Witches & Werewolves: A Sacred Oath (8 page)

“Sure,” Jen says, mashing her foot to the floor. We zip even faster. I’m pale as a ghost by the time we hit the cliffside curves where I crashed. Again, my foot stomps for the nonexistent brake pedal. “You realize this is where, I… uh…”

“I know, is it weird?” Jen says.

“It would be less weird if you slowed down.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Jen backs off the gas a little, but not nearly as much as I’d like. Noah seems to be thoroughly enjoying the ride. I don’t know if he likes the speed, or if he just gets a kick out of watching me squirm. The kid is fearless.

When we reach Jake’s place I need a crowbar to pry my fingers from the hand grip, and I feel like I’ve been completely drained of blood. I’m cold and clammy, and if I never have to drive down that road again, I’d be ok with it.
 

Jake is sprawled out on the couch watching TV. Empty beer cans stand at attention on the coffee table, like soldiers in the battle against sobriety.
 
“I was getting worried about you. Thought you had driven off another cliff,” Jake says.

I huff and roll my eyes.
 

“No worries, uncle Jake. I was driving. I don’t do cliffs,” Jen says. “Come on, lets get you fixed up,” she says to me.

“Fixed up?” I ask.

“Well, you can’t go on a date looking like this.”

“It’s not a date!”

“Whatever,” she says, dragging me back to my room.

Jen sits me down and breaks out her plethora of makeup products. I have to admit, the girl is talented. What she does is pure magic. It’s like she’s sprinkled me with ferry dust, or something. My skin glows, not a blemish in sight. I don’t know how she gets my hair to do what it just did. It never seems to do exactly what I want, but Jen has some mystical command over it. I think she needs to open a salon, or work for a fashion photographer. I look like the airbrushed pages of a magazine, but natural. Without a visible trace of makeup imperfections. The makeup isn’t caked on or powdery, no clumps in the mascara, and everything is blended perfectly.
 

I stare into the mirror, stunned. “How?”

“Lots of practice,” she says. “And a good canvas to work on,” she grins and winks.
 

It’s nice to have magically talented friends.
 

“He is going to be smitten,” she says, admiring her work.

“Ethan?” I ask.

“No. Lucas. He already is, that’s obvious.”

“Why are you encouraging this?”

“Because he doesn’t have a sister that wants to pulverize you,” Jen says.

“What is her deal? Why does she hate me?”

“They are a close family. Maybe she sees you as a threat?” Jen says.

“Close? How close? Like, weird close?”

“No. Tight knit,” Jen fumbles for the perfect description. “Like a pack.”
 

Jen’s eyes narrow, and she stares deep into mine, as if she’s trying to see into my thoughts. The phrase, “like a pack,” reverberates in my mind.
 

“Just be careful,” she says. “Haven Hill isn’t the sleepy little town you remember.”

“I’ve had my heart broken before,” I say, playing a little dumb. I'm trying to see if Jen will voluntarily elaborate on her admonition.
 

Jen chuckles. “Heartbreak is the least of your worries.”

“What do you know about these
animal attacks
?”
 

“I know what you know,” she says.

“Sheriff said it was a bear, or maybe a wolf?”

“The Sheriff is most likely right,” Jen says. She sounds like a politician. Trying to pick and choose her words carefully so as not to lie, but to not fully illuminate the truth either.

“If I had to guess, I’d say wolf.” My words hang in the air like mist.
 

“I’d guess wolf, too,” Jen replies.

“But not an ordinary type of wolf?”

“There’s not too much that’s ordinary in Haven Hill.”

It seems that neither one of us wants to say out loud what we’re thinking. It’s too crazy to say out loud. They lock people away in padded cells who think these kinds of thoughts. But I know I’m not crazy, and I know what I’ve seen. The silver nitrate burned Ethan’s hand in chemistry.
 
