HEARTBLOOD - Paul Lahote

FOUR

I didn't sleep at all last night. All I could think about was the boys and how they'd kept such a secret from me. Are they safe around me? When do they become wolves? At night? a full moon?

I go downstairs to see a note on the fridge.

'Had to go to work early. Go to the Clearwaters for breakfast.' I sighed. I was so nervous now. Who could be a werewolf, what about the vampires? Are those real, too? Everything had me on edge. Now I had to walk to the Clearwaters since I can't drive.

My plan for now was to ignore Sam, Jared, and Paul. I couldn't look at them. So many thoughts were going through my head. Today, my plan was to talk to Leah while I was down there. See if she knows anything.

I walk down to the Clearwater. The air feels good as it blows in my face. As I walk up I see Harry packing some stuff in his truck.

"Nicky! What are you doing here?" He asks as he gives me a side hug. I grabbed the pad of paper out of my back pocket.

'Dad had to go to work early. He sent me to eat breakfast down here'. I write. He nods.

"Well, head inside. Sue will be more than willing," He said as he continued to pack. It looked like a fishing trip. I nod and go inside.

The smell of the cinnamon was prominent. I smiled. Suddenly someone hugs me from behind.

"Nicky!" Seth says. I nod and turn around. He brings me to the dining room where Leah and Sue are. Leah sitting at the table while Sue makes breakfast.

I sit next to Leah. Leah smiles at me as Sue serves the food, "Good morning" She say warmly but a tangy of anger in her voice.

I nod. suddenly I hear another person person walk in. I look confused. "Oh, this is our cousin, Emily. Emily this is a family friend, Nicky" I stand up to shake her hand but before I could she gave me a hug.

"its so nice to meet you," She says to me. I nod.

"It's nice to meet you too," I sign back at her. She looks surprised for a second before signing.

"Are you Deaf?" Emily asks. I was surprised she knew sign language.

"No, I just don't talk," I say, "How do you know Sign Language?" I ask.

"Learned from a friend in school. He was Deaf and I didn't want him to be excluded from anything because of that," she signs with a smile. She seemed so sweet and kind.

It was so nice to have a conversation. I mean Jared did know sign which was nice but right now I didn't know if I even wanted to see him.

Leah was sitting next to us. She seemed.. annoyed. I couldn't really tell. As we all ate everyone started to communicate with each other. Leah planned to introduce Emily to her boyfriend later. Seth was going to hang out with a few friends. And I was gonna go read on my porch.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

So I thought.

Suddenly, I heard a noise outside, like footsteps pounding down the street. I sat up, straining to listen. The footsteps grew louder, faster, until I realized someone was sprinting toward my house. I quickly pulled on a sweater, my heart racing as I made my way to the door.

Just as I reached the handle, there was a frantic knock. I opened it, and there stood Jared, out of breath and wide-eyed, his face pale in the moonlight.

"Nicolette," he gasped, bending over and trying to catch his breath. "You need to come with me. Now."

My eyes widened as I took in his disheveled appearance. I signed quickly, What happened? Are you okay?