THE LYCAN AMONG HUMANS

BEYOND MY CONTROL

Emma

Finally, we were going home. Ava was so excited to sleepover at my house , she couldn’t stop talking about it. I noticed Mr Logan looking at me through the auxiliary rear view mirror. I questioned him the reason why, he was hesitant at first . I insisted he told me what was going through his head till he asked.

“Who was the boy you both waved at?”

“Oh, Raymond?. He’s our new friend” Ava hurriedly responded.

“Any problem?” I asked tilting my head forward to look at his face properly. He seemed scared. It felt like he was hiding something and also wanted to say something at the same time. I instructed him to pullover because I was worried. He pulled over and I couldn’t feel his heart pounding . I wasn’t scared of hearing his heart pounding like before but I was concerned about what was going on with me. Ava couldn’t bare the awkward silence, so she exclaimed.

“What’s going on guys, can we move”

“No” I countered. Mr Logan has some explaining to do. I tell him to turn around and face us at the back seat. He obeyed and turned back.

“What do you know that I don’t know?”. I asked thinking he could answer my unanswered questions. “Nothing, he looked familiar. That’s all”. His reply didn’t sit right with me cause I saw his lips shaking. I instruct him to start the car and take us home. We drove in silence, not even Drake could lift my mood.

He rode around the fountain as he made his way to the second garage and parked the car beside the limousine before heading inside. Usually, arriving home brought me peace, but not today. My mind was stuck at Raymond and the strange reaction he seemed to cause in everyone around him. We took our shoes off at the porch and removed our bags from our shoulders and gave it to one of the staff as we entered the lounge. The led light glowing behind the shelves holding the expensive drinks in the house caught Ava’s attention. She took one and asked the staff at the kitchen counter if my parents were home. They were not. Good. That means tonight belonged to us. She didn’t even ask if she was allowed to take it. Funny girl.

Ava ran straight to my room holding the champagne with her two hands as she screamed for joy. Sometimes I wonder how we became friends. Ava had enough energy for ten people. She loved watching the sunset from my room. I went to the kitchen to get champagne bottles and headed straight upstairs. We showered together and matched up with a two piece purple set. We moved straight to the cinema room , Ava poured the champagne into the bottles and smiled at me.

“Let’s cheers”

“To what?” I asked

Ava raised her left brow .”To a good night” as she held my glass and cheers forcefully. We watched a movie . She taught me the cheerleading dance while Taylor Swift played in the background. We practiced till I was perfect . We both fell on the floor in relief . Ava began to talk about all the school gossip. We laughed so hard.

Eventually, the conversation found its way back to Raymond. Can we not talk about him for one minute?. I threw a cushion on her face .

“Ouch!” She exclaimed dramatically as she fell off the cinema chair.

“You like him”

I nearly choked.

“Ava, be for real” .

I looked at her accusingly. “The champagne is making you dramatic, you had a little too much girl”

“No, the champagne is making me honest” she countered while pointing at me. I groaned and buried my face into a pillow” . I don’t know what to say to you , Ava.

“It’s just the way you look at him” Ava said while smiling. If only Ava knew, I said to myself. We stared at each other and for minutes, we laughed uncontrollably till tears formed in our eyes.

The room grew quiet. I stared out the glass windows. The trees waved slowly. I began to hear sounds from everywhere. A baby crying, my dogs barking, adults arguing, a television playing somewhere. It was overwhelming, I began to feel restless. My breathing became uneven . Ava tapped my right shoulder.

“Emma! , are you okay?” . I nodded.

“You zoned out”. Ava panicked looking as my familiar hazel eyes changed to a fierce glowing amber gold. I could hear Ava’s heartbeat , loud and clear. It was fast. I knew she was terrified.I wonder how she still stayed with me.

“Emma?”. I tried to answer . My lips couldn’t move. My fingers and body couldn’t move. It felt as if I wasn’t in control of my own body. I heard wolves howling. It was extremely loud, dark veins began to grow around my eyes. The golden glow in my eyes reflected against the glass window. Ava dropped the champagne glass to the floor as she slowly stepped backwards.

“Emma, you’re scaring me”. I wanted to tell her I was scared too . I really wanted to but I couldn’t. Fear filled Ava’s voice. “Emma, stop joking around”.

“Emma darling, we’re home”. My foster mum’s voice echoed through the first floor of the house. My foster dad laughed immediately “Where are my girls”. The Ava I knew would have ran to hug them tight. Instead, she screamed “Mrs Garret” . Heavy footsteps rushed through the first floor . They were opening all the doors on the first floor till they got the the cinema room. They quickly opened the door.

My parents smile faded slowly. They called my name as they moved closer to me. They knew something was wrong , I could see it in their eyes.

“Emma darling” my mum whispered moving my body to the floor , on her thighs as my my dad stood behind her . I really wanted to tell her that I could hear everything but I couldn’t . My father’s jaw clenched and the look he exchanged with my mother lasted for a second. Yet somehow it felt like they had an entire conversation without speaking.

“Ava!, go get water for Emma” My parents used that to distract Ava. She ran downstairs quickly. My father’s eyes widened. My mum understood and left the room, bringing back an old box. Inside was a black necklace, I had never seen that type of necklace in my life. My father carefully wore it around my neck. I felt a cold sensation spread through my veins. I fidgeted. The overwhelming sounds faded quickly. The golden glow in my eyes dimmed. I could move my body again. Ava stormed in with the bottled water and handed it to my dad to feed me . I drank it while shaking as I watched Ava frozen near the door. I didn’t plan my day to go like this. I could see the relief in her eyes.

“Are you good now?” Ava asked quietly .

“I am, I think I just took too much champagne” . That lie was too quick to leave my mouth and Ava didn’t look convinced.

“You scared me” Ava whispered

“I’m sorry”. She came closer and hugged me so tightly. Ava helped me out of the cinema room. I forgot my phone. As I approached the cinema room. I heard my parents conversing, their voices were low.

“She transformed”. I paused immediately I heard that.

“Not fully”

“We need to to tell her the truth” . What truth?. My heart does a flip.