Scarred (10 page)

“Who's Scarlet?” he asked, trying to follow.

“My wolf,” I whispered. “We're two sides to a coin. You get one or the other—never both. She's who saved you, not me.”

“So she's not you?” he asked, his face scrunched up with confusion.

“Yes and no. It's complicated,” I said, trying to figure out how best to explain. “Take Cooper for example―he and his wolf are one being. They function as one, furry or not. Scarlet and I...well, we struggle. One starts where the other stops, and the transition between us is abrupt, though it seems that, over time, we're slowly bleeding into one another. There's a little more gray area than there used to be.”

“So you're a two-for-one combo?”

“Basically,” I said with a shrug. “You can't have one without the other, but that doesn't mean we're in sync with each other. If Coop likes you, his wolf likes you, but that's not so much the case for me. Scarlet and I don't always see eye to eye on a lot of things. We have differing
tastes
, as it were.”

“Does she like me?” he asked, sounding nervous. I couldn't help but laugh.

“I have no idea, Matty. I haven't checked in with her on that one,” I said, trying to stifle my giddiness that was clearly beginning to irritate him. “I'll say this much...she wasn't going to let you be killed in the alley that night. For Scarlet, that's a stamp of approval.”

“Good,” he said, looking far more satisfied. “I don't think I'd want her against me.”

“You don't, trust me. She's no joke,” I said, jabbing him with an innocent elbow to the ribs.

After an unbearable pause in the conversation, Matty finally spoke up.

“So where do we go from here?” he asked, pushing a stray hair away from my cheek.

“That's up to you,” I said, turning to face him directly. “I didn’t tell anyone that you have any knowledge about me...about what I am.”

“Me either,” he said with a laugh. “I didn't want to end up in the nut house.”

I didn't say that I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want him
dead
. That seemed like the type of information best kept to myself.

“So we're cool?” I asked, voice barely audible.

“If that's how you want it, then we're cool.”

I relaxed into his body, wrapping my arms around his waist. Having him back meant more to me than he could possibly know. More than I could possibly put into words. We sat there in silence, while the tapping of the rain became the soundtrack to our mended friendship. Time passed, light faded, and still we sat, neither one wanting to withdraw from the other.

My phone vibrating for the tenth time finally forced my hand. I pulled it out to see that Cooper had called.
Repeatedly
.

“I should be getting back,” I said, not really wanting to leave.

“Me too. Ma's making my favorite tonight. Don't want to miss that.”

“Will you smooth things over with her for me?” I asked, grabbing his arm. “I really like your family. I don't want her to think I hurt you.”

“That's gonna cost you,” he said, his wicked grin making a comeback.

“Ah...and you were doing so well,” I said sarcastically.

“I'm only human,” he said with a shrug. I flinched, my hand recoiling. “Ruby, I didn't mean—”

“It's alright, Matty,” I said, forcing a smile. “I'm just not used to this yet. I know you didn't mean anything by it.”

We stood to leave, and he pulled me in for one last hug before he looked at his watch.

“Shit!” he yelled. “It's later than I thought. I really have to run...like
now
.”

“Go ahead,” I said, waving him on, “but the umbrella stays. Your hair will fare far better in this than mine.”

“You’re okay to get home by yourself?” he asked. I cocked my head to the side in mock indignation. “Old habits die hard, Ruby. I won't make that mistake again. Note to self: Ruby can handle things.”

“Thank you,” I said with a reserved bow. “I'm gonna call Cooper before he totally flips out. See you next week? At class?”

“If not before then,” he said with a wink. “Later, blue eyes.”

He left me smiling in the rain. I watched him disappear into the downpour, thinking that I was a lucky girl. For once—just once—the universe graced me with something good rather than taking a big dump on my head. It was a nice change of pace.

The light of the cell phone was hard on my eyes in the pitch black that surrounded me. I dialed Cooper to let him know I was good, and to make sure that the universe wasn't just distracting me with Matty so it could slap me with some other calamity, making the fall from happiness all the more dramatic. It turned out that he was just worried; there were no major travesties to be reported. Mildly irritated that I needed to report to him, I told him I was on my way and hung up. I knew he'd be watching the clock and waiting. If I wasn't home in the time he'd allotted, he'd come looking for me.

I flipped the phone closed, giving my eyes a second to adjust to the darkness again. When I looked down the dock, I noticed something that hadn't been there moments earlier. A figure stood at the far end in the shadows of the night, the deflected rain outlining his faintly backlit body.

“It's not safe for a girl like you to be out here alone at night,” he said, his voice carrying over the pounding rain.

I had nowhere to go, and I wanted to kick myself for not running back with Matty. It wasn't like I couldn't have kept up with him. I searched wildly around me for options, of which there were none. Panicking slightly, I pulled out my phone to dial Cooper as the figure approached. Letting Scarlet out was my last resort, but that was a card I
really
couldn’t afford to play.

“Time you be headin' home now,” he said, only feet away from me. The hood of his coat shrouded his face, but there was something about his voice that made me hang up the phone. “Do you
hear
me?” he asked, pulling the fabric away from his face. “It's not safe. Not for
you
.”

A man of about seventy plus years looked at me through aged but sharpened eyes, illuminated only faintly by the phone I held nervously in front of me, my fingers caressing the keys. He didn't seem to want to harm me, not from what I could tell, but the whole situation freaked me out and I wanted to run—fast.

“Okay,” I said quietly. “I'll go.”

“I don't mean to scare you, miss,” he said, reaching out a weathered but sturdy hand. “These are dangerous times for the likes of you. Best you be getting yourself home.”

