by Kate Harre
‘I’m sorry,’ Alex said gently. ‘For both you and your Mum.’
Annie shrugged. ‘It’s an old story now. They split up, he missed her, they got back together again, he couldn’t keep his pants zipped, they split up again. I think they repeated the cycle half a dozen times until Mum finally realised he was never going to change. He loves her, but not enough to forsake all others. So now they’re just friends.’
‘Do you think they’ll ever get back together again?’
Annie grinned. ‘Every six months or so Dad tries to convince Mum to take him back. He’s never met anyone who understands him quite like Mum does and I think when he’s not on tour he gets lonely, especially in the last few years since he’s been based in Los Angeles and we’ve been on the East Coast. But Mum’s standing firm, which I think is great!’
‘You do?’ Alex asked in surprise.
‘I adore my father and I feel sorry for him, but he didn’t treat her right. He can’t just expect to waltz back into her life whenever he feels like it. Actions have consequences, Alex.’
He grimaced. ‘Don’t I know it!’
Annie was instantly contrite. ‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean you.’
‘I know you didn’t. But I kind of prove your point, don’t I?’
Annie didn’t know what to say. ‘I… I…’
Alex threw back his head and laughed, enjoying her uncharacteristic loss of words. Reaching over, he ruffled her hair before getting to his feet and hauling her off the couch. ‘Don’t stress, Princess. I would hate you to watch your words for fear of upsetting me. I’m far more resilient than that. Now, enough talking. It’s workout time!’
Annie groaned, but dutifully followed him down to the basement. ‘Where did you get Princess from?’
‘Well your Dad is basically rock royalty, so that kind of makes you a Princess.’ He shrugged but the slight flush of red on his cheekbones belied his relaxed attitude. ‘It just sort of rolled off my tongue, but I think it suits you.’ He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. ‘Do you mind?’
‘I think I can live with it.’ Actually, she was kind of chuffed he’d picked a nickname for her. It made her feel like he saw her as someone important in his life.
He nodded and pointed to the treadmill. ‘Time to warm up.’
An hour later, Annie was collapsed on a padded mat, her arms and legs spreadeagled. She was utterly exhausted. Her muscles, which had still been sore from Wednesday’s workout, had protested violently at being forced to work again, but Alex had been relentless, pushing her a little further than she’d gone in her first session.
Now he sat cross-legged on the mat beside her, giving her a few minutes to catch her breath. Then rising gracefully to his feet, he reached down a hand for one of hers and almost lifted her upright. Annie reached for her towel and mopped her face and the back of her neck. She’d sweated more this week than her entire life put together.
‘Good work,’ Alex said and passed her a bottle of water, which she downed in several huge gulps. She didn’t care she lacked all elegance and briefly considered pouring the bottle over her head to aid in the cooling down process. There was certainly no “Princess” in sight now!
A quick glance at her watch informed her it was time to go or she was going to be late. ‘Thanks. Sorry to bail on you so abruptly, but I’ve got to go.’
‘What have you got planned for the evening?’ he asked curiously, gesturing for her to precede him up the stairs.
‘Adrian is so excited at the success of our latest issue of the paper he’s taking Chelsea and I out for coffee and cake. He even listened to our ideas today for the next issue. It’s a miracle!’
‘That’s great.’
Annie ducked her head around the corner into the kitchen and called a quick goodbye to Maria, who was stirring something delicious smelling on the stove. That answered the question of who did the cooking in the Hamilton household.
‘Don’t forget to stretch again before you go to bed,’ Alex advised. ‘It will help your muscles recover faster.’
‘Okay. Thanks for today and for meeting Mum.’
He opened the front door for her and reached out as though to tuck her bedraggled hair behind her ear. Annie jumped back out of reach. ‘Don’t touch me – I’m all sweaty!’
‘I don’t care,’ he said, his voice relieved and she realised for a second he’d thought she couldn’t stand his touch. She supposed it would take time for him to completely trust her. ‘Do you want to train tomorrow?’
