Inevitably Yours

QUINN

As I thought, Christy would not leave me alone about whether or not I would go with her. Instead of coming up in the stands to where I sat near Stuart, she linked me near constantly. Tommy gave me a piggyback down the steps to leave for our half-time performance and then was nice enough to take my instrument up afterward so I could go with everyone to the concession stands. I felt terrible that I was practically helpless, but no one else seemed to mind helping.

When we were coming back from our break, my phone chimed with a message from Michael, telling me I should call him after the game. I finally got Christy to back off by telling her I would let her know first thing in the morning after talking to my parents. I was trying to be patient with her, thinking that this little outing was probably keeping her from spiraling about Stuart.

Once we returned from the game and I got all my stuff put away, I met my dad in the parking lot. “How was it?” he asked.

“Normal,” I shrugged. “Do you guys know if you will make it in the next couple of weeks to watch?”

“I don’t know yet,” my dad frowned.

“Okay,” I answered, feeling a little disappointed.

“Don’t forget, we’re going to your Grandmother’s on Sunday for our birthdays,” he said.

“I know,” I told him. My dad’s birthday was the day before mine. When I was younger, he insisted on having separate parties for us, his usually being more of a dinner. For the past few years, we had parties together. My friends thought it was strange the first time, so I decided not to have friends at my parties after that.

“Are you sure you don’t want to bring any friends, Quinny? You can tell us if you want a different party. You seem like you have made lots of new ones since starting high school,” my dad said, but I could hear the edge in his tone. I knew my parents would do it if I asked, but they were also worried about the cost of having an extra party.

“No, it’s okay. Christy asked if I wanted to hang out tomorrow. I might go if it’s okay,” I floated out there.

“The little crazy one with the flags?” my dad asked. I nodded. “I don’t see why not. You don’t have to use the crutches anymore. Just don’t be back too late.”

“I haven’t decided if I want to yet,” I told him. I gripped my phone in my hand tightly. I knew why I was undecided, but I was not about to explain the complexities of my social life with my dad.

“Alright,” he said. “I can’t believe my quirky girl is about to be 15 years old.”

“And you’re going to be what, like 105?” I joked. My dad laughed as we pulled into the driveway. He grabbed my backpack for me, and we headed inside.

I left my bag downstairs and did my little butt scoot up to my room. When I got to my bed, I started pulling off my clothes and slipping into pajamas. My phone chimed, and it was a message from Christy with about a hundred ‘pretty pleases.’

I decided to leave her until the morning and call Michael back. He picked up right away but sounded really sad.

“Hey, Blue,” he answered.

“Hi,” I said. “What did you want to talk to me about?” My stomach churned nervously. We didn’t have the best conversation earlier.

“I shouldn’t have snapped like that earlier. I wasn’t mad at you, and I’m sorry,” he said.

“Oh,” I replied. “Um, it’s okay.”

“You shouldn’t feel like you can’t do what you want because of me,” he continued. “I shouldn’t make you feel like that.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling a weird pang of disappointment. I didn’t want to admit a part of me wished he would try to ask me to wait for him. I feared that he didn’t feel the same way I did about him anymore.

“I’m not around, and it isn’t fair of me to expect anything from you,” he said. “I won’t be mad about it.”

“Um, thanks,” I said quietly. The little hole in my heart grew a little with every word. I blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill from my eyes. “I’m glad you aren’t mad at me.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. There is no reason for me to get upset with you,” he said quietly. The more he said, the worse I felt. I couldn’t have this conversation anymore.

“I’m exhausted. Moving around on these crutches takes a lot out of me. I’m going to head to bed,” I told him. “Good night.”

“Night, Quinn,” he said.

My hands trembled slightly as I brought the phone down from my ear. I should have accepted it weeks ago when he left. I should have known when he told me why he left that he would have to break his promise. How could I expect him to just come back after finding out he isn’t the Alpha’s kid? I knew I was still missing parts of the story, but he didn’t seem like he was ready to talk about it. It made my heart throb in my chest. Was this how Christy felt when Stuart dumped her?

I opened her message and quickly replied.

METext property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

| fine i’ll go

| but i can’t be out all night

CHRISTY

| omg youre the bestest friend in the whole world

| i’ll call you tomorrow with plans! this is going to be so much fun and exactly what i need

“Maybe I can distract myself but making sure my best friend is happy for a while,” I thought. “Maybe I’ll think about him less. What do you think, Saph?”

