Reminisce ( Book One of the Lunar series )

Chapter Seven

" So, tell me about yourself." I said to Carla.

I decided to take her with me to the grocery store to try to learn more about her.

" What do you want to know?" She asked. She kept her jade eyes glued to the floor, her short blonde ringlets covering her face.

" Tell me about your family." I offered. I grabed a bag of Ranch Doritos.

" Not much to tell." She said looking up for once. Her eyes settled on the Jalapeno Cheetos. I threw those in the cart as well. "It was just me and my mom. My dad vanished when I was seven, haven't heard anything from him since."

We turnedaround the next aisle.

"My mom died when I was younger." I said. " The rouges killed her."

" That's what you call them? I thought they were 'The Others'?"

" Rouges are just the name for the wolves who refuse a pack and choose evil. The Others are a group of evil supernaturals, not just wolves but vampires, the undead ones anyway, dark witches, and some shape-shifters. It's very rare for a fey to choose evil because a bit of their soul is tied to the earth."

" Why would anyone choose evil?" She asked looking up at me with her big eyes.

I took a breath.

" Sometimes they choose for you." I said.

" How?"

" Some people can't handle so much power, it goes to their heads and mutilates the way they think. It makes them think everyone is against them, everyone is their enemy. They begin to feel invincible, all-powerful. They think they are gods, it's even worse for wolves. When a wolf goes bad they begin to think of people as food or play-things."

She shivered, no doubt remembering her first rouge encounter.

" Can they ever change back?" She asked. I stood there stunned, I hadn't thought of that.

" I don't know. It'd probably take a lot of work though." I said.

" Oh."

There was an awkward moment of silence.

" Did you know anything about your father?" I asked, and regretted it instantly when she narrowed her eyes.

" He used to go out alot. He'd dissapear for days and then return out of the blue. Funny thing is, my mom just let him come back. Even after all the rants she'd go on when he was 'out', how she'd never let him back in this house again. The next day he'd come knocking on the door, a big stupid smile on his face." She laughed harshly. " She let him in and act all lovey and oh-so worried. Then he vanished completely. She kept waiting. For months, just waiting for him to come back but he never did.

She got depressed, started drinking. She was passed out drunk everyday I came home from school. One day I had enough. I called-" She paused and took in a shaky breath, " I called Jason, and he said he'd take me away from there. We'd run and live together, be happy for once in our lives. He had problems with his father. That was the same day he- he died."

Her shoulders colasped and she burried her face in her hands. I hugged her to me.

''It's my fault." she whispered.

" No it isn't." I said keeping my voice strong. " I lost someone I loved too. I know exactly how you feel."

" Does it get better?" She asked her hands clutching the back of my shirt, as if I were the only thing keeping her from sinking.

" The pain will always be there, watching them die, knowing you might have done something to save them. It stays with you. But eventually you learn to live with it. Eventually you'll learn to be happy."