She shook her head. ‘Danielle’s funeral is in the morning and then I’ve got a girls afternoon and evening with Chelsea and a couple of other girls from school. I think they want to talk about Prom.’
Alex shuddered feelingly. ‘Yuck.’
Laughing, Annie headed out the door and turned at the top of the steps. ‘I’m free Sunday. Not necessarily to train,’ she said hurriedly. ‘We could just hang out, watch a DVD or something.’
Alex shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away uncomfortably. ‘You don’t have to spend time with me because you think I need to be entertained. I’m quite used to being on my own.’
Which didn’t make it any less lonely, Annie thought but didn’t say. ‘I enjoy your company, Alex. You might not realise this, but since you don’t have any expectations you’re incredibly easy to be with… except when you’re putting my body through hell.’
One side of his mouth lifted in a half smile. ‘Come for lunch,’ he invited gruffly.
Annie grinned and bounced down the steps. ‘I’ll bring dessert,’ she called over her shoulder.
*
There were only two coffee shops in Ridgeville, both of which were opposite the Square. So it wasn’t hard for Alex to find the one where Annie was. It was dark, so safe enough for him to be outside, as long as he didn’t walk under any streetlights. Nonetheless, he stood in the protection of a large tree on the edge of the Square across the road from the café, his hood pulled low over his forehead, and melted as best he could into the shadows.
He’d told himself he was only looking out for her, making sure she was safe, because he wanted her mother to know he would protect her. But the truth was he simply wanted to watch her interact with her friends and make sure she was happy. It was a kind of sweet torture to watch her have the life he could have had, if not for his disfigurement.
The three of them were sitting at a window booth, Chelsea and Annie opposite Adrian, who looked a little awkward. Chelsea said something, her hands gesticulating wildly, and Annie laughed, her smile lighting up her face and causing his chest to tighten. He increased the torture and imagined himself sitting beside her, both of them drinking hot chocolate while his stories were the ones making her laugh. He wanted it with every part of his being, but knew he was reaching for an impossible dream.
When he’d told her how he’d been scarred, he hadn’t told her the whole truth. Not because he didn’t want to, but because it would have placed too great a burden on her. He sighed and closed his eyes against the sweet pain of seeing her happy. She’d asked if the curse could be broken and he’d lied. It could be; but only if he could find a girl to look past his revolting visage and fall in love with the person he was inside. Sydney had told him that with a certain amount of triumph, because she hadn’t believed it possible.
He hadn’t either. Until Annabelle came bursting into his life. Her name was so appropriate – Annabelle. Belle meant beautiful in French and she was completely that, both inside and out. And the more he got to know her, the more beautiful she became to him.
Today, when she’d recoiled from him, it had felt like a punch to the gut. He’d thought he might shatter from the pain of her rejection and it was at that moment he’d realised how much she’d come to mean to him in such a short space of time. If it wouldn’t have seemed completely wussy, he would have cried with relief when she’d told him it was only because she was sweaty. As if her sweat could turn him off her! There was nothing that could
turn him off her.
He’d learnt not to expect much from people. His own father was incapable of loving him and if he couldn’t how could anyone else. Laney hadn’t even cared enough to come to his house and find out why he’d suddenly vanished from sight – although admittedly, ditching her at the Junior Prom hadn’t exactly worked in his favour. He was fond of Maria and she of him, but she didn’t show him the love and affection he saw in her face when she spoke of her grandchildren. And he was fine with that. He could live without love.
Until Annabelle. She terrified him. He’d never put much stock in holding hands before and hadn’t liked the constriction when Laney had tried to reach for his hand. But the simple touch of Annie’s fingers linked with his did funny things to his insides and he couldn’t seem to stop himself from touching her in fleeting little ways. It was completely unlike him. But then she made him feel like a totally different person. Around her he forgot about the grotesqueness of his face and just relaxed. Which was good, except when he found himself wanting to kiss her. Then, he had to remind himself forcibly that not even Annie would want to kiss the horror that was his face and it would be humiliating to even be that presumptuous.
