Somewhere

Chapter Twelve

"Are you broken, dear?"

"Hm?" I perked up, tearing my attention away from nothing at all. I'd been in a daze lately, sinking deeper and deeper into the boundless werewolf void. I gave Nani a nugget of attention. She was rocking in her chair, taking a long drag from her pipe.

"I only ask because you've sighed so much, I'd swear you were leaking."

Quietly, I chuckled and looked down at my hands. My left hand dragged up my right arm. I could feel my scars tingle underneath my jacket. Ever since Cooper and I messed around, my body was talking. My heart shouted over the whispering secrets my scars were trying to tell me.

We were in the middle of the Somewhere Farmer's Market. It was held in the town square every other Saturday. It shut down the roads around the small park, but people usually walked to those stores anyways. Nani always had a booth with a tent of mismatching oriental patterns and shelves of handmade vases, plates, bowls, mugs and the special figurine here and there. Lately, she even started selling quilted scarves, hats and snug throw blankets. She wore one over her shoulders that day.

The thrum of people was mind-numbing and did nothing to help me focus. In this sea of chatter, I was like any other droplet. When I looked around at the faces, there were more people I didn't know, than I knew and that was rare. Wolves were flooding my town.

"You've been acting weird, lately," Nani commented, smoke slipping between her teeth. Its earthy scent tickled my nose like pepper.

"No, I've always been weird," I said, which was not to her satisfaction, so I started a new conversation about the weather until she got so bored, she decided to make the hard sell of a cat painting to a lesbian couple wearing matching dog sweaters.

I wasn't accustomed to lying, especially not to my family. I wore my feeling like my favorite sweater. Since they were noticing a change, did that mean I needed to get a head start on my acting degree? Just planning to lie to them tightened my chest. Lying to them also robbed me of their advice... though, what kind of advice would they offer a guy with a couple of burning scars and a werewolf for a boyfriend?

Then, it hit me like a car crash:

Were Cooper and I even dating?

"Sam!"

I did a full turn. Standing in all her glory and her slender hands folded like a chorus girl, Katrina Sage was all smiles. Her dark hair was braided into a crown, haloing her head. She wore a floral jumpsuit with little boots and a black coat draped over her shoulders like a cape.

"I'm so happy to see you," She said with a tight smile. Everything about her seemed calculated to the way she stood to the way her eyes were fixed on me. Everything had a reason. Behind her, a man sat on a bench. He held a newspaper up, but he was watching Katrina. Another man, also bulky and casually dressed was browsing another stand and like the other, he was more interested in Katrina than the organics.

Katrina tilted her head. "Do you have a minute? We didn't have time to chat during our last encounter. I didn't even get a chance to introduce myself. I'm Katrina Sage."

"Right," I muttered, glancing at Nani. She didn't seem to notice Katrina yet. I said, "I'm Sam. Sam Rivera."

"Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Excuse me?" I had to refocus. All of a sudden, she had my complete attention. Later, I would wonder if she did that on purpose.

"Well," she spoke elegantly and with an unwavering smile. "I introduced myself as Katrina Sage. Sage means something to this town. Is Rivera supposed to impress me? Aren't you just Sam?"