The Mark of the Wild Flower

Chapter 7, This is where it all started

I open the door to find Fabian sitting on my bed, shirtless, looking at the picture I have on my bedside table. The picture is of Phoebe, Donna, and I on my fifth birthday party, only hours before I got bit.

He stares at it intently.

Finally, he looks up and when he sees me, he smiles a 1000-kilowatt smile, “Hi! We didn’t finish our conversation from earlier and I think it is imperative that we do.” How can he look so ridiculous smiling and be serious at the same time? I try to think of a time I’ve actually seen him smile. Wait, s**t, I think he said something.  

Maybe I should answer him, “What conversation?” I am trying to collect my thoughts. What was it that we talked about and when was that? I turn around and close the door. I can’t look at him. I remain with my back towards him. If I can’t see him then maybe I can focus on my thoughts. Why did he have to come shirtless?

Wait how did he get into my room? “What are you doing here? And more importantly how did you get into my room?” I hear his breath hitch.

“I ran here and then jumped into your window,” Is he being serious now or kidding? “Is that a problem?” How romantic, or creepy.

I study the c***k in my door, I smell the perfume I smelt in the hallway now. I just want to turn around and run to him, but I need to stay strong. What is it that I read about red flags? Is this a red flag? “Okay, why are you shirtless?” That is the only thing my brain can comprehend there is a half-naked Greek god sitting on my bed.

“Craig and Luc did not think it necessary at the time. Am I making you uncomfortable?” He is making me more than uncomfortable. He is infuriating me and driving me insane. “I just need to talk to you…”

I snap around and look at him, he is standing now, “You need to talk to me? I need to talk to you. Who the f**k do you think you are? Just tell me! I was having a perfectly natural and normal life and enjoying it. I was a happy girl, sure I had s**t, and shitty days, but I had everything going for me. I had very good friends I was getting satisfactory marks in school, and I was a cheerleader and a gymnast ánd a figure skater. In fact, I was about to enter the National Skating League. I didn’t date boys as I was focused on my life. I had depression and anxiety thanks to that f*****g dog, but that is why I have a therapist, and all my activities that distracted me. And then on Fabian Blackwood, serious and asshole, turned 18. I went to his party having a good time until Mr Blackwood himself decided to f**k with me and drag me into the cold air to kiss me. The first time I’ve ever been kissed, and the boy who kissed me decided I wasn’t good enough for him and he ran away. Normal girls would’ve probably not get bothered or get over it, but not me. I caught some serious painful feelings for You FABIAN!” I practically shriek at him. I am panting very hard. Clearly, I am ranting. Trying to catch my breath I scrutinise his movements as he slowly walks towards me. I hold my hand up “Don’t you dare come closer,” He stops. “So, here’s what happened then. I left cheerleading because you would be at the swim galas I was cheering at, as well as the basketball games, baseball games, netball games and my favourite the lacrosse games. Because you just had to be the supportive best friend and brother. I thought you would stop after you left but no. The gymnastic captain lives apparently 3 houses from you and has this major crush on you and wouldn’t stop talking about you. Every event she would say something in the line of ‘Oh I practised this in front of Fabian’s house, I saw him staring at me, I knew he came just looking at me’ and that cut so hard that I was sure it would kill me, so I left. Then I threw away my bright coloured clothes because Donna said you always wear pastel coloured shirts when you visit them at their apartment, so the colours reminded me of you.” I take another breather. I feel suffocated by his presence. “I then thought maybe if I do another sport, I’ll get distracted since I was so good at it with the dog bite, so I started running, then one afternoon at training I lost myself in my music and started running from the track. I got lost.” I pause willing him to understand that there is a pun. “When I stopped running and panicked about where I was, I found I was in the woods behind your house. And I was looking straight into your bedroom window, you were home for the weekend.” I stop again. I need to catch my breath. This is the red flag, you’re not supposed to be this dependent on the attention of another.

