Kissed By Moonlight (20 page)

It was then I remembered my real reason for coming. With no small amount of reluctance, I put the pizza back down on the grease-stained box.

"This is about Adam Arnold, isn't it?" Vick said, noting my change in attitude.

I looked around the kitchen, at that swinging
door, at another door on the other side that led to who knew where. We were alone.

"Adam's a werewolf," I said.

Vick didn't even try to feign shock. He just nodded and breathed a heavy sigh.

"I know," he said.

"I know you know."

God, it sounded like some bad comedy skit. It felt like it was getting away from me. I don't think he was trying to be smug or anything, but the way he said that pushed my buttons.

"What you don't know is that he killed someone a few nights ago. A friend of mine. Jenn McClaughlin."

Vick staggered back as though I'd given him an expert jab in the stomach. Grabbing the counter, he gave me an intense look.

"Damn it," he said, "God damn it! I knew it! I knew I should have got him earlier..."

Just bringing up Jenn sent what was left of my appetite running. I shoved the pizza box away. How could I think of eating, when she was lying dead somewhere, probably torn up and looking like a wild animal got to her?

I couldn't leave her out there like that. I knew it was my fault, still. I could have just gone to be with her that night, but I let my own stupid desires get in the way.

"We can't find her body. I thought maybe you knew something that might help..."

"What do you mean, 'we?'" Vick said.

"Adam and I.
We spent all morning looking..."

"You took him with you? What the hell is wrong with you? He kills your friend and you just act all buddy
buddy... Wait, did you tell him about me?"

Vick started looking around the kitchen. His eyes fixed on a block of black-handled kitchen knives. Was he really that scared?

I rushed in, trying for some damage control. This wasn't going as I'd hoped.

"No, I didn't tell him about you or your warning. I know
it's crazy... I mean, it's all crazy, right? Werewolves and monsters aren't supposed to be real... But he knows what he did, and that it was wrong. And besides, I'm not even really sure he and the monster are the same..."

I realized I was rambling. Vick still looked ready to leap over the island and grab one of those knives, as though werewolf Adam was going to jump out of the fridge at us.

The tension in Vick's body let up a little as he considered what I said. At first, it looked like I'd been speaking another language to him. Finally, he frowned at me like he was trying to comprehend a new math equation.

"What do you mean he and the monster aren't the same?"

"I think it's like multiple personalities, you know? Same body, different people. He transformed in this safe room he has. When I looked into his eyes, it wasn't Adam. It was something else entirely… I think. Someone else, really… I don’t know."

"No, no. That's not right. A monster's a monster, even if he's really only doing bad things some of the time, the remainder doesn't make up for it."

I could feel some sort of philosophical discussion of identity coming on, and I really didn't want to have it. Not only because I'd already argued with myself along those lines, but also because every second we spent on this was a moment we weren't using to find Jenn.

"Whatever. What's your deal, Vick? How do you know about Adam at all? Actually, why are you here at all? You just don't seem the type..."

"What? You mean I don't act like a jock fratboy asshole like the rest of them?" he said, his frustration giving way to amusement, "Maybe I should try harder..."

"Don't. Guys like Eric are complete
douche bags. But that's the thing, you're not like Eric at all. So, Vick, if that is your real name, what is your deal?"

I leaned my elbows on the island and rested my chin against my clasped hands.

"Vick is my real name. Look, the rest is so complicated, it'd take too long... I'll try for the short version. My family has hunted monsters for generations. Some kids grow up to work in offices, or at the factory or join the police or whatever their mom or dad did. Well, my mom and dad hunt down things like Adam."

"Are they here?
Your mom and dad?" I said.

It felt like I'd stepped through the TV screen into some paranormal TV show or something. The first guy I like in years is an actual, honest to God werewolf. And the second turns out to be from some sort of monster hunting dynasty.

That thought caught me up. Did I really like Vick? I tried to put it down to hormones and the whole getting saved from Eric thing, but rationalizing my feelings like that didn't make them go away.

"No, no... This is my, uh, initiation, I guess you could call it. You graduate high school. I graduate into the family after I pass my exam."

The way he stressed that last word brought all my attention to him. I studied his face. Did he mean what I think he meant?

He gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"So... your final test is killing a monster all by yourself? You have to kill Adam?"

"I was. I've been watching him a while now, trying to figure out the best time. Then you and he... Well, I don't really know what's going on there. I decided to give it a bit more time. But now... but now!" he said, slamming his fists down onto the island hard enough to shake it.

I jumped back, my heart slamming.

"Now he's gone and killed someone. And I could have stopped it, if only I'd had the balls to do something sooner."

The veins in his neck stood out, and his shoulders heaved as he took long, gulping breaths. Was this what I looked like when I blamed myself for this whole thing?

"
It's okay, Vick. He knows what he's done. Do you know where he might have put the body? Jenn's body?"

Vick shook his head, running his hands through his hair.

"No. I've never actually seen him outside as the wolf. Seems whatever system he has going works... usually."

He started
pacing up and down the kitchen, rubbing at his chin and staring at the shiny linoleum floor.

I just wanted to get out of there, now. It took all that time just to learn that he had no clue where I should start looking. Also, he looked about ready to start blowing steam out of his ears.

