All Chapters of You Taste Like Trouble To Me... : Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

It was firm and didn't just break the silence… it shattered it. James froze, his head snapping up as the blinding beam of a high-powered light that managed to cut through the steam on the windshield. He reacted before the sound had even finished echoing. In one fluid, violent motion, the man was up, shielding Lotte’s trembling body with his own. He didn't reach for his shirt, just her. His large frame immediately blocked the window and whoever was out there. Tucking Lotte’s head into the crook of his shoulder to keep her hidden from prying eyes, the man’s breath was starting to come in ragged, heated hitches. His gaze was already leveled at the window, dark and lethal, like a wolf guarding its kill.… Then a familiar voice broke through the tension, turning Lotte’s insides to goo. "Found 'em, Dad!" David boomed, dripping with a humorous undertone. "Good thing, too… looks like James was right in the middle of some very thorough first aid lesson. Glad he was here to make sure Lotte was

The next morning came with a deceptive brightness. As Lotte fell out of bed, she found a simple sweater, some old jeans… and then her new boots planted just outside the door. With a grin, the girl took Brandon’s hint and slipped into them, despite still having to go through the rest of the house. No one seemed to mind. In fact, the sight of Charlotte wearing her ‘present’, appeared to make more than one Lupman happy. This included Lila.Bouncing up from her seat, the redhead wrapped her arms around Charlotte’s middle for a morning hug the girl had yet to experience under this roof. Thrown off, Lotte managed to give the other girl a pat on the back, but wasn’t sure what else she was expected to do. “We should get you a better jacket next,” Lila cooed. “Alana and I need to go clothes shopping soon… Matty is about to burst out of his little boots, and Brandon shot up several inches. Want to go with us?” With the knowledge that it would be a trip for the boys, Lotte began nodding her h

The ride home with Henry was just as peaceful as the ride in. He had picked up some pizza things for Lotte and Brandon to put together for dinner, and promised to be back in the morning. Charlotte couldn’t thank him enough as she heaved the brown bag into her arms and made her way toward the house. Henry had barely looked at her when he said goodbye, his mind already miles away at the old church where his wife’s bones waited for him. It wasn’t until she was inside that the girl heard the eldest Lupman family member drive off. His consideration gave her a big smile. Lotte, who had been expecting to hear some kind of noise upon entering the house, the familiar chaos of a thirteen-year-old boy, was surprised when silence was all that greeted her. "Brandon?" she called out, stepping into the foyer. No answer.Busying herself with laying out their dinner supplies, Charlotte tried calling again, “Brandon! I’m home!” No answer. Wondering if the boy had gone to take a nap, she made her w

The apple orchard was a blur of shapes, colors, and sounds. All of which Charlotte had never noticed before. It was as if someone had taken the world she had lived in her whole life and turned it into a thriving being. Red… Silver… Shadows… Hidden critters all about… Chittering and chattering… And then she could smell him…Brandon.The boy had not gotten too far away, despite how fast he had bolted from the yard. In fact, as Lotte burst through a thicket of trees, she recognized the space as the one the boy had taken refuge in the day he toppled her. Only this time he wasn’t alone. The young wolf, his gray fur matted with mud, was snapping fruitlessly at the heels of a stag that looked more like a prehistoric monster than a deer. It was a massive, scarred buck that would have made any local hunter proud… Unfortunately for young Brandon, it was winning.Charlotte watched, her heart no longer racing with excitement but with fear, as the massive creature reared back against the tiny w

Stepping in front of Brandon, Lotte moved cautiously toward the back door. A single kitchen light was on and provided just enough of a guiding force to get the two of them to the house safely. Reaching for the door handle, the girl gave a steady yank and waited. She wasn’t sure what she was waiting for… Her Aunt with a gun, maybe… Ready to kill them both… No, as she took her first step over the creaking, messy floorboard, Charlotte wasn’t greeted by a gunshot. Instead, she spotted Romy at the other end of the table. The woman was nursing an ice pack to her head and a bottle of something amber in her other hand. She didn’t move as they entered, nor as Lotte, still shielding Brandon, guided him through the dining room. She was a silhouette of domestic calm amidst the carnage in the dining room. Her eyes tracked them from the doorway, landing on the dark, blooming stains on their clothes.The gun was nowhere to be seen. This was a fact that scared Charlotte more than anything. Continui