The Right Girl

FOURTEEN

AUDREY

I scrape my food around the plate, watching as Dillon and John chat like old friends.

“What’s wrong princess, not up to your standards.” John pokes, letting out a gruff laugh. I raise an eyebrow and continue to stare at the food spread across the plate; I am not giving him the satisfaction today.  I notice Dillon watch on cautiously, I assume he has become familiar with my quick temper in the short time I have known him.

“Cat got ya tongue.” John jibes. I feel my body begin to tense up, I hate it when he jokes at my expense! Actually, I just hate it when he is in a good mood. Stupid wolf man thing, he doesn’t deserve happiness!

“UGHHHH.” I stand up throwing my hands in the air, storming off into the bedroom, slamming the door behind me. The loud bang does nothing to help the building rage. I pace angrily, throwing little trinkets onto the floor as I go.

John’s robust belly laugh bounces off the walls of the small cabin. If I thought I was angry before, it holds nothing on the feeling I have now. My body starts to heat up, I can almost feel steam pouring from my ears, my skin begins to itch and burn. I rub my hand up and down my arm, trying to relieve the stinging itch, but it only grows until my whole body is prickling all over. I clutch at my chest as my breath becomes shallow. The telltale sign of a panic attack, although all this other stuff, absolutely not normal.

I crawl over to the bed and close my eyes tightly, concentrating on my breathing. My well practiced monologue runs through my mind. Breathe in for 5 and slowly out. I feel my body begin to relax, as my breathing returns to normal, taking the burning itch away with it. Thank god for that!

My eyes become heavy and I can no longer hold off, I drift off into a restless sleep.

The full moon rises high into the dark sky, I can feel my body reacting, pulling me towards the dense tree line. Despite my better judgment, I break into a sprint, heading straight into the unknown. My eyes dart around; everything is so clear, it all stands out like I have never before seen. A small white rabbit bounds past me, catching my attention, I veer of course, chasing the quick ball of fur further into the forest. I have never felt so alive and free. The feeling flows through my veins and urges me forward. My body gracefully leaps over fallen trees and darts between bushes, all the while never losing sight of the tiny white rabbit. The thumping of the rabbit’s heart reaches my ears and I can taste his fear, it sends shivers through my body. He cautiously slows, hoping gingerly towards the flowing creek. I crouch down low, instinct telling me I need to hide. I begin to slowly creep towards the frightened animal. I have it in the bag, I pounce, but I miss. Our eyes meet and the rabbit smirks. Confused, I take a step back uncertainty replacing me previous confidence. Our eyes remain locked as the rabbit pounces towards the creeks edge, its features moving and distorting, then it lands on the ground a fully grown wolf. I gulp back the scream, I just can’t escape these f*****g wolfs. I mentally scold myself for running into another hopeless situation. My heart beating into my throat, I turn to run back into the other direction. The wolf senses my fear and cuts in front of me pushing its snout into my shoulder. I can feel its warm breath on my face as it continually pushes into my shoulder, edging me closer to the creek. I am helpless, my feet keep moving back with every push. I close my eyes tightly, willing the situation to change; this feels far too real to be a dream. I feel the cold water lap against my heel, sending a shiver through my body. The wolf stops and circles around me, not moving its glare from mine. The strange burning sensation from before begins to take over my body. The wolf starts to slowly back away, leaving me scratching my burning skin. I let out a frustrated scream, the wolf stops. It bows its head and swings it towards the creek vigorously. Is it trying to communicate with me? I shuffle further into the water, hoping this is what the wild beast wants. A low growl tells me I am wrong. I freeze, noticing the honey flecks in its grey eyes glowing; it drops its head and bolts right towards me, not slowing down. It is going to hit me, OH f**k IT’S GOING TO…. I stumble backwards, landing into the cold creek. The water bubbles over my body and I try to use my hands to help stand myself up, but they aren’t working. I can’t stand up. I finally roll to the side and manage to get myself positioned on all fours. The rippling water shows me the distorted reflection of the white wolf, but I am not there. I look frantically behind me, expecting to see the wolf peering over my shoulder. There is nothing.

“Audrey…. Audrey.” A far away voice floats through the trees, it’s sweet and melodic tone catches my attention, my ears prick up and I try to follow where it’s coming from. I look down to notice my feet are covered in white fur. I shake my head and let out a low howl. Flipping great, now I am one of them! I feel the anxiety rising in my chest and I bound around, trying to shake this vision off and turn back into my human self. “AUDREY.” The voice is louder, and sounds rougher, “AUDREY.” My body begins to shake and the voice has more urgency to it. “AUDREY.”

