The Lost Wolf

CHAPTER FIVE.

    “Hey,” Tyler approached me skeptically, “Can we talk?”

     “Hey. Of course. Walk with me.” I closed my locker and he latched onto my hand walking me to the lunchroom. The first half of my day went off without a hitch. English was uneventful and I got an A on my essay for Of Mice And Men. Carter sat in front of me, as usual but besides making small talk didn’t really seem interested. I was able to convince myself that my feelings for him were all hormonal and one sided. He was the new boy that everyone wanted. I grabbed a bottle of water and sat down at a table, Tyler following me. 

     “I tried to call you last night,” he began. 

     “I.. uhm.. went to sleep early. I had a lot of catching up to do.” He nodded at me, pleased with my answer. 

     “I wanted to apologize for the way I acted yesterday. I know you’d never cheat on me. Just the way he looks at you makes me want to punch things and then to know you were with him alone-“

     “I know what you must think,” I stopped him mid sentence, “but he’s really just a friend. This is just a classic example of the male testosterone getting in the way.”

     “It’s just that… if I didn’t know that you’ve only known him two weeks, I’d think he was in love with you.” I let out a half hearted giggle and followed Tyler’s gaze across the lunchroom to find Carter staring at me. He was looking at me intensely and when he caught my eye he smiled.

     “He’s not in love with me.” I stated.

     “I know but I heard that he’s going to try out for the team this year and I wanted to make sure you’re okay if I smooth things over with him. Man to man.” This is why I was so in-like with Tyler. He never hesitated to do the right thing. Sure, his anger got in the way sometimes but he was really a good guy. I appreciated that about him. He wanted to be everyone’s friend and make everyone feel like they fit in. Pulling my eyes from Carter I wrapped my arms around Tyler and pressed a kiss to his neck. Ignoring the tugging that made its way back to my brain.

     “I think that’s a great idea.”

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    I got home that afternoon to laughter in the kitchen. I dropped my bag on the living room floor and peaked around the corner to find my mom and dad dancing to some slow sound in the kitchen. I smelled cookies baking in the oven and watched as my mom would throw her head back in laughter when my dad would press his fingers delicately into her sides, tickling her as he swirled her around. 

     I want that one day. A house full of love and laughter. A house that smelled of baked goods and fond memories. I could picture coming home to Carter and meeting him at the door. Him embracing me in his arms and placing kisses on my nose, my cheeks, my lips, like he had missed me for days, not just a few hours. I could picture him carrying me up to our room and making love to me before we danced in the kitchen while cooking dinner. I could picture Car- Oh. My. God. What is wrong with me? Tyler! I could picture Tyler! But the truth is, I couldn’t picture Tyler at all. He hates dancing and cooking. Tyler is very serious, I could never picture him doing what my parents are doing right now. But what does that mean? Friends! You’re just friends! I don’t even KNOW Carter. I reminded myself and then pulled away from the door frame to give my parents some privacy. 

     I came back down stairs about thirty minutes later to some heavenly smells. Homemade salad, chicken Alfredo with my moms special cheese sauce and garlic bread. She really was a special kind of woman. She worked hard and still found time to make her family feel like a family.

     “Hey honey,” I had been so transfixed on the food at the table that I didn’t see my dad there and I jumped. My dad was a handsome man in his late forties. He was clean shaven with a square jaw and salt and pepper speckled hair. I really looked nothing like my parents but I know that can be common with so many kids. It was my Gram who I had inherited my strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes from. Or so I was told, she passed away when I was just a baby. 

     “Hey dad!” I took a seat opposite him. Dad asked me about my grades and cheer practice. He asked about Tyler and Taylor and told me that he missed seeing them around the house. Mom joined us and dinner went really well. We talked and gossiped and laughed. They told me about their emergency at the hospital where a patient needed surgery emergently and there was no surgeon on staff until morning so my dad had to relive his general surgery rotation days and preform some kind of bowel thing to remove a dildo from someone’s colon. How embarrassing. But the whole thing went off without a hitch and he was the hero of the hospital. That’s the kind of man my dad was. The hero. 

     Of course he couldn’t preform this heroic surgery without his favorite scrub nurse, my mom. So she sent me a quick text and into surgery she went. The chatter continued until dinner was over and the table was cleared. I loaded the dishwasher while mom put the leftovers away for me later that week and they decided they wanted to watch a movie. My dad asked me if I wanted to come but I declined. I had a chemistry test tomorrow and I really needed to study. These stupid AP courses were going to kill me.

     I walked into my bedroom and jumped at the site of Carter, fast asleep on my bed. I looked at him in awe for a second before taking in his condition. He was naked and dirty. Very dirty. He had leaves and twigs in his hair and small scratches on his arms. Where the heck are his clothes? Why is he so filthy? If either of my parents walked in on this they would totally freak out. What the heck am I supposed to do? Trying to tear my eyes away from this naked man on my sheets I was at a loss. How was I going to hide this?

     Gathering my thoughts, I pulled my comforter from the floor and draped it over his body. Covering up everything but his head. I picked a few leaves and sticks out of his hair as gently as I possibly could and then stacked my pillows up like a wall in front so that if my parents came into the room they would see a sleeping figure but not who the figure was. I thought about waking him but that was a risk. If he startled and yelled or was too loud we would quickly get the attention of my dad. Instead, I flipped off my light switch and turned on my desk lamp. Studying moles by lamplight. Or I should say, trying, to study. It was hard with a dirty, naked boy in my bed and my parents right downstairs.