Red Hood (Book One)

Chapter Seven

I walked to the juice aisle in CVS. Jazz music played in the background. It was better than the howls and whispers. After I grabbed two bottled smoothies, I bumped into Maula. Right then, I dropped them on the floor. Damn it. 

 We both bent down to pick them up. Maula handed me the other smoothie. I didn't know what to say. She looked at me with guilt written all over her face. Her friend watched on, laughing for no reason. 

 "I'm sorry. Are you alright?" Maula said. 

 I took a step back. "Yeah. I'm fine." 

 "I was talkin' about last night." 

 "Oh. I am. The wolf didn't even show up." 

 I didn't expect her to be so concerned about my situation. Maula's friend stared at me with her black shades on. They both shared a glance. I slowly started to walk away when my phone rang. 

 "Wait. I think you dropped this," Maula's friend said. 

 When I turned back around, she handed me an index card with a phone number written on it. I slid it into my red sweatshirt pocket. She winked at me behind her shades. Maula and I stared at her with knitted brows. At least, I wasn't the only one who thought that was weird as hell. She laughed. 

 "Call that number tonight and ask for Brandon." 

 "Why?" I asked. 

 "He can help you find what you're looking for." 

 She walked away, smiling for no reason. Maula frowned and followed her to the book aisle. I walked to the medicine aisle and picked up two bottles of Aleve. Maula and her friend stood there, looking at her phone.  I went to the register and bought the smoothies. 

 On my way out, Maula's friend stared at me mysteriously. For some reason, her eyes turned from brown to gold. I bumped into the door. Before anyone else could notice, I briskly walked out of the store. How many people in this city had werewolf eyes? 

 As soon as I got in the car, I took the paper out of my pocket and called the number. After two rings, I got no answer. I called it again, and I heard some scraping in the background. Finally a woman spoke before I did. 

 "Hello? How may I help you?" 

 I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel. "Hi. Is Brandon there?"

 "Yes. Hold on for just a moment."

 For the two minutes I was on hold, the line went quiet. While I waited, I put the phone on speaker and scrolled through Twitter. A photo of Maula's friend doing a starry night inspired makeup tutorial caught my attention. I watched it with the volume off three times, because the look was just perfect. 

 "Hello, this is Brandon Gray. What do you need?" Brandon said. 

 I stopped tapping.  "Have you heard about the wolf that got killed in Phoenix City last year?" 

 "Yes. He was my father." 

 I was speechless for a minute. Brandon was the one who came to Grandma's house two nights in a row? He sounded just like the guy I met at the movies. I smiled. It made so much sense now.