The Enigma (The Loup-Garou Series Book 1)

by Sheritta Bitikofer

  Katey snapped out of her fantasy and turned to Beth with a playful glare. “No!” she exclaimed.

  Beth giggled and snatched the piece of paper from Katey’s hand and ran away with it to the back room. Katey ran after her and they laughed as they began to fight over Logan’s phone number.

  ***

  When Katey and Beth said their goodbyes at closing time, Katey realized that she hadn’t eaten all day. Hunger gnawed at her stomach as she walked down Main Street to a small pizzeria to get her dinner.

  She had grown immune to the feeling of hunger for so long that it was rare when she ate a solid three meals a day. Half of the time it was due to her foster mother’s neglect in giving her lunch money or not cooking enough to feed them both; in which case Mary ate her fill while Katey went to bed hungry. The rest of the time, Katey chose not to eat for convenience sake. Over the years, it became a habit.

  Her friends thought Katey was becoming anorexic so they would test her by giving her cookies or granola bars when she didn’t eat lunch with them. Their worries would be put to rest when Katey gladly accepted what food they offered her.

  Driving back home with a pepperoni pizza in her passenger seat, she felt dread creep up her spine. She hated going home. There was nothing more detestable to her than seeing that house on the corner in the Lunar Creek Estates subdivision. It was a fine enough house, but it was the last place on earth she ever wanted to be. Mary or no Mary.

  Thankfully, Mary wasn’t there, leaving the house empty and all to herself for a change. After sorting through the duffle bag for dirty clothes and fixing a plate of pizza and a glass of soda, Katey settled herself down on the couch to watch a movie.

  Mary had left the house a total wreck before she left for the airport. Dirty dishes piled high in the sink, the laundry room was filled with baskets of dirty clothes and there was a mysterious odor in the air that Katey wouldn’t have been able to stomach if she were not nose-blind to it.

  Her sense of responsibility told her that the house needed a deep cleaning, and heaven knows that Mary wasn’t going to do it when she returned from her trip. But at this time, Katey didn’t feel like being responsible. She wanted to continue living in this illusion that Logan created for her.

  She pulled out Logan’s jacket and deeply breathed in his scent as the movie was rolling through the opening previews. It was amazing to her how his scent hadn’t faded at all throughout the time that she had it.

  She shrugged on his jacket and reached into its pocket to pull out the piece of paper her had given her. She unfolded it and stared thoughtfully at the numbers, debating whether to call him or not. The idea was certainly tempting. The house was empty, her guardian away, and a big pizza to devour on her own. She could use the company. But after taking a look at the deplorable state of the living room, she decided against it. She didn’t want Logan to think she was a dirty person by nature.

  So, she tucked the number away, but kept one hand in her pocket, her fingers affectionately fondling the plains and edges of the paper.

  Chapter 5

  Katey’s alarm on her cell phone rang and skipped across the surface of the coffee table as it vibrated. She cracked her eyes open and peered into the darkness of the living room. She could see the fuzzy square of light coming from her phone and she blindly grabbed for it.

  She moaned and flipped it open to check the time. It was a few minutes past five, the usual time she would have needed to get up if it were a school day.

  Katey mindlessly pushed the comforter off of herself and threw it onto the floor next to the sofa. The coffee table was littered with take-out boxes and empty DVD cases. So much for being a responsible adult this weekend.

  She felt around for her glasses on the floor, got up and walked towards her bedroom. Still in a groggy haze, Katey awakened her computer from hibernation mode. She turned up the sound and started a playlist full of heavy rock music to execute her morning routine.

  She took a quick shower, then blow-dried and straightened her hair to as close as perfection as she could get. The process of putting on makeup took nearly half an hour as she tried to make every blemish, no matter how small, inconspicuous from any distance.

  She stepped up to her closet and pulled on a pair of baggy black pants and an equally baggy grey hoodie to wear.

  Katey didn’t bother cleaning up the mess in the living room. It matched the rest of the house and she knew it would still be there when she got back. She resolved that she would spend that evening cleaning the house.

