My Best Friend was a Werewolf

Chapter 18: I Hated Goodbyes

I hated letting Carver go. Even though I knew it was for his own good, I hated it. I was afraid something bad was going to happen to him and I wouldn't be there. I was so afraid of losing him and I felt like he was getting ripped away from me far too early.

"Don't look at me like that, baby," Carver said.

We were standing just outside the front door of his apartment. It was late, nearing midnight. A half-moon hung up in the air above us. There was a nippiness to the May air that told us it wasn't quite summer yet. I had one of Carver's sweatshirts on and I had tucked my hands away in the pockets.

"Like what?" I asked. There was a flare of disappointment laced in all the words I spoke out and I couldn't stop it. I was not happy about this setup at all.

My eyes trailed away from Carver and landed on the truck behind him that was sitting in idle. Axel was leaning against the passenger side. He was pretending to not be listening to our conversation, but Carver and I both knew better than that.

"Like you don't want me to go," Carver said. He gently grabbed my chin and redirected my eyes to himself.

"It isn't that I don't want you to go," I explained. "I just think that I should be going with you."

"You can't miss your physics final," Carver pointed out.

"I know, I know," I said. I had been cursing my professor's scheduling for days now and trying to think of ways to get out of it. There was probably someone I could come up with a doctor's excuse.

Carver had set everything in stone though. He had it all figured out before he knew my schedule. He didn't want me to go, maybe that's what hurt me more. He would rather have his morally questionable brother with him than me. I tried not to let those words sting, but they splintered through my feelings like a thorn.

"Amelia," Carver said as he took a step closer to me. He looked down at me and I raised my head to keep our eye contact. "I'll be back in a couple of days and maybe we'll have good news."

I nodded at him, unsure of what to say.

Carver leaned down and pressed his lips against my cheek. His lips lingered around my ear and I felt his breath on my skin. "I love you."

"I love you too," I whispered back.

"I promise I'll call you when we get there," Carver said.

I nodded and fought against the storm of emotions underneath my skin. I succumbed to his nearness and threw my arms around him. My head found a place to lay against his chest and my heart warmed at the feeling of his arms winding around my body. I wasn't sure how long I stayed glued to him like that, long enough to feel his arms slack around me.

"You have to let me go, baby."

"I know," I said with a sigh. I loosened my hold on him and took a tiny step back. I looked up at him. "Please be careful."

"For you, I will," Carver said.

"Okay," I said. I removed my hands away from him and took a bigger step back. I tried to force a smile for him, but I wasn't sure he bought it.

This was the moment I had been dreading for days.

Everything was set into motion a few days previously. I had been studying in the library with a group for physics. The looming pressure of the final was digging into my shoulders. It was late when I returned home that night and I was even more surprised to see Carver sitting on my doorstep.

It was a happy surprise. We had been seeing a lot of each other, but we were both busy with our coursework and Carver was running from the sunlight. I thought the only fix I would get that night would be through the phone and this was far better.