BITE

1

The only sound of the rain hitting the cold, dark pavement and the occasional car zooming past filled my ears as I made my way down the seemingly endless road home. My position at the bookstore had ended hours before, but I preferred to stay after and cherish the time to myself in the space that smelled of old book pages and roasted coffee beans from the coffee shop attached. The only downside of this was that it left me all by my lonesome at half-past eleven on the late Sunday evening. There was nothing particularly dangerous about the small town at night, but there was also nothing that I would put past any random on the street.

As I felt the soft, mist-like raindrops begin to come down harder on me, I pulled the hood of my jacket over my head, taking the opportunity to glance around me. The town was dead. But my home wasn't too far from where I was walking. In the distance, I could spot the small, two bedroom house that I shared with my two closest friends. The dark brick exterior was illuminated slightly at one window, and the one that held the living room. This was the indication that my childhood friend, Carter, as always, was waiting for my arrival. She had the tendency to worry and obsess over mine and our mutual friend and, also, roommate, Chloe's, well-being. It was never a surprise for me to find that she was waiting up for me. I took a deep breath as I approached the door before slowly opening it and sauntering through it. She was perched on the recliner doing something on her phone, when she looked up and saw me standing soaked on the doormat. Her brown eyes narrowed in disapproval.

"Angus, do you have any idea what time it is?" she asked pointedly, getting up from her seat to cross the room until she was about a foot or two away from me. Despite her five-foot frame comparatively to mine being nearly six-foot-four, she was one of the most intimidating people I had ever encountered. The twenty-four year old scrutinized me under her gaze and I sighed, shaking my jacket free of some of the rain before I put it on the coat-rack. I glanced down at my wrist watch.

I saw the time and smiled before quietly replying, "Nearly mid-"

"Nearly midnight!" Carter exclaimed, her expression giving away exactly how concerned she was. Her olive-toned skin was taking on a soft, angry red color and she ran a hand through her dark brown hair- a trait she picked up when she was agitated- before giving my drenched figure a once-over. Her anger seemed to dissipate. "Go upstairs to our room and get yourself changed, alright? I'm going to prepare some hot chocolate. Seriously though, Ang, your shift ended at nine, what are you doing out on the streets this late? You're only nineteen, you could have gotten hurt or kidnapped or-"

"I'm an adult, Car," I tried, but my voice only came out small, and she gave me an unimpressed glare. But I continued, "What's the worse that could happen? Our town's so small I'm pretty sure even if something were to happen to me, you would find out what pretty quickly."

She rolled her eyes, "I would rather not find out what could have happened to you, though. I'm just worried, babe. You know that..."

'Babe' was a nickname that she had given to me when we were in high school. She was always like a protective mother bear when it came to me especially, and even sometimes with Chloe. But I figured that because she had known me much longer than Chloe, it made me much more important to her. And after I came out to her in high school, I seemed to be deemed more at-risk as well. I felt whatever frustration I had melt away when I realized how concerned she was and I smiled, opening my arms for her to give me a hug. Without any hesitation, she ran into them before quickly jumping out. I frowned, "What's wrong?"

"Seriously, Angus go get changed you're fucking freezing."

I groaned and headed upstairs. When I checked my phone on the way up, I had a text from one of my best friends and barista at the coffee shop inside of my bookstore, Mickey, who was only a year younger than me. She quickly became the little sister that I never had and we were almost as inseparable as I was with Chloe and Carter. She was sending me her customary 'goodnight' text accompanied with a 'good luck with Carter.' She knew the time I had left and also knew about Carter's tendency to be extremely worrisome. When I got to the room that I shared with Carter, I quickly traded my jeans and button-up with my pajama shorts and sweatshirt. I gave myself a quick glance in the mirror and saw my light blonde, almost white hair in a ragged wet mess on top of my head. If it were the morning I would have been more concerned, but because the only people I lived with were two girls who couldn't care less about my outward appearance, I didn't mind. I made my way back downstairs and the sweet smell of hot chocolate filled my senses. I smiled softly and made my way into the kitchen where Carter was having trouble reaching the mugs.

"Need some help?" I teased, leaning against the counter with a smirk. She turned to look up at me, gave me a defeated sigh, and nodded. I chuckled and reached up for two mugs.

"Grab a third, honey. Chloe's on her way home," she informed as she started pouring hot chocolate into two mugs I'd put on the counter. "And do you know how I know that? Because unlike someone else I know, she texts when she's going to be late getting home!"

I groaned, "Alright, I know, I'm sorry. You know I love you."

She nodded with a playful roll of her eyes, handing me my favorite mug that had a wolf on it and shooed me back toward the living room. Just as she took her customary seat on the recliner, and I took mine on the small couch adjacent to hers, the door creaked open and in stumbled Chloe, only slightly drier than I had been about fifteen minutes before. She shook off her jacket and her umbrella, leaning it against the wall next to the coat rack. As she greeted us, she saw our mugs and grinned, excitedly dashing into the kitchen to grab hers. She came back into the living room with a satisfied smile and joined me on the couch, kissing my cheek lovingly, "Hi sweets, did you have a good night at work?"

"I did, yeah-"

"He stayed two hours over and just got home, Chlo. He didn't even text me," Carter complained, taking another sip of her hot chocolate. "Does he not understand something about decency? Like letting his best friend know his whereabouts?"

Chloe gave her a raised eyebrow and amused smile, "Well, to be honest, Car, he is an adult and perfectly capable of making his own decisions. And this isn't unlike any other time he's done the same thing. You know he likes his quiet time at the store, I mean, he's only been working there for two years now..."

"Not helping."

I sank into my seat as the two girls had a silent stand-off. There were really no questions when it came to Chloe's whereabouts most nights, because it was a fact that her boss liked to keep her until close every night. She was the local diner's best and most favored waitress, and it showed with the tips she brought home every night. The dark-skinned beauty was charming, and definitely not bad on the eyes. Gay or not, I knew what a beautiful woman looked like, and in no way was Chloe lacking in any sense. Neither was Carter, but a good amount of the time she seemed intimidating. However, at the bar she worked at some nights, it didn't seem to bother many of the men and women that tried to pick her up. But I was definitely more of a worry for Carter and I knew that. After some of the family troubles I had in the past, she took up the parenting role pretty early and took it upon herself to take care of me. And Chloe knew that, so after her few words, she quickly decided against saying any more. She gave me an apologetic smile as she took another sip of her hot chocolate, to which I followed suit.

Deciding to keep the situation from getting anymore escalated, I decided to turn on the TV that sat across from the couch that seated Chloe and me. I put on the house favorite- Friends. Within seconds into the episode, tensions had settled and both girls became entranced with the 90s sitcom, once in a while laughing at a joke or situation. Soon after, Carter made her way to the couch, sitting on the other side of me and cuddling into my side, and Chloe soon did the same. I smiled and threw my arms around the two and gave them each a kiss on the top of their heads. This was my family.