Reckless

Reckless - Chapter Sixteen

Welcome to Chapter Sixteen! *throws confetti* Now it's exactly a year since I posted Reckless Chapter One.... Two uploads in two days, you lucky people. 

R E C K L E S S . . . 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN-

“Me and Darren started dating two years ago, but I guess you already know that.”

I nodded, watching her intently as she started to relate her story to me. I didn’t want to miss one scrap of information.

“He was really nice when I met him,” Claire defended, taking a deep breath. “He wasn’t the jerk that he is now; at least he didn’t seem to be...” She sighed. “I guess that’s how it always happens. You can never tell until it’s too late.

“Darren was my lab partner in Science, I’d seen him around school before, but this was the first time that we actually talked. We’d just started Year 9, so nothing really mattered that much in Science. We talked the whole way through our lessons and I actually kind of liked him.”

“I don’t blame you,” I said truthfully. “I guess he would be kind of nice, except for the whole turning-in-to-a-wolf-at-the-full-moon thing.”

She laughed. “Yeah, and since he met Chris he’s changed so much. I don’t even recognize him anymore.”

“Chris has that effect on people.”

“So, anyway, I thought he was really… sweet,” Claire continued, picking each word of her story with deliberation. “When he asked me to go out with him I didn’t think twice – we knew each other pretty well, he was hot, and Sam agreed that we’d make a good couple.” She looked down again, looking ashamed. “I really think I loved him as well. It was just a stupid crush at first but it kind of grew, you know?

“After about six months he decided to tell me everything. And I mean everything. Darren wanted me to know the lot about him and that included his… other nature.”

Claire looked on the verge of tears as she said it. I put a comforting arm around her. It was one thing to find out a person was a werewolf, but it was completely different if you found out your loved one was. I couldn’t have imagined what it felt like for Claire. With Chris, I was shocked he was a vampire, yes, but I didn’t care about him. I hadn’t spent that much time around him or felt anything towards him. If I’d have loved him I guessed it would’ve been devastating.

“I thought it was a joke at first, I couldn’t believe it. We were outside, he told me to stay back… it was a full moon and he… he changed. I saw him as a wolf… I couldn’t help myself, I ran away.

“Sam tried to ask me what was wrong. I said I’d had a fight with Darren because, to be honest, who would believe me if I told them the truth? I felt mad. I didn’t even believe my own eyes. I thought I was going crazy…”

I hugged her tightly. There was a fierce desperation in her eyes, as if she wanted me to tell her that it wasn’t true, that she wasn’t going mad. She wanted me to say that this was all a bad dream and she’d wake up soon, and it would all be normal again.

I couldn’t tell her anything like that.

“It comes as a bit of a shock, right?” I said shakily.

“How did you find out?” she asked, hugging me back.

“I’ll tell you once you finish your story.”

She took a deep breath, preparing herself. “Okay,” she finally said. “Where was I?”

“Darren had just changed,” I reminded her, pulling away from the hug so I could see her fully.