Beautiful Things

Chapter 20 - Luke

AS IT TURNS OUT, Oscar's pack live within walking distance. Well, walking distance for him—by the time I got to the end of the 'walk', my feet hurt like hell's fire had been burning beneath them. I had complained incessantly, and Oscar even offered to carry me, though I told him no. I guess the complaining and the declining was because of the bad mood that kept hitting me. I'd try to spring it off, but unfortunately sometimes it would hit a weak spot and I'd snap.

Now, I didn't know exactly what to expect when I was to meet this pack of his. Would they be like him? Would they live in a cave? Would they be evil? Vicious? Blood-thirsty? I hadn't a clue, so I ravenously hypothesized.

When we did get there, the first thing I noticed was that it looked like a normal neighborhood. Oscar explained to me that they all live here-other than, of course, him-so they could be all together already if an attack were to occur.

The second thing I noticed was the reserved-slightly rude-brown haired boy from earlier. He must be a wolf, too, I thought, slightly shocked. I watched as Oscar grinned and jogged towards him, the brown haired boys face immediately lighting up.

I couldn't make out their whole conversation, but I could hear a muffled apology and saw Oscar shaking his head. "It's okay, man," I could hear Oscar reply.

I moved forward slowly, nervous as the brown haired boys gaze slid to mine. Oscar must have felt the atmosphere change, so he wrapped an arm around my waist and smiled easily, introducing me.

"Bailey, this is Luke. Luke this is Bailey." Oscar nodded his head at each of us as he said our names, then gazed at Luke expectantly. Luke slowly inched forward, then silently dipped his head at me, mousey hair falling in his face.

"Luna, I am sorry for threatening your safety in the woods earlier." His tone was formal, and there was a hint of jealousy accentuated on the word 'luna'. If I had to guess why, it was either because I'm taking Oscar away from him or because he loved Oscar more than he leads on. I'd bet on the second one.

"It's fine, Luke." I responded, "and please call me Bailey." I tried to make my eyes appear warm, but he didn't let in yet. He merely nodded at me, smiled at Oscar, then walked away with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

I briefly wondered how hard this was going to be for me. Love never claimed to be easy, though. And sometimes it ended in heartbreak, I knew, but I felt that if this one ended that way, it would hurt a lot worse than I'd wish to bargain for.