Silver Moon (19 page)

I point. “Um, up there.”

He gracefully carries me up the stairs and, when we get to the top, I direct him toward my room. The only boy I’ve ever had in a room of mine is Sean—my friend in
Charleston
—but he doesn’t count. He’s more of a brother to me.

Ben lays me down on the bed.

“I’ll be back in a bit,” he says.

I sit up. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t think Randy and Beth would be too happy to see my car out front when they get home. I need to go park it down the street. Then I’ll be back to take care of your leg.”

I give him a nod. He darts out the door.

Waiting for him hurts, but I’m pretty sure my leg hurts more. I hope the throbbing goes away. Another hour and I might bleed to death. Okay, not really, but it feels like it. The wise thing to do: take me to a hospital. I just hope Ben has a good plan.

It doesn’t take long for me to crash into a sleep-induced coma.

I’m falling. My hair stands vertical against gravity. But as I near the ground, I’m frozen in mid-air.
He
stands beside me, appearing out of nowhere. His body is no more than a black mist, transparent.

He runs a ghost-like hand from my toes to my head, surveying my entire body. His touch is what I’ve always thought clouds to feel like—cold and airy. Even though I can’t see his eyes, I know he’s staring at me. I
still
can’t see his face. Cautiously, his hand moves toward my neck, grabs hold and squeezes. I’m suffocating.

But my limbs won’t budge. Some greater power holds me in place. If there was a way to fight back, I would.

Tighter he squeezes. Tighter and harder. My face feels like it’s falling asleep, going numb. Green and white dots freckle my eyesight.

He begins shaking me. The last moments of my life swirl and reel in a vortex of bright colors and familiar faces.

“Candra! Wake up!”

I
suck
in a deep breath, my hands immediately clutching my throat. Ben stands beside my bed, watching me suspiciously. I pull myself into a sitting position.

“Bad dream,” I mumble, coughing up the words.

He scratches the back of his neck. “Sounded like it.”

I struggle to move my leg. “Ouch.” I wince, pulling a sharp breath in through my teeth.
 

“Do you have anything we can use to treat this?” he asks, staring at my makeshift bandage. Blood has soaked its way through his old t-shirt. I don’t want it on my comforter. Beth will really freak out then.

“I think there’s a first-aid kit in the bathroom,” I say. “Maybe some sort of bandages and cream.”

Ben doesn’t hesitate. He storms toward the hallway, and I hear the medicine cabinet above the sink screech open. When he comes back, he has ointment, gauze and scissors.

“This should work,” he tells me, taking a seat at the end of my bed. He sets my leg across his lap and unwraps the improvised dressing.

My leg looks like Swiss cheese, with large, gaping holes from the bites. I look away.
Don’t pass out,
I convince myself.

“Damn,” states Ben. “This is worse than I thought.” Lightly, his fingers graze my skin.

I tremble.

“I’ll get you fixed in no time,” he says.

Unwinding the gauze, he snips a portion off, drizzling water from a paper cup and blotting my skin. Most of the bleeding has stopped, but Ben takes extra care in making sure there’s no excess. He squeezes the ointment onto my leg, gently rubbing circles.

“Does that hurt?” he asks.

I shake my head. “No, I’m good.” Okay, that’s a complete lie. I want to bawl my eyes out until they’re dry, and, really, I’m only trying to be brave. Being brave sucks.

After he applies the medicated gel, he wraps my leg.

He tosses me one of his smiles. “See, all better.”

“Thanks.” I feel sheepish for letting him stay and take care of me. I’ll be throwing a pity party later, with guilt as the appetizer and misery for the main course. How can I repay him? I’m the one who started this, yet he’s the one taking care of me.

“You going to be all right?” he asks, carefully lifting my leg off his lap and setting it on the bed, as he stands up.

I bite my lip and respond, “I’ll be fine.”

He walks to my window, flips the latch and raises it.

“Wait,” I blurt. “Don’t go.”

His face sinks. “Candra, I can’t stay here.”

“I keep my door closed most of the time, anyway. They’ll never know you’re here. Please? Just for tonight?” My heart plays a melody, frantically humming against my chest.

He faces the window again—gaze lowering to the sill. “Do you know how much is at stake right now?” he asks through clenched teeth.

“I know.”

He forces a sigh. “This one time. That’s it.”

I scoot over on the bed. Ben pulls the comforter down, and then pulls it back up over us. He faces away from me. I stare at his shoulders and back for a long time, even assessing the tiny hairs at the base of his neck.

“Night,” I finally say.

But he doesn’t respond.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“
W
here have you been?” Jana asks at school the next day.

“At home,” I sarcastically reply. “Where else would I be?”

“Well, it’s just…I feel like I haven’t seen you much lately. I mean—OH MY GOD. What happened to your leg?”

I glance at my ankle. “Nothing it’s just a scratch.”

“Um, scratches don’t require the use of heavy bandages.”

I don’t say anything. We walk side by side through the crowd of students in the hallway until we reach my locker. I spin the lock a few times and it clicks open.

“Did you hear about those two sophomores who went missing?”