Even so, he found his heart cracking open a little bit, trying to let her in. He didn’t want to, because he knew he’d only be disappointed again. But he also couldn’t seem to help himself. And then he’d found himself thinking maybe somehow he could make her love him. She liked him, which was amazing in itself. Maybe, if he gave her enough time, she could come to love him… even just a little.
He opened his eyes again and resumed his watch on the café. They were all laughing now. Annie had tears running down her cheeks she was laughing so hard. How could even she love the unlovable?
Chapter 8
As funerals went, Danielle’s had been lovely. The sun had emerged from the clouds right before the service started, as if to pay tribute to the lively young woman whose life had been so cruelly cut short. The turnout must have been a record for Ridgeville, whose small town values meant every person was touched in some way by the teenager’s death. Annie had slipped in the back of the church, wanting to say a formal goodbye to the girl she had barely known but felt such a strong connection to. She’d been deeply moved by the number of people who had spoken of Danielle’s generous spirit and fun-loving nature.
Sitting on the floor of Chelsea’s bedroom, painting her toe nails a vivid blue, Annie promised herself she would somehow sort out the mystery surrounding the killer wolf.
Chelsea had asked two other girls from school to join them in their “girls’ evening”, which had started on a more subdued note than usual since all of them were a bit preoccupied with thoughts of Danielle. Some kind of upbeat music was playing on the stereo but so far it had failed to lift the mood.
‘I hope when I die that many people show up to my funeral,’ Caroline said as she carefully painted her nails.
‘Did you know her well?’ Annie asked curiously. Caroline wasn’t a cheerleader but was one of those people who moved easily across all the social groups at school.
‘Well enough to know she wouldn’t have been out in those woods alone.’ Caroline twisted the lid back on her nail polish bottle and leaned forward conspiratorially. ‘She hated the woods, especially at night. There’s a make-out spot up near the ridge, but Brad could never get Danielle to go there. She thought it was creepy.’
‘Which is why it was the perfect spot for Brad to take other girls, since there was no chance of Danielle busting him,’ Mikayla shared cynically from her spot on the bed where she was flicking idly through a magazine. ‘I used to see him up there sometimes with one of the cheerleaders from another town.’ She looked up and met Caroline’s eyes. ‘You know the one with the gorgeous dark red hair?’
‘Oh her! I love her hair!’ Caroline’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Brad was hooking up with her?’
Mikayla nodded. ‘Yep. You can’t fault his taste, even if his morals stink!’
‘And who were you up there with, girl?’ Chelsea demanded. She was in front of the mirror attempting to straighten her naturally curly hair. ‘I didn’t know you were dating anyone.’
‘Don’t go getting nasty ideas! My sister and I go there when my parents are having one of their screaming matches. We’ve been doing it for years; long before someone figured out it would be a great make-out spot and spread the word.’
Annie bit her lip. Sometimes she wished she had normal parents and a family who all lived together, but times like this reminded her how lucky she was her parents still cared about each other and had always kept their disagreements away from her.
‘So what was Danielle doing in the woods then?’ Chelsea asked the question on the tip of Annie’s tongue.
‘My guess is she was drugged and dragged out there,’ Caroline shared. As an aspiring actress, she had a flair for the dramatic and while it was a feasible theory, it was also an unlikely one. Minutes before her death, Danielle had been running through the forest and there’d been no hint of fogginess or sluggishness in her mind – Annie would have felt it. Of course, Caroline didn’t have the inside knowledge Annie did.
Mikayla shook her head. ‘The police didn’t say anything about drugs and you know if they’d found drugs in her system we would have all had to endure a pep talk in the school hall about the dangers of drugs and intoxication.’ She rolled her eyes meaningfully.
‘You’re kidding, right?’ If there were school meetings in response to every drug related murder in New York, no one would ever get to class.
