Growing Up With My Mate

14. What's Wrong With Brighton?

It’s mid-January and I’m swamped with school stuff.  We just got back from break two weeks ago and I’m feeling stressed out.  I’m not even sleeping right.  Everything is fine, but then again everything is not.  Dustin and Sally are going strong, and I haven’t been able to spend much time with my best friend, but I’m happy for him.  Anna felt the same with Sally.  They both say that we can all hang, but Anna and I just felt like extra wheels.  Probably the best news from the winter break was Cole and Jessie finding out that they were mates.  I’ve never seen Jessie so happy and Cole proposed to her that very night.  Everyone seems to be doing their own thing.  That’s what growing up does to people.  We all still get together every now and then, but I understand that it’s good to grow apart some as well.  I just wish it wasn’t so soon. 

           I’ve been really moody lately and I can’t explain it.  Everything irritates me.  What’s worse of all is Harris and his slut brigade.  Every time in study hall, he’s either touching or making out with different girls.  When I feel that sadness in my gut, I get pissed off at myself, then pissed off at him.

Walking into class I feel Harris’ arm drop on my shoulders.  I immediately turn sideways and glare at him.  I don’t know where that arm has been.  He holds his hands up in surrender “Whoa, you okay?”

I roll my eyes at him.  “I’m fine,”  I clip out.  I’m not in the mood to talk so I just go to my desk.  Surprisingly he follows and squats in front of my desk, looking expectantly at me. “Brigh, you know you can talk to me right?”  That was a loaded question. I used to be able to talk to him.

I huff out a breath. I don’t feel like arguing right now.  “I said I’m fine Harris.  Nothing to talk about.”  I lay my head on my arm on the desk looking to the right, avoiding his gaze. 

“You heard her man, she’s fine.  And when a female says she’s fine, she means it,” Mark says sarcastically.  He’s my saving grace during study hall.  Although he’s a huge flirt and asks me out at least twice a week, he keeps me distracted from all the face sucking that comes from the back corner of the classroom. 

I feel Mark patting my back but I don’t acknowledge it.  I sit up and start getting my sketchbook out, and I notice Harris still squatting in front of my desk staring at me.  I give him a small smile but not big enough.  If he continues to stare at me, I feel like I could cry, but I don’t know why.  He pulls up a desk next to Marks and they talk about the new set of trainees and other pack business, not including me in the conversation, which I am grateful for. 

I begin sketching, zoning out into my own little world.   I tune out all the conversations and noises around me.  All I can hear are the scratch marks my pencil is making on my paper.  When I hear the bell ring, I sigh in defeat, wishing I could stay in that trance a little longer.  “Brighton did you hear me?” Mark says, a frown marring his face. 

“Huh? No sorry, zoned out.  What’s up?”

“I said that Harris and I are throwing a party at the pack house this weekend.  All seniors and juniors invited.  Can you come?”  I think about it for a minute.  It’ll be nice to spend some time with my friends so I agreed. 

-Harris POV-

“Dude, something is off with Brighton- I wondered what happened?” Mark says to me.  We are walking towards the pack house after school.  I couldn’t help but think the same thing as well.  I’ve never seen her mad at me before, not even distant like that.  And she had always confided in me about things, even deep stuff, so I don’t know why today was different. 

“Maybe she’s sick and tired of you sucking face in class.  It’s enough to piss me off too,” Mark continues.

I know he’s joking, but he might have a point.  Brighton may have been experiencing something wrong for a while now, and I’ve been too occupied with small flings, rather than attending to my friend. 

“I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but what was up with that party idea?  I didn’t know we planned a party.”

“We didn’t.  I wanted to see her reaction and I got one.  She seemed more distant after break.  Dustin and Sally have been getting closer, and Dustin is her best friend.  Jessie and Cole are newly mated.  You obviously don’t pay attention to her whenever Veronica, Clara, or Karma’s around…. I think she just misses everyone.”  He was right. 

“We’ll, I guess let’s get this last minute party together.  We only have 3 days.”