“Uh, no. I don’t really keep up with the news. Plus, I’ve been busy.”

“Oh, well. They can’t seem to find them. I don’t know them, though. But that’s so awful.”

“That’s what search and rescue is for.” I do think it’s a little strange that two girls go missing. But who knows? Maybe they decided to get out of this place, and didn’t tell anyone.

Jana cuts the thick air by asking, “You’re still coming to work today, right?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I? Just because you haven’t seen me in a couple of days doesn’t mean I quit my job,” I snap. Why am I being so bitchy to her? I take a breath and collect my thoughts.

“Good, because Lily’s acting weird lately. I think she might quit.” Jana cringes.

“Lily, Lily,” I mock. “I can’t stand her.”

Jana leans against the set of lockers beside mine, folding her arms across her chest. “Candra, what’s wrong with you today? You’re never like this.”

“I’m in a shitty mood,” I reply, which is entirely true.

“Sorry to hear that,” she mumbles. “Anyway, I guess I’ll see you in class.”

I
want
to apologize for my behavior, but I choke on words that never leave my mouth. How can I explain to her what’s going on? She’ll never understand. Most of the werewolves of
West Hartford
—from what I’ve learned—don’t want their identities in the open. They don’t want humans finding out we exist. We’re nothing.

My stomach feels fuzzy. First period whizzes by, and as soon as I hit the door for second period, I realize Ben’s not in his desk. I search the room, but he’s nowhere.

Maybe he’s at his locker,
I think.

Classmates file into their seats, and still no sign of him. The tardy bell rings, and I know then that he’s not coming to class. I almost feel stupid for asking him to stay with me last night. I should’ve let him leave, go home, wherever.

English is one big blur. I’m ready to leave, and it’s only noon.

Jana’s late for lunch, but sits with me at our usual table by the back windows.

“Where’s Blake?” I ask as soon as she sits.

“Oh, he had some plans with his family today. I have no clue what they’re up to. An annual get-together or something,” she blathers.

“Sounds boring.” I snort.

“Maybe, but at least he’s not at school.”

I weigh the options. “True.”

“What
really
happened to you?” Jana’s eyes are like truth serum. I can’t hold my words back. Once I open my mouth to speak, they’ll flow like water.

“I was born an idiot,” I answer, staring at the plain table.

“No, you weren’t. Why would you think that?”

I hiss the words through my teeth as I look up. “Look, there’s stuff going on that you don’t know about, stuff I can’t tell you. So, it’d be nice if you stop asking me questions.” Instantly, I regret saying it, and turn my face away.

Seconds of silence dangle between us. Jana’s face speaks for itself. A combination of shock and hurt crumples her features.

She says, “Okay,” and picks up her tray.
 

I battle with myself for two seconds.

“Wait!” I yell.

She turns around and walks toward me, keeping her distance.

She’ll be even more pissed when she hears about Ben. I might lose her on this one, but I inhale, exhale through my mouth, and say, “Have a seat.” When she does, I say, “Ben stayed the night with me.”

She’s speechless, I assume, since she doesn’t say anything at first. So I’m quick to add, “I ran into his mom, and things got a little out-of-hand.”

“I hate to say it, but I told you so.”

I shrug it off. “Yeah, I know I was wrong.”

Her eyes soften. “They’re crazy, Candra. I didn’t tell you to stay away from Ben for just any reason. In case you haven’t noticed, they kind of hate you.”

“I’ve noticed,” I say, staring anywhere but at her.

“So, tell me,” she starts, “why didn’t he pick you up for school this morning?”

I groan. “You noticed?”

She nods.

“I have no idea. When I woke up, he was gone.” I’m quick to add, “But we didn’t sleep together, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Uh-huh.” She doesn’t sound convinced, and her smile is nothing but wicked, a slap in the face. Why didn’t I listen to her, Randy and Beth?

~*~

Work drags, even though customers flood in, like we’re giving away free clothes. I’ve never been so busy in my life. And sitting around all the time, doing nothing but folding shirts and jeans, and taking pictures for the website, doesn’t prepare me much.

“Whoa! That was rough!” Jana exclaims, pretending to wipe sweat from her brow once our last customer leaves.

I blow a raspberry. “Yeah, too much for me. Where’d all those people come from?”

She shakes her head, and tidies up the counter. “I have no idea. Is it bad that I hope they don’t come back for a while?”

“Funny. You read my mind.” I throw her a smile.

She steps down from behind the counter, and leans against it. “I meant to ask you if you want to go to
Hartford
with me and Blake this weekend.”

I shrug. “Yeah, sure. What’s going on there?”

“Just a getaway trip. Nothing fancy. We wanted to get some fresh air for a bit,” she says.

I smile and think,
You have no idea how much fresh air I need,
but refrain from saying it aloud. “I’m in.”

“Good! C’mon. Let’s get this place cleaned up, before another herd stampedes through here,” she says, taking off toward the supply room.

The clothes are in lumpy piles, and sizes are completely out of order. Somehow we manage to get everything back where it belongs, and neatly.

“I need to get the new shipment and spread it on the table, so we can take pictures,” Jana says, chewing on her lower lip.