by Holly Hook
"I'm not messing around," Tyler says. "If you hadn't tried to dig out—"
"Okay, guys. Arguing isn't going to solve anything here," I say, shocking myself by stepping between the two. I'm just ten feet from Alan, but he doesn't move. I keep my grip on my weapon and the arrow notched into the crossbow.
"We're all at fault," Valerie says, joining me. "Alan's right that we can do more to end the curse. Sure, Tyler's got the love thing covered, but his parents still have their thumbs on this town. Sarah was most concerned about that. She sold her property to the Roses and not only did she not get the sum she was supposed to get, but she also didn't get the maintenance she was supposed to get and then she got gouged to death. Her daughter had to help her pay her rent every month. What do we think Sarah wanted out of this?"
I think of her lying under the snow and the dirt deep in the woods and I shudder. Even from the grave, she has control. I gulp. "She wanted Tower freed from the Roses."
Tyler doesn't back away. Instead, he squares his shoulders and looks Alan in the eye. "She wanted me to curse my parents and force them to be exiles. And she wanted me to go with them. She wanted them gone so they couldn't do this to Tower anymore."
I rush over to Tyler because these words aren't easy for him. He might have been an expert at spelling bees and words when he was a kid, but these simple syllables are the hardest ones he's ever dealt with. Wrapping my arm around him, I sense that he's shaking. But he doesn't take his gaze off Alan.
"Yes," Alan says. "And you didn't."
"How can I just bite them?" Tyler asks, raising his voice, leaving my grasp, and approaching Alan. "They weren't horrible parents when I was a kid. They never beat me. Sure, they had super high expectations, but when I got cursed they just kept their distance. And if we all left Tower to go live in the wilderness, I wouldn't have met Beckah. Or got you out of your shit situation."
"So they treated you like they were ashamed of you?" Alan asks without remorse. "They didn't even take you in for Thanksgiving. Again."
He saw us. Alan stood out in the woods and knew we were having a good time at Gia's. And now he's trying to ruin it. I raise my bow a bit but he's not fazed. He just wants to free himself from this mess.
At least we have that in common.
Tyler heaves out a sigh and I know he's struggling to hold it together. Then he backs away from Alan. "Yes. Again."
"Beckah's cousin accepted you. So did Gavin and Marion, and they're not even what you call family," Alan continues. He's not going to let up. "They're just as affected by the curse as your parents and they were able to overcome it. Your parents haven't even tried. Instead, they just leeched as much as they could from this town and there's no sign they're going to stop. What do you think you need to do to stop this curse, alpha?"
"Tyler isn't responsible for what his parents do," I say, wanting nothing more than to defend him. I step in front of him with my crossbow still in front of me. "It's not fair to hold what they're doing against him."
Alan remains still as the air stays thick. I can see right into his dark eyes and though they're human at the moment, they're hard. Unforgiving. "No, it's not fair, but Tyler has the ability to do something about his parents. And he hasn't."
"Shut up," Tyler shouts.
"No fighting," Valerie yells before I can get to it.
"Yeah. We all have the same goal," Chaz reminds Alan. "Look, man. We're all upset about this and we know things have to change in Tower. Why don't we discuss how we're going to make this happen?"
"I can't just bite my parents," Tyler says. Then a long pause drags out as we all face him. "Literally. If I remove the curse by biting them and driving them out of town, they'll be cured at the same time I am, since everyone I bite or we bite gets my curse. And then they'll be right back here to wreak havoc on Tower all over again. And I'm sure they'll write me out of the will, too, if they haven't already. Then I'll have no way to take things over when they're gone and undo all the crap they've done to this town." He stops and takes a breath, but I know it's just to think as I've never seen Tyler run out of breath. "Sarah wanted me to lose control and bite them, yeah, but that was when I was a kid and not capable of falling in love yet. I took too long so she decided to kill us instead."
