Wolf Blood

Chapter Four: Kinsley Needs a Shower

“Have you looked at it recently?” Kinsley asked as we walked toward a booth in the diner. The boys would be along shortly.

“I’m kinda afraid,” I said. Somehow that smell from the other day followed me.

“Let’s go see what it looks like,” she said sliding her arm through mine and pulling me into the bathroom.

“This is a terrible idea.”

“It’s fine. The doctors are just down the road.”

Rolling my eyes, I pulled down the collar of my shirt revealing the bandage. The doctors were a good ten-minute drive from us.

“Besides, it’s not healthy to keep it hidden away without oxygen.”

Carefully, I pulled at the tape that held the bandage in place. I pulled the front half of the bandage off and lifted it.

“No way,” Kinsley said, eyes wide.

The wound was gone. Healed. No marks scarred my skin. It was as if I was never bitten in the first place. That would explain the lack of pain and my constant forgetting to take my pain meds. What’s the point of pain meds if you’re not in any pain?

Kinsley pulled on my shoulder, looking closer at my neck. “No,” she breathed.

“Isn’t this a good thing?” I asked feeling my neck. I pressed down but felt no pain. Rolling my shoulder, it felt completely normal.

“No-yes,” she said, following the “yes” a little too quickly. “It-it’s good.” She bit her lip.

“Why are you lying to me?” I looked at her, meeting her hazel eyed gaze. “This is not normal.” I knew it wasn’t a dog. I knew I felt hands. What the heck bit me? And why has it already healed? “This is straight out of a horror film,” I said ripping the rest of the bandage off.

Kinsley scrunched up her nose. What is that smell? I stepped closer and took a whiff before gagging.

“Kinsley, did you forget to shower this morning?” I asked stepping away from her.

“I shower every day,” she said, her voice hard. “If anyone stinks, it’s you, obviously.” She growled as she spoke.

“Where is this coming from?” I asked.

“I feel like you’re accusing me of something without manning up and saying it,” she said.

Crossing my arms, I took a breath. “I don’t know where this is coming from. You have a tell when you lie – you bite your lip.” Kinsley stepped away from me. I never insinuated she knew something about what happened in the woods, but I think she knows why my wound healed so quickly. “Do you know why it’s gone?”

She turned away from me and took a deep breath.

“Kinsley?” My stomach twisted. She knew more than she was letting on.

“What?”

“What are you hiding?”

“Nothing.”

“Kinsley, what are you hiding?” I asked slowly.

Kinsley turned and met my gaze. “Selene, stop it. You don’t know what you’re getting into.”

“What the heck does that mean?”

Kinsley’s eyes narrowed. “It means nothing. I don’t know anything.”

Balling my hands, I took a deep breath. “If you’re hiding something.” I paused before saying, “You’re acting as disgusting as you smell.”

Kinsley took a breath before walking passed me. Her shoulder collided with mine before she dashed out the door. I grabbed my shoulder before looking in the mirror. The bite was still gone, and tears began sliding down my face.

Soon after she walked out, I left the bathroom. I saw her hop in her car and drive off. Sighing, I slid into our usual booth. It wasn’t long before Zander and Everette arrived. Of course, they asked about Kinsley’s whereabouts.

“We got into a disagreement,” I said. “Can I take your car and go home?” I looked at Zander. He nodded and placed the keys on the table. Sliding out of the booth I headed to Zander’s car.

Hopping into the Impala, I glanced out the window and saw Everette sit down. We didn’t talk about what happened on the way to the party. We didn’t talk about what happened at the party. We didn’t walk about the movie. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I didn’t want to lose his friendship. He ran his fingers through his curly hair. He looked good today in his dark jeans and tight t-shirt. I never looked at him and the intentionality of that hurt. It sounded like him in the woods, but it wasn’t. Who was in the woods? How could someone sound so like him?

Shaking my head, I leaned back in the seat. What was Kinsley hiding? Did she know something about the attack? Bites don’t vanish like this. I hated it when she hid things from me. Groaning, I turned the car over and drove out of the parking lot.

When I arrived home, I rushed inside. My room beckoned and I was heeding the call. Once inside I heard mum’s voice call from the kitchen. Hanging my head, I stepped away from the stairs that led to my bedroom. Across from the front door led to the kitchen, where mum was.

“Yes, mum?” I asked.

“The news says tonight is a full moon,” she said.

“And?” I said raising a brow.

Her brow furrowed as she looked over at me. “Haven’t you been reading the news?” I shook my head. “There has been an unusually high number of dog attacks recently and most of them happen on a full moon.” Dad stepped into the kitchen and smiled at me.

“It was a fluke that Selene was attacked in the first place,” dad said glancing at mum.

“Just be careful,” mum said sliding the newspaper across the bar toward me before narrowing her eyes at dad. “In case you’re curious.”

Dad and I glanced at each other. “She will be fine,” dad said before his hand hovered over my left shoulder. It lingered there before he let it fall to his side. It surprised me that he remembered what shoulder my bite wound was on. “It’s your mother’s job to be overly worried about you. Just stay out of the woods for a while, at least until her sanity returns.”

Mum scoffed. “Robert, that is not funny,” mum spoke slowly. “A lot of people have been attacked. This is serious.”

“Good luck dad,” I said before I headed back to the steps. I chuckled and grabbed the handrail. She’s lost it and sounds like a conspiracy theorist. Once I reached the top of the steps I walked into my room and dropped my backpack beside my bed. All I knew was that Kinsley was hiding something. She knew something about the mysterious disappearance of my bite mark. I was attacked by a dog with human hands and I needed to use the restroom, which was my prime thinking location.

After a long nap I tossed my phone on the end table and groaned. Its vibrating disturbed my slumber. Sighing, I hated fighting with Kinsley. Normally, we’d be hanging out. I barely understood why we fought in the first place. My phone vibrated again, and I rolled over to look at it. It was Everette. It vibrated again and again. I wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. I stood and walked over to the window. The moon was bright tonight, lighting up the backyard. It reminded me newly polished chrome by the way it sparkled.

I stepped out of my room, down the stairs, and out the back door. This was a much better view. I walked toward the lawn chair my dad put out earlier to bird watch. Dad was only outdoorsy when it came birds.

Before I reached the chair, pain rocketed through my body. My shoulder burned and my heart thudded, pulsing in my ears. Groaning, I fell to my knees. My hands dug into the grass and I gasped for air. A growl rumbled through my body as I tried to scream. I heard cracking before a numbing silence fell.