It had been a lousy night. But it had been a good night, too. We found Butt Crack. Brittany probably thought I was a hero, fighting an alligator and all. In a way, maybe I was.
But even better, I’d learned to shift at will. The wolf didn’t have to control me. I could control it. With practice, I might not have to be a wolf at all. In the back of my mind, a memory stirred. The wolf had thought the same thing. Was Brittany right? Would the wolf stop me from using the potion? I couldn’t let it spoil my chance for a normal life.
A life with Brittany.
Apprehensive, I raised my hand to Brittany’s necklaces. They were gone. I winced. Must’ve lost them in the swamp somewhere. She wouldn’t be happy. I’d better ride out to that metaphysical shop first thing and replace them. It shouldn’t be a problem, although the balance on my debit card was getting low.
My eyes flew open. Both my cell phone and my wallet were in the pockets of the jeans Butt Crack now wore.
TWENTY-ONE
I awoke to someone rapping at my bedroom window. Still groggy, I dressed in a pair of pants from the laundry pile in the back of my closet. I was stiff and achy, and covered in cuts. With a scowl, I answered the window.
It was Brittany’s brother. “Hi,” he said.
I scratched my head and yawned.
“Figured this was your room.” He motioned upward. “Brittany’s crystals.”
I glanced at the dangling prism. “Yeah.”
“Can I come in?”
I grimaced. What did he want at this time of the morning? I opened the window wider, favoring my bruised ribs, and stepped back. He climbed through and stood before me, looking nervous. “That looks sore. Your face.”
My hand flew up. A long welt ran across my nose and down one cheek. I remembered the gator’s tail slicing across the wolf’s muzzle. Before I could think of an explanation, he showed something in his hand.
“I thought you might like this,” he said.
My stomach fell. It was an alligator tooth. He’d wrapped the top of it with wire and hooked it to a black cord. “They say it’s lucky to keep a trophy from something you killed,” he said. “You didn’t exactly kill that gator, but you fought it. It was pretty spectacular, actually.”
My head spun. “But I—”
“Besides, I thought it would make up for the one I broke.”
He held up a chain. It was the Earth Calm pendant Brittany gave me. I remembered it chafing the wolf’s neck. My breath left me in a whoosh, and I stumbled backward to sit on the edge of the bed.
“I never saw a dog wear a necklace before,” he said. “But then, you aren’t a dog, are you?”
I met his eyes. How was I going to get out of this? The kid wasn’t an idiot. He’d catch me in a lie. “Whatever you think happened—”
“Look. I don’t know what you are or anything. And that’s cool. But you saved my life last night. I just wanted you to know I’m grateful.”
What could I say? If I accepted his thanks, I confirmed his suspicions. If I said nothing, I came off like a jerk. “Does your sister know you’re here?”
“Nah. She’ll probably freak when she finds me gone.”
“Are you crazy? We’ve got to call her.” I slapped my pockets for my phone, and then remembered I’d left it in my other pants. My eyes widened.
“Ah, yeah. That’s the other thing.” He pulled out my cell and wallet.
I nodded, taking them. “Where are my pants?”
“Brit will probably wash them. You know her.”
I sighed. “You eat this morning?”
“No. I left before anyone got up.”
“Well, let’s see if there’s something for breakfast. Then we’ll call your sister.”
I opened my bedroom door just as Uncle Bob came out of the bathroom. He blinked at me, and then at Butt Crack.
“Uh,” he said.
I smiled. “Morning.”
“Uh,” he said again.
I brushed past him on my way to the kitchen.
Butt Crack followed me. “Aren’t you going to tell him what I was doing in your bedroom?”
“Not unless he asks. And I don’t think he will.” I held out a box. “I have blue or red.”
“Blue is good.”
We sat at the table with blueberry Pop Tarts and chocolate milk. While we ate, I called Brittany.
“You’re up early,” she said sleepily.