DILLON

I stand outside the door with my hand on the handle. I am not quite sure why I feel so hesitant about opening it. I have dealt with her moods before, maybe it is my new found appreciation for her shitty situation? I mentally prepare myself for the onslaught of curses that will be thrown my way. With a deep breath, I slowly turn the handle, closing it gently behind me. Nothing, not one thing comes flying towards me, object or words, just small whimpers coming from the corner of the room.

“Audrey.” I whisper quietly. I wait silently for her reply.

“ Audrey.” I whisper again. Still nothing I flip the light switch on just in time to watch Audrey start violently thrashing around the bed. The soft moans turning into violent grunts and groans. The bed slumps as I jump onto it, grabbing Audrey’s shoulders, trying to steady her.

I scream her name, trying to wake her up. She doesn’t respond. I begin to slightly shake her, calling to her over and over. I can feel the panic rising, as she continues to try to trash against my hold. I call her one last time, relief floods me as her body begins to relax and her eyes flutter open.

“Holy s**t, are you ok.” I look in her pale face; her eyes are wide, filled with shock. I move back and watch as she rubbed her hands from her face to her arms and all over her body in frenzy.

“Where am I?” She stammered, her eyes darting across the room. I could feel the confusion and panic rolling off her as she struggled to make sense of her surroundings, her hands continuously rubbing over her skin.

“In your bedroom.” I sooth, reaching out to touch her arm, hoping to offer her some comfort.

“My at home bedroom?” She shoots back almost breathlessly.

“Ahh, no your, at John’s bedroom.” Her confusion slips away.

“ Oh, ok. Why are you in here then?” Sadness laces her soft voice.

“Ah, so kind of awkward, but we have to share a room.” I rub my hand up and down my neck, my face turning a deep shade of red.

“Oh” She murmurs, rolling over to face the wall.

I slide carefully off the bed and turn the light off, the gentle click throws the room into darkness, thankfully covering my embarrassment. Slowly, I lower my body onto the edge of the bed, not knowing how to go about getting under the covers. I stare at my hand on the corner of the blanket, willing myself to just pull it back and slide in.

“I want you to get in Dillon.” She speaks softly making my hands shake and I try to make quick work of pulling the covers back my fumbling hands make it a messy job. I hear a small chuckle from the other side of the bed. At least someone is amused by my awkward attempt to get into a bed. I carefully position myself as close to the edge as possible, trying not to invade Audrey’s personal space.

“Ah, so this is cozy.” I attempt to joke with her, quickly realizing I had failed when a sniffle comes from her side of the bed.

“I... Ahh, I am sorry Audrey, I can sleep on the floor if your more comfortable with that.” The words fly out and I quickly sit up.

The bed shifts and Audrey, shuffles closer towards me. Reaching out, she pulls my shirt gently towards her. I allow my body to follow her, landing myself in the middle of the bed. She repositions her head and nuzzles into my shoulder. I wrap my arm light around her, dragging my fingers lightly up and down her shoulder.  Her hand rests gently on my stomach, clutching on to my shirt tightly. Her body pressed so tightly against me makes my c**k twitch. I take a deep breath, trying to calm my budding erection. This is really not the time for my body to be reacting to Audrey this way.

Small sobs begin to shake through Audrey’s body. My heart breaks for the poor girl, cuddled up so closely to me.

“I am scared.” She whispers into my chest.

“Of what?” I match her whisper, rubbing tears away with my thumb.

“What do you both want with me?” She questions quietly. My voice hitches in my throat. That inevitable talk is going to have to happen now.

I roll to the side, pulling Audrey in closer to me.

“Audrey we ne...” I feel her body stiffen and she cuts me off.

“ OMG Dillon, is that a boner.” She hisses at me. f**k, I forgot about that. Damn it, I mentally curse myself.

“Do my tears turn you on?” Her voice rising while she questions me. Pushing herself off me and scooting back to the other side of the bed.

I look stunned in Audrey's direction, words escaping me.

“ WELL?” She barks

“Umm, no, it was just. I… ah. It just happened.” I stammer, trying to find the right words.

“ UGH, sleep on the floor Dillon.” She huffs.

“Yep, no problem.” I agree readily, throwing a pillow down on the gorund.

“Audrey?”

“No, Dillon go to sleep.”

“We actually need to have a real conversation.” I try pleading.

“What about? How my sorrow gives you a raging hard on?” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm now and I knew I wasn’t going to get very far with her now.

“No, about what John wants with you.”