As he finishes, he stands beside me, facing Alan. And he takes my arm. I can't reciprocate, holding the crossbow, but his warmth floods through my coat.
Alan steps back and rubs his chin. He wrinkles his forehead, making the snarling wolf on his forehead move. "I guess you've got a point, man. But you haven't tried anything else. There have got to be other ways. Beckah might have interrupted the thing we all had going here, but she might have connections. Maybe she's good for something."
"I'm standing right here," I say. I gulp, thinking of how I told Marion's grandma I could get some important eyes on the mess here. I haven't followed through yet thanks to being so overwhelmed. "And that's true. There might be something there. We have to do something. Sarah was on that whole kick about learning compassion."
Alan narrows his eyes. "Well, you had better come up with a plan, quick. The beast is stirring in me, and I haven't killed in a while. It's not as if you'll let me run with the pack anymore."
"You lost our trust," Tyler growls.
"I know I did," Alan says, backing towards the trees. He doesn't want to hurt us right now. This moment of sanity, I know, isn't common for him. Alan has been damaged by his time away from Tower. He could easily go back to the wolf who tried to rip out my throat right here in front of the vacation house and it could happen at any time. "Maybe someday I can get it back. Or not. Have fun trying to drive your parents out of town for good, because that's what needs to happen."
And then Alan turns away, bounding into the trees as tan fur rips out along the back of his neck. I recoil into Tyler, who holds me there as he glares after Alan. A growl slowly comes from Tyler's throat, but I force myself to let go of the crossbow, placing it on the ground, before I put my hand on his chest.
"Stay calm. He's trying to help," I say, keeping my grasp firm. I gather Tyler's shirt in my fingers, feeling his strong chest. "He's doing the best he can. Alan wants to go back to normal, too. He just doesn't want to admit it out loud."
"I know he does." Tyler lets out a breath as Alan, still shaped like a human, vanishes over a boulder, kicking up snow. "He's right. We've been taking too long to do what needs to be done."
I swallow. "Are you saying we have to drive your parents out of town for good?"
"I'm not sure we can with supernatural means. They're not Alan's poor, drunken sheriff father. They're loaded." Hopelessness lurks between his words, growing with each one he speaks. "And...I don't know if I can."
I gulp, hating the weight on my shoulders. Could I turn against my own parents? Who could even do such a thing? "But would non-supernatural means work? If we all get together and work on this, maybe we can free Tower from their control. They don't have to die or get infected or anything. And I know that shame can ruin people in other ways. Send them into hiding."
Everyone's gathering around me. Valerie lifts an eyebrow and Chaz turns the side of his mouth up into a grin. Alan's gone and I can no longer hear him bounding through the trees, but I feel like he's there, watching and listening for our next move. Because he's just as affected as the rest of us.
"Maybe," Tyler says. "Beckah, you're better than me in that way. At least you faced your dad." His tone drops to the center of the world.
I swallow. "Let me deal with this. I'll make some phone calls back home. One of my really old friends at Averly is the daughter of a couple of prominent journalists."
CHAPTER SIX
We've got to shame the Roses out of town.
Bring what they've done to a national stage.
Dad knows who the Roses are, so they're not unknown in the wealthier circles of the country. They must be in the circle of wealth above my family's which I consider upper middle class or lower upper class. Whatever. If Dad
wanted me to date Tyler and get into the family fortune, they've got to be a rung or two (or three) above us nobles.
That means their cheating and gouging of Tower can become a national story so long as other rich people don't try to cover for them. I know people like the Roses have connections and have probably bribed judges left and right because they've done that with the Tower city council. Hey, raise the property taxes so it looks like we have a good reason to charge these people so much. Here's some cash.
I've got to find a reporter who isn't too old, who is eager to come out with a huge blockbuster story. Older reporters will be too seasoned about the messed up way the world works, and probably won't want to touch this.
