Joshua’s words hit me right in the gut. I didn’t understand what he meant, and I was afraid to ask. But I did it anyway. “What do you mean the Parkers want me?”
His brown eyes didn’t quite meet mine when he said, “It’s complicated, Harlow, and I probably shouldn’t get into all of that. It’s just… I know how these
“Mom!” I shouted, running across the yard to catch up to my mother before she made it inside. She stopped and turned to look at me, a little surprised, either at hearing me shouting her name so frantically or seeing me come out of the woods. Maybe both. I didn’t mean to sound desperate, but I also didn’t want her to go inside before I spoke to her. I didn’t want Gray to know that I'd ratted her out if I could avoid it.
That night, I lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, as I did most nights, but I wasn’t just listening to the cries of the wolves from the woods this time. No, I was also listening for noises inside of the house. I was listening for Gray, wondering if she would try to leave the house. I knew my mom had talked to her after dinner, and I had to assume they’d gone to some lengths to attempt to secure the doors, but it was a lot harder to lock someone in then it was to lock someone out. They couldn’t put a lock on her bedroom door either, or else she wouldn’t be able to get to the bathroom. So… I lay awake, hoping she didn’t try to sneak out and wishin
The sound of the axe thunking through the wood as someone chopped wood led me to the Ford house, not that I didn’t know how to get there by now. As I walked through the woods, the flowers opened to greet me. It was so strange. They danced and bowed their blooms, like small animals greeting their owner. I even found myself wishing them a good morning and welcoming a few new patches. These were blue, the same shade as Ben’s eyes.
I walked in the kitchen door a few minutes after leaving the Ford place to find Grandma eating a bowl of oatmeal. She set her spoon in her bowl and smiled at me. “Good morning, dear. Been out in the woods already?”I arched an eyebrow at her. Did she really not know about my little adventure in the middle of the night? I couldn’t tell by looking at her, b
It had not been my intention to walk too far into the woods that day. Ever since my run-in with the wolves a few days before, I hadn’t gone anywhere past my favorite tree, except for to take the path to the Ford place. I wasn’t going there now, but I had managed to go so far that I couldn’t see my tree.It wasn’t on purpose. I was looking at the flo
Another night in bed with me staring at the ceiling, listening to the wolves howling at one another, not daring to go to sleep.This time, it had nothing to do with my sister, though.
The red glowing eyes in front of me were terrifying, but even worse were the sharp teeth directly below those eyes. Saliva dripped off of their points as they caught the moonlight and gleamed like razors. I had no doubt in my mind that the wolf staring at me would not hesitate to sink those fangs deep into my flesh and rip me limb from limb.
“Not tonight, dear,” Grandma said dismissively in response to my request to speak to her. “We will talk tomorrow.”I glanced at the clock above the oven. “It is tomorrow,” I reminded her. “It’s past midnight.”