  The music was still playing while she stuck two waffles in the kitchen toaster and poured herself a coke for an extra energy boost to get her started on her day. She was not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination, but the shower and shot of caffeine was enough to put her in an amiable mood.

  When the waffles popped from the toaster, she grabbed them, finished off her drink just as the playlist came to the last song.

  Katey looked to the couch and saw Logan‘s jacket thrown over the back cushion. She stared at it for a while, debating whether to take it to school or not.

  She decided against it, mostly because she didn’t want to take the chance of losing it or the questioning glances she would get from other students. They would know the jacket obviously belonged on a man from the way it hung off her frame because it was too big. But, heaven knew she wanted to have it with her all day to sniff and hug, just as she had all weekend.

  She couldn’t get him out of her head. She had dreams of them meeting in a graveyard, at the bookstore and even at her house. She wondered if she would ever call him. Many times, she had taken it into some serious consideration, but every time decided not to. She could never gather the courage to invite him over or ask if they could meet at a coffee house to talk. One day, she would. But it was not this day.

  After she grabbed her bag, keys and cell phone, Katey locked the front door and hopped in her jeep to speed on to school.

  ***

  Katey drove through the bus lane and around to the front of the football field. No one ever wanted to park there because of how far away it was from the school’s entrance. It was also behind the cafeteria and where a couple of dumpsters happened to be located. However, she found it to be a most convenient spot for this morning because she had to run a few errands on this side of the campus.

  After dropping off a poster project for Lily who would be late for her first period, as well as a list of announcements for the journalism class, Katey headed back towards Mr. Dubose’s classroom.

  The ten-minute warning bell rang and the once crowded hallway began to thin out, giving Katey some room to breathe as she trekked slowly through the masses.

  Katey never met up with friends to talk or take a trip next door to McDonalds like most students did. She was too strict with herself when it came to schoolwork. She never risked being tardy, with the exception of Friday. That was just a fluke, she simply lost track of time.

  Why it mattered was a mystery even to her. She had no plans for college and no one who harped on her about getting good grades, so there was no true motivation in her success at academics. More or less, it was a challenge she made to herself to not become careless like so many other seniors did. It was their last year of slavery to the public school system and some were taken advantage of it in the wrong way.

  As she moved down the hallway Katey’s eyes, which were normally downcast, felt induced to look up. She didn’t know why.

  When she did look up, a group of students came through the two glass doors that led out to the bus ramp. It looked like it must have been raining outside because the sky was a little overcast and grey. Katey’s gaze immediately locked onto something peculiar in the crowd. It was a student she hadn’t seen around school before.

  He was dressed in dark jeans, a black shirt, and equally black long jacket whose hem draped down behind his knees, with a hood over his face. Slung over one shoulder was a pure black backpack that looked tattered and laden with books.
She watched him curiously, her steps slowing down as her focus honed in on this stranger.

  Katey could recognize almost everyone in this school. She might not have known their names, but she could pick out a new face in a heartbeat. His tall, robust figure looked familiar, and the way he strutted like a proud stag made her even more curious.

  He swept the hood off of his head in a languid, graceful pass of his hand to reveal his black and blonde hair. Sky blue eyes turned briefly towards the ceiling, catching the florescent light in such a way that made Katey inhale sharply. Katey saw the line of hair tracing along his jaw and she thought she would faint.

  It was Logan.

  Katey tried to keep walking, but she could feel her legs threaten to turn into jelly. He was eighteen, almost nineteen, if Katey remembered correctly and he should have been out of school by this time. He would have graduated last year if he went to this high school. And even if he were home schooled, he would have graduated. It didn’t make any sense to Katey why he would be here, of all places.

  As she stared at him, his eyes still focused on the ceiling, she felt her heart skip one… two… no… three beats. Why did he make me so anxious and yet so calm? She thought to herself. He ran his fingers through his damp hair and his gaze fell straight on her.

