Cry, Wolf, Cry

Ch.16 - Caiti and Anna Meet

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a burden."

"Nonsense, Caiti," Liam said, smiling at her, "you're Theodore's girlfriend and it's about time we really got to know you. Anna hasn't met you yet and I've only known you through the therapy group and what Theodore's said about you."

Caiti looked over her shoulder at Theodore while still talking to Liam, "He talks about me?"

"As I'm sure you talk to your friends about him," Anna said, watching Caiti while waiting for the popcorn to finish popping.

"So what kind of movies do you like?" Liam asked the big question.

"I like most movies, but my favorites are the werewolf movies. I know it probably seems cliché, but I really like them and I end up rooting for the wolf. Not for it to eat people, but for it to escape and be free. That, and I find it interesting. I researched them for a project with one of my students once and found out a lot of interesting things like where the legends come from and all that."

"Do you believe in these creatures," Anna asked, pulling the bag of popcorn out of the microwave.

Caiti rubbed the back of her neck, "Promise you won't laugh? I do believe in them. Humans can't be the only things out there, right? I like believing that there are vampires and werewolves and all that stuff. There are drugs out there that can make you act like a zombie, so how far is the jump from being a "real" zombie or a werewolf? Medical science can't be that far off and that's only according to what gets published for public view."

As Caiti spoke Anna was shocked that the girl believed they could be real and ended up tearing the bag of popcorn clean in two, blushing as the kernels scattered on the floor. Liam put in one of the werewolf movies and Caiti smiled softly as she looked up at Theodore.

"There is something I haven't said about Caiti. She does wear a leg brace."

"I know this probably sounds weird, but could I..."

Anna smiled at her, walking over with bottles of water for everyone, "Go ahead and take it off. If you're going to live with us for any length of time you should be comfortable being yourself around us."

Caiti nodded and rolled her pant leg up, loosening her brace enough that she could slide it off before she snuggled back against Theodore.

Caiti and Theodore fell asleep on the couch and Liam and Anna realized too late that the moon was closer to full than they thought it was. They rushed to the door and slipped their clothes off, trying not to make any noise and succeeding, but just barely.