After what feels like an eternity but is only a week, Dad and I are packing to go camping. I gotta say I wasn't too excited at first, but now I can hardly contain myself. I've never had the one-on-one Dad-and-son bonding time. I just hope everything goes smoothly.
I made sure of that when Dad and I were picking camping areas, checking that they are low rogue wolfie areas. I don't want this trip to go south or have something happen to my dad because of me. I don't think I could ever forgive myself if that happened.
After we load up the truck, we say our goodbyes and we are on our way. Right now, we're about an hour out from the spot we picked. I have my window open with my arm hanging out.
"Aren't you cold?" Dad asks curiously.
"No, it takes a lot to make me cold. Like negative numbers."
"Well, this old coot over here is cold."
"Oh! Sorry." I pull my arm in and put my window up.
"And this is why we are going somewhere semi-warm to camp. Because not all of us can stand sleeping in a tent in freezing weather."
"The forecast is calling for mid-fifties; the low is in the high forties," I say.
"Good. The truck still says it's thirty-three here."
"We're still like an hour out. It'll warm up."
"That's true. Looks like we should stop for gas. See any stations around?"
"That sign up there says there's a few off the next exit."
"Looks like we're taking a quick break then."
We pull into a gas station and I head inside to grab some snacks and a few drinks. I pay for the goodies I collected and head back out to the truck. I notice Dad has struck up a conversation with the guy on the other side of the pump. As I get closer, I catch a whiff of the guy's scent. I pick up my pace, quickly putting the food in the truck and heading around to stand next to my dad.
"You ready to go?" I give him a look to let him know there's something off.
"Uh, yeah. It was nice talking to you, but we got to get going," Dad says.
"You too, have a nice day." The stranger grins mischievously.
We pull out of the station. "Okay, what was that?" he complains.
"Dad, he was a vampire. Not a person you want to be talking to."
"A vampire? What? How would you even know that?"
"I could smell him. They smell like a rotting corpse."
"Oh. So, you're telling me that there's more than just werewolves?" he asks.
"Well, yeah. Everything just about is real. Witches, vampires, mermaids, blah blah blah. All real."
"Uh huh. He didn't seem too threatening to me."
"Yeah, until they get you cornered and suck every last drop of blood you have out of you. He was trying to see if you were an easy target. They're dangerous but can be quite lazy at times."
"Uh, good to know, I guess."
I can tell he's still uncomfortable with the supernatural even though he tries his hardest to hide it.
"You can ask me anything, you know. If you have any questions."
He stares at the road silently.
"Are you okay?" I ask, concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He grips the steering wheel.
"Do I make you uncomfortable?"
"No, Ryder, why would you do that?"
"I don't know, you just seem kind of distant anytime I mention anything remotely out of the box."
"What do you want me to say, Ryder? You want me to tell you I'm okay? I'm not okay. All of it freaks me out, but that's something I'm going to have to work out myself. You can't help with that."
"I understand." I blankly stare out the window, lost in thought. I know he doesn't hate me, and I also know all of it bothers him. I just wish there was something I could do to help him.
YOU ARE READING
Foster Wolf
Werewolf(Complete) Ryder is a teenaged boy in foster care. his parents died when he was two and was put into the foster system. He has bounced from one home to another. Either he was sent back or ran away, but this time when his social worker, Mary, found h...
