by Pam Tribble
~~***~~
Jonah watched her walk away and when she’d reentered the tree line, his shoulders slumped. Damn! Why did she have to choose tonight to walk over? Why had he chosen tonight to chop wood? He’d totally screwed up. The solitude of his new home had lulled him into complacency. There was no way to explain to Lyra what she’d just seen…and she’d seen plenty. That much was obvious from her shocked expression. She had to think he was a total freak. And for a moment, she’d been scared of him. He’d seen it in her eyes.
Jonah stacked the chopped wood, put the ax away, and went inside. He didn’t want her to be scared of him. If he could just keep his true nature hidden, he might be able to be around her sometimes…like in the woods. No! He could not get close to her—at all! What was he thinking? He knew what was inside of himself and what he was capable of. Living with Jet was risk enough. He would not put Lyra in danger too.
And now she knew he was abnormal. Now she would have questions. She would be wondering and watching. He would have to completely avoid her. Oh, why had he agreed to give her a lift to school? Ignoring her had been hard enough, but he didn’t think he could be deliberately cruel to someone so good. Despair filled him. He cursed himself all during his long shower and until he finally drifted off to sleep hours later.