The strength he displayed during my rescue was inhuman. The night of the attacks, hovering over the bodies, his appearance was altered. Of all of these things I am certain. I’m just going to blurt it out. “Is Ethan—?”

Before I can finish my question, before Jen can respond, uncle Jake is calling for me.
 

Lucas is here.

CHAPTER 11

BY THE TIME I get into the living room, I’m certain this is the worst idea in the history of ideas, and I find myself thoroughly embarrassed. Uncle Jake has invited Lucas inside and he is standing in the living room, if you can call it that, surveying the premises. What must he be thinking? It’s a pig stye really. Empty beer cans and crumb filled bags of chips crumpled up on the couch. Shag carpet from 1972. Scuffed vinyl flooring that’s peeling up in the corners. And that god awful faux wood panelling that lines the walls.
 

“I dig it. It’s totally got that retro vibe,” Lucas says.
 

I can’t tell if he’s being sarcastic.
 

“Thank you, I paid extra to give it that aged look,” Jake says.
 

Lucas nods.

“Vintage don’t come cheap,” Jake gloats, grabbing another beer. “You want one?”

“Uncle Jake!” I snap. “He’s seventeen!”

“Oh, yeah,” Jake realizes. “More for me.” With that, Jake cracks open the beer, fizzing out onto the carpet. He glances down at the foaming pool of suds on the shag. “Adds texture,” he says, then guzzles half of the beer down in one gulp.
 

Jen giggles, amused by the outrageousness of the situation. I shoot her a look and she cuts her giggle off immediately, though she struggles to contain herself. I guess if this wasn’t my life I’d be a little amused as well. But giving Jake an audience only encourages him.
 

“Are you ready to go, Lucas?” I ask, trying to rush us out.

“Uh, sure,” Lucas says.
 

“Where are you going?” Jake interrupts.

“We were just going to grab something to eat,” I say.

“Oh, great, I’m starving,” Jake says.
 

“No!” I blurt out.

“I’m hungry, and so is Noah, and there’s no food in the house,” says Jake.

“Yeah, I think that’s a great idea. Let’s all grab something to eat,” Lucas says, with a smile.

I’m about to explode. I can feel my face flushing red. This is surely going to be a disaster. After a few deep breaths, I calm down and realize that this is probably a good thing. This will take any weird awkwardness out of the whole non-date thing. Now it will just be a weird, awkward family and friends dinner.
 

“We need to stop at the grocery store afterwards,” Jake says.

Lucas just grins. “Not a problem. Where do you want to eat?”

Everyone shrugs.
 

“How about pizza?” Lucas asks.

I get the sense that Lucas would be okay with just about anything. He seems so easy going, and I think he genuinely doesn’t mind my dysfunctional family tagging along. I don’t know what it is about him, but Lucas seems to have a calming effect on everyone. He always has a little bit of a smile, and there is always a glimmer in his eye. He has this boyish charm, perfectly happy wherever he is, whatever he’s doing. Not a care in the world. Never in a rush, like time doesn’t matter.
 

I wish I could be like that. I’m constantly stressing out about tomorrow. Ever since my parents died I feel like I’m hyper aware of every second—we only get so many. How many seconds do I have left? How many does Noah? We all have an expiration date. Everything you ever love will either die or go away at some point. Everything exists in a state of entropy, constantly decaying. It’s the natural order of things. It makes me not want to love anything, because I don’t want to lose it.
 

It seems like the slightest thing can set me off on a train of thought that I’d rather not be on. Seemingly innocuous things. Everyone warned me this would happen. They said, “Out of the blue, you’ll get hit with a wave of emotion.” And it’s true. One minute I’m fine, then this. I burst into tears and sob uncontrollably.
 

“We can eat somewhere else if pizza’s a problem,” Lucas says.

“No, pizza’s great,” I say, trying to pull myself together. “It’s just last time, I ordered pineapple and mushroom, and I got pepperoni instead,” I say, sarcastically.

“I’ll make sure you get what you order this time,” Lucas says.