I got no response from my wolf. My head fell back against the window behind me. “Here we go again,” I g*****d.

–

Christy came over an hour before we were supposed to be going out with her friend. She insisted we get ready together, and I didn’t have the energy to fight her. She came over and went through my closet, looking for the perfect outfit for me. She seemed to be having fun, and there was no trace of the sadness from the break up, so I let her do as she pleased.

I talked her out of the skirt she picked out, and we compromised on skinny jeans for the night. She also picked a purple scoop neck shirt for me because it would ‘go with my hair.’ She decided to exchange her own shirt for the matching pink one to mine. I was tired from not sleeping and trying to focus all my energy on acting like a normal, well-rested person rather than arguing over superficial things.

When the doorbell rang, my dad called upstairs for us, and Christy ran down the stairs to get the door while I took a little longer. When I came around the corner, she was hugging someone in the doorway.

“Bye, Dad!” I called, as I pushed her and the guy out the door. I closed it behind us, and Christy laughed.

“Sorry,” she said.

“It’s alright. I would just rather take the interrogation later,” I told her.

“Quinn, this is my friend Aubree. He is a part of Wild Paws Pack. Aubree, this is my best friend Quinn,” she introduced us.

“Hi,” he said, extending his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

I shook his hand in return. “Nice to meet you, too.” Aubree was taller than Christy and me but not quite as tall as Michael. He had medium-length dark hair and lots of stubble on his chin. He wore nice jeans and a shirt, making him look pretty ordinary. Normal was good for Christy, I thought.

“We will meet Jaxx there if that’s okay,” Aubree said. Christy and I both nodded. Aubree motioned for us to follow him, and we headed to his car. Christy sat in the front with Aubree, so I climbed in the back.

“Is your foot okay?” he asked as he pulled out of the driveway.

“Oh, yea, mostly,” I said, remembering the ugly brace. It was still sore to walk on but was alright if I kept most of my weight off of it.

“So you can walk?” he asked.

“Yea, she’s all good. She doesn’t have to use the crutches anymore,” Christy answered him.

“Oh, good. I was worried for a second,” he said.

“What are we doing then?” I asked.

“Oh, I didn’t tell you?” Christy said, twisting in her seat. Aubree peeked a glance at her, hiding a smile.

“No, you called this morning, gave me the time, and asked to get ready at my house….” I reminded her.

“Oh yea, well, we are going to one of those haunted houses in the human town then probably bowling,” she smiled. “They always have the funniest werewolves.”

“Wait, haunted house?” I asked. She nodded happily. I swallowed, trying to stop the dryness in my mouth; I hated scary stuff. I knew that humans usually had the wrong idea about most supernatural creatures, but it didn’t mean that there weren’t things that went bump in the night. I wished I had asked before I agreed to go.

When we got there, we joined the line to get tickets while waiting for Aubree’s friend. Christy was talking with Aubree animatedly while I tried not to let on how scared I was.

“So, Quinn, how do you and Christy know each other?” Aubree asked, acknowledging my presence.

“Marching Band,” I answered. I didn’t want to tell him about Stuart; I had no idea what Christy had told him.

“Has she tried to get you to spin a flag yet?” he laughed.

“Yes, actually,” I replied. “It was harder than it looks!”

“See!” Christy added.

“Oh, there he is,” Aubree said, looking over my head. He waved to someone, and Christy and I turned to see another guy jogging toward us. He looked a little like Aubree. He had similar dark hair, but it wasn’t quite as long, and his face was rounder. He didn’t have any facial hair, making him look younger than Aubree.

“Christy, Quinn, this is my best friend, Jaxx. Jaxx, this is Christy, who I was telling you about, and her friend, Quinn,” Aubree introduced us all.

“Nice to meet you ladies,” Jaxx smiled. “Cool hair.”

“Uh, thanks,” I said. Christy beamed at me.

“We’re so close to the front of the line!” she said excitedly.

“Sadist,” I mumbled.

Aubree laughed. “Do you not like this kind of stuff?” he asked.

“Not particularly,” I answered honestly.

“Well, this won’t be too bad since it’s open so much earlier than the others,” Jaxx said.

Christy grabbed my hand. “I’ll hold your hand,” she smiled, making me laugh slightly. I caught a flash of sadness in Aubree’s eyes.

