Wolf

Cruisin'

Chapter 4

            I woke up to the sound of rain hitting my window. “Fuck,” I said to myself, I had to bike in the damn rain. Shutting off my alarm I quickly dressed, making sure to put on my boots. I woke up my sister Bella, and then went downstairs to eat. Watching the rain, I deeply regretted the fact that I had agreed to bike to school. A part of me wanted to wake my mother up and ask her to take me, but I figured I had to tough it out. It wasn’t going to be the first time it rained. Sighing, I pulled my jacket over my shoulders. I made sure to put my Chemistry book in my bag, making sure there were no holes with the zippers. Putting the earphones in my ears, I turned on my music, slung my book bag over my shoulders, and walked out to my bike. I silently thanked god that I had left it on the deck, away from the rain. The bike was unchained so I rolled it down the stairs, and then climbed onto it. By now I knew the traffic patterns of our street so I was able to paddle without using handle bars. I wasn’t scared of the bike hydroplaning because I avoided the puddles. Mentally, I prepared myself for the trip in the rain; I knew damn well I was going to be soaked when I arrived at the school. The music was motivating me and I was doing okay, until a black Xterra pulled up next to me. I prayed to god that it wasn’t someone trying to kidnap me.

 “Elena,” I heard. It was a familiar voice. I glanced and saw Raleigh staring me in the face. Pressing the brakes, I stopped the bike. The hairs on my neck started to stand again, this only happened around him and I hated it. I placed my feet on the ground and looked at him. He hit his brakes and we were staring each other in the face. The only sounds were the occasional passing cars and the rain hitting his truck.

“Yes?” I asked, feeling defensive. After the episode a few weeks ago, I had tried my best to be wary of him. It had worked, until now.

“I think you should get in, before you get sick. You’re already soaked,” he suggested. I hesitated, I knew Raleigh, but I wasn’t comfortable with him. The episode I had had me very cautious of him. Getting in his truck didn’t seem like a good idea at all; in fact it seemed like a very bad one. If I had another attack like that, it would probably be fatal. I mean, okay, what if he literally tried to kill me. Like slash my throat or something. Call me paranoid, but I knew how crazy the world is, just look at my dad. I did want to get out the rain but at the same time I knew I would soak his seats.

“I’m gonna soak your seats.” I put one foot on the pedal, preparing to pedal away. He exited the truck and grabbed the handle bars. I felt his breath near my face; it was warm and smelled like mint. I noticed that he was only wearing a hoodie and it was like he wasn’t even cold. “You aren’t cold?”

“I have a high tolerance for cold,” he replied. “Besides I don’t care if you soak my seats. I’m more concerned about your health. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna kill you.” I was still hesitant even with what he said to me, but I got off the bike anyway. Might as well test it out, I honestly didn’t think I was like hypoallergenic to him or something. He opened the back door and put my bike in, then ushered me to the passenger door. I climbed in reluctantly and closed the door. It felt nice to be out of the rain and it was awesome that the heat was already on. After adjusting the bike to fit, he climbed into the driver’s seat. He turned up the heat and pulled off. “How long were you out there?”

“From my house to where you saw me.” I turned up my music as he nodded. It felt nice to be sitting in the heat instead of sitting on a hard seat, in the cold rain. “How did you know it was me?”

“Bookbag,” he smiled, stopping at a red light. The rest of the ride he was focused on the road and took occasional glances at me. When we got close to the school he yanked the earphone from my ear.

“Hey!” I yelled, yanking it from his grip, while knocking the other out of my ear. He smirked.

“What! I just wanna know what you’re listening to!” He opened the dashboard and pulled out an audio cable. As he plugged it into the radio, we pulled into the school parking lot. We were early so he handed me the other side of it. I reluctantly plugged it into my phone, expecting to be chastised for my taste in music. About halfway through it, he spoke, “I like it. What’s the name?”