“I didn’t know…”

I cut him off “Nuh-uh, I am ranting not you! You can have your rant when you’re with Lucian or Craig or any other girl you feel like toying with.” I am getting angrier and angrier; my therapist has her work cut out for her on Tuesday. “As I was saying, so then I went to get a piercing because the pain from a thing in my ear was distracting. I buried myself in my cheesy vampire novels, my schoolwork and my skating. I made it into the league,” I drop my voice and slow the pace, I am starting to cry, and I need to keep my composure, “but I lost my heart, and I am about to lose my spot because of that. So how dare you come here out of the blue and request forgiveness like you stepped on my toe by accident.” I nearly spit that last bit. The sarcasm is starting to drip from my mouth. And I lose it and start crying properly.

Fabian

I run towards her house so quick that I am sure that I might crash into something and kill myself. Finally, I am there. Should I knock, I look down, I am not wearing a shirt. No don’t knock her parent might freak. I quickly locate her window, it’s the one with the dreamcatcher, I recognise it. Phoebe made one for Craig when they were younger, she must’ve made one for Eleanor. Oh marvellous she left her window open. One jump and I am in. Her room is small and simple. Not much going, if it weren’t for the schoolbooks on the desk and the hairbrush on the dresser I would’ve thought this was a guestroom. I smell her shampoo and the roses in the vase on her bedside table. That is Mrs Silver’s doing. Always getting people to relax with rose scent.

I pant and try to catch my breath. I look around and find next to the flowers is a photo, 3 little girls in the picture are smiling and holding hands. I recognise Donna and Phoebe immediately, the third must be Ellie. Her green eyes are shining with happiness. She was a cute kid and clearly very happy. I look very hard and realise I recognise the dress she’s wearing; it was the dress she wore when dad brought her in after she was bit by that dog. My eyes grow wide, this must be the day she was bit.

I hear Donna and Phoebe talking outside, she must be home. I listen to her talking to her parents and then triple down the hall. I hear the door open and when I see her I feel all my problems melting. All I can do is smile. “Hi! We didn’t finish our conversation from earlier and I think it is imperative that we do.”

“What conversation?” she looks bewildered, does she not remember? She turns to close her door but doesn’t turn back. “What are you doing here? And more importantly how did you get into my room?”

“I ran here and then jumped into your window. Is that a problem?”

Still she doesn’t turn to look at me. This is starting to cut me.

“Okay, why are you shirtless?” she’s avoiding the subject. I stand up to move closer to her. She must be extremely uncomfortable.

“Craig and Luc did not think it necessary at the time. Am I making you uncomfortable? I just need to talk to you…”

She snaps around and start to talk, ramble rather, “You need to talk to me? I need to talk to you. Who the f**k do you think you are? Just tell me! I was having a perfectly natural and normal life and enjoying it. I was a happy girl, sure I had s**t, and shitty days, but I had everything going for me. I had very good friends I was getting satisfactory marks in school, and I was a cheerleader and a gymnast ánd a figure skater. In fact, I was about to enter the National Skating League. I didn’t date boys as I was focused on my life. I had depression and anxiety thanks to that f*****g dog, but that is why I have a therapist, and all my activities that distracted me. And then on Fabian Blackwood, serious and asshole, turned 18. I went to his party having a good time until Mr Blackwood himself decided to f**k with me and drag me into the cold air to kiss me. The first time I’ve ever been kissed, and the boy who kissed me decided I wasn’t good enough for him and he ran away. Normal girls would’ve probably not get bothered or get over it, but not me. I caught some serious painful feelings for You FABIAN!” she pauses after she yells my name. I start moving closer, she’s out of breath and I feel the need to comfort her, “Don’t you dare come closer,” I stop dead in my tracks at her threat. “So, here’s what happened then. I left cheerleading because you would be at the swim galas I was cheering at, as well as the basketball games, baseball games, netball games and my favourite the lacrosse games. Because you just had to be the supportive best friend and brother. I thought you would stop after you left but no. The gymnastic captain lives apparently 3 houses from you and has this major crush on you and wouldn’t stop talking about you. Every event she would say something in the line of ‘Oh I practised this in front of Fabian’s house, I saw him staring at me, I knew he came just looking at me’ and that cut so hard that I was sure it would kill me, so I left. Then I threw away my bright coloured clothes because Donna said you always wear pastel coloured shirts when you visit them at their apartment, so the colours reminded me of you.” She takes a pause to breath, I can feel the hurt and guilt grow inside me and it’s all my fault that she feels this way. “I then thought maybe if I do another sport, I’ll get distracted since I was so good at it with the dog bite, so I started running, then one afternoon at training I lost myself in my music and started running from the track. I got lost.” There is a hidden meaning behind that tone. “When I stopped running and panicked about where I was, I found I was in the woods behind your house. And I was looking straight into your bedroom window, you were home for the weekend.” She pauses, maybe for me to answer.

