“Meghan, I just wanted to thank you for all of your help last night.”
Letting my face convey my obvious confusion, I asked, “My help?”
She smiled before elaborating, “Dr. Thomas, the veterinarian, is a friend of our family. He told me that you took very good care of one of the animals that roam the woods behind our house.” There was only one that she could be talking about.
“You mean my wolf?” Kodi made a choking noise behind me and I fought to ignore him and control my growing blush. Mrs. Barrett shot him an amused look before returning those sharp emerald eyes to me and I said, “The wolf, I mean. The one I put butterfly stitches on?”
She smiled and nodded, “That’s the one. He’s harmless really, but sometimes he can be a real pain in the ass, pardon my French.”
I laughed at the teacher’s use of a curse word at the same time that Kodi yelled, “Mom!” She gave him an amused look, and I chose that moment to say my goodbye and leave the classroom. I was halfway across the campus before realizing that I’d left my bag at my desk in Chemistry. I walked swiftly to the classroom, but once at the door, I halted at the sound of hushed voices arguing vehemently.
“Mother, I’m telling you, it has to be her.”
“Kodi, that’s not possible. She’s human.”
“We shared a dream. That’s the number one telltale sign and you know it.”
“What makes you so sure you didn’t just dream about her, not with her?”
“You know as well as I do, it feels different. And the other day, I smelled something on her hand. Her scent is…enthralling. But it was partly masked by another, darker smell. She may not be like us, but there’s something inside her, something wrong.”
Were they talking about me? My mind drifted back to when I stroked his eyebrow and he’d turned his face into my wrist. I thought I’d seen him smell me. Human? What the hell else would I be? Did that mean they weren’t? Were they aliens? Were they going to abduct me? What did they mean darker smell? He found my smell enthralling? Too many thoughts, too many questions raced through my head, so I didn’t notice anyone walking toward the door until it swung open in front of me. Being the quick thinker that I was, I schooled my features and looked up into Kodi’s face, whose eyes held worry and something else. I watched the movement his throat made when he swallowed.
“What are you doing here?” I cleared my throat so that it wouldn’t crack before replying, “I forgot my bag. I need it for my next class.” He made no move to stand aside, so I brushed past his lean, muscular body and ducked under the arm he’d stretched across the doorway. I tried my best to ignore the heat on the back of my neck that told me he was watching me again.
Trying not to think of him and his taut body hugged by a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black shirt, I grabbed my bag and left the room without so much as a glance behind me. I sat at my desk in English and watched the clock slowly click by while I listened to music in one ear. The ear bud headphones were built into my sweatshirt hood so they were well concealed from a teacher and with one ear free, I could still hear Ms. Bliss were she to call on me. Her stern, wrinkled face made me want to glue her butt to her chair. What was her deal with me, anyway? Finally, the bell rang, and I headed to the vet’s office. The first appointment on the schedule once I arrived was a feisty cat getting spayed. I was happy when the anesthesia kicked in and the cat finally went limp. Duchess was a gray tabby that had come in for shots a few months ago, and as soon as I saw her, I knew I’d be going home with new scratches. This time she got me good along my right wrist, but it had stopped bleeding after only a few minutes. Her owner Liza always said that was her cat’s way of showing people she liked them. Bullcrap. Once Duchess was awake, she had thrashed, causing the stitches to re-open so for her own safety, Dr. Thomas suggested keeping her overnight for observation. Liza didn’t seem pleased with the idea but relented. I was at the reception desk and had just hung up the phone as I rescheduled the caller’s appointment due to their family vacation being extended. I must have been concentrating too hard on my current task because I didn’t notice anyone enter but, when I heard someone in front of me clear their throat for my attention it became obvious that someone had. I looked up and my mouth went dry as my heart began pounding in my chest.
Three
With Kodi’s electric eyes focused on me, I couldn’t tell if my reaction was one of fear or excitement.
“Sorry to interrupt you,” he said, “I just wanted to come by and thank you for last night. I know my mother did earlier today, but I wanted to do so myself as well.” I thought it funny how articulate he was when he spoke. Guys in high school just never sounded like that. Not smart, necessarily, but polite also. This time, I risked speaking to him without clearing my throat first.
“It’s ok, really. I didn’t do much. I hope he got his butterfly stitches off alright. I know it can be a pain to remove them from an animal due to it sticking to the fur so bad.”
His eye twitched and he gave me a smile, “Yeah, I can assure you that wasn’t very much fun at all.” I laughed and I saw him watch my mouth, which made me very self-conscious. This wasn’t like me at all. I knew I always had weird reactions when it came to Kodi, but when it came to my looks, I’d never cared what anyone thought. Due to my chunkiness, jeans with ripped knees and band t-shirts were usually the extent of my wardrobe. Now that I think about it, if I were skinny, I’d still wear the same thing. It’s just my style and comfortable. There was nothing that I loved more than music. There was always some kind of music that could soothe my every mood, so I considered it downright therapeutic. I closed my mouth and looked at him.
