20

I was peacefully dreaming that I was eating an entire pizza all by myself, without anyone around asking for some, but suddenly I heard a noise coming from my window. It was raining very hard, there was lightning, and I'm scared of lightning, so that noise made me alert. I covered myself from head to toe with a bit of fear; right now, I'd like to sleep with someone, but there's no one around. Ugh. Maybe I should go sleep with my mom, like when I was a kid, and it rained very hard; I would cross to her bed, and she would hug me, making me feel comfortable, and the fear would go away. But now, going there doesn't seem like a good option.

Suddenly, another noise startled me, also coming from the damn window, which I had locked with a padlock. You can imagine why. I know Kayler is my boyfriend and all, but that doesn't change things. I gathered my courage and peeked out from under the blanket. I looked at my nightstand clock, and it was 2:40 am. God, I hate losing sleep. I reached out my hand and tried to turn on my lamp, but it wouldn't turn on. Did the power go out? Ugh! Just what I needed. I sat up in bed, staring at the darkness in my room. It was pitch dark, only illuminated when lightning struck. This feels more like a horror movie. This is the part where the room lights up, and you see a ghost standing in front of you. I hope that doesn't happen to me. I felt cold, more than usual.

I searched for my phone under my pillows, and when I found it, I turned on the flashlight. Ah, the window is open, and that's why I'm feeling colder, but why is it open if I left it locked with a padlock? I took a deep breath; this is strange. I got out of bed and stealthily approached the window. The padlock was broken. Oh, God! Someone broke into the house, and it's not Kayler because if it were him, he would be in my bed and not scaring me. If that's the case, I swear I'll kill him. I closed the window and stared at the lake. I wanted to see beyond, but the darkness prevented me; deep down, I wanted to see if I could see Kayler's house. And as if listening to my pleas, lightning struck, illuminating everything, allowing me to see his house. It was dark. Obviously, everyone is asleep; only I'm the paranoid crazy one awake. I sighed and stood up to return to bed, but I bumped into something. It's a man. I can't see his face, but he's standing right in front of me. Fear. That's what I feel right now.

“W-who are you?” I stammered.
I backed up until I hit the wall. The man approached closer and closer and brought his mouth to my ear.
“I’m the love of your life,” he whispered.
And suddenly, the fear vanished, and only peace remained. But the peace came with anger.
“What a son of a…!” I pushed him.
Kayler laughed.
Bastard. Seriously, one day he's going to kill me with a scare.
“You're such a scaredy-cat.” He approached me.
I moved away from him.
“Kayler, seriously, you scared me a lot,” I spat. “And how did you manage to break the padlock?” I stopped abruptly and confronted him.
He shrugged.
“Strength,” he replied. He came closer and wrapped his arms around my waist. He was a bit wet. “And I must confess, watching you sleep is… cute.” He kissed my nose.
I think he wanted to kiss my mouth, but since it's very dark, he missed. I wanted to laugh. He laughed a little. Being with Kayler is so lovely, so… Perfect that I forget everything, even the phone conversation I had with that girl on his phone. Thinking about that brings back the doubts. All those girls she mentioned have been his girlfriends and he left them. Why? Does he just look for us to pass the time? What if I'm just that? Then I'll be part of the long list of exes. I don't want to be just another one. But I think it's better to discuss this another time; I'm tired and just want to sleep. I took his hand and led him to my bed. He was taking off his wet jacket and pants... Only in boxers. Oh, God.