 During the next two days, I’ve notice Brighton getting worse and worse.  She’s switched from being moody, to downright miserable.  I noticed bags under her eyes and her face seems paler.  Even watching her in the halls, she’s shrugs off Dustin’s concerns for her, which she would never do. 

As I’m walking into study hall, Veronica corners me with her seductive smile.  “Are we playing today?”, she says as she trails her fingers from my stomach to my chest.  I grab her hand to stop her “Not today sweetheart.”  She pouts a little too much but bounces away from me.  That’s what’s good about Veronica.  She knows how to have fun and not to push for more when I’m not in the mood.

I walk towards Brighton’s desk where she’s laying her head down.  I move to the side to see her face as she’s trying to sleep, and she looks so pale.  Even her lips are not the peachy color they usually are.  Her hairline is sweaty and I start to panic because wolves don’t get sick.  I feel my wolf move and softly whine.  I know how you feel buddy.  When I go to push a strand of her hair out of her face, I feel how hot she really is. 

“Brighton!  You’re burning up sweetheart!”  I shake her a little to get her up.  When she sits up, she doesn’t really look at me. 

“I’m fine Harris, just tired,” she says weakly, putting her head down again.  That pisses me off.  Mark comes into the room and sees Brighton as well, concern marring his face.  I have to count to 10 to reel in my anger. 

“Mark, if anyone asks, Brighton is sick and I’m taking her home.”

I don’t know whose voice I used, but the atmosphere of the room changed.  Mark noticed it as well and gave me a nod.  I put Brighton’s back pack on and pull her up out of her seat.  She starts sagging which further irritates me so I just put my arm under her knees and carried her bridal style out of the class, out of the school.  I carried her like that all the way to her house.  When I got there, I knocked on the door, but no one answered.  “Brighton, where’s your mom?” 

She’s barely talked to me since we left the school.  “Mom's at the state flea market selling her brand.  Dad went with her.  They’ll be back tomorrow,” she says weakly.  Internally cursing, I set her down and get the keys from her back pack.  Once I open the door, I pick her back up and carry her through the house to her bedroom.  It’s not hard to find since there are only two bedrooms.  I set her on the edge of the bed, knee on the floor, and take her shoes off. 

“Why did you come to school today Brigh? You’re obviously not feeling well.”

I look up and she has unshed tears in her eyes as she just shrugs.  I curse under my breath and I look around and see her dresser.  I go through her things and pull out a t-shirt that looks comfy, some shorts, and underwear, and take it to the bathroom.  I scoop her up and take her there as well and sit her on the toilet.  “Take a shower Brighton- luke warm water only.  I’m going to make you something to eat and then you’re going to rest”.  She barely nods and I leave the bathroom, closing the door behind me. 

           I go into the kitchen and see tea packets on the table.  I put some water in the kettle and set it to boil.  I finally hear the shower turn on and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.  There’s not much in the fridge or cabinets, so I decide on eggs and toast.  I don’t know how to cook much anyways, so that will work.  The food cooks faster than I realized and I go to knock on the bathroom door.  “You okay in there Brigh?”

“Yea, I’m almost done.”  She sounds so small and I feel like I can’t do anything to help her.  When I saw tears in her eyes my heart dropped.  I've never felt helpless like that before.  What is she sick with?

I start pacing her small living room.  Ever since I’ve known Brighton, she’s been frugal about money.  Their house is decorated simply.  No lavish fabrics or marbled floors, or vases the size of a small child with tropical plants in them.  Their couch looks worn and TV looks older than me.  There’s a small bookcase next to the tv with the top shelf full of art books and sketchbooks, probably for Brighton.  Under that are some dvds and board games.   The wall that leads to the kitchen holds pictures of her parents and her.  I move my eyes down the line, seeing her grow up from drawing on the sidewalk with chalk, to posing next to her parents’ wolves, wishing she could be one.  Then I come across a painting of a pond at night time with fireflies and sleeping wolves.

“I painted that right before we moved here.”