“I had an early visitor,” I said. “Your brother is here.”
“What?”
I pictured her bolting upright in bed and smiled. “It’s no big. He wanted to talk.”
“That brat. He doesn’t think of anyone but himself. I should have let the gator eat him.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I guess not,” she said after a moment. “Did he walk the whole way?”
“Good question.” I looked at Butt Crack. “How’d you get here?”
“Bike,” he said between bites.
“He rode his bicycle over. Should I send him home?”
“Not on your life.” She sounded like she was moving. “I’ll be there in ten. Don’t let him go anywhere else.”
“No prob.” I put the phone in my pocket. “You’re right. She freaked. More milk?”
Butt Crack nodded.
He was just finishing his third glass when I heard a knock. I caught Brittany’s familiar scent as I opened the door.
“Thanks for calling me,” she said in greeting. “I have to get him home before anyone else wakes up. Mom went nuts when she found out what happened, and we didn’t even tell her about the alligator. He’s not supposed to leave the house.”
I noticed she’d borrowed her mother’s minivan. “Will the bike fit?”
“It better.”
“Let’s find out.”
So while Butt Crack sat on the porch, Brittany and I manhandled his bike inside the van. “You were scary awesome last night,” she said in a low voice.
“Really? Because I saw fear and loathing on your face.”
“Only for a moment. I don’t like that gloppy sound. But the way you tracked him and saved him from that gator. You really came through for me.”
“Aww, shucks.” I grinned, giving the bike a final shove.
She put her hand on my cheek, looking into my face. “Does it hurt?”
“Nah. But this hurts.” I showed her the dark splotch on my ribs.
She winced. “You’re a mess.”
“I’m fine. Can I see you later?”
She shook her head. “We’re staying home and doing the family thing. Right, Butt Crack?”
“I was just gone an hour. Sheesh.” He climbed into the front seat.
I rolled the side door shut. As I turned, Brittany kissed me. It wasn’t a passionate kiss. I didn’t even have time to close my eyes. Her lips were warm and grape soda sweet. Like her.
“Bye.” She circled around to her side of the van.
“Hey, man.” Butt Crack leaned out the window. “Thanks for, you know, not denying anything.”
“Why would I? You’re not stupid.”
“Depend on it.”
I watched them drive away with those words ringing in my ears. Butt Crack wouldn’t talk. He’d proven that. Still I wasn’t comfortable with him learning my secret identity. Now two people knew about me. At this rate, half the town would know by the end of the year. I’d have to include a wolfman newsletter with my Christmas cards.
As I walked back inside, Uncle Bob stormed down the hall from his bedroom.
“What’s going on, Cody?” he bellowed.
“Nothing,” I said. “He’s a friend.”
He blinked at me, and I realized he wasn’t referring to Butt Crack.
“I heard you come in last night,” he said. “Crawling through a window? Why didn’t you go through the front? I wanted you to meet my friend.”
Now it was my turn to blink. Was the redhead planning to move in or something? “Sorry. I didn’t think you’
d want to be disturbed.”
“Where were you? You’re all cut up.”
I sighed. The truth was always safer. “Brittany’s brother got lost in the Everglades, so Brit and I went out to find him. And we tangled with an alligator. It’s no big deal.”
“You fought a gator?”
“Yes, sir.”
“A boy against a gator?”
Did he think I was lying? “There were three of us. Look, can we pick this up another time? I’d like to go back to bed.”
Alarm and disbelief crossed his face. It was like he was afraid of me—or for me. “Sure,” he said. “We’ll talk later.”
Not if I could help it, I thought as I went to my room.
I spent the rest of the weekend under my uncle’s watchful eye. I found that increasingly funny, seeing how I was supposed to be watching him. He never mentioned the alligator again, which was fine. He had something he wanted to say, though, and I wished he would spit it out.
Once, he almost did. “Made any new friends, lately?” he asked.