“So, do you live around here? I hope that wolf didn’t have to limp far to get here.” I mentally smacked myself. I must have sounded like a stalker, asking where he lived.
He gave me another one of those smiles that made my heart melt and said, “No, it’s not too far. It’s the big gray house on the east side of the woods, just next to them actually.”
I’d been in the Mountain Falls woods a few times, most recently in my dream. I also knew of what house he was talking about. That old gray house looked like it was in great shape for an old place. It was also huge, and I tried to think whether or not Kodi had any siblings, but I had no idea.
“Wow,” I said, “that house has been there forever. Has it always belonged to your family?”
He laughed, “Only the past fifty years.” He looked like he was trying to find something else to say, and I found it fascinating that he even wanted to talk to me. I was pathetic. “So, are you going on the camping trip?” he asked. My confusion must have shown on my face because he shook his head, “Sorry, I forgot. I guess having Mom be one of my teachers is good for something. I find out about field trips before all of the other students.” He smirked before continuing, “I guess tomorrow they’re going to hand out permission slips for a senior camping trip in the woods next weekend. Not that spectacular for me since technically, it’s like my backyard, but still a rite of passage so I’m told.”
He smiled at me and I smiled back before replying, “I’m not sure. I live in a group home for kids in the system. It’s kind of tricky to get permission for things like that, especially on such short notice.”
He nodded, “Yeah, I’d heard something about that.” Dr. Thomas chose that moment to enter the small lobby and when he saw Kodi, his eyes narrowed, which I was immediately curious about.
“Kodi, are you here for an appointment?” asked Dr. Thomas.
I looked at Kodi. “Oh, you have pets?”
This time his smile didn’t reach his eyes, “Something like that.”
He turned to Dr. Thomas to reply.
“No, not this time, Doc. I just came to say thanks to Meg.” He nodded, seemingly relieved, and went back to work while I was beaming like a child at Christmas on the inside that he’d called me Meg. I didn’t even know he knew my name, much less the shorter version that people I was close to used.
Kodi sighed, “Well, I better be heading home. I’ll see you tomorrow at school. And maybe next weekend on the camping trip.” I nodded and he waved on his way out the door. Today was a slow day so Dr. Thomas and I left early, and he offered to give me a ride back to the group home which I accepted. Jane was off tonight, but Jensen was there which was just as good.
“Hey old man, how goes it?” I greeted as I set my backpack down. Jensen sent me a mock glare from the staff desk, and I laughed before giving him a hug. “Good evening, Meg. How was work?”
I released him and sighed, “It was pretty good, kind of slow though, that’s why I’m here.”
He nodded and said, “Ok, well the girls had pizza tonight but I know how that upsets your stomach, so Jane saved some chicken from last night, and cut it up so that I could use it to make you a chicken salad.”
I nodded in approval, “Go, Jane.”
Jensen laughed, “Yeah, that woman thinks faster than a freight train.” I saw the look of adoration on his face and I had to say something.
“Jensen, when are you going to ask Jane out on a date? Maybe dinner and a movie or something?”
He looked taken aback before replying, “Child, what are you rambling on about?”
I gave him a knowing smile, “We all know you’re sweet on her. I think she likes you too.” He glowed before it turned into a slight frown.
“We’re a lot older than you, Meg. Back when we grew up, it wasn’t acceptable for a black man to court a white woman. Jane, she’s a fine lady. In fact, too fine. She grew up a wealthy southern belle and sometimes, time can’t wash away everything from the past.”
I felt a pang of sympathy for Jensen before shrugging it off.
“Jensen, you’ve worked with Jane for fifteen years. Does she seem like the type of person to judge anyone based on what they look like? I think you know better than that.”
He actually looked shamed for a moment before smiling. “You’re too smart for your own good, you know that?”
I laughed and patted his hand.
“Life is short. Look at us. You’re old and I’m dying. I know that’s blunt, but you know how I feel about honesty. Would you rather spend the rest of your years watching Jane, wondering what could have been, or do you want to spend them waking up to her?” Instead of waiting for a reply, I went to my room and after watching a little bit of the movie that Sarah was playing, headed to take a shower. Clean and refreshed, I sat at the kitchen table while I ate my salad and began doing my homework. That night, I dreamed again. I was in the same spot in the woods but, this time I spawned knee deep in the stream, which was unusually warm for nighttime. I sloshed through the water walking toward what, I didn’t know. I could hear various creatures making nature sounds and I could tell there were many different types of birds in the trees, but it was too dark to see them. I looked around for my wolf and for Kodi but found neither. Looking around me, I tried to find anything that would hint at what I was supposed to do here, or where I was supposed to go. Again, I found nothing. I walked further through the water and realized that I was no longer in the stream but was now in the connecting river! The floor beneath the water grew deeper and the rushing surface rose quickly to my chest. Suddenly, the warmth from the water had dissipated and it was now as cold as ice, like a vice grip around my heart as my limbs began to go numb. I began to swim to the edge when I realized that there weren’t any. There was no more land and the water stretched out as far as I could see in every direction. I kept swimming until I could no longer. My limbs ached and throbbed with pain; the water was so cold that my lungs wouldn’t work properly to bring in enough air. My body was shutting down, my vision black, not even my brain would work properly at that point. All I wanted was for the agony to cease. I stopped fighting the water and let it pull me under. In that moment, I woke up in my bedroom with a loud gasp and a cold sweat scattered across my face. I looked across the room at Sarah, who was sleepily rubbing her eyes before looking at me.