I turned around and she’s standing there, towel drying her hair.  She usually wears it up in a messy bun at school, and now it looks longer than ever. I didn’t even pay attention to the shorts I gave her because the t-shirt is longer than the shorts, making it look like she’s not wearing any.  I internally groan.  She’s gazing at the painting as if she’s trying to go there.  “It was my special spot to go to when I was feeling sad or overwhelmed.  It’s similar to the Glade here.  It was only a 5 minute walk from our old house so my parents were fine to let me runaway whenever I wanted,” she said with a small smile. 

I walk over to her and take the towel from her hands.  “Come on, I made eggs and toast, and tea.”

We sit down at the table in a comfortable silence.  She drinks the tea but barely touches the food.  I’ve already scarfed all mine down.  “It doesn’t taste that bad; definitely healthier than a honey bun,” me trying to lighten up the mood.  She gives me a half smile, lighting her eyes just that moment.

“I’m really not that hungry.  Thank you for bringing me home Harris, but you don’t have to stay with me.  I’ll just lie down for a little bit I promise.” 

She wants me to leave?  Does she not see the seriousness of her situation?  We don’t get sick!  My anger from earlier comes back and my hand slams on the table, making her jump.  “Eat. The. Damn.  Food Brighton.”   

She’s clutching her cup to her chest and I’m starting to regret scaring her, but she puts down her cup and picks up her fork and starts to eat.  She doesn’t say a word to me the whole time she eats, and I watch her each bite.  When she’s finally finished, I pick up the dishes and put them in the sink.  I turn around and put my hand out for her to take.  She hesitates at first, but then complies.  I walk her to the sofa and sit down, her sitting down next to me.  I turn the TV on and find a movie that’s playing.  I sit back and start watching the movie, even though I have no interest in it.  Slowly, Brighton starts to relax into the couch, neither of us saying a word.  After an hour I feel her head on my shoulder.  I turn my head to see that she passed out.  I wonder why she hasn’t been sleeping well.  I pull my phone out and text Dustin

Me:  Do you know what’s going on with Brighton?

Dustin:  No clue- when I tried to talk to her, just dissed me.  Heard you took her home- she doing okay?

Me:  She’s sleeping right now, but hasn’t told me anything

Dustin:  You know her.  She’ll be stubborn until it kills her

I put my phone back and lean back into the couch.  The next thing I know, is when I open my eyes, it’s completely dark outside and there’s another movie playing on the tv.  Brighton is still next to me but her arm is over my waist and my arm ended up cradling her back, hand on her hip.  I take out my phone and its 9pm.  I needed to get home. 

When I pick up Brighton’s arm, she’s deadweight so she’ll be passed out for a bit.  I pick her up and carry her to her bed and tuck her in, making sure she’s okay.  I write her a note and leave it on her nightstand.    When I leave and lock the door behind me, I feel way more calm than what I’ve been feeling all week. 

I finally get home and head to my room.  When I open my door, Clara is in my bed, going through her phone.  “it’s about time you came home! I’m bored.”

She starts to take her shirt off but my wolf gets agitated, as well as me.  “Clara, get out.  I’m not in the mood.”

She freezes her movements as she slides out of my bed.  She reaches for my face but I just walk around her.  “Why do you smell different?”  I freeze in my tracks.  It’s not unknown that we’ve been screwing each other, and she declared herself my unofficial girlfriend, but according to myself, we are not in a relationship.  I don’t know where she gets off asking me such questions. 

“I was out with a friend.”

“Brighton, right?  I heard how you ushered her out of the school in a frenzy.  She finally give it up for her alpha?” she says in a mocking tone. 

“Clara, I would highly suggest shutting up if I were you.” 

She rolls her eyes “Oh please, you’ll have me back in your bed before the weekend is out. I’m not jealous, I’m just stating the facts Harris.”

I smile dangerously at her and she takes a step back.  “If you’re not jealous, then don’t ever ask me about smelling differently Clara.  And this is my last warning to you about her.  Leave Brighton the f**k alone.”  She turns and slams my door, leaving me alone.  I take a shower and get in the bed.  Before I shut my eyes to sleep, I send the goddess a prayer to heal Brighton, hoping she gets over her sickness.