Full Moon Fiancé

Confirmation

Diana was still scrolling intently across the various werewolf themed websites she had found when the door opened. She tossed the tablet to the side, covering it with a pillow. She tried to look nonchalant as she leaned on the pillow, as if by smothering the tablet she could more effectively hide it from whoever was coming in.

It was Joshua. He had more food with him, and he gave her a tentative smile. If he noticed anything amiss in the way she tried not to draw attention to what she was doing, he didn’t say so. Instead, he just quietly set the tray of food down on the table.

Diana glanced out the window at the grounds and was surprised to see that it was growing dusky, the sun’s rays barely still stretching over the horizon, mostly obscured by trees.

“I hadn’t realized it got so late,” she admitted.

“Busy with something?” Joshua asked, his brow slightly quirked as he studied her face.

“Uh, no. Nope!”

“Right…” Joshua said, not sounding entirely convinced. “I brought you some dinner.”

Diana nodded and for a moment, she stared at Joshua. He stared back. Neither of them spoke. After a few moments, she giggled. It made him laugh, too, and that made her laugh harder. She had no idea why she was laughing, no idea why he was laughing. There was very little funny about their situation, after all.

She felt inexplicably nervous, even though she still trusted him. How could she fail to trust him, really? He was her oldest friend, her truest love. He knew her more fully than she knew herself. He would never hurt her.

She remembered the line that the young Joshua had written in his little diary.

But Diana wouldn’t be afraid of me.

He had trusted her then, with something, trusted her to love him. She steeled herself to return that trust.

“So,” she broke the silence. “Uh, I might have… um–” she didn’t know what to say, so after a minute, she just reached under the pillow she was still propped up against and fished out the tablet.

“Ah,” he said. “And you used it to? Call for help? Plan your escape?”

“I used it to read about people who think that werewolves exist,” she said quietly, but she forced herself to look into his eyes as she said it.

A flicker of recognition. Then more than a flicker of surprise.

“And why did you do that?”

Diana wordlessly pointed to the bedside table, where she had left Joshua’s diary. He hadn’t noticed it until she pointed it out, and when his eyes fell on it, his brow furrowed.

“Got it,” he said after a moment. “And what conclusion did you draw?”

Diana couldn’t help but laugh. Joshua was a born lawyer, so skilled at getting information out of someone without ever giving up his own position. It would have infuriated her if it hadn’t been something she was drawn to. They’d always enjoyed debates. Sometimes the debates were real, passionate, and meaningful. Sometimes they were silly and filled with laughter. But Joshua and Diana had always had a good time.

“The evidence is… not totally unconvincing,” she replied. “Could be a Satanic cult,” she added.

Joshua snorted derisively. “You’ve been reading about Vernon Torell?”

“Yeah,” she acknowledged. “He sounded like a pretty violent guy.”

“Well,” Joshua sighed, “he was a serial killer.”

“Do you think werewolves would consider him a serial killer? Or is that par for the course if you’re a–” Diana hesitated for a moment, trying to remember the word. “Lycanthrope?” she guessed.

Joshua’s nose wrinkled in annoyance. “Yeah. I think werewolves would consider him a serial killer,” he said.

“Interesting.”

Joshua didn’t speak further, and this time Diana let the silence linger. She could see that he was working something out in his head, calculating his next move. She knew him too well to think that pressuring him would do her any favors.

“I should tell my parents you’ve been sneaking around the attic,” he finally said.

“You should have told them I can get into the attic from the closet, then.”

Joshua snickered. “Yeah, I probably should have. Is that all you found?” he pointed to the diary.

“It’s all I really understood,” she shrugged.

“You didn’t look very hard, then,” he said. He stared into her eyes, his own olive colored irises sparkling a little, the way they always did when he was teasing her. But it felt like more than teasing. It seemed like he wanted her to know something.

“You could just tell me,” she pointed out.

“I want to.”

“But you won’t?”

“I think… it will be better for everyone if you figure it out yourself,” he replied.

“And have I? Figured it out, I mean.” She paused. “You aren’t laughing at me this time.”

His mouth twitched with the hint of a smile. “No, I’m not. And yes, you have.”

Something about hearing him say it made her feel dizzy, even though she was still lounging on the bed. It was as if his words realigned her entire world, creating a reality before her that only days ago, she could never have imagined.

Her mouth felt dry. She opened it to speak, and found herself coughing lightly instead. “How?” she finally asked.

“How?” he looked confused, repeating the question back to her as if he didn’t understand it at all.

“How is that possible?”

Joshua shrugged. “I don’t really know how to answer that,” he said. He scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Honestly, I am probably not the best source for any of your questions.”

“But you’re one of them, aren’t you?”

To her surprise, he hesitated. Finally he said, “yes. It’s complicated.”

“Complicated enough to fake your own death to simplify matters?” Diana asked coyly. Joshua laughed loudly, more fully than she expected. It surprised her, and the sound warmed her heart.

“Exactly,” he said after a long minute of laughter. “Exactly. Why don’t you have lunch with my parents and I tomorrow afternoon. Confront them with your questions. I’ll pretend I don’t know that you know, though, of course.” He winked at her. Her heart pounded loudly, and she was once again nearly overtaken with a desire to embrace him. But this time, she controlled it.

“Okay,” she said. “If you think that’s a good idea.”

Joshua looked out the window as if contemplating. Finally, he half shrugged one shoulder. “I think they should stop underestimating you.”

This made Diana’s mouth press into a little smile.

“And Diana,” Joshua added, “maybe do some more digging. Like I said, you may not have looked hard enough.”