"Any reporter who tries to tackle this story is going to come up against a wall at the best and harassment at the worst," Tyler says in Art Club the following Tuesday. We're surrounded by pine wreaths (real ones, not the plastic stuff), pine cones with glitter, and an assortment of old bulbs that have seen better days, but I like the rustic look the school is going with for the Christmas Walk. It's early December now, since Thanksgiving was at the butt end of November this year. These people are good at using what they have to make everything beautiful, and just being in here surrounded by this stuff is lifting my mood and making me hopeful about what we need to do. Now that I've got the whole Rose Pack, Marion, and Gavin willing to work with us, I feel like Operation Shame just might work.
I've just got to find someone willing to come out to BF Nowhere.
Mr. Bright parades around the room to see how our wreaths and bead garlands are doing, and on the other side of the space, someone plugs in a string of colored lights to test out the bulbs. I take out my phone when he's gone and send another text to Amelie, my old friend from Averly who still sends me kitten gifs once in a while.
So your parents can ask around at their news company? Amelie's parents own Tiger Press, a news site that focuses on climate change, poverty issues, and other justice stories. I can't believe I've forgotten about that fact until now, but Amelie and I were never close friends and we only told each other what our parents do once.
They're interested in this story. Especially if we can put an environmental spin on it.
"I'm not sure how that can happen, unless we talk about illegal hunting people have to do in order to get by," Gavin says, leaning over the table and placing his hand over my own. "My family has to hunt off season sometimes."
I can't fault Gavin's folks for that. Everyone has to eat. "I'll tell her that and I'll make sure they don't make you look bad. At least we found someone who's interested. I don't think we're going to get one of the bigger papers to take the story unless the smaller ones start first." I'm not sure how journalism works but I know I'm lucky to have this connection.
"Keep my family anonymous," Gavin says.
"Will do." I keep sending texts back and forth with details, and I tell her we already have some paper records of the property taxes that make no sense.
They'll ask some of the new reporters. The older ones are already busy with stories, Amelie tells me.
I send her a You Are Awwwww-Some gif with a basket of kittens. She sends me a smiley face. "I guess we just have to wait."
"I should have expected that they'd send a new reporter," Marion says, sticking out her lower lip.
"Well, the last time people tried to get the news out here, things fell through," Gavin says.
"I bet my parents paid them to look the other way," Tyler says. He looks to Chaz. "Once someone's coming out, we've got to keep my parents distracted. Cause trouble around Rose Ranch and make sure they have no time to deal with any pesky reporters. Or time to try to bribe them."
"Is that safe?" Chaz asks.
"Nope. We'll have to put ourselves in a little bit of danger. I say we pretend we're going after the horses or trying to breach the property," Tyler whispers. Then he stops and works on assembling another wreath as Mr. Bright walks past.
"Great work," our teacher says, studying our wreaths. "Chaz, you've got talent."
Chaz holds up his wreath and even though he's attached bulbs to it that are worn and missing metallic paint in places, it suits the rustic look well. "I'm thinking just a couple of those candle-shaped lights in the middle will work well here."
The teacher passes, and our group of five spends the rest of the Art Club putting wreaths together, since that's our role with the decorations. I wonder how we're going to manage this all since we now have Art Club meetings three days out of every week, and are due to be here for the Walk for the next three weekends.
The rest of the week passes, and I check my phone obsessively to see if Amelie has gotten back to me. Things are silent, and Mom calls me on Thursday after school to see how things are doing. I get the ring once I'm out in the parking lot, walking to Gavin's truck.
I'm glad to hear from her so I put my back against the school and answer. "Fine. Been busy decorating the school and studying," I tell her truthfully. "Tyler and I have been meeting at Gia's after school to study on most nights, and Gia cooks for us." I lean against the outside of the school building, watching the flakes spiral down. It's a lazy snow, not a storm, and I can see the sun peeking out on the horizon.
"That's great," Mom says. "I wish you could come home for the holidays, but I don't think that would be a good idea."
"What's wrong?" My heart thumps for her.
