Full Moon (5 page)

Michael set
his lips in a thin line. “Fine. Have fun.” He jumped into the
Mustang and sped away.

“
Everything all right?” Too bad they fought. I wouldn’t have
minded trying to talk to him, or simply having him near would’ve
been fine with me.

“
We’re good.” Grace pulled on my jacket and pointed toward the
noise on the beach. “Michael’s a little, um, overprotective.
Caleb’s made him that way. Michael worries way too much about me,
and it’s obvious he doesn’t want you to get hurt either. He likes
you. He just won’t admit it yet.”

“
What?” I stopped walking and put my hand on her forearm. My
heart skipped every other beat.

“
He’s my brother. Trust me, he likes you.” She rolled her
eyes. “The look on his face was priceless when he walked into my
room. You’re definitely going to make some first impressions this
evening too.”

I’d rather
hang out by the shadows. However, if Michael might be interested, I
think could handle a little spotlight. My face scorched. “You sure
about Mi—”

“
Positive.” Grace laughed. “Come on. Let me introduce you to
our senior class, and I’ll point out the cute boys. We might as
well make Michael jealous while we’re here.”

We made our
way through the parked cars towards the music. Someone had attached
huge stereo speakers to a pickup backed onto the sand. Outdoor lawn
torches, which also seemed to keep the bugs at bay, were set up to
maximize lighting the area. Lawn chairs lay scattered around the
fire pit and small groups were all over the place.

“
So, which one of these cliques is yours?” I wished I’d just
worn a sweatshirt and no makeup.

“
I kind of float around. We've lived here three years, and I
still kind of feel like the new girl.”

Definitely a popular girl
.
Grace had no idea what being the new girl
actually meant.

Skipping the
pathway, we climbed over large boulders and jumped the three foot
drop onto the beach. Somehow, Grace had gotten her shoes off before
we landed, her feet barely making an impression in the sand. My
Mary Janes filled instantly with the cool particles, but I chose to
keep them on.

“
Heads up!”

A football
flew in our direction. I ducked out of the way while Grace caught
it with one hand, not even pausing in her stride. A cute,
dark-haired, athletic-looking boy came jogging up.

“
Nice catch, G!” He skidded to a stop. “Whoa, wait a moment.
Who’s the new hot-chick?”

“
Simon, your ball.” Grace tossed the football expertly. “This
is Rouge.”

Simon bowed
dramatically. “Welcome to Port Q High’s unofficial
before-school-starts official party night.” He held out his
hand.

“
Hey.” This guy babbled like a girl back at my old high school
who drank Red Bull all the time.

“
Let me introduce you to the rest of the gangstas.” He grabbed
Grace’s and my hands, pulling us over to the group of guys waiting
for the football. “This is Tommy, Damon, Sean and Jake.” Except for
one, all were similar build to Simon. The other guy was absolutely
huge with these dark, almost black eyes. He seemed to be shooting
daggers at Grace.

I stepped
close to Grace. “What’s with the big guy?”

“
He’s interested. I’m not.” She rubbed her forehead with the
back of her hand, making an “L” shape with her fingers. “Loser,”
she whispered.

Simon stuck
close by me, trying his best to entertain. Twenty minutes later, I
needed space to breathe. I tried to catch Grace’s attention, but
she was chatting away with Sean or Jake, I couldn’t remember which
one. “Bathroom break. Where are they?”

“
Up the hill. Over there.” He pointed in the direction. “Do
you see the line of trees? Just follow them and where the one big
tree is, they’re just behind there. See a few people heading back?
I can take you.”

“
No!” I’d rather die. “Uh, no thanks, I’m pretty sure I can
find my way.” I stood and made a beeline for the trees. Glancing
back, Grace stood by Simon, blocking my view of him. Quickly
sneaking into the forest, I figured I had about four minutes before
Simon came looking for me.

Simon was nice
but a little overbearing. He seemed the long-term kind of guy. I
planned on bolting after graduation. Now, Michael, he might be an
interesting short-term thing. I scoffed. Who was I kidding?