  Katey lost the breath from her very lungs and couldn’t help but smile a weird, goofy smile. He smiled as well, but much more genteelly, and they locked gazes. Katey thought it almost unnatural how good-looking he was.

  As they began to pass each other, he said, “Hey, Katey.”

  There was a way he said her name, unique from all other ways it had ever been said. He made her name sound like it was the most important word in the world to him when he said it. Katey didn’t return the greeting out of sheer shyness and bashfully broke away as it came time for her to turn down the hall to Mr. Dubose’s room.

  Her stomach fluttered and she felt like bursting out laughing, jumping for joy for no explainable reason. She tried to not let herself get carried away. She thought that perhaps he was there to visit someone or go to the library, or something innocent like that. He couldn’t have been there for her like she wanted to believe.

  Katey took a deep, calming breath to compose herself and ducked into Mr. Dubose’s room. She saw her teacher up at his podium, doing something on his computer. His stare was so focused and concentrated that she didn’t bother greeting him like she normally did.

  Only a few other kids were in the classroom as she walked over to her seat in the front. Beth wasn’t there, but her backpack was sitting in her chair. No doubt she was out flirting with her boyfriend before class started.

  Katey looked up at the clock on the opposite side of the room. It was about five minutes until seven when she began to prepare for the class.

  Mr. Dubose walked out his door to patrol the hallways and she could hear him calling out to the students in a loud booming voice. “Come on, let’s go. You’ve got five minutes!”

  Katey started to label the periods for each day in her planner when Beth came in and threw her bag from her seat and up onto the table. She sat down and the two began talking about their weekends.

  When she asked about Logan, Katey felt like telling Beth about the fact that Logan was at the school, but she decided not to. No reason to get Beth all worked up either in case it was nothing. She did, however, confess that she hadn’t called Logan yet. Beth was disappointed.

  The tardy bell rang and Mr. Dubose slammed the door.

  “Ok monkey-butts, wake up, it’s…” but Mr. Dubose stopped in the middle of his sentence and turned around on the balls of his feet, walking backwards toward the podium with his eyes focused on the door.

  The classroom door opened and Katey didn’t turn to look, but she could see Mr. Dubose’s eyes lit up and he smiled devilishly.

  “Welcome to class, Mr. Logan. About time you showed up,” Mr. Dubose teased and maneuvered around to his computer.

  Katey’s eyes grew wide as she looked behind her. And sure enough, there he was, swaggering down the middle of the rows of black desks, passing under the intense stare of curious eyes as he approached the front.

  “Good morning, Mr. Dubose. I assume you need this paper?” Logan held up a small slip of paper and offered it out to the teacher.

  Katey’s disbelieving eyes never left him for a second. She could tell all the other girls in the class were doing the same. She knew even Beth, a happily taken girl, eyed Logan lustfully as she had in the bookstore on Saturday.

  “Yes I would, thank you,” Mr. Dubose replied before taking the paper from him and setting it down amongst the clutter of other folders, binders and stacks of tests on his desk. “You can just…hmmm…” Mr. Dubose looked around the classroom, scratching at his chin thoughtfully. Finally, he pointed towards Katey’s table. “Beth, move over a seat and Logan, you can sit next to Katey,” Mr. Dubose’s final decision didn’t seem logical or convenient.

  Why couldn’t Logan just sit in the empty seat on the other side of Beth? Why did he have to sit next to me? Katey thought.

  “But, Mr. Dubose…” Katey began.

  “Butts belong in your seat, Miss Katey. And Logan’s is going to sit next to yours.”

  Logan glanced at Katey over his shoulder and gave a wicked half smile that made her sink in her chair. All of the sudden, she wasn’t too keen on the idea of Logan sitting next to her. Katey’s mind buzzed with all the possible scenarios where she would make a fool of herself in front of him and she grimaced.

  Beth reluctantly moved one seat over and Logan sat down in between the two friends. Katey scooted her chair up as far as it would go and folded her arms over her notebooks for a comfortable headrest.

