definitely wouldn't be because of me.
He was so damn secretive, yet I didn't know if I liked it or hated.
I rid myself of the thought soon enough and carry on with what I'm doing. That night I walk home in cold night, and my thin leather jacket does me no good.
It's not till I'm about half way home that I take a detour into the woods, mainly because of the fact I didn't like the tinted window cars that passed by and always seemed to slow down once they saw me. I bolt off once the third car does that.
I shift into wolf form easily, trotting slowly, keeping me eyes peeled for any weird movement. Though I shift back once I know I'm close to the boundary that will directly lead me to my home.
I'm almost there when I hear a ruffle of leaves not too far away from me. I immediately spin around and with my sharp eyes, I scan the woods looking for something. Anything.
But there's no one in sight.
Maybe I'm just being paranoid, I think meekly. Though I can't shake off the feeling of fear. Especially when I see a figure flash right be me.
And then crash right into me.
The scream builds up in my throat and it seems to stuck there as I stare up at the man above me wide eyed. He looks familiar. So incredibly familiar.
I scramble away from him, staring wide eyed at the man before me. He seems to do the same. He's stiff, as if he's expecting me to attack him or something.
"It's you," He croaks.
I don't understand him at first, till I recognize the familiar scent on him. The one that reeks of rotting flesh. The only odor the Purgatory pack possesses.
Horror masks my face and I'm ready to launch off when he reaches for me, his finger tips brush my arm before a large figure comes pounding from behind a thick tree bark and crashes right into the man.
And before I know it, I can see another figure immerse behind from a thick bark of the tree, and they come barreling down into him.
I can't recognize who it is, since they're in wolf from. But I also know this scent.
I watch in complete utter silence and horror as this large, brown wolf claws at the man's face. All I can hear is the man's blood curling screams. He pleads for mercy, he begs for mercy. Yet it all fails and the mysterious, but familiar, wolf isn't having any of it.
Instead, it wears somewhat of a human smirk on his face. As if it's laughing. Laughing at the fact he's taking the guy's life.
The man's screams soon die out once the wolf clamps it's teeth down on his neck and decapitates him.
A scream rips from my throat before I can stop it. This catches the wolfs attention and I find myself staring into a pair of green eyes. Liam's green eyes.
He transforms slowly back into his human form, racing his hands and taking a step towards me, as if he's trying to assure me he won't hurt me.
Though I tell myself he won't, I can't help but stare at the blood that coats his hands. The man he's just killed blood.
I'm up and running by then, looking over my shoulder as my feet thud against the forest ground. I can hear his calls for me, but it only causes me to push myself faster.
I swallow down the scream that crawls up my throat, Liam is a monster. Liam is a monster. Liam is a monster.
That's the only thought that goes through my head. And it's completely and utterly true.
I had just witnessed Liam kill a man. And the worst part of it all, is that he felt no remorse. Though, yes, the man was apart of the Purgatory pack and I'm sure the man deserved it, I can't shake the feeling that rises in my stomach. The sickening feeling.
He didn't even show guilt when the man pleaded with him. Instead he just looked like he enjoyed it. But what I had expected? Liam was a rogue. Is a rogue. Killing what was he known from. But it still felt like a huge shock.
Mainly because I never really wanted to believe Liam was the monster everyone said he was. I wanted it to be all fake.
Yet it was all true. All true.
And It was only just a preview of what he really is capable of.
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Soo, I hope you enjoyed! And I'm proud I wrote this out before I got lazy and waited another week to. :P
I really wanted to give a glimpse into Liam's 'other' side of him. Because obviously, it plays a big role in the story.
Sorry if this is short, but don't worry, the formal ball chapter will be muuuuch longer! And I can't wait till I write that out because it's going to amazing!
Maybe I'm putting too much hype into it, but eh. :P
And I wanna say thank you so much to everyone who voted, commented, and fanned. Thanks to you all I'm now over 1,000 fans. Which is very crazy.
And I know people say this a lot, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart for fanning. And supporting me. Especially when you tell me I'm a good writer because it makes me smile like a dork.
Plus it encourages me to keep going. Thank you all so much. <3
Make sure to fan, comment, and vote if you want. (:
And listen to Liam's theme song on the side. :P ------->
I'm serious. It's his theme song. Lol.
Until next time,
- CeCe.
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