It was back to square one. A ball of dread formed in my stomach as I thought of confronting Adam again. He was so torn up about all this. But I had to put him through it again, until we found her. Then... Well, then I would make sure he was locked up in that room of his every time that change happened.

"Where are you going?" Vick said.

"I have to get to class."

"Wait... You have to promise me you'll stay away from him now."

I took my hand off the kitchen door and let it flop back and forth in front of me.

"I can't. I have to find her, and he's my best shot. Besides, someone has to make sure he doesn't hurt anyone. I can do that. Now, I have to go."

"Stop!" Vick said, getting right in front of me. He really was a built guy, and quite imposing. I kept thinking he should be on the football team.

"It's obvious you care for him. And you know what? He actually sounds like an
okay guy. But he's got that thing inside him. Yeah, he seems able to control it or lock himself up most of the time. But he's already lost it and killed one person. What if it happens again, Stephanie?" he asked, putting his hands on my shoulders, "What if next time it's you?"

For a moment, we just looked into each other's eyes. I could see the worry in his as they examined me. It was touching that someone could feel that way about it, and it actually was a little strange to be on the receiving end. Was this how my mom felt for that whole year every time I looked at her?

But I'd helped my mom. And I could help Adam, too. Still, what Vick said struck a chord. I had so many mixed feelings about Adam. On one hand, I kept thinking about our kiss. That confirmed that he liked me back. On the other... Jenn's face kept surfacing in my thoughts. For a moment, her bloodless features were replaced with mine and I shivered.

"Let me by," I said, giving his hands pointed looks.

Vick nodded and released me. Before he stepped aside, though, it seemed he had one last thing to say.

"Look, at least take my cell number. If anything happens, I promise I'll answer it right away.
No matter what."

"Fine," I said, digging my phone out of my pocket and handing it to him. A few seconds later, he gave it back with his number programmed in.

I was just about to slip through the kitchen door when he touched my shoulder.

"And Stephanie?
Don't tell him about me, okay?"

I didn't give him an answer. Instead, I walked out of that frat house and tried to get everything set for my next class.

Chapter 29

Every night that week, Adam turned. I knew because I spent each of those nights at his house. Each evening, after class he would come and pick me up from my dorm in that BMW.

It seemed each day that went by without finding Jenn added another ton or two to the weight sitting on his shoulders.

My coursework suffered, of course. It was all I could do to attend class and
try to sit there with glassy eyes, shaking myself from my stupor every few moments to try and scratch something down on my notepad.

I knew my grades would start slipping soon. There were end of term essays due. I hadn't even finished reading
Jane Eyre
yet, let alone written down any sort of thesis or outline for the ten page paper I had to turn in.

All that stuff seemed to pale in importance when I sat across from Adam in his kitchen.
I still hadn't seen any of the staff he'd talked about, but I assume they'd come and gone several times. The fridge was always stocked, and the whole place was spotless and smelling of cleaners.

Though I had to admit it was almost good to feel like someone depended on me again. It was like old times back in Pasadena. Except now I wasn't running to the pharmacy to hand over a bunch of rolled pennies for a
prescription.

"I thought that werewolves were only supposed to transform during full moons?"
I said one day, twirling my fork in the spaghetti on my plate. It was just plain pasta and plain red sauce, nothing fancy.

The red sauce was a mistake, I thought. Adam could hardly look at it.

"If only," Adam said, "The full moon can cause it. But strong emotions are also a trigger. That's why I try to stay away from most people, usually. People make you feel things. If I don't hang around with many, I don't have to feel that way. See?"

I did. It sounded like such an empty, unfulfilled life. Yeah, it seemed somehow easier. With fewer people around you, there'd be
fewer arguments and disagreements, not so many disappointments, or any of those other negative things. But the opposite was true as well.

It would be simply existing, rather than living. And that was a feeling I was familiar with.

After getting a suitably large amount of spaghetti onto my fork, I shoveled it into my mouth.

My heart went out to him. There was so much potential in there, but he was cursed for something that happened so many years before he was even born. Why should he suffer for something a family member of his did so long ago? It just didn't seem fair.

I was so lost in thought that when he dropped his fork onto his plate, the sharp noise of it nearly made me topple backwards.

Adam lurched from his chair, pulling at that torn jacket. I'd told him to get rid of it, but he just wouldn't. He said it reminded him of what he'd done.

"It's happening..." he said, his face already twisting with pain.

Sunlight still came in through the windows. It was so early for this. Still, I jumped out of my chair and made my way around to him. I'd become somewhat accustomed to his transformation now. And this worried me.

It was getting faster, every time. I wrapped his arm around my shoulder even as waves of fear washed through me. There was already a deep rumble in his throat, and if he opened his clenched eyes I knew they'd be a different color.

I
almost dropped him down the stairs to the basement as we made our way down.

I yelped as his fingernails turned to claws and pushed into the flesh of my shoulder.

"Steph... I'm so sorry, Steph..." he groaned, not even sounding like himself anymore.

"
It’s okay, you're going to be fine. It's all going to be fine," I said through my teeth, unsure if I even believed myself anymore.

He practically jumped into the scarred room with the big door. The first few nights, I'd sat in front of it, listening to his tortured noises as he became the wolf. Tonight, they receded behind me as I walked back up the stairs and to the kitchen.