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Chapter 32: Feminine Wiles
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The True Nature Series Chapter 33: Bite Me
I WAS PACING A hole in our carpet by the time Zander arrived. I had worked up to a whole new level of nervousness as I went over all the reasons why I should not be having this study "date," much less talking to Zander. But it really came down to one thing. I needed to know what he knew about my mother.Her death was senseless, and I had trouble remembering the night of the accident clearly. My subconscious had blocked out a lot of it. Probably a survival tactic. It was too awful to remember. No one should have to watch a parent die.So, my need to "know" was becoming an obsession, spurring me to go way beyond my comfort level. How was I going to pretend I didn't remember and still ask questions? Should I tell him I remembered? Would he confide in me? Who was he really? And werewolves? What the heck? When the doorbell rang, I made one last look in the entry hall mirror. My hair hung in its normal waves down to my waist. Nothing fancy, but I would do. How does one dress for this sit
The True Nature Series Chapter 34: Jealous
I DON'T KNOW HOW long Zander had been gone before I heard the doorbell. I was just wandering around the kitchen, speculating about what he could have been talking about, and I was angry, really angry. Oh no, I thought. Ruthie probably drove over because I didn't text her. I had turned my cell phone to vibrate until I changed the ringtone. I rushed to the door as the bell pealed again. But the person standing on my doorstep was not my best friend. Instead, it was a fuming Isaac Efoti. His face was purple, shoulders curved up, fists on his hips, and thunder on his face. I backed up."Uh. Hi, Isaac. What's up?" I said, pulling the door closed a little.I could have sworn I heard a low growl come from his mouth. Really? There had been way too much growling around this house lately, I thought. "What was he doing here?" Isaac snarled."Whoa, there! What's wrong with you? Are you okay?" It occurred to me that I knew next to nothing about him, mostly what Ruthie had told me since scho
The True Nature Series Chapter 35: Too Close for Comfort
"WAIT! NOT SO FAST, mister." I pushed Isaac back. He looked wretchedly hopeful and what I wanted to say felt mean. He stared down at me with just the right amount of insecurity in his eyes to make me forget what I was going to say. I certainly didn't want to hurt him. I didn't want to make him mad, either, because that had gone over so well already. Instead, I took the coward's path and I tried to distract him. "Why did you guys miss school today, anyway?" He leaned back against the counter again, folding his arms. His face closed in. I got the feeling he didn't want to talk about it."Family thing. My uncle is visiting." "Nice. Wish I got to skip school for something like that," I said, trying to lighten things up. I didn't think my dad would ever let me skip school to visit with Uncle Ira."Actually, Phoebe and I didn't want to miss school. But, well, our folks are real sticklers about family duty." He made it sound like a chore, which, now that I thought about it, was true f
The True Nature Series Chapter 36: Fake Fuzzies
AS SOON AS THE front door slammed, Ruthie whirled around on me. "Man! I thought they'd never leave!""Yeah, they were weirder than normal."Ruthie shrugged. "They've always been that way. So, now you can finally tell me what really happened. And I know something happened. My scoop antenna is going crazy!" She rubbed her hands together gleefully.I shoved away from the table, not in the mood to divulge anything. And I was still kind of frustrated with her immature attitude toward my situation. "You really need to work on your improv. I mean really! You came over for math help, without your math book?" I grabbed another soda out of the fridge. "And then there was that stupid ringtone! Seriously, that was totally awkward for me!"I stared out the kitchen window. A chair scraped across the floor and a moment later Ruthie's arm curved around my shoulders. Strawberry-scented hair tickled my neck as she brought her other arm around me for a side-hug."Hey, girl, I guess I flunk at
The True Nature Series Chapter 37: Shadows
I EXPECTED ZANDER TO at least put up a fight, something. "Okay," he said, staring at the ground for a moment before smiling complacently at me. "I didn't mean to make you think there was more going on. I mean, I just want to get a good grade on the report and everyone said you were the smartest in the class."I frowned, not appreciating the way he was spinning this. I wasn't stupid. He had been flirting. Whether it reflected his real feelings or not was a different matter. "Fine," I said, a little curtly. I tried to tone down my irritation, reminding myself that I was on a mission to discover what he knew about Mom. "Let's meet in the library to work on it next time."He studied me for a long moment, and I thought I saw a flash of pain, but it could have been a reflection of the sun. "Okay," he agreed with a nod.My heart started shredding as I watched him walk away. I had agonized for hours wondering how to confront him about it. I mean, how do you say "let's just be friends" t
The True Nature Series Chapter 38: The Real Zander
RUTHIE LOOKED EXTRA FINE this morning when she picked me up. Her energy seemed to reach and attach itself to me, giving me a much-needed buzz. I smiled at her as she cheerfully explained her plan to nudge Val into inviting her to Homecoming."Did you ask your dad to pick you up from school today?" She asked. "Because I don't want to leave you stranded.""Oh, yeah, he's picking me up." I laughed. "I wouldn't dare mess with Operation Homecoming!" She giggled at the name I had given her scheme.After everyone had left the night before, Ruthie called me to discuss how she would manipulate things the next day with Val, starting with looking as hot as possible. She was going to pull him aside for a private lunch, which would just happen to be under a homecoming sign, which would make it simple to bring up the topic of who was going with whom, which would inevitably cause her to speculate on who she might go with, dropping a few names and batting her long black eyelashes. If he didn't ask
The True Nature Series Chapter 39: Game Changer
"NOW?" I YELPED. "ARE you crazy? We are going to get caught!" I'd never skipped school before, much to Ruthie's chagrin. She would have loved a partner in crime.Zander just clenched his jaw and propelled us both down the sidewalk behind the school."This is important," he said, looking around a corner before pulling me across the gap between buildings. We were still a good distance from the parking lot, where he seemed to be dragging me. Just then, a door opened behind us, and a voice bellowed, "Hey!" It was Mr. Dean, the football coach and biology teacher. His voice was loud and booming. "What do you two think you are doing?" Zander stopped with a large sigh and a muttered "Great!" He turned toward me and our eyes connected. Suddenly, his went wide, as if he'd just had an idea to get us out of trouble. I hoped it was a good one. He leaned in and whispered, "Do you think you can convince him to forget about us?" His eyebrows lifted when he said "convince.""What?" I whispered
The True Nature Series Chapter 40: Gotcha
I AWOKE TO THE smell of pine and ashes. And, the mother of all headaches. I tried to bring my hands to my head, but they were being held in place. I opened my eyes to find my wrists tied with rope to the leg of a wooden chair. I yanked uselessly. What the ...? Where was I? Blinking back my confusion, I sat up to assess my surroundings.The small room couldn't have been more than twenty to thirty square feet. The ceiling was made of bare, wooden beams, the walls knotty wood planks. Across the room stood a brown sofa with an end table and lamp. The sound of running water slipped out the bottom of a door next to it. My breath hitched. Who was that? A few scenes from different horror movies crossed my mind as I sped up my perusal of the room, looking for escape routes or possible weapons. Off to my right lay a small, faded kitchen with an old refrigerator, microwave, and sink. Rustic cupboards hung above a short counter. On the other side of me sat a wood stove. The door to this cozy esta
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