“Not really. I don’t fit in much at school.”
“Maybe someone outside of school?” he asked. “Someone a little older?”
“No.” I looked at him, wondering where this was going.
Evidently nowhere, because he dropped the subject.
The following week, we had the math FCAT at school. The good thing about standardized testing was we had no homework. The bad thing was, because there was no homework, Brittany didn’t see the need for study nights. She spent her evenings at home doing the family thing.
I tried not to complain. As a reward, she promised me her full attention on Saturday.
When she got to my place Saturday morning, I was sitting on the front porch looking out at the woods. Spring was coming, causing many of the trees to burst into bloom. Yellow, orange, and even blue flowers filled the branches. It almost looked like autumn up north.
“Hi.” Brittany sat beside me.
“Hi yourself.” I entwined my fingers with hers. “What would you like to do today?”
“I thought we could follow your uncle around, see if he does anything suspicious.”
I shook my head. “He’s already gone. Said he had some errands to run.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. He might be picking up supplies for a project he’s doing next week.”
“We could run by the lumberyard and see if he’s there.”
“Sure.” I stood, pulling her up with me.
“Speaking of next week,” she said, “it’s spring break, so remember I’ll be working.”
I nodded. “Do you know your hours?”
“Not yet. But if it’s during the day, there’s a good chance my boss will be there.”
“If it’s during the day, I’ll probably be working with Uncle Bob. He already asked.”
She smiled and got into her car. “Good, then.”
We drove past the lumberyard but didn’t see my uncle’s truck, so we continued on to Wal-Mart, Target, and the Home Depot. After that, we tried the post office, and Publix.
“I wish we knew what kind of errands he’s running,” Brittany said.
I shrugged. Even if we found him, we wouldn’t be able to follow him unnoticed. We weren’t very inconspicuous in a lime green Volkswagen.
“Why don’t we stop at the Coffee Café?” I said. “If we don’t see him there, I can at least buy you lunch.”
“Deal.” She smiled.
By the time we got to the café, the parking lot was almost full. We opened the door to the sound of conversation and the clatter of silverware.
Anne greeted us as we stepped inside. “Cody. How are you doing, hon? There’s a table over in the corner. Better grab it quick.”
I spotted the table and guided Brittany to it. She smiled as she sat. “They know you?”
“It’s my uncle’s favorite place. I’m surprised he’s not here.”
Anne placed two tall glasses of chocolate milk before us. I set my debit card on the table. “This one’s not on the tab, okay?”
Her eyes crinkled. “Oh, I see. Who’s your friend?”
“I’m Brittany.”
“Anne. Pleased as the dickens to meet you.” She turned to me. “Will you be having the usual?”
“What’s the usual?” Brittany asked.
“Hamburger. Rare,” I said.
“Sounds good,” she said, “but I’ll have mine medium. No bun.”
“You got it. I’ll be back in a jiff.” Anne bustled away.
Brittany picked up the glass of milk. “I thought this was a coffee shop.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t really like coffee, so she started giving me milk.” I took a swig. “It does a body good.”
“It certainly does yours good. You’re like transforming before my eyes.”
I gave her a quizzical look. “And I don’t even work out.”
She laughed and glanced around. “It’s really busy.”
“The food’s good.”
“I have something to ask, and I don’t know how.”
I took another drink, and then met her eyes. “All right.”
“My mother wants me to invite you to Easter dinner,” Brittany said. “She wants to meet you.”
“Oh.” I leaned back in my seat. “She’s not scary or anything is she?”
“Hardly. She’s frazzled most of the time. Not great at multi-tasking. But she’s a really good cook.”
“Can she make crunchy cake?”
Brittany laughed. “No one can make crunchy cake like you.”
“Here you go, kids.” Anne juggled the hamburgers and fries. “One bloody and one pink.”
“Yum. Smells great,” said Brittany.
“Yes, it does.” I looked up at Anne. “Has my uncle been in today?”
