Unexpected Shift

3

"So, have you recovered enough to come up with an answer?" I mocked the blonde’s deep baritone, eyes rolling and tongue out while stomping back into my room. Thankfully, Audra's room was far enough for her to not notice any of my movements.

The slightly open window let in a soft breeze that immediately made me forget all sense of shame. I smiled and pushed it out all the way. The best part about the town were the nights. The sky was always so much more beautiful than that in the city and it made my shoulders slump in a relaxing way.

"Maybe I should get done with that assignment, too," I muttered to myself once my head was all clear. Picking up a rubber band from the nightstand, I swept my hair back and got to work facing the window and its breeze. The assignments weren't that tough, it was just a lot of workloads.

The trees outside were rustling in complete sync and it was the only sound I could hear for a long time. It was when I finished the worksheet from this afternoon that I decided to take another break and ended up standing at the window sill again.

There was the c***k of a tree's branch breaking. When it happened the first time, I had assumed it was just because of the wind. Surely, the wind wouldn't step on twigs and branches thrice, right? I trained my eyes lower and squinted to make out if anybody was there-

Oh.

A shiver racked down my spine and fear spiked in my heart. There was a man, clad in black clothes probably to camouflage with the woods in the background. I could feel his eyes on me. My fingers tightened around the sill on both sides till my knuckles turned white but before I could check further to see his face, he pulled his hood up and he was gone.

Just like a gush of wind- he just disappeared.

"Who in hell's name are you?" I gritted spitefully, searching closer and closer only to be met with disappointment. He wasn't there anymore! For a whole minute, I stood there, shocked and shaking as I remembered how intensely he was staring at me before panic coursed through me.

I took in greedy fits of air and slammed the window shut. The echo of its wood meeting the glass pane echoed through the attic, too. Had I woken up Aunt Audra too? And more importantly, was that a good thing or bad? Good, definitely. She was the only one here to help.

My feet trudged around the wire of the laptop's charger, which thankfully wasn't attached to the device, and I ended up falling back onto the bed, still with my chest heaving up and down. I don't remember much after that. My guess was that I probably slept through the night.

My head thrummed loudly in my dream. A tree branch, the color black, and the damn humid smell of mud echoed in my mind as I ran through the woods. I didn't know why I was running. It felt necessary, especially when the very next moment, I had heard a loud predatory snarl behind me, and alas—there it was.

A black wolf, pitch-black fur, and the same deep pupils stared at me like I was a meal for him. I whimpered loud and scared while looking back at him with blurry eyes. There was a wicked feel to everything, the time, the place, the colors. Before I could realize it, I was pinned down by the huge animal, ready to get devoured whole.

I screamed, tried to fight back, but he was way too powerful than me. The wolf bared his teeth, old blood dried deep in the gums and I screamed out loud before he could bite down on my neck. When I finally shot my eyes open, it was around noon, the front of my top was wet with sweat and a triggering mud-like smell lingered in the room.

It pulled a sniffle out of me. I knew nobody could've gotten into Aunt Audra's house.

I was safe.

Right?

Shaking my head to clear it of all negative thoughts, I decided to take a shower before heading down. The house was eerily quiet and the slight creaks of the wooden floor beneath my feet alarmed me. There wasn't even the sound of fans or air conditioners working outside the guest room. The attic was locked up, as I had expected.

Maybe Aunt Audra left to do something? Why didn't she tell me, then?

It all cleared up when I walked to the refrigerator to grab milk for my instant coffee. Despite having a long night's sleep, if one could call it that, I felt like I hadn't slept at all. My bones ached to the core. There was a neon yellow note stuck on top of the fridge with a watermelon magnet. I placed one finger on it and tried to make out Aunt Audra's handwriting.

'Good morning sweetie, I tried waking you up before going but you seemed tired, so I'm writing this note. I have a meeting with the man who once came to the house before and will try to be back by evening. The pancakes on the table are all yours. Eat well!'

I released a chuckle at the smiley she had drawn at the bottom of the note and was about to dig right into the food she had prepared but the bell to the house rang. Sighing, I placed the fork in my hand back on the table and rounded it to make it to the front door.

I was expecting the mailman as he often came around this time to deliver some confidential documents to Aunt that she signed for. It was like clockwork, there was definitely something behind the scenes of these meetings and mails that I couldn't figure out.

However, as soon as I opened the door, I was left stumped once again. The same man from yesterday afternoon was standing before me, wearing a white shirt paired with blue jeans and a pair of sunglasses sitting low on his nose bridge. I gulped.

Of course, he was here to visit Audra.

There is this thing about cute boys that makes smart girls really stupid and that's exactly what was happening to me as he leaned against the doorframe with a smug smirk on his lips.

"I- Good afternoon," I said softly. The boy looked me up and down

"Good afternoon, cute thing." He smiled and I almost doubled in shyness. "May I come in?"

"Sure," I replied, half smiling too. "Aunt Audra's not home, though."

"That's okay," he mumbled, stepping beside me to enter the house and I sucked in a breath at the close proximity. "I'm not here to see her today."