The thick
grass and leaves muffled the music and noise from the beach, making
it peaceful. I walked farther into the trees. Enjoying the moment,
I leaned back against a large oak tree, closing my eyes.

The cicadas,
crickets and every other insect around me abruptly went quiet. A
strange, hushed silence. The hairs on the nape of my neck rose.
Holding my breath, I strained to hear something, anything, around
me. Opening my eyes, I stared into the forest. Eyes not adjusted to
the dark, I couldn’t make anything out but trees and shadows.

My heart
hammered over-adrenalized and fight or flight screamed. Stumbling,
I suddenly couldn’t remember the way back to the beach. Muffled
music seemed to come from all around. Placing the sound grew
impossible. The blood rushing in my ears made it even harder to
concentrate.

Swallowing
hard, I took a tentative step forward and froze. In front of me, a
pair of large amber-yellow eyes with obscenely black pupils shone
crystal-clear in the dark. A low, guttural growl escaped from the
darkness. Hot putrid breath slid across my face. I nearly
gagged.

Whatever the
freakin’ thing was, it was mammoth. I couldn’t find an outline of
its body, just a shadow. Terrified, I was positive if I screamed
the thing would jump out and attack me before I could get the sound
out.

“
Crap, crap, crap…” Body still frozen, I looked left to right
and tried not to move my head.
Hadn’t
Grace said she could take care of both of us
?
“Grace…Michael?” I whispered.
Shuffling slightly around the tree, my eyes never left the spot
where the wicked monster stood. Tears of fear ran down my cheeks
when I bumped into the rough bark of the tree behind me.

This is it.
There was nothing I
could do. I’d walked straight into this den of death. Realizing the
certainty, I exhaled a slow breath, willing my heart to calm. I
began to hear and think more clearly. Someone called my name. The
monster’s eyes shifted slightly, as if it too listened.

I managed a
hoarse whisper, “Over here.”

A snarl filled
the air and the yellow-eyed beast disappeared too fast for anything
that size. Suddenly, Michael appeared, lifting me like a feather
and cradling me tight against him. His hot chest, cool breath and
husky scent distracted me from the terror behind us. In seconds, we
were out of the forest, in the lightened area by the bathrooms.
Grace came rushing over.

“
What the heck happened?” Her brows crushed together and chest
rose with fell in quick bursts.

Too soon,
Michael set me down on the grass carefully, like a flower that
might break.

The horrible eyes wouldn’t clear from my memory. “I, um, I,
damn it! Sorry. Just give me a sec.” I pressed my hands on my
knees, bending over and trying to fill my lungs with the air I’d
forgotten to breathe. “I stepped into the edge of the trees to give
myself a break…from Simon. Everything went all voodoo quiet, a-and
this
huge
thing
with funky eyes showed up!” I shivered, looking behind them to the
trees and darkness. It had happened, right?

“
Stay here. I’m going to have a look.” Michael disappeared
into the forest.

I reached out.
“You can’t –” I sputtered, but Grace held me back. “He can’t go in
there. It isn’t safe.”

She pressed a
finger to her lips. “Shh…It’s all right. Michael’s going to see if
he can catch it.” She gripped my hand.

“
Catch it? Are you crazy?” My voice rose and I pulled away. “I
couldn’t tell where the thing ended or where the shadows
began.”

Michael
emerged from the tree line.

Relief flooded
through my veins. Shaking his head, he looked ticked.

He grabbed our
elbows and started to steer us towards the parked cars. “Time to
go, ladies. This party’s over.” He turned to Grace, whispering, but
I caught everything. “It’s gone…caught the scent but it took off as
soon as it heard us.” His pace picked up.

Grace jumped
in the backseat. Michael patiently, but not looking so patient,
helped me into the front and clicked my seat belt in.

We pulled out
of the parking area.

“
Wait! The rest of the kids. Someone needs to warn
them.”

“
It won’t be back.”

“
You don’t know that for sure.”

“
Positive.” Michael’s curt reply stopped me from asking
again.

I didn’t
argue. For some reason, I believed him. We drove the rest of the
way in silence.

