Chapter 2

Ainsley’s POV

“Class, we have a new student joining us for first grade this year. This is Ainsley Rogers. Let’s all give her a warm welcome.” The teacher says with a big smile.

“Hello Ainsley.” Everyone says at the same time.

They’re all staring at me. My cheeks feel hot and I give them a little wave. I wish my brother Caleb was here. He likes meeting new people. He told me to be brave until I get home, then he’ll keep me safe again.

“Riley Coyle?” She looks down at a piece of paper.

“Yes, Miss Ratner?” The boy sitting next to me stops swinging his leg and sits up tall.

“I’ve already spoken to Mrs. Marsh. Are we going to have problems or is this going to be a good year?” She puts her hands on her hips and looks seriously at the human boy. She sounds mad. I don’t know why. It’s only the first day of first grade.

“It’s gonna be a good year, Miss Ratner.” He mumbles, looking down at his desk. 

“I’m glad to hear that. Now, if that’s the case, can you please be Ainsley’s helper and introduce her to everyone this week?” She sounds nicer now.

“Alright, Miss Ratner.” His eyes brighten up. He looks at me and smiles, “Hi! I’m Riley.”

He has straight blonde hair that comes down to his chin. It’s a little tangled and looks like straw. I don’t think he brushed it this morning. He has hazel eyes and tan skin. He’s missing a couple of teeth that make his smile look funny.

“Hi. Um, I’m Ainsley.” I whisper. I remember to smile just like Grandma Jane told me to when I meet new people. My cheeks still feel hot. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Riley’s got a girlfriend!” The werewolf boy in front of me teases.

Riley gets an angry look on his face. He stands up from his desk and punches the werewolf boy in the nose without any warning.

The other kids gasp. I put my hand up to my face to cover my mouth because Caleb told me flies get in if you leave your mouth hanging open. The werewolf boy starts crying. His nose is bleeding all over the place.

“Riley! Already?! It’s only the first day of school! To the principal’s office, young man. Come on Gavin, let’s get you to the nurse.” The teacher puts a paper towel on Gavin’s face and rushes him out of the room. 

Riley smiles at me. He suddenly isn’t angry anymore. “Stick with me, Ainsley. I won’t let anyone mess with ya.”

“You gotta deal.” I nod. Somehow, all the nervous butterflies in my belly go away.

“My dad’s teaching me how to surf on Saturday. Wanna go to the beach with us? I bet he’ll teach you, too.”

“Um, I have to ask my Grandpa Nicholas.” I twist my fingers. 

“Your Grandpa? What about your mom and dad?” Riley tilts his head to the side. It makes his hair slide into his eyes. He shakes his head around so he can see easier.

“Um, m-my daddy died.” I bite my lip so I won’t cry in front of everyone. I don’t want to think about Daddy dying right now. “I have to stay with my grandparents for a while.”

“Oh.” Riley scrunches his mouth up. “What happened to your dad?”

I look around. Everyone is looking at us. Werewolves killed Daddy. Mommy said I’m not allowed to tell people what happened to him. Most humans don’t know about werewolves. It can be dangerous if they find out about us.

“I-I don’t want to talk about it.” I whisper.

“No problem. I get it.” He picks up his backpack and goes to the teacher’s desk. He takes a bite out of her apple and puts it back down. When he gets to the door, he waves at me. “Bye, Ainsley.”

“Bye.” I wave back.

Grandpa is going to be happy I made a friend already. I don’t know if he’ll be happy that my friend punched someone on the first day of school.

***

“Tony, it’s good to see you.” Grandpa shakes hands with Riley’s dad. “It’s been too long.”

“Nick, yeah. We should definitely catch up soon. Things are going fantastic at the quarry. The employment program is working out perfectly. Your guys are great workers. Reliable. Just like you said they would be. Even under new management in Rambling Hills. I’m not a huge fan of Dan Landis, but that’s a conversation to have over a bonfire and beer.” He smiles like Riley, but he isn’t missing any teeth. “Anyway, thanks for meeting up with us. This means a lot to my boy. He’s had trouble making friends after what happened to Sally.” 

“It’s no problem.” Grandpa says. “It looks like Ainsley will be with us for a while, so I’m glad she found someone to connect with.”

Riley’s dad leans his hands on his knees and smiles at me. “And you must be Ainsley?”

“Yes, Sir.” I try to hide behind Grandpa, but he steps aside so I can’t.

“Ainsley, don’t be shy. Riley’s dad is a friend of mine.” Grandpa says. “He’s a really nice guy. Nothing to be scared of.”

“Ah, you can call me Tony. Jonas’s friends all call me Mr. Tony if that makes you feel better.” He holds his hand out for me to shake. “Ainsley, have you ever swam in the ocean?” 

I look up at Grandpa. He nods at me to reassure me it’s okay. I shake Tony’s hand. “No, just in the lake at home.”