“I will...thank you.”

He extended his hand toward me while I searched his face.

“Gavin,” he said, introducing himself. “Name's Gavin.”

“Ruby,” I returned without thinking.

“Get yourself home quick then, Ruby. Dangerous times these are...”

“Goodnight,” I said, hurrying past him.

I was just clear of him when I busted into a flat-out sprint, dropping my umbrella to the ground. I didn't stop for anything, totally oblivious to my surroundings along the way. With guided feet, I did exactly what Gavin had told me to do—I got myself home quickly.

7

Cooper lazily looked up from the TV, unfazed by my Kramer-esque entrance. I slammed the door closed behind me before collapsing against it, trying to catch my evasive breath. I stood there, soaked to the bone, dripping all over the hardwood floor. Still unmoving, he eyed me carefully, undoubtedly trying to assess what kind of shenanigans I'd gotten myself into—or narrowly avoided.

“You're early,” he said, game face intact.

“I ran,” I said, panting heavily.

“I can see that. What I’m curious about is the
why
behind it.”

Stripping off Matty's hoodie, I peeled off my shoes that seemed adhered to my feet, stuck like glue from the moisture.

“Um, maybe because it's pouring outside?” I suggested unconvincingly.

“I don't even know why you bother trying, Ruby. You're a terrible liar,” he said, clicking the TV off.

“It's nothing, really. I just freaked myself out at the harbor,” I said, heading to the bathroom. “Maybe you should stop making me watch those horror films and I wouldn't have that problem.” I wrung my hair out over the sink before grabbing a towel, then stepped out into the hall to find Cooper inconveniently blocking the way to my room.

“So the
harbor
scared you?” he asked, arms folded over his chest. It wasn't the time to point it out, but his mannerisms were taking on a striking resemblance to a certain PC assassin that he wasn't overly fond of.

“No,” I replied, trying to walk around him. When I realized he wouldn't give way without an answer, I provided him with one. “There was this old guy...
Gavin
. He looked super creepy all decked out in a black raincoat, skulking around the dock. He told me it wasn't safe for me to be there and it spooked the hell out of me so I ran home. Happy?”

“Where was your Boy Scout when all of this transpired?”

“He had to head home. I told him to go on without me, and then I called you. The messenger of doom showed up right after I hung up with you.”

“
Old
guy?” he asked, looking pensive. “How old is
old
?”

“I don't know...senior citizen age, whatever that is,” I said, trying to get around him with greater success.

“So some crazy old guy tells you it's not safe and you spaz out? Maybe we really should stop watching those movies,” he said, sounding as though he thought my point had validity.

“Okay, glad we have that settled then. It's nothing but chick flicks for the next month. No complaints!” I said, making my way to my room.

“That matter may be settled, but we need to discuss something else. Something a little more
pressing
,” he said, following me.

“Yeah, what's that?” I asked, stepping into my closet to change.

“The Boy Scout,” he said, the bed creaking under his weight as he sat on it. “I want you to stay away from him.”

“What?” I hollered, poking my head out to see him. “Oh my God, Cooper. What is your problem?”

“He's dangerous.”

“Matty?” I yelled, storming out of the closet wearing only my wet pants, my arms crossed over my chest creatively to cover the girls. “He's about as dangerous as a...a....a
chinchilla
!” It was by no means my best argument ever made, but it was true enough.

“You can't tell, can you?” he asked, staring a little too intently at my arms, practically willing them to throw themselves up over my head. “You really don't know what's going on with him?”

“Listen, Cooper. Matty may have a little crush on me, if you want to call it that, but I would hardly say that makes him dangerous.”

“I'm not talking about some schoolboy crush, Ruby,” he said, coming to his feet. As he moved towards me, I became painfully aware of how little clothing I had on. “He's
Marked
. You need to stay away from him.”

“
Marked
? What are you talking about?” I said, retreating to the closet for cover.

“How can you know so little about weres?” he asked, totally frustrated.

“Well they don't exactly have a
Werewolves For Dummies
guide book that they hand out when you become one, do they?” I said, poking my head out again.

“Fine,” he said, squeezing his forehead between his thumb and index finger—another of Sean's mannerisms that I wasn't going to point out. “He's Marked for the Change. He's turning into a werewolf, and from what I could gather, he'll likely Change with the next full moon,” he said, standing right outside the closet door. “
That's
what is making him dangerous and why I want you to stay away from him.”

“That can't be...,” I said, pushing the door aside.

“Well it is,” he said, staring me down. “It figures that one of the only humans in your life would come up werewolf. You're a magnet for irony.”

“But how do you know?” I asked, sounding more desperate than I'd wanted to. My anxiety was building.

“I can't explain it...we just know our own kind,” he said with a shrug. “Or at least most of us do.” He hadn't meant for his last words to sting from what I could tell, but they did. A lot. Not only was I a werewolf freak show, but I was a degenerate one at that, incapable of some of the most rudimentary skills needed for survival. “Rubes, it's not a big deal, but you can't be near him. It's just not safe, okay? I don't believe that he would ever mean to hurt you, but he wouldn't know that he had until it was too late,” he said, stroking his hand slowly down the side of my face. “I can't have that.”

“So how come you never noticed this before? What changed?” I asked, needing answers to make sense of everything.

“How old is he?” he asked.

“Um...twenty-one? No! No, he's twenty-two now,” I offered, hoping it would help clear the matter up a bit.

It didn't.

“If he was born to be what he's becoming, this would be the age for his Change to happen,” he said, looming above me, “but I would've noticed. There were no signs when I saw him last.”