My first shift book 1#

twenty four

The bell rang for lunch. As I stood up, my phone buzzed again. I looked down and saw another text from Dad.

**Dad:** *I'm here. Meet me outside by the cafeteria.*

My stomach dropped.

I had to tell everyone.

When I got to the cafeteria, I sat down beside Maya, Alex, Nichole, Leanna, and the boys.

"My dad's here," I said quietly.

Everyone looked at me.

"He's coming to talk to me."

I rested my head on the table.

"What do I do?"

Alex reached over and rubbed my shoulder.

"Jade, it'll be okay. I'll come with you."

I looked up at him.

"How's that going to work? 'Hi, Jade's dad. She's a werewolf and can't come home tonight.'"

Alex laughed softly.

"I'm not going to say that, Jade. You're just overthinking this. We don't even know what your dad wants."

"Yes, I do," I sighed. "I know he wants to know why I've been staying at your house so long."

Just then my phone dinged again.

"It's him."

Alex stood up.

"Come on. Let's go."

I took a deep breath and followed him out the back doors of the cafeteria.

Dad was standing in the parking lot beside his truck. As soon as he saw me, he smiled and waved us over.

"So... this is your friend?" Dad asked, looking at Alex before looking back at me with a grin. "Ooo..."

"Dad!" I groaned, covering my face. "Stop."

He laughed.

"Okay, okay."

Dad held out his hand.

"Hi. I'm Jade's dad."

Alex shook it.

"I'm Alex."

"Oh, don't call me Mr. anything," Dad smiled. "Just call me Jake."

"Okay... Jake."

Dad looked at Alex.

"So, you're helping my little Jade with school?"

Alex nodded.

"Yeah. She's almost done everything for tomorrow."

"I heard you needed her home," Alex added.

Dad shook his head.

"No, no. If she needs another night to finish her work, she can stay one more night."

I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding.

"Can I talk to Jade alone for a minute?" Dad asked.

"Of course," Alex said before stepping back.

Dad looked at me.

"I was getting worried, kiddo. You've been gone a long time."

"I know..."

"Lex misses you. She hasn't been herself, and I can't keep riding Thunder and Lex while helping Ace."

My heart hurt hearing that.

"I know. I miss her too."

I looked down.

"I'll be home tomorrow. I promise. I'll ride her and keep working on her training."

Dad smiled.

"That's all I wanted to hear."

He gave me a quick hug.

"Now go eat your lunch. And text me before you go to bed."

"I will."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

I watched him climb into his truck and drive away.

Alex walked back over beside me.

"Sorry about him saying 'my little Jade,'" I laughed.

Alex grinned.

"I thought it was kind of cute."

I rolled my eyes and smirked.

"Come on."

We walked back into the cafeteria.

The second we sat down, Maya, Nichole, Leanna, and the boys all looked at us.

"What happened?" they asked at the same time.

I laughed.

"My dad said I can stay one more night."

Everyone smiled.

"But..." I added, "I do need to get home tomorrow."

"Why?" Maya asked.

"I miss Lex."

"Who's Lex?" she asked.

"My horse."

Everyone looked surprised.

"You have a horse?" Nichole asked.

"Yep."

"I need to ride and keep training her. She's probably wondering where I am."

"Aww."

"That's so cool," Leanna smiled.

"What kind of riding do you do?"

"A little bit of western and English."

"That's awesome," one of the boys said.

Before anyone could ask another question, the lunch bell rang.

"Guess that's our cue," Alex laughed.

I grabbed my backpack and checked my phone to make sure I wasn't late.

Gym was my last class of the day, and Nichole was in it with me. We headed outside to the field with the rest of the class.

Gym was one of my favorite subjects. It gave me a chance to run around, forget about everything for a little while, and clear my head.

As I walked onto the field, I couldn't help but smile.

*One more night,* I thought.

*Then I'm finally going home.*