It started with a wolf.

Chapter 5: Ella

Ella

When I eventually dragged myself out of bed, I was baffled. One hundred and one thought running though my mind. Most of them about the boy. It took so much effort to get dressed, and my body still felt cold from the day before. I didn’t really see the point in going out to see Rhys. I had an english assignment due in, if the weather wasn’t enough to put me off. Dark, gray clouds filled the sky, making it seem later then it really was. Merlin, my white and grey tabby cat was curled up on my bed. I grabbed my school bag, and plonked down next to him. He didn’t get up and move like I thought he would. He simply twitched his ears, and moved his paws around to his side. I nudged him aside to make room for the book I was meant to be studying. Macbeth. Even reading the title made me feel bored. After skim reading the first few pages, I placed the book down. Now was definitely not a good time for Shakespeare. I reached out a hand to stroke Merlin, he instantly turned over; allowing me to tickle his belly. I contemplated my plans for the day. I could go and see Rhys, but I had been doing that a lot recently. The boy had been haunting my thoughts for several days now, but in the end I debated against going to find him. I heard a car horn outside my window, the sound instantly recogizable to my ears. Rhys. Why was he here? Rhys didn’t usually come to my house unless it was urgent. I yanked my curtains open, and sure enough, his small, light blue truck was half parked on the pavement. I steadied myself against the window sill, shivering as a drop of condensation dripped from the window onto the nape of my neck. I shuffled out of my room and across the landing to see if either of my parents were in the study. Thankfully they weren’t. If they were in this part of the house, they would have surely seen and hear Rhys pull up outside. I didn’t hesitate in running outside to see why he was here. I was cut short by the sight of a boy in the car. Shrouded by shadows, I didn’t recognize him at first, not until my eyes grazed over his brilliant green. I shot a puzzling look at Rhys, but as I did he quickly strode around to the other side of the car to open the door and pull a limp, and seemingly lifeless boy out of the car. Oliver, it just had to be him. I let my eyes drift away from his to take in the details of his face. Streaks of red covered much of his visage, accompannied by a deep gash across his forhead. The emptiness of his eyes triggered a strange sensation of fear somewhere in the back of my head. I rushed to their side and pulled the sticky, hairy clump away, fully revealing the split. With both Rhys and I panicking, we rushed Oliver into the house sowe could lay him down to have a proper look. I didn’t worry about getting blood all over my mother’s expensive taste in furniture, the most important thing now was just getting him out of Rhys’ arms. Both of frantically worked on cleaning the wound, but neither of us really knew what we were doing. Right now, every hope we could ever have of saving him was slipping away from us.