"Your father and I are still very much on the rocks." Her tone is flat and has none of that warmth I always look forward to hearing.
"I thought you were going to counseling?"
"Your father refuses." She punctuates her sentence with dead silence.
"Mom, are you...are you two going to have to..." I don't want to say it, as much as I would understand. I won't be going home for the holidays, things are so bad. Mom's leaving a lot out. I'm getting that. Something is very, very wrong and there are things neither parent is telling me. "This isn't because of me, is it?"
"No. You have no fault in this," Mom says. "You just need to focus on what makes you happy, Beckah. If Tyler and your new friends make you happy, focus on them. You don't need to be here right now, as much as I'd love to see you again. Who knows? Maybe we will see each other again, but I don't want your father to follow."
Are you afraid of him? I don't want to ask. "Is he, like, hitting you?" Dad can be tough, but he's never been physically abusive. Dad's flavor is more the emotional type.
"I think your father has developed some issues since the trip," Mom says quietly, as if she doesn't want anyone around her to hear. She stays quiet, and I pick up the sounds of ringing phones in the background. She's at work, probably at her desk at the medical supplies center. "I know brain chemistry can be out of whack. Maybe he needs medication. Beckah, you should not be around this. I don't know what's going on at all, but stay safe in Tower, okay?"
"Mom, what's he doing?"
She doesn't speak for another long pause. I watch a few guys get into a beat-up car at the edge of the parking lot, and she waits until they've pulled out and vanished down the road.
"He's your father, times ten," she says. "Imagine how your phone call went with him and imagine him like that all the time. He's throwing so many man tantrums and going out at night for long periods of time." Mom's about to cry.
Is he cheating? Dad has never done that either, not to my knowledge.
"Just enjoy Christmas with Gia. I'm glad to hear she's making more money and that you're helping her out. I'll see you soon."
"And I hope to see you soon, too," I say, ending the call, because her tone tells me the conversation is over.
I let out a breath.
What is wrong with Dad?
Is he worse because he can no longer boss me around? Mom was never able to stand up to him well, but he never ordered her around. She was always free to come and go as she pleased. And now that I'm gone, is she the scapegoat?
That makes me want to get back home, but Mom is being a good parent. I tell myself
that as I tuck my phone in my pocket and wait for Gavin and Marion to come out of the school. When they do, Gavin's face immediately falls.
"What's wrong?"
"Things still suck with my parents. Mom's not telling me everything, but with me gone, she's the new scapegoat," I say. "And I'm sitting here, safe from all that."
"Safe?" Gavin's eyes pop all the way open. "In Tower?"
"Yeah. Trust me, this doesn't feel good," I say. "I don't even think Mom understands what's going on. She thinks Dad might be mentally ill."
"Oh, Beckah," Marion says, opening her arms for a hug.
Both my friends embrace me, and Gavin places a kiss on the top of my head as other students file out of the school and to their vehicles. I bask in their warmth. We all have problems, and I know I've got to keep this one to myself from now on if we're going to end this curse. I have to keep this from Tyler, just for now, or his guilt about me being here might cut down the time we have left. We have too many problems to let this get in the way, too.
* * * * *
I get a different phone call that evening, after Gia and I have finished cleaning up dinner and by the time Tyler has arrived to do homework. It's from a number I don't recognize, and Tyler raises his eyebrows from his position on the other side of my bed as the phone continues to blare.
"It's a New York number," I say.
Tyler pales. "You'd better pick it up."
I do. "Hello?"
"Hi. Are you Beckah?" It's a young man, probably fresh out of college.
"I am."
"My name is Will Storenson. I'm a junior reporter from The Tiger. Do you know what that is?"
My heart leaps. Thank you, Amelie! "I do."
"I've heard that you're having some housing justice issues."
Tyler slides closer on the bed, and tilts his head to listen in. Apparently his senses don't extend to phone calls very well or he just wants to provide me company. I'll go with B.