“Well, it’s gonna be a real treat for ya, then. The ocean feels a lot different from a lake. I think you’re gonna like it. We won’t go past your knees until you tell me you’re comfortable, but I bet we’ll get you up on a surfboard in no time.” He stands up. “You ready?”

I look up at Grandpa one more time. He pushes on my back. “Go ahead, Ainsley. Look. Riley is already in the water with his big brother, Jonas. I’ll be watching from the beach and I’ll be waiting for you with the towel when it’s time to take a break.”

Riley waves to me from the shoreline and yells something, but the sound of the waves is louder.

“Come on, Ainsley.” Tony squeezes my hand. “It’s gonna be fun. I promise.”

I take a deep breath and try to think about what Caleb would do. He would tell me to be brave and have fun. 

“Okay. I’m ready.”

***

“Grandpa, did you see me?!” Riley and I race up the beach from the water. I throw myself into the towel in Grandpa’s arms and let him wrap me up. The towel smells like Grandma Jane’s cherry cobbler scent. “I kept my balance on the longboard!”

“I saw you, Sweetpea.” He turns me so I can sit in his lap and he can hold me like a baby. “You did a great job. I’m proud of you.”

“Can I go surfing with Riley and Mr. Tony again next time?” I yawn and lean against him.

“I’m sure we can arrange for that.” Grandpa taps my nose with his finger. “What are you thinking about, Sweetpea? Are you okay?”

My eyes are tired from swimming all day, and all my muscles feel mushy. The towel is warm from being in the sun and Grandpa smells like vanilla ice cream. It makes me feel dreamy. The sun is going down. It makes it look like there are diamonds dancing on the water.

Diamond was Daddy’s wolf. He was a brown wolf with scratchy chin hairs. I wonder if he’s with the Moon Goddess now, too?

I miss Daddy and Diamond. I miss Mommy and her wolf Primrose and Cal, and my best friend Charlotte, too.

“Can Caleb come too?”

“Ahh… You know I can’t promise that, Ainsley.” He squeezes me tighter. “He needs to stay at home with your mommy. We talked about this, remember?”

“Ainsley, who’s Caleb?” Riley looks at me from his dad’s lap. I can only see his face sticking out of the bright blue towel wrapped around him.

“Caleb’s my brother.” I smile when I think about Cal. “We’re twins, but he had to stay at home while I’m visiting Grandpa and Grandma. I won’t get to see him until I go home again.”

“Wait. When are you going home?” Riley frowns. “We just got to be friends this week!”

“I don’t know exactly.” I don’t want Riley to think I’m a baby. I cover my eyes with my towel and take a deep breath like Dr. Sullivan said to, but I cry anyway. 

“Riley, the reason Ainsley is here is because of what happened to her father.” Grandpa pulls my towel up to help me hide. “The details are adult problems to worry about. What’s important is that Ainsley will be with her Grandma Jane and me until the problems get solved. We don’t know exactly how long it will be, but it will be awhile. She misses her brother and her mom a lot. She’s never been away from them for this long.”

“Oh.” Riley sounds sad.

Everyone stops talking. All I can hear is the ocean waves. I peek out from the towel to see what’s going on.

Riley is sitting in the sand next to Grandpa, still wrapped in his towel. “My mom died last year. She got pulled into a riptide and drowned. That’s why Dad is teaching me how to surf. So I won’t panic if I get pulled under.”

“I-I’m sorry.” I bite my lip. I don’t know what else to say.

“After you go home, can we still be friends?” He pouts his lip.

“Yeah.” I smile. “We can still be friends. And you can be friends with Caleb and Charlotte, too.”

“Who’s Charlotte?” Riley smiles.

“She’s my best friend.” I rub my eyes. “We can all be best friends together.”

“Come here, Riley. It sounds like we’re gonna be seeing a lot more of you.” Grandpa reaches out and pulls Riley on his lap next to me.

Grandpa’s arms are big enough to hold both of us. Riley finds my hand through the towel and holds it in his.

“Mom would hold my hand like this. She called it teddy bear hands. Cause it feels like you're holding hands with a teddy bear.” He whispers. “And teddy bears make everything better.”

I smile and blink away my tears. “She was right. They do.”

“Riley, can I ask a favor from you?” Grandpa rocks us back and forth, making me extra sleepy.

“A favor?” Riley hums. “I’m not really good at much of anything except fightin’, Mr. Holland. Do you need me to hit someone?”

“Riley!” Mr. Tony scolds him.

“Well, that’s actually perfect.” Grandpa uses his serious voice. “I was hoping you could keep Ainsley safe and help her be brave until we can get her and Caleb back together. What do you think, Ainsley? Would you like it if Riley helps you out until you see Caleb again?”

I nod, but I’m too sleepy to answer. I can’t even open my eyes to look at him. I lean my head against Riley and fall asleep.