Year One

2

She was as dumb as a box of bricks, so I must have fumbled worse than I had thought. “No, I am.” Even then, my words fell flat. I had to recover and fast. “Sorry, I just have my final exam in Calculus. I’m stressed.” I stopped walking and grabbed Greg’s arm. As he turned around toward me, I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his lips. “I’m really happy for you.”

A wide smile spread across his face, and he bent down for a longer kiss. “You should be happy for us. There’s no telling where this will take me.”

That was the problem. It was always about where he was going, and my future never seemed to matter. “I can’t wait.” Somehow, I managed to force those words out and believably too.

“Come on, man.” Ian wrinkled his nose and punched Greg in the shoulder. “We’re going to be late.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Greg leaned in and kissed my forehead. “See you at the game, alright?”

“Of course.” Ever the doting girlfriend, I had to be there.

The three of them walked off laughing while Sheila, my frenemy, stayed right next to me.

“Do you even care for him?” Sheila narrowed her ice-blue eyes at me.

The truth was that I did care for him. Well I mean, I didn’t want him to get bitten by a vampire or anything. So that had to count for something. “Of course, I do. School is just wearing me out.”

“I told you that you were crazy for taking on that load.” She arched an eyebrow and lifted both hands in the air. “I mean, why do that to yourself? You should have taken it easy. It’s not like you’re going off to college or anything.”

Of all things, she had to bring up that sore topic. “I mean if Greg goes to Bloodshed …”

“Do you really think you could get in?” Sheila laughed so hard she bent over holding her stomach.

My wolf growled in my head. “No, I thought maybe I’d be able to go to a college too.”

“Oh, come on, Raven.” Sheila rolled her eyes and began heading toward the track. “We don’t go off to college. Bloodshed is the only exception. You’ll be heading to community college just like me.”

Pressure began to build in my chest, and it almost felt like I might explode. “But if Greg says …”

“So glad the two of you could show up.” Mrs. Smith scowled at the two of us. “It’s not like you’re five minutes late or anything.”

“Sorry, coach.” I had to think of something to get us out of trouble.

“Yeah, sorry. Raven couldn’t find her shoes so we had to search for Greg to check in his truck.” Sheila side-eyed me and sighed. “And of course, that’s where they were.”

It only seemed fair for her to blame me since my seconds of stolen freedom got us in this predicament. “I was studying on the way to school this morning and must have forgotten to put them in my bag.”

“Well, don’t let it happen again.” Mrs. Smith waved her hand to the left and pointed in the direction of the other runners. “Go catch up to them and warm up. We’ll be doing sprints soon.”

I took off in a run with Sheila right behind me.

As I entered the house, I found both of my parents in the kitchen.

Mom’s dark brown hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and her blue t-shirt had flour dusting the front. “Hey, honey. I’m glad you’re home.” She opened the oven and pulled out some raw steaks.

Dad wrinkled his nose and fanned his hand in front of his face. “You smell disgusting.” Despite his complaining, there was a twinkle in his dark brown eyes.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t smell much better after sprinting a total of five miles.” My legs still felt like jelly when I walked. It didn’t help that my hair was stuck to the back of my neck and my stomach was completely empty. “I’m going to run upstairs and take a quick shower.”

“Hurry, we can’t be late to Greg’s game tonight,” Dad called out after me.

Yes, heaven forbid we be late for something of Greg’s. Sometimes I wish my parents weren’t as tight with Greg’s parents. Both sets were bound and determined that he and I were meant to be together. I’d been dating him since I was sixteen in the middle of my sophomore year. Now, here we were seniors and eighteen.

I remembered the night I turned sixteen. Right before I went out on my first date, which had been with Greg, my mom gave me a crescent moon necklace. She had made me promise to never take it off. It was long enough so that even when I shifted, it still stayed around my neck. I’d never taken it off except for one time—last week. The chain broke when I was changing for school, and I had to find a replacement chain. Mom found me and practically lost her s**t. She ran into her room, brought me one of hers, and told me to put it back on immediately.

It only took a few minutes for me to bathe, and I felt like a new human being. As I headed downstairs, there was a knock on the door. Greg’s scent hit me before I even reached the door and put me on edge. Why the hell was he here?

Not wasting a moment, I yanked open the door and found him in a clean Indian’s baseball uniform. He winked at me and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. “I see you’re wearing the sundress I like.”

It almost made me completely regret the decision, but I knew it would be hell from my parents if I didn’t make an effort. The sundress was off the shoulders and white with a blue pattern. Greg always said my dark brown hair and olive complexion contrasted nicely with the colors. “Got to do everything I can to support you.”

“Greg?” Mom called from the kitchen. “Please come in and join us. We were just sitting down for dinner.”

“You had me at dinner,” Greg called back before capturing my hand in his.

As we walked into the kitchen, Dad was already laying an additional plate on the table. “We gotta make sure the big baseball legend himself gets fed.”

“Especially for tonight’s game.” Greg marched over to the end cabinet and opened it, grabbing another fork and knife. “I still can’t believe it.”