Revenge

Bad Feelings

Chapter 3

            Raleigh and I had just made it into the house as it started to rain outside. I was grateful; being out in the cold was not my strong suit. We had gone to dinner and I could sense something was off. Raleigh just didn’t seem the same. He wasn’t joking around and messing with my hair or something, he was just quiet.

            “Are you alright?” I asked him, for the millionth time, as I took off my jacket. He had his head hung, like a defeated child. 

            “Yeah, I’m fine, just sleepy that’s all,” he answered, removing his jacket and making his way into our bedroom. If sleepiness really was the issue, then he had been sleepy the whole damn day. It was getting annoying and tedious, I wanted to know what was wrong but Raleigh persisted in not telling me. I made sure to turn off the kitchen light and then followed him into the bedroom.

            “Going to bed early?” I asked, to no response. I could hear quiet snores coming from Raleigh’s body, signifying he was sleep. I crossed my arms and sighed, irritated again. Quickly, I got undressed and climbed into bed next to him.

            A few hours later, I heard the bed creak, the sound it made every time Raleigh got up. My eyes opened slightly and I saw him get up. I closed my eyes again, expecting to hear the bathroom light come on and the swoop of the door as it closed. Instead, I heard the footsteps leave the bedroom, causing me to turn over. A few seconds later, Raleigh came back in, scratching his head. His face was covered in worry; even I could see it through the darkness of the room.

            “Raleigh, what’s up?” I asked, as he sat down at the end of the bed.

            “Something doesn’t feel right,” he answered, shaking his head. My heart started to beat faster.

            “What do you mean?” If he was going to say what I think he was going to say, I was going to flip.

            “Something just feels off. Like my senses are heightened, my defenses are up. There is something wrong and I can’t place it.” I sighed in relief, he wasn’t going down this path.

            “Oh.” Raleigh turned and looked back at me, puzzled.

            “What did you think I was going to say?”

            “Something about our relationship.” I couldn’t lie, that’s immediately what I thought it was. In my mind, everything had been going great. He shook his head and looked forward again. I pulled the covers off of my body and crawled towards him. I sat down in his lap and wrapped my arms around him. “Anything else?” He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed.

            “I feel like I should be really defensive and I don’t know what it is. Now on top of this,  that new recruit we have, Evan, he’s worrying me.”

            “Why?”

            “Because Elena, I mean he’s only seventeen.”

            “You were seventeen and a wolf once.” Raleigh shook his head.

            “It’s different, mine is genetic, and his was a hex. His is a lot harder to control and it’s more powerful. That’s totally different boundaries we’re talking about. And it also doesn’t help that he came from off the Indian Reservation.” I nodded my head, remembering how long of a struggle for land there had been. Cameron had tried to be the martyr, but it didn’t go so well.

            “Well, Cameron is away right and without an alpha, Abey and whoever else have no leader.”

            “What if somebody tries to take over?” I shrugged. “Exactly. Evan is not prepared for combat, especially to that extent.”

            “How do you feel about him?” I narrowed my eyes, wondering what Raleigh would say next.

            “I feel he needs a few more weeks. But this feeling doesn’t help at all.” I squeezed him and kissed his cheek.

            “Everything will be alright, trust me.” Raleigh shook his head again. I knew he wasn’t going to believe me unless his feeling went away. He laid back on the bed, taking me with him so I was lying on his chest. He started to rub the small of my back, making me yawn. “I don’t want you staying up every night thinking about his, you need your rest.

            “Well, if I get rest, I get rest. It doesn’t matter I’m just worried.” Raleigh yawned himself, causing me to yawn again.

            “Try to go to sleep.” I could feel my body drifting off into dreamland and I tried my best to fight it. Everything seemed to be weighing on Raleigh and if he couldn’t sleep, I would try my best to stay up with him. I adjusted my head plenty of times, each time yawning and my eyes beginning to get heavier. Eventually, when I heard his snores, I let sleep take me.

            I woke up around six, with Raleigh still lying under me. My sleep had been so deep that I had gotten some drool on his shirt, causing me to shake my head. The room was somewhat illuminated and wasn’t completely dark. I could see the distress on Raleigh’s face a little bit more clearly now and it made me kind of sad. Seeing him like this caused me many emotions especially frustration. I was used to seeing him happy and joking around, not gloomy and dragging his feet. Shaking my head at the thought I scanned the room again. My eyes landed on the television and then I remembered that the news was on. Carefully, I rose, trying to reach for the remote that was placed near the pillows. Raleigh must’ve woken up under me because he grabbed me tight and growled.

            “Calm down, I’m just getting the remote,” I said to him, used to this. Every time I had fallen asleep on his chest and I moved, he would growl. I took it as him being protective but he swore it was because he didn’t want me to move. After quickly grabbing the remote, I crawled backwards towards him and sat on his lap. I pressed the button and the tv came on. Raleigh sat up and buried his head into my shoulder as I flipped the station to the news. A breaking news flash went across the screen, then to a brown haired reporter standing in front of a house.

            “Around nine o’ clock last night, police were called to the scene of a suicide. Local police Sergeant Doug Kolinsky was found dead, hanging from his ceiling with a note. The cause of his suicide has not been determined at this point as the note only contained the one word revenge,” the reporter explained, Raleigh snorted. I remembered Doug was the police officer Raleigh’s mother had called during the showdown. His face flashed through my head like a movie, this all seemed surreal.

            “My mother is gonna be heartbroken,” Raleigh sighed, leaning his forehead against the back of my shoulder.

            “Police are working out what could have caused Mr. Kolinsky to hang himself from the ceiling fan in his bedroom. The house, as you can see, is being combed for clues. We’ll have more breaking news on the story as it develops,” the reported finished up and the anchorman was back on the screen. I flipped the channel, everything seemed to be overwhelming.

            “Why would he just kill himself?” I asked. Doug didn’t seem like the type to just kill himself. Of course, I had only met with him a few times, but that’s enough to determine what a person is like right? Well, guess I was wrong. I felt Raleigh kiss the back of my shoulder, making me shiver.

            “I don’t know, but this is crazy. This must’ve been what I was feeling,” Raleigh sighed.

            “Well, here’s your proof,” I sighed.