Timeless

Alex

The following day, Casey showed up in a blue car that he told me was a Honda Civic. Since I sucked at telling cars apart, that didn't help me in the slightest.

"Turns out Zak has been just as absent as I was," Casey told me on the way to school. "He came back late last night. Now he travels separate from me."

"Why? Did you tell someone something?"

"No. It's shifter business."

We were quiet other than a few discussions over minor things.
***

Casey kept telling me that we didn't have to worry about Zak and what he might try to do anymore. It also seemed that Zak was avoiding me in the halls.

Taking the assurances, I turned my attention to the growing pile of homework I seemed to be collecting. With my focus and time taken up, I was unable to go for runs or even short walks in the woods. It didn't help that Casey seemed to have told Shay that my parents argued most of the time. What Casey didn't know was that the arguing had actually increased since he had stayed over as a 'class pet'.

Although everyone had cautioned me to not go for a run alone, two weeks before my birthday, I could barely stand the confinement I felt I was in. As Fall Break began, I found myself arguing with Casey.

"At least let me go with you," he had said.

I knew that he and Shay were still worried about the vampire, but I hadn't seen it in weeks. My 'instincts' weren't freaking out about danger being nearby, either. When others went on runs with me, I was typically more focused on them and not the freedom I normally felt going alone.

So, after hanging up the phone with Casey, I went alone.

They shouldn't have worried so much. It was a bright and sunny day, and although I wanted to go further, I stayed rather close to home. There was no sign of the vampire anywhere. After that first successful run, I went daily. Although Casey visited, he had more things to worry about at home with the pack.

The two of us occasionally talked about Zak, who Casey seemed to be worrying over.

"Why do you seem so bothered about him?" I finally asked him the day before school started back.

For a few minutes, Casey just picked at the edge of his napkin. The two of us had decided to eat at a fast food place and were talking about school, but the question had been bothering me, not that I didn't want to know about Zak, but Casey seemed very upset. Finally, he said, "It's just that if one of us stay like that for too long, problems could occur."

"What kinds of problems?"

He shrugged and refused to answer further.
***

The following day, I was relieved to head to school. My parents had been more argumentative the last few days. It was to the point that their yelling would begin early in the morning and would continue till late. The night before, I hadn't gotten to sleep till 2am, and they had still been yelling at that time. My 'instincts' were giving me a vague feeling concerning them, letting me know that the problem would soon come to a head, but I might not like the outcome.

By now, the issue of the vampire and Zak seemed unimportant, so I focused on school and the fact that I would soon be 18. I didn't have a license for two reasons, one being I just didn't want one, and the other being that my parents hadn't taken the time to teach me. Devon had said he would teach me, but that had been almost three years ago and he was still missing.

At least I hadn't focused on boys like Liz, Shay's cousin. She had found a guy and was now latched on to the point where the only time I saw her was if she was hanging off his arm.