The Hunted

Chapter One • Rose

Chapter One • Rose

One minute is all it takes to change your life forever.

It is believed by some that things have been ordained to happen, and that we are all fated to live certain lives or become certain people. I never expected my life to happen the way it did. I never knew that one person’s existence could change my life so drastically. Sometimes one minute is all it takes to make you realize that those things are out of your hands, and maybe then you’ll grasp the fact that you can’t change fate.

It was my senior year at Huntersway High, the only high school in the small town of Huntersway, Oregon. Senior year – the year the best parties were thrown, relationships grew the strongest, and in just five short months I could have been finally set free. But of course, for me, fate had something else in mind.

            It was Thursday, the first day back to school after the two week Christmas break – five days after the accident. I never knew just how many things could happen in such a short period of time. The fact that my eyes magically changed color – dark to dull – would be one of them. 

“Rose!” I felt a tug on my backpack and turned around. It was my best friend, Michelle Sanchez. Her short black hair was up in its usual ponytail. “So did you see him?” Mitch asked practically shaking with excitement. Him as in my cousin Levi Sinclair’s best friend – John Wilson.

            I smiled and nodded. There was no way I could fret when I was around her. “Well how’d it go? I wanna know everything!” she cried.

            I was happy for her interest, even though I couldn’t tell her everything I wanted too. “Well,” I began but shortly paused. I knew that even making up a story wouldn’t be such a good idea.

            “Oh come on, Rose, tell me! Or am I not your best friend anymore?” Her lower lip stuck out into a smug pout.

            “Nice try.” I said as I opened my locker to grab my Calculus binder and spiral notebook. The front cover of the notebook was filled with random Sharpie doodles and cartoons. That was what I spent most of class time doing instead of actually paying attention to what Mr. Hanson was saying. “Look,” I began as I shut the locker.  “We talked, and that was basically it.”

            Mitch didn’t look convinced. “You’ve always been a terrible liar. I’m not stupid, Rose. Something else happened. I can tell. Now you know I won’t live this down because John’s always the topic of one or more of our conversations. It’s not like I’ll forget. So, you might as well tell me now.”

            I grabbed her shoulders and shook her gently. “Nothing else happened!”

            She squirmed out of my grip and studied my expression with a perturbed look on her face. I tried not to get nervous, but her solid gaze was making me. Not even Michelle could know about the pack. If the world knew about us, who knows what would have happened. “Cut it out, Michelle!” I demanded, walking away to our next class.

            “What is wrong with you? You are so moody sometimes, I swear… Wait, you’re not pregnant are you? Is that why you won’t tell me what happened? Rose, come on, you know I don’t judge people when that kind of stuff happens.”

            “What!” I shrieked turning around to face her. That was the farthest thing I ever expected her to think. I didn’t know whether to laugh or get mad. She knew I was a good kid. “What the heck made you think that?”

            She shrugged slightly and rushed over to my side. “Well are you?”

            “Do I look pregnant?”