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Chapter 111: Truth Be Told
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The True Nature Series Chapter 112: Gerard Hughes
ME: WHERE ARE YOU?No response.I'd been texting Zander since first break. I had hoped to catch him at his locker but he had never showed, which worried me. What if he'd gone home? I imagined the worst if he confronted his father. I wondered if Peter was still around. As much as I didn't want to talk to Peter ever again, I'd do it to find Zander. I didn't know the name of their hotel, but there were only so many in Scotts Valley. The idea of skipping school didn't even bother me today. I was uncomfortable with everyone asking me about Dante anyway. Now that I wanted a little anonymity, people I didn't even know came up to say how awful it must have been or asked if I knew where Dante was hiding. It was almost as bad as Detective Winchester's inquisition. All I could think of was that I had to get out of here. But I chickened out on my plan to play hooky when I kept running into teachers at the exits. Fuming with frustration, I reversed course and headed to my next class.The perso
The True Nature Series Chapter 113: More Mystery Bruises
MY THOUGHTS CIRCLED BACK to the present, as I zombie-stepped my way through the school walkways, wondering where Zander could be. I had expected him to meet me in the parking lot this morning. Was he avoiding me? Then again, what if he wasn't and something happened to him?I wanted to hit something, so I picked up my step, stomping around the closest building, hoping I could find a wall or tree to smack without anyone thinking I was going postal. I skidded to a stop when I saw Ruthie sitting on the ground crying."Ruthie! Oh my gosh! What happened?" I knelt down beside her.She rubbed her cheeks. "I don't know. That's the problem!" She held out her wrists. "I don't know how I got these bruises. And I don't know why my arm is bleeding."A red line ran down the inside of her arm, oozing blood. It didn't look like a scratch, more like a razor cut. My heart fluttered in alarm."My throat hurts, too." She said, swallowing with a grimace. I stared at her red and swollen neck with shock.
The True Nature Series Chapter 114: Loose Lips Lucy
I HAD TO DO something."Are you really a doctor?" I quickly asked. Ruthie stiffened, dropping her eyelids with suspicion. Dr. Frankler raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Of course, I am, Tru. Why do you ask?""Well, I guess what I mean is ... is that all that you are?"She gave me a look that made me feel like a bug on a petri dish. Then she chuckled, her eyes sparkling."My goodness, what are you getting at?" Her words seemed to attach themselves to my brain, digging in and coaxing out an answer. I pulled my lips in, trying to prevent the words from betraying me, but it was no use. "I-I need to know if you're human. And who you're working for. Other than the school of course."Ruthie gasped. "Tru!" I looked at her, shaking my head. "I mean," I kept going. "We just have weird stuff going on right now, and we don't know if it's safe to confide in you.""Tru. Ruthie." She leaned forward across her desk, her face serious again. "I promise you that you can safely tell me
The True Nature Series Chapter 115: Etch-a-sketchy
MY PHYSICS TEACHER WAS ancient. He had to be the oldest teacher in the school district, maybe in the whole state. He couldn't hear a thing, so kids got away with murder. The class was a joke. Every time he turned toward the board paper airplane notes flew across the room. I peeked around the edge of the door. It was business as usual. While I debated whether or not to skip it, someone squealed my name and all eyes spun my way. Well, all of the students' anyway. Mr. Gordon continued to talk and scrawl equations across the board.It was now or never, so I walked over to him, finally getting his attention as I approached from his side. I handed him my pass, to which he gave a cursory glance before tucking it into his shirt pocket and waving me to a seat. I usually grabbed a desk in the front to avoid as many classroom shenanigans as I could, but someone was already sitting in my favorite spot, a new face. She was small, with dark brown hair hanging straight to her shoulders and large coc
The True Nature Series Chapter 116: No-show
IGNORING JAKE NEXT TO her, Phoebe tilted her head as she followed Isaac's gaze to Ruthie. Jake frowned. He had been trying to impress her with his fake ID and a story about his cousin and him getting into a club.Ruthie and I smiled at Isaac, both amused and moved by his protective attitude. "No," said Ruthie at first. But then she mumbled, "Maybe."I snorted. "What the heck?""Well, he is being a scumbag.""Yeah, but ... does he deserve to be killed by Isaac just because he hasn't asked you to Homecoming? Come on." I tilted my head toward Isaac's darkening face."Uhhhh," she seemed to debate it in her head for a moment. Then she noticed the dangerous glint in Isaac's eyes and sighed. "I guess not.""What's wrong, then?" asked Isaac, still glowering. Jake finally gave up on Phoebe, who was paying more attention to us than him, and left our table with a "catch ya later."Ruthie straightened, giving me a sidelong glance. I could tell she wanted to tell them what was going on, but
The True Nature Series Chapter 117: Maverick
DAD WAITED IN THE car outside the entrance to the rec center while I dashed inside. Kids streamed into the building, goggles and swim caps in hand, their mothers toting large bags. The automatic doors slid open and the smell of chlorine washed over me like a friendly hello. I smiled in relief to see the very person I was looking for behind the front desk and called out a greeting. He looked up from the computer. "Well, if it isn't Tru Parker," he smiled as I walked up to the counter. "How's school?" Maverick was a cute mix of Irish and Filipino, with brown hair and gray eyes. A smattering of freckles dusted his cheeks and his eyes tilted just enough to make him look like he was smiling even when he wasn't. He was a little taller than me with wide, muscled shoulders."Homework sucks." He laughed, a quiet throaty chuckle that showed off his even white teeth. I leaned an elbow onto the counter. "I thought it would be quieter around here once school started." Over the summer, the plac
The True Nature Series Chapter 118: Knox
KNOX WAS INSIDE HIS crate in the spare bedroom when we got home. Dad told me to stay in the living room until he brought him down. He said it could take a month to get Knox to bond with us, and we couldn't leave him out of his crate while we were away from the house until then. That surprised me. It was going to be a while before he was a full-fledged guard dog for us.I heard a bark, the foreign sound echoing in our house. I wasn't sure if it was a happy bark. Dad had said that everything had gone well between him and Knox today. His friend, Mike, had let Knox stay rather than try to integrate him into our home over several days. It proved what an exceptional dog he was. Dad boasted about how surprised Mike had been when Knox quickly accepted his commands. I had to admit I was impressed with Dad's dog know-how. He'd never told me before today that he'd had dogs growing up. Probably because Mom hadn't wanted to get a dog.I heard the clipping of dog paws against the wood. Excitement
The True Nature Series Chapter 119: Rules, Shmules
ALTHOUGH I STILL HADN'T heard from Zander, I knew he'd been in my room sometime today because his bag and laptop were gone. I'd left my window unlocked, hoping he'd come get his stuff after school. I didn't think he'd miss school. But the fact that he had snuck in to get his stuff made me believe that he was okay. I'd worried that he'd gone off half-cocked and done something stupid, like accuse Peter or his father of all the awful things we'd figured out about them.But my anxiety level rose again when he continued to ignore my text messages. Had I blown it by not telling Zander about his father earlier? Was he somewhere hurt, needing help? At some point, I realized it was the aramusatu doing its thing with me. He had to be feeling it, too. So what would keep him away? I decided to give him another day before tracking him down.I knew one thing that would cheer me up. I hadn't told Ruthie about Maverick yet. As expected, she was thrilled. Ruthie and I spent at least an hour fantasizi
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