Bark Or Bite

Chapter 15

I smile softly to my self in my car as I recall the events from lunch. Maximus is an entirely different person. He is smiling more, and my wolf can feel the love radiating from him. It is absolutely beautiful and amazing.

I take the keys out of the ignition and hear a muffled sob. There's a familiar scent in the air as I reach my door. Courtney is sitting in the patio chair with her hands over her face.

"Courtney? What's wrong?"

Seeing Courtney break down shocks me. She always portrays herself as this strong, independent girl who only needs to talk when she's going through a break-up. Of course that hasn't been for a while considering she has been with Gabriel for nearly a year.

"Hannah, I don't know what to do." Her words come out muffled and slurred as she pauses to sob.

"Wait, Courtney. How did you get here so fast?" I realize that Courtney and I left at the same time.

"I left in the middle of seventh period but you were too busy with Maximus to notice." She throws her hand in the air for emphasis.

"And by the way, all of the girls hate you now. They don't understand why Maximus likes you." Courtney thinks nothing of her words.

"I can think of a few." I speak softly to myself and smirk. It's pretty awesome knowing that you have a special connection with your mate. Courtney narrows her eyes at me.

"This isn't about me Courtney. I couldn't care less what the sluts in our high school class thinks about me. Let them be jealous. Who cares. What I want to know is why my best friend is crying on my doorstep." I got use to Courtney pushing away comfort a few years ago. It's hard for her to confide in people, even if that person is her best friend. I sigh, sit next to her, and throw my arm over her shoulder.

"What's wrong, Courtney?" I search her eyes for some sort of hint.

"It's Gabriel. I don't know what's going on with him." Courtney's eyes search the sky for answers. She drops them when she finds none.

"What do you mean? Did he break up with you? I thought you guys were doing fine." Sympathy seeps through my voice.

"I thought we were fine too. But, he's been acting really weird lately."

"Define weird." I look questioningly at her.

"Like, leaving unexpectedly. Or avoiding my questions about his whereabouts. He barely even comes over anymore. And last weekend, he left. I asked him where he was going, but he avoided it. He just told me he loves me and that no matter what happened between us, he will always love me." She half whispers.

"He's been saying that a lot lately." I barely hear her last words, but I feel the pain from them as she hangs her head.

I remember Ian acting the same way for about a month when we were still together. Gabriel is Ian's best friend. Could he be a vampire? No. If he was I would have sensed him just like I sensed Mason. Maximus would have also. It's impossible. I push the thought out of my head and focus on my best friend.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Ian acted that way for about a month." She looks into my eyes with her red ones.

"Hannah, how on Earth is that suppose to make me feel better? You guys broke up. He wants to break up with me doesn't he?" She covers her eyes and leans into my embrace to rest her head on my shoulder.

"No, Courtney, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that over time, Ian got better. Gabriel is probably going to do the same thing. Wipe your eyes and let's go fix your make-up. My best friend is too beautiful to cry over someone who can't value her worth." She raises her head slowly to look me in the eye.