CHAPTER ELEVEN:~Avery: Hurt came over the handsome man’s - Drake’s face. Oh. My. God. He’s serious. I mean, I guess I shouldn’t be this surprised. I exist. Why wouldn’t other otherworldly creatures exist? I felt a need to comfort him, to take away the hurt I caused. “I’m sorry,” I reached out a hand to touch his cheek but thought better of it when it was halfway up and yanked it down to my side. Why would I touch a stranger? “I just didn’t know… I’ve never met a werewolf…” He smiled. I thought my insides would melt. My God, how could he get even more handsome? My insides felt like they were glowing. “And you are a-?” he asked me again. I almost pushed back again before I felt the need to tell him. “I don’t know,” I said in a whisper. I guess it was his turn to look confused. “I, um, I’ve never met anyone… like me,” I told him. The phone in my pocket vibrated. I looked down as I took it out, Beth was calling me. I forgot about why I had come out here, and that she had b

CHAPTER THIRTEEN:~Avery: The next morning I knew I needed to re-stress the importance of keeping my distance. I let things get way out of control last night. I shouldn’t have been at that bar. I shouldn’t have killed that man (although I still thought he deserved it), and I shouldn’t have met that guy - or werewolf I guess. I began the day making an omelet for myself, and I lost my thoughts in the movements I knew so well. Chopping veggies, cracking eggs, whisking and mixing. I couldn’t get that werewolf out of my head. Drake. It had taken me hours to fall asleep after getting home and making sure Beth was settled. His voice, his eyes, his everything. Just letting my mind go there had my heart rate picking up in pace. I was so revved up after everything that I needed to finish myself off twice, imagining it was Drake doing the touching, just to feel tired. I might be in some big trouble here. I still had so many questions about werewolves and the possibility of other beings in t

CHAPTER FIFTEEN:~Avery: No sign of Drake for a few days now. So then why do I keep thinking about him? I’m again getting distracted when I’m supposed to be working. Instead, I’m thinking about a dreamy guy. Great. Now I’m associating him with the term ‘dreamy.’ Sighing, I close the laptop and get up. No sense in trying to do this anymore. Time for a break I guess. It’s not quite time for my usual breaks, but no matter. I put my shoes on and a jacket that hung by the door and I headed out for a walk. This time something has me going a different way. I passed a few houses, and plenty of trees. I continued on. I soak in the feeling of the sun on my face, and the warmth reminds me of the way I feel around- Ugh. There’s no escape! After about half an hour I reach town and I start walking to an ice cream shop when something gets my attention. A delicious smell - cinnamon. I almost ignore it and keep going, but something makes me stop in my tracks. It feels sad around me. There’s no o

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:~Avery:The routine is second nature by now. Cash for Beth and a note. Ditch the car, ditch the phone, cash for the motel, hair dye. I picked ‘Rebecca’ this time around so I don’t need to wear contacts. What sucks about Rebecca is she has white-blond hair. Which means bleach. Which means this process takes longer. But it’s still early in the day and I have time.I drove my new beater car for about three hours and tried to keep going, leaving more distance between me and -. But I’m so tired. I sigh aloud. There’s a sign for upcoming motels on the freeway so I take the next exit. I look for the cheapest one. I hadn’t been able to pick up a phone at my last two stops so I wasn’t able to look up prices. Or be tempted to message this handsome guy I can’t get out of my head. The image of his bruised face and pained expression keeps popping up everytime I think I’m at peace with my decision.Singing is something I can’t afford to do with other people around. But alone in

CHAPTER NINETEEN:~Avery: I wasn’t far enough. Would I ever be? After leaving the seedy motel with every last trace of evidence, and using some power to get the front desk kid to forget me, I was back on the road. I felt compelled to keep running. It was a little while before I passed the highway sign letting me know I entered Oregon. In the afternoon I pull over into a small town and find their corner store. In getting supplies I notice they’ve got some prepaid phones and I grab one. I can trust myself not to reach out to Drake, right? When would I forget his freaking number? Why had I so easily memorized it in the first place? After paying, I walk back out to my car and sit there for a moment. I want to run, as always. It’s instinct now, and h*ll, it’s logical knowing my nature - my history. But my chest, my heart, my skin - wants to illogically be in Drake’s embrace. Weighing both, I just sigh in frustration. I push that to the side and open the phone, setting it up a bit and g