“Dude are you okay?” she asked, and not quite ready to speak yet, I nodded at her and got out of bed. I walked into the living room to find Jensen snoozing on the couch, a dim lamp being the only light in the room with him. Rather than wake him and ask for permission like we’re supposed to, I got a glass of cold water and chugged it quickly. The fear of my nightmare had caused my stomach acid to rise in my throat, so I hurried to cool the burning and wash it all back down. I stood a few minutes, waiting for it to take effect and returned to my bed. It took me an hour to fall asleep again, and though it was a couple of hours later, when Sarah shook me awake, I could swear that it had been only minutes since I’d gone back to bed.
“Meg, wake up! Jensen’s been calling for you for fifteen minutes. It’s time to get up for school, let’s go.” Although Sarah’s booming voice made me flinch, the shaking finally ceased.
I sleepily sat up and replied, “I’m awake, I’m awake.” Then called loudly, “Sorry, Jensen!”
I laughed when he yelled back, “Goodness, child. Another ten minutes and I’d have thought you’d died in your sleep.”
I walked to meet him at the staff desk. I wanted to see if Patricia, the house manager was in yet so I could ask her about the camping trip. She wasn’t, so I told Jensen and he said he’d bring it up with her after reminding me that I needed to bring home the permission slip that day. The week went by fairly quickly. A couple of times a day, Kodi had actually greeted me. He never did that to anyone with the exception of Stephen and Simone and he didn’t always look so happy to see her. Especially lately. Each time I’d seen her, she’d glared at me and I’d wondered what her problem was. Was she angry with me for talking to Kodi? I was still fairly sure they weren’t a couple, but you’d have a hard time distinguishing that if you went by Simone’s reactions. Because of Kendra’s feud with her, I decided to ask her if she knew more than I did when it came to Simone and Kodi. When I’d asked what the deal was between them, after sneering at me and looking at me as if I were beneath her, she’d replied, “Why do you care? If he didn’t want me, he’d never go for you. Anyway, Simone has claim on him. They’re not a couple, but she screamed at me after I tried to get a taste and said some crap about them being meant to be together and that soon he’d be her husband or something. It was way too much drama for me, so I didn’t fight her on it, but I’m definitely not going to go and make friends with the bitch.” My heart had sunken to my stomach. He was supposed to marry Simone? Was she simply crazy and obsessed with him, or was it some kind of old-fashioned, arranged marriage or something? I couldn’t fathom why it would constrict my chest like it did. He wasn’t mine and never would be. No one would. My time left was limited and the last thing I needed was heartache. Why was I so attracted to him anyway? It never made any sense to me. I could count the number of times I’d spoken to him using only one hand. He hardly spoke to anyone, yet continued to make contact with me, and whether I liked it or not, that meant something to me. It didn’t matter anyway, he was taken. So maybe I’d at least be able to call him a friend, but that was if his fiancée would allow it. Honestly, the whole thing was just too much drama for me, so I’ll probably avoid it all. It was now Thursday, the day before the camping trip. We would leave from school tomorrow and return on Sunday. I had just left Remy, so it was time for the pool. Grabbing a couple of granola bars from my backpack, I ate them on my way to the locker room. Once changed I dove into the deep end and instead of doing laps, I decided to free swim and just kicked my legs underwater. Chlorine burned my eyes, so I tended to keep them closed while swimming underwater. That’d be why I didn’t notice someone was standing over me on the pool’s edge until I saw their reflection on the surface of the water when I came up for air. Kodi. Immediately, my self-consciousness returned due to the fact that it was him and I was wearing a bathing suit and he was wearing black jeans with a green shirt that wasn’t tight but just snug enough to showcase that he had thick arms that you would expect to see on an athlete and a chest that I’
d kill to see without the shirt.
“What are you doing here?” I blurted out. He raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow and gave me a wicked smile.
“Isn’t this pool for all of the students?”
Was he flirting with me? Not likely. Even if he was an alien or something. I rolled my eyes, “Yes, I just meant that it’s lunchtime. Don’t you usually sit in the cafeteria with Stephen and Simone?” His smile turned into a full-on grin and I was flabbergasted. I’d never seen him grin and it was a sexy sight. His teeth were white and perfect, much like the rest of him.
High School Bites Page 3