I don’t think anyone believes that’s the reason for my outburst, but they all play along. Jen reaches out, putting a hand on my back to sooth me. She gives me a look that says everything is going to be okay. It’s nice to have good friends.

While pizza might not solve all the world’s problems, it’s making me forget about mine for a moment. We all stuff our faces, crowded into a booth at Johnny’s Pizza. This is really good pizza, and I just happen to be starving. Plus, with everyone’s mouth full of cheese and dough, awkward conversations are minimized. For the moment.
 

Despite a mouthful of cheese and pepperoni, Lucas manages to ask, “What exactly brings you to Haven Hill?”

 
“I thought everyone knew by now, the way people gossip in this town.” I don’t mean to come off gruff, but my words just come out that way. “I don’t know if you’ve ever had to bury anyone, but it’s expensive. Like, way expensive. And they screw you on everything.”

The table is silent. Everyone has stopped eating. Lucas turns pale, and his jaw drops wide open. “I’m sorry, I had no idea.”

I go into full rant mode. “Well, it’s true. I don’t know if you know anything about caskets, but they start at $2500. That’s the cheapest one. But it doesn’t stop there. You can’t just put a casket in the ground, it has to go in a vault. That’s another two grand. And that’s the cheap part. Then the undertaker is about nine grand. And don’t forget about the ‘property.’ That’s going to run you another ten grand for a six foot deep hole in the ground. Well, you don’t really own the property, you get what they call a ‘right of internment.’ Which is pretty much a right to be worm food. Then double all that when both your parents die at the same time. The insurance policy was barely enough to cover the funeral. And there wasn’t anything left to cover the mortgage on the house. So, to answer your question, thats what brings us to the lovely town of Haven Hill to live with uncle Jake.”
 

I smile a big, fake, sarcastic smile. I think I’ve effectively killed everyone’s appetite.

“Please forgive me, I didn’t mean to bring up a painful memory,” Lucas says.
 

“Not a big deal, we’ve all got to die sometime, right?” I say.
 

“My mom was killed last year, so I know a little bit about caskets,” Lucas says.

I’m a total jerk. I’ve been focusing on all my problems. I haven't given the slightest consideration to what anyone else might be going through.
 

“How are we doing here? Can I get you guys anything else?” the waitress asks, popping by the booth.
 

“Another pitcher of beer,” Jake says.

“Uncle Jake!” I grumble, raising an eyebrow.
 

“What? Larry here is driving,” Jake slurs.

“Lucas,” I say, correcting him.

“Whatever,” says Jake.

I apologize to Lucas for my self absorbed rant, and for Jake’s lack of manners. Lucas just seems to take it all in stride. I’m fairly confident that this night has gone about as wrong as it could go, and the worst is certainly behind us. But the minute I think that, it gets worse. My stomach turns with nerves the moment I see Ethan and Olivia walk in. I slouch down and lean back, trying to hide behind Jake, without being too obvious about it.
 

I feel like a complete moron because I know he sees me, and trying to hide just makes me look even worse. My mind races, wondering what he’s thinking. Does he think I’m here with Lucas? Does he even care that I’m here at all?
 

Whatever. I don’t owe anyone and explanation about anything. I can do whatever I want. I could plant a big, wet kiss on Lucas right now and it’s nobody’s business. Although, that might make for an even more awkward night, so I decide better of that idea.
   

Across the restaurant, Olivia’s eyes catch mine, and I see them ignite. A smirk wipes across her face, like she’s caught me with my hand in the cookie jar. I smile at her. It’s the only thing I can do. Her smirk turns to a frown, and the veins in her forehead bulge. Maybe my smile was pushing it?
 

Ethan sits with his back to me, like he doesn’t want to see me. Olivia furiously rants at him in a hushed tone. I try not to pay attention to them, but my eyes keep flitting in their direction—I can’t help myself. And Lucas is watching all of this.