  Katey could smell Logan’s sweet cologne or whatever it was that made him smell so irresistible. Every girl in the room was now envious of Katey and Beth and she could already hear a few jealous whispers and giggles from around the room.

  Logan didn’t say a word to Katey at all. He only watched Mr. Dubose with a certain interest that surpassed mere attentiveness for a student to display.

  “Like I was saying, before Logan interrupted, it’s Monday and time to wake up,” Mr. Dubose said as he took attendance.

  “What are we doing today Mr. Dubose?” one of the sophomores asked.

  “Today, you are going to hear me lecture on our new chapter about water and air pollution.”

  Katey rested her chin on her forearm and stared up at the closet door that was in front of her desk. It was checkered with pictures of Mr. Dubose in all kinds of climates and in nearly every country. She wondered what it was like to travel to all those exotic places, and most of all what it would be like to have Mr. Dubose as a companion on such trips. Then her mind wandered to having Logan take her to all those places.

  The class had begun talking softly as Mr. Dubose prepared the projector. When Katey looked back up towards the front of the classroom, she could see out of her peripheral vision that Logan was copying her posture. He had his arms crossed over the desk and his head rested in the same way that hers was.

  Just for spite, she folded her arms across her stomach and leaned back in her chair instead. He didn’t follow suit, which allowed her the ample vantage point to watch his back steadily rise and fall with each breath. He was calm, and that was more than she could say for herself.

  Before her heart burst with anxiety, Katey turned her attention back to the front where she watched Mr. Dubose pop a small white pill into his mouth. Katey peered curiously at him.

  “I’ve never seen him do that before,” she mumbled under her breath, which she thought would be barely audible to anyone around her. Mr. Dubose hardly ever took a sick day and she couldn’t recall a time when he complained about the usual pain or soreness that came with age. It was a mere observation to herself and not meant for anyone else to hear.

  However, Logan turned and leaned back in his seat to get closer to her. “Maybe he has a headache?” he whispered.

 
; Katey bit her lip thoughtfully and didn’t reply, but she could feel Logan’s warmth radiating at her side as it had on Friday night. She didn’t realize how much she had missed that warmth until now.

  Up on the screen, there was a summary about the chapter as Mr. Dubose walked around and sat on the arm of the couch, his arms folded over his chest and looking up at the screen as everyone else began to settle down and pay attention.

  Katey had spaced out through most of the lecture because she was too busy thinking about what Logan was doing. Every little move he made, Katey watched and evaluated. He didn’t seem at all troubled that she was sitting next to him; like it wasn’t as big of a deal that she thought it was. Or that it was how he had planned it all along. Katey didn’t want to be that paranoid psycho and think that everything was a conspiracy against her, but there was a strange quality in his manner that made her want to second guess if this had all been arranged somehow.

  About half way through class, the phone that sat on another small table in front of Logan and Katey’s desk rang. She peered over onto the little screen and saw the call was coming from Mr. Keith’s classroom.

  Katey thought this extremely odd. Mr. Keith never called Mr. Dubose, at least not during first period that she knew of. Logan seemed to straighten up in his chair as Mr. Dubose walked over and picked up the receiver.

  “Hello?… Hey…. Yeah, he’s here… He’s fine, don’t worry. He was just a little late this morning. No big deal… Right… Okay, I’ll tell him later… I have a class going on right now… Okay, bye.”

  Katey knew he was talking about Logan. He was the only guy late to class that morning and Mr. Dubose was looking right at Logan the whole time he was talking. When Mr. Dubose hung up the phone, Logan seemed to relax and slump in his chair again. Dubose resumed teaching and Katey went back to studying Logan. She wondered what Mr. Keith would have wanted with Logan and what the connection was.

  When the bell rang, Katey jumped out of her daydream and grabbed her messenger bag. When she looked up, Logan was already half way to the door while everyone was just putting away their supplies. Katey dismissed it as amazing reflexes. She looked over to Mr. Dubose, who was giving a knowing grin back at Logan walking out the door. Didn’t he have to tell him something? Katey wondered.