‘Nope. If one kid falls off the wagon we all bear the consequences. Welcome to small town life, Annie.’
Chelsea snickered. ‘Last year at the Junior Prom someone spiked the punch. When the matrons finally noticed everyone was “punch drunk”, they closed the Prom down early.’
‘Who are the matrons?’ Alex hadn’t mentioned anything about that, so it must have happened after he’d left.
‘A group of town women who kind of take charge of any event requiring decorating, food and beverages. They have a proper name, I think, but over the years they’ve become known as the matrons,’ Chelsea explained dismissively. ‘But that’s not the point of the story. That Monday after the Prom, the entire Junior year was called into the hall where the Sherriff, Mayor and District Judge lectured us about how irresponsible we’d been, the disappointment and disgrace we had brought on the town… blah, blah, blah.’
‘Don’t forget how they invited us to dob in the culprit!’ Caroline added snidely. ‘As if anyone would be that stupid! I’m not exactly sure who it was, but I’ll bet it was one of Alex Hamilton’s crew and there’s no way anyone would want to cross him.’
Annie screened her gaze at the mention of Alex. Her time with him was so insular it was strange to be reminded her friends would have known him… the old him that he’d described to her in such detail. Knowing him as she did, it was hard to imagine anyone being scared of him.
‘Then they made us attend these really boring workshops on the dangers of alcohol poisoning and underage drinking,’ Chelsea muttered. ‘The whole year suffered because one person did the wrong thing – that’s how it works here, Annie.’
‘So if Danielle wasn’t high on drugs, do you two have another theory about what happened to her?’ Annie asked Caroline and Mikayla eagerly. ‘Were either of you at that party?’
They both shook their heads.
‘All I know is she was fine when I saw her at the end of the basketball game.’ Caroline picked out a silver nail polish bottle and started painting tiny polka dots on her bright pink nails. ‘Something either happened at the party or immediately after she left.’
‘My theory is, she must have thought someone was in trouble in the woods.’ Mikayla tossed the magazine aside and sat up. ‘That’s the only thing that would have convinced her to overcome her fear.’
‘Which means someone must have planted that idea in her head,’ Annie mused.
‘And most pro
bably led her into the woods,’ Chelsea finished. ‘But who? Who could possibly have a grudge against Danielle so big they wanted to kill her?’
Nobody had an answer. But it had given Annie plenty to ponder. She knew a wolf was responsible for Danielle’s death, but it was a wolf with abnormal behaviour. Perhaps someone had led Danielle to that particular wolf, knowing it would hunt and kill her. It was another small piece of the puzzle and if she could figure out who that person was they’d have the person whose intent it was to bring about Danielle’s death, even if they weren’t the actual perpetrator.
‘Yo! Earth to Annie!’ Chelsea clicked her fingers in front of Annie’s face.
‘Oh, sorry. I drifted off for a moment. What were you saying?’
‘The girls want to know if anyone’s invited you to Prom yet.’
Annie blushed, embarrassed to admit no one had asked her. ‘I don’t really know any guys well enough yet, except Adrian and he’s interested in Chelsea, not me.’
Chelsea snorted. ‘He isn’t! You have an overactive imagination!’
‘No, Annie’s right,’ Mikayla said with a mischievous grin. ‘I’ve seen him watching you when you’re not looking.’
‘Well I’m going to Prom with Stephen, so I’m more than happy for Annie to go with Adrian.’ Chelsea crossed her arms defensively.
‘Thanks,’ Annie said dryly. ‘Maybe I’ll go stag.’
‘You can’t go stag!’ Caroline jerked upright. ‘That would be the worst!’
Annie rolled her eyes, her thoughts going to Alex’s ruined face. ‘There are worse things than having no date for Prom.’
‘I’ll suggest to Adrian that he ask you,’ Chelsea offered.
‘Or there’s Michael,’ Mikayla suggested. ‘He’s really cute and I don’t think he’s asked anyone yet.’