“Breakfast. He said he was stopping by Sophie Jackson’s to unclog her dryer vent. He never charges that woman a thing, knows she’s on a fixed income. I never met a kinder man than your Uncle Bobby. In spite of the circumstance of his birth.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, as you know, he was born on Christmas Eve, and I’ve always found that sort to be rather strange. Standoffish. But not Bobby. He’s a real sweetheart. Well, enjoy your lunch.”
I watched her walk away without really seeing her. Christmas Eve. There was something important about people born on Christmas Eve, but I couldn’t remember what.
“Cody? Are you okay?” Brittany asked.
I grabbed the ketchup. “Of course.”
* * * *
Apparently, it was tree-trimming season in South Florida. Many of our jobs had us up twenty-foot ladders juggling buzz saws. Uncle Bob said we just had to thin the new growth a bit to let a hurricane blow through. There were a lot of snakes, especially in the palm trees, but my uncle told me they weren’t poisonous. After they surprised me a couple times, they didn’t bother me anymore.
Both Monday and Tuesday, I got home so exhausted I just took a shower and fell into bed. On Wednesday, Uncle Bob decided to knock off early, so I had him drop me and my bike at the Video Stop where Brittany worked.
I walked in with a bag from Burger King. I stank and had leaves in my hair, but when she saw me, her face lit up like I was a rock star. All my scrapes and aches disappeared.
“Hi,” I said. “I thought you might like dinner.”
“Got any fries in there?” She opened the bag and took a deep breath. “Heaven.”
“Hello.” A woman stepped out of the horror section. She had thick black glasses and a mustache.
I’d forgotten the boss would be in today.
“Susan,” Brittany said, “this is my boyfriend, Cody.”
Not friend, but boyfriend. I smiled. “How do you do, ma’am?”
“Well, Cody,” she said. “You look like you work for a living.”
“Yes, ma’am. I work with Bob, the Fix-It Guy.”
Her heavy brows went up. “Oh?
Yes, I know Bob.”
“Can I take my break early?” Brittany asked. “There’s nothing going on.”
“Certainly. Go right ahead.”
Brittany grabbed the bag in one hand, my arm in the other, and led me down a short hall into a room lined with boxes. It smelled like damp cardboard. The light was dim and yellow after the bright fluorescents in the store.
“I’m starved.” She set the bag on a table and opened a small, recreational-type refrigerator. “Do you want a Dew?”
“Yeah. Great.” I sat at the table.
She set a can before me and opened the bag. “You look tired.”
“Not tired enough. I probably won’t sleep much tonight.”
She nibbled at the burger. “The full moon is Friday?”
“Right.”
“Does that mean you’ll have to go out tonight?”
“I don’t want to,” I said. “But the closer it gets, the stronger…”
“Like the hunger.”
I nodded and folded half a dozen fries into my mouth.
Brittany frowned and set her half-eaten hamburger on a napkin. “Where’s your uncle?”
“He was going home, said he needed to rest up a bit.” I looked at her. “Why?”
“The sheriff stopped by this morning to talk to Grandpa. According to him, the coroner thinks most of the murders took place a couple days before full moons. They think the murders were ritualistic. A coven or something.”
“Like witches?”
“Sure.” She glanced toward the door. “I thought this might be a good opportunity to, you know, keep an eye on your uncle.”
“Then you want me to go ahead and shift.”
“You don’t want to?”
“That’s the problem.” I looked at the door and lowered my voice. “Every time I change, it’s like the wolf gets in deeper.”
“It scares you.”
“I just want to be rid of it.”
She put her hand over mine. “We will.”
A gush of warmth ran through me. I smiled, wanting to kiss her, but knowing her boss could walk in at any moment. She seemed to have the same thoughts, because she blushed and pulled away. I covered the awkward moment with a big bite of burger.
The Amazing Wolf Boy Page 21