“What do you think, Aubs? Will you hold my hand if I get scared?” Jaxx said jokingly. Aubree rolled his eyes. “Oh, come on. What if the big bad werewolves come after me?” Christy and I giggled at them.

“Next!” the ticket booth called; it was our turn. Aubree insisted on buying our tickets since he invited us out. I thought it was a nice gesture.

We all headed into the haunted house. Christy and I went first; I still held her hand tightly. Aubree and Jaxx followed us, snickering at the whole thing. The first thing to jump at us was a clown with a horribly fake knife. I saw it coming, and the thing still managed to pull a yelp from me. Jaxx and Aubree laughed behind us, and Christy shot them a look over her shoulder.

“It’s okay,” I told her. “I know it’s silly.”

We continued on through the winding halls of the haunted house. It was long and felt like it was taking forever to get through. It probably didn’t help that I couldn’t move very fast, and I was jumping at every little thing. It was probably a good thing I couldn’t talk to Saph because I probably would have shifted out of fear a few times.

When I thought we were reaching the end, the hallway split in two directions. We stopped to read the poorly lit sign. The sign displayed a riddle. We were supposed to choose the correct path based on the puzzle to exit.

“It’s left,” Jaxx said.

“Yea,” I agreed. “It has to be.”

“I think we are supposed to go right,” Aubree observed.

“Oh! This could be fun,” Christy cheered. “Let’s split up and see who is right! We’ll go right, and you guys go left! It has to take you out eventually, right?”

“Sounds like a challenge,” Aubree said. “I like it!”

“No, we should all just go the same way,” I reasoned.

“Scared to be alone with me?” Jaxx laughed. “I promise I won’t turn into a b***d-thirsty beast.”

“You all find this far more comical than I do,” I deadpanned.

“Come on,” Christy said. “It’ll be fun!” She grabbed Aubree’s hand and started pulling him with her. His face broke out in a cheesy grin as he let her drag him. Jaxx laughed.

“I guess that is that,” he said. “Shall we?”

“Yea,” I said. We walked next to each other, taking the side I thought was the solution to the riddle. I hoped this would be over quickly. The hall was dark; it looked like an abandoned school building almost.

“It hasn’t been too bad,” Jaxx said next to me.

“Speak for yourself,” I told him.

“Why’d you die your hair blue?” he asked. “Didn’t that affect your….” he trailed off, probably remembering where we were.

“I didn’t,” I told him simply as I scanned all around us, waiting for that inevitable jump-scare.

“So that’s real?” he asked.

“ARHHHH!” someone jumped out behind us. I screamed and stumbled forward, my ankle flexing painfully. I landed on all fours.

“Ow!” I said.

“Oh s**t, lady, I am sorry. Are you okay?” The scarer must not have meant to make me fall.

“Don’t you guys get in trouble for breaking character?” I heard Jaxx say.

“Well, I didn’t mean to make her fall!” the other guy argued.

“I just want out!” I said angrily.

“Your girlfriend doesn’t like this much,” the guy laughed. “The exit’s right there. Sorry for making her angry.”

My ankle was protesting in pain. I got myself to my feet and scowled at the guy in his bloody, tattered costume. He pointed to a door with a ‘Do Not Enter’ sign hanging from it. I wasted no more time in the dark hallway, moving as quickly as possible through the door. Jaxx followed me, but Christy and Aubree were waiting for us as we stepped out. Christy was waving something in the air, and Aubree was watching her with a strange look.

“Hey!” she called. I didn’t pay Jaxx any attention as I went to my best friend. “Oh, are you okay?”

“Fine,” I said.

“Well, you guys won,” she said, presenting me with the ‘I DIED’ sticker she held.

“That’s pretty funny,” I told her, handing it back.

“We probably should have died too, but she ate s**t and then bit the guy’s head off, so he told us where the door was,” Jaxx said, coming up next to me.

“I didn’t eat s**t,” I told him. Christy furrowed her brows at me. “I’m fine, I promise.”

“Let’s go eat somewhere,” Christy said, moving the conversation past me. “I’m starving!” She hooked her arm in mine, and I looked at Aubree, who was trying to hide his disappointment.

“Christy, hold old is Aubree?” I asked her.

“He turned 17 a few months ago, I think. Why?” she linked back.

“Just curious,” I told her.