Easily Breakable

Chapter 20

I was driving faster than I usually did. Was it anticipation? Nervousness? I had never taken anybody else to my special place, but I wanted to share this with him. Would he judge me? Make fun of me? I cleared those thoughts away, because he was probably listening to them and I wanted this to be a surprise. 

        I was listening, but I still don't know where we're going. I smiled and glanced at him. I began thinking about what today will bring and tomorrow, which made my thoughts turn towards my birthday in four days. I felt a pang in my chest. I haven't thought about my eighteenth birthday in awhile, but now that I realized how close it was, it sent a wave of panic through me.

       Don't think about that, love. I glanced at Dani. "What am I supposed to think about? I should be thinking about this. I only have four days left of normal and then I don't know what happens after that. I know that everything is changing, but I'm more scared of me changing. What if I don't know who I am anymore? How is this all gonna work?" I looked at him directly in the eyes as I stopped the car. "What if I don't want you anymore?"

        His eyes softened and he lifted his hand to my face. "Don't be so pessimistic. I don't know how it works either Angel. We'll just have to face it when it comes, but those things don't matter. You won't change. You'll still be you and I will still love you, no matter what happens on Saturday, okay?" I took a deep breath and nodded, though I was unconvinced.

        He moved his finger to trace my jawline and unbuckled his seatbelt to get out of the car and I did the same. He met me in front of the car and I took his hand in mine, leading him forward. My optimism had come back up a level though it wasn't as strong as before. 

        I pulled him through the pushes and around narrowing pathways. When we got in the clearing, I instantly looked up to see  the familiar, raggedy red flag I had seen so many times before. I smiled and brought him forward, pausing at the trunk of the giant birch tree.

         I lifted the stone by the base of the tree and pulled at the strand of rope in the ground. The rope ladder instantly dropped beside me and I turned to look at Dani and saw surprise on his face. 

         I smiled and began the climb and Dani soon followed. When I got to the top and stood on the balcony, I smiled at the beautiful view ahead. The best part was that the sun was setting and it made the clear blue watered lake look even more beautiful than ever before. Dani joined me and followed my gaze, awe and wonder in his beautiful green eyes.

         "Whoa," he breathed. I remembered stumbling across this place with my mother years ago. Before I moved, we had lived a walking distance within this place. I don't remember how, but we had stumbled upon the meadow and saw the strange, out of place, birch tree among all the oaks. Mom walked forward and noticed the string in the ground, and when she pulled it, a rope fell. 

        That was long before we had decided to fix this place up a little. When my mother and I climbed the rope, we ended up in front of a tree house, afraid that the rotten wood and the balcony would give way and let us plummet to our deaths, but they held strong. 

          Over the years, my mother and I had salvaged this place, replacing the rotten boards, adding a more manageable rope ladder and making the clubhouse feel homey. I hadn't been here since my mother died and I regretted it. I should have been here to keep up with cleaning, because when I walked inside, everything was dusty and dirty. I should have fixed that before I brought Dani here. 

       Since he was still outside, watching the sun set, I grabbed the broom from the corner and swept all the dirt into a pile, then I got one of the rags, that used to be clean, and shook it out so that I could wipe everything down.

        Dani walked in a moment later and I had finally realized that the sky had grown darker. He looked around at the club house, which suddenly felt tiny with him standing there. He walked around looking at the pictures that hung on the walls. I smiled when I remembered Mom making copies of her favorite photos of us so she could bring them here. 

        When I was wiping off the small table we had against a wall, I noticed a slip of paper under one of the lamps. My eyebrows knitted together and I picked it up and unfolded it. It was a letter in Mom's neat, cursive handwriting. I read the note to myself.

         Anna,

         I'm sorry I never said anything, but now I will. The mess your father is in is terrible and I worry about an old friend of mine. I doubt your father has told you the truth, as he was reluctant when I asked him to. So keep an open mind. 

       I am a werewolf, so are you, or you will be. When you turn eighteen, you will make the shift, and it will be painful and I'm sorry about that. If you speak the spell at midnight, then you will change into your rightful form and find your pack: Mutata Luna Sub Me; change me under the moon. If you don't, then you will be exiled and cast as a rogue. I know you think I am dead, but I'm not really. I have just left my human form. I know it must sound confusing, but when I find you, I will explain. I love you.

         Mom.

        My breathing quickened. Dani's eyes widened when he looked at me, which told me he read my thoughts. She's alive.