IN THE FULL MOON

chapter 17 sisterly advice

Winter break was usually one of my favorite

times of the year. Not only did everyone in town

decorate their houses with festive, twinkling lights

and their yards with snowmen, penguins, and

reindeer, but it meant two weeks of vacation. Free

time to do whatever I wanted. And Ivy, Abby, and

I had sleepovers, all-night gabfests, and endless

laughs. I could sleep in as long as I'd like to and

be my own boss.

But this year, winter break was torture. It

meant two torturous weeks without seeing the

guy who had stolen my heart. Practically every

moment was spent thinking about him - him

saving me, the first time I held his wounded hand

in mine, the kiss of a lifetime. And when I wasn't

dreaming about him, I was worrying about him

and the strange condition I found him in

underneath the full moon. Instead of relishing my

days of freedom, I longed for the ringing of first

bell and the start of English class. But winter

break crept along without him, monotonously.

I continued to wonder if what I saw that

night was real and agonized over how I'd handled

the situation. If I had to give advice to the

lovelorn about what to say when seeing a guy

again after sharing a spectacular kiss and hoping

for another date, it would be to say one of these

three things: "Had a blast," "Hope we can hang

out again," or "Here's my number." The one thing

I'd never advise saying would be, "It looked like

you turned into a werewolf!"

How did I expect Brandon ever to call, text,

or contact me when I'd told him that?

I was so confused about my feelings toward

Brandon. Maybe it was time to turn back and not

continue down this uncharted road I'd been

traveling on. When Nash returned from vacation

with his parents, it would be my chance to

reconcile with him, put all this Westsider

fascination to rest, and move on in the direction

my life had already been taking. But I cared for

Brandon so deeply, it just wasn't something I had

control over. And I assumed Brandon was mixed

up as well. He was the one going through

something - strange dreams, not remembering

the nights, and missing school. If I contacted him,