Parking the
Mustang with the same annoyingly-crazy driving skills as Grace,
Michael shoved the car into park. As he ripped the keys out of the
ignition, he glanced into his rear-view mirror. “I need to talk to
Caleb. Take Rouge inside. Get her something sugary to drink. It’ll
take the edge off.”

“
I’m fine.”

“
You’re in shock. Head to Grace’s room. I’ll come up later
when I’m finished.” His fingers raked through his hair, he gave me
a quick smile and then he ran into the house.

Grace and I
made our way at a much slower pace into the house and up the
stairs. I struggled into a pair of jogging pants and a tank top, my
body too numb to function properly. Dropping onto the bed, I lay on
my back, dazed.

“
I’ll grab you something to drink.” She slipped out the
door.

I thought
about the creature and curled up on my side, hugging my knees. My
heart thumped hard and fast again my chest. “What kinda creature
were you?” I mumbled to myself. Something escaped from the zoo? A
wild animal from the mountains? I kept seeing the weird,
amber-yellow eyes flash against the white walls. They continued to
stay there, except set against blackness.

Popping my
eyes open, I forced them to blink and focus. I’d fallen asleep. The
lights were still on in the room, but the house was quiet. Glancing
at my watch, it was after two. I crawled out of bed to find
Grace.

As I walked
out of the room, Michael came up the stairs.

“
You should get some more sleep.” The concern on his face made
me melt a tiny bit.

“
Is everything okay?” I was paranoid I might wake someone. “I
hope I didn’t cause any problems?”

He smiled and
turned me gently back towards the bedroom. Dazed, I crawled back
into bed and watched him sit down on the edge. My gaze followed the
outline of his body. I didn’t realize he’d spoken. “I’m sorry. Can
you repeat that one more time?” I whispered.

“
Everything’s fine. We’ve been downstairs in Caleb’s office.
You didn’t cause any problems. That’s silly thinking. You don’t
need to worry anymore.”

“
Do you know what that
thing
was?”

He sighed then
finally nodded. “I’ve a pretty good idea.”

“
Would you care to enlighten me?” I tried to read his face
but, apart from a tiny frown, it remained
expressionless.

“
Not at the moment, but I’ll explain it when I can.” His
answer was loaded with implications which only created more
questions.

“
Would it have killed me?” My voice was calmer than my
insides.

He sat silent
for a moment, his knuckles cracking as he squeezed them. “Yes.”

“
And you tell me not to worry?” I straightened, tucking my
legs under me.

Forced air
pushed through his nose. “It was hunting, and you were in its path.
It’ll not happen again. I promise you.”

The
determination in his voice made me stare at him. His head bent
slightly forward, his eyes intently watching his fingers pick at
his clean nails. “I don’t know why it went for you. I think you
just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time.” His
words came out slow and punctuated, like he’d been rehearsing them.
“You need to rest.” He gently helped me lie back down.

As I drifted
off to sleep, I hoped so hard he was right, even though I didn’t
believe him.

Chapter
5

Something
warmed one side of my face. My head instinctly moved towards it and
the other side of my face cooled against the pillow. Fluttering my
lids, the sun shined through the window, creating the heat.
Burrowing deeper into the heavy duvet, I drifted, not asleep, but
enjoying that wonderful half-awake feeling when you know you don’t
have to get up and rush off to school. The scent of delicious male
cologne filled my nostrils. I moved closer to the smell.

“
You know, you’re very cute when you sleep.”

My eyes popped
open. Michael lay on the bed, his head leaning against the
headboard of Grace’s bed, arms crossed, hair perfect and an
unbelievably sexy grin on his face. Last night’s memories came
crashing through my mind.

I sat up, very conscious of my heavy, tired eyes and morning
breath, positive the back of my head had a rat’s nest tangled in
it.
Why do guys always have to look so
perfect?

His face lost
its humor. “Are you okay?”

“
I’m, uh, fine.”
Just in dire need of
a brush and a bottle of mouthwash
.
Maybe throw in some kind of manual on crazy
beasts living in the forest
.