He looked at me with a mischievous smile.
“Just for tonight,” he said, “you don't want me to sleep in wet clothes, do you?”
“N-no, of course not.” I admit I was nervous. Seeing him almost naked in my bed is… Tempting.
We got under the sheets, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. As always, he was warm. He gave me a final kiss on the cheek, and we fell asleep in a little while.
***
The next day, we were in the cafeteria. We had the last hours free, so we had a lot of time. Kayler had brought me as usual today, but I was missing something. I hadn't seen Connor in the last few days, which seemed strange to me. He's my friend, so it's normal to miss him a bit. I was looking around the cafeteria to see if I could find him, but he wasn't there.
“Anne,” I addressed her while she was eating a piece of pizza. She looked at me. “Have you seen Connor? I haven't seen him in days.”
She frowned and shook her head.
“I really haven't seen him,” she said. “He must have gone out for a few days with his father. It happens sometimes.”
I nodded to show that I understood. I had told Anne that Kayler had asked me to be his girlfriend, and she squealed with happiness. Speaking of the devil...
“Hi,” he deposited a kiss on my cheek, and from the tingling I felt, I knew who it was.
Kayler.
He sat next to me while greeting Anne, but he wasn't alone. His friend, whose name I forgot, was with him. He sat next to Anne and smiled at her. She turned red and stopped eating out of embarrassment.
“You looked very thoughtful,” Kayler commented beside me. You won't believe I forgot about yesterday. I have to find out who that girl was and everything she said to me.
“Kayler, we need to talk,” I said.
His expression turned serious. He knew what I was going to say wouldn't please him. I stood up and walked toward the exit. I heard footsteps behind me, so I knew he was following. As we walked, I noticed how the boys moved aside from our path as a sign of respect. I know it's because of Kayler; everyone here respects and fears him. Not me.
The hallway was empty. I stopped.
“What’s wrong?” his voice sounded vulnerable. I could see the anxiety and anguish in his eyes as he wondered what was happening.
“Do you have your phone?” I asked seriously.
“Yes,” he nodded.
“Do you have something to tell me?” I asked again.
He thought for a moment.
“No.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Last night after you left, I called your cell, but a girl answered,” I think I'm having a jealous fit.
He frowned, then looked thoughtful and started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I questioned.
“Carolina, are you jealous?” he approached me and grabbed my waist.
I frowned.
“Obviously not. I just don't like being made fun of.”
He raised an eyebrow and kissed my forehead. The tingling in my stomach reappeared.
“You do know that when a couple is dating, there are always people who want to separate them with intrigues?” he asked, naturally.
Point for him. But why did she have his phone?
“But that girl answered your phone. Did you leave it at her house?” I inquired.
He looked at me, bored. How is it that I can't corner him? He always has a good answer.
“I left my phone at home, and since my father had called some friends over for dinner, one of the girls must have answered. Everyone at school knows we're dating,” he said. I was about to ask how they found out so quickly, but he beat me to it, “Don't ask me how, because I don't know either.”
The problem is that yesterday, when they sent me the message, only a few minutes had passed since Kayler asked me to be his girlfriend. Are they following us? This gives me the creeps.

But deep inside, I know Paige has something to do with all this. She is obsessed with Kayler, and knowing that we are now dating really bothered her. Besides, the message yesterday mentioned Scott. Was I going to end up like Scott? Wasn't he killed by an animal? He had animal marks. Oh, what a mess.

"Stop stressing, will you?" he whispered in my ear.

"Alright." I nodded.

We kissed.

"I know you have the rest of the hours free. What will you do?" he asked as we pulled apart.

I have a plan. From now on, I will start following Kayler. I need to find out where he always mysteriously goes.

"I think I'll stay here with Anne, maybe go to the library. I don't know," I lied.

"That sounds good. Call me so we can leave together, okay?"

I nodded.

"And you, what will you do?" I asked.

"I'll go home with the group. My father has something to tell us," he said, downplaying its importance with a shrug. "Some of the guys are already there, so... we're the only ones left," he scratched his neck.

"Alright then... let's go."

He took me by the hand, surprising me, and we headed back to the cafeteria. Today I'm lucky because Anne brought her brother's car, so we can follow them. Obviously from a distance.

"Apolo, we're leaving," he ordered the guy who was with Anne. In front of his friend, he becomes another person, someone with authority.

Apolo said goodbye to Anne and started walking to the exit. Kayler also said goodbye to me with a tender kiss and left.

"Anne, we have to follow them." I grabbed her hand and almost dragged her to the exit.

"Why?" she questioned.

"I'll tell you on the way."

We stayed hidden at the main door, waiting for Kayler and his buddies to get into their cars and leave. I think if I'm lucky this time, I can find out what Kayler and those guys are up to, why they miss so many classes just to go to his father's house, why Paige has to be involved there too, and lastly, maybe I can find out something about those wolves. About one in particular.