“I didn’t know…”

She cuts me off, “Nuh-uh, I am ranting not you! You can have your rant when you’re with Lucian or Craig or any other girl you feel like toying with. As I was saying, so then I went to get a piercing because the pain from a thing in my ear was distracting. I buried myself in my cheesy vampire novels, my schoolwork, and my skating. I made it into the league,” I see the tears that start spilling over her eyelids, her green eyes have gone dark, “but I lost my heart, and I am about to lose my spot because of that. So how dare you come here out of the blue and request forgiveness like you stepped on my toe by accident.” That final blow hit where I never though I could be hit.  

I look at her, she is sobbing now. I didn’t think it was like this. She seemed so cool and collected when I saw her last, like she didn’t even remember me kissing her. I look at her and see that she is just a girl that I forced to grow up quickly because I imprinted on her and didn’t know it. She doesn’t understand what I have been through the last 2 years. How could I not have known I was imprinting?

You made a promise remember? And you have been fighting this feeling for 2 years. Normal werewolves imprint and know it but you didn’t want to while normal wolves usually do.

Chase is right. I am a disgrace of a wolf.

I decide I no longer care about her threats and walk towards her and hold her. At first she flinches and then when she see I’m not backing away she falls into my embrace.

I probably hold her for an hour and then scoop her up to carry her to her bed. I still smell the roses and realise that is why I am not ripping her clothes off. I silently thank Mrs Silver for this. I lie on her bed with her as she doses off in my arms. She has a clock on the wall, and I watch the time pass. At 6:30 she opens her eyes and looks at me. I hear her heart start beating faster and I realise I am still not forgiven.

“Ellie, I am so so sorry for what I put you through. I didn’t know I was imprinting, and I didn’t know you would be like this. I have been fighting my imprint for 2 years now and only realised it what I was doing today.” I see her eyes getting worried. She seems upset and confused.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Oh, f**k she doesn’t know about this. I thought Phoebe would’ve told her by now.

“Do you know what I am?” I ask cautiously.

“A red flag?” Okay she is still upset with me.

“No, besides that,” I’ll admit I might not have sent signs of a healthy relationship waiting to happen, “I am a wolf.”

“Have you all gone bonkers? I am seriously starting to think I must be either dreaming or this mental institution has me on some great medication.” Okay I am clearly talking to a woman who doesn’t know.

“Ellie, dinner’s ready!” I hear her father calling.

And just like I haven’t started dropping bombs in this situation she jumps off the bed and run to the door, “Er,” she turns to look at me, “You’re not dressed appropriately and frankly I am not ready to invite you to dinner yet. I am kindly asking you to leave and come back later,” I am stunned. Not quite what I expected but I do guess being in a training pants and no shirt gives off the wrong vibe.

“I’ll come back in two hours, then just let me talk.” I need to be assertive. I need to get her on my side asap.

“No,” I see her lips twitch, does she want to smile? “Come pick me up, I’ll say I am staying over at Phoebe’s since Donna’s home and then we can go somewhere more private.” She turns again and ends with “Please put on a shirt.” Before she disappears through the door.

I can’t help but sit for a few minutes on her bed listening to her talk to her parents. A smile playing on my lips. I haven’t felt this good in a long time.