Little Wolves (gxg)

Chapter 8 - Wine Time

"What? What's so funny?" I murmured. Keating turned to me and wiped under her eyes, clearing the tears. She was smiling wildly, then leaned towards me with her eyes full of excitement.

"She gave you that gun for the big man in those woods. The real problem. She just didn't want to tell ya 'cause she thought she'd sound like a looney," Keating rushed out. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"The big man? I don't get it... who...?" I trailed off. Keating leaned back in her chair with lightning speed. She let out a sigh before turning her head to look at me again.

"Bigfoot! You know, ten feet tall, super hairy, hides in the forests?" she concluded. How amusing I found that joke was all too apparent in my scowl as I stared at her.

"Bigfoot? You've got to be kidding," I deadpanned. Keating started laughing again. At me, I'm guessing, but I still didn't find it funny.

"We're out all day and night looking for that thing! You don't have to believe me, but I promise he's out there. Evil son of a bitch, he is." She suddenly got serious at the end of her sentence, and a strange, somber expression took over her face. I sipped my wine, pretending to be so preoccupied with it that I couldn't talk.

I'm just not going to say anything.

"...So do you hunt real animals or just, um, Bigfoot?" I inquired. It was hard for me to keep a straight face, so I masked it by pretending to drink even more wine. Keating gulped down the remaining contents of her glass before answering.

"Yup, oh yeah. Deer and ducks. Bears if they might hurt somebody, but the best hunt for me and my mom are the wolves," she said, turning towards me with a weird glint in her eye. I raised an eyebrow, watching her squint and narrow her eyes like she was looking for something in me.

"W-wolves?" I gulped. All I could think about was the Auden's dog in the woods, and how much it looks like a wolf.

"Yeah, wolves. Brown, black, white, grey, you name it. If a wolf is any harm to anyone, me and my mom won't hesitate to shoot it," she paused to swallow. "Why? Does that make you nervous?" she quizzed. Her tone was so serious, so prying, that it made me scowl.

"Of course it makes me nervous! The Auden's dog looks just like a wolf! What if you shot her on accident?!" I exclaimed a little more aggressively than I intended to. A feeling of dread washed over me thinking of such an event, the pure strength that image carried foreign. Keating raised an eyebrow.

"The Auden's dog?" she asked. Then her eyes widened. "Oh, right! Yeah, don't worry, I'd know," she said a little grudgingly. Her eyes glazed over for a second, but afterwards she smiled at me. "Sorry, I swear I'm not this weird once you get to know me. If I'm honest, meeting new people makes me nervous and my mouth goes with a mind of its own..." I shot her an awkward, thin-lipped smile.

"All good. I didn't get the impression you were weird," I lied. Keating rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you did! Come on, I told you I believe in Bigfoot. You probably think I belong in therapy or something," she joked. I shook my head, finding my smile now genuine.

"No! I mean, okay, it was a little out there, but I don't mind, really. I'm just happy to have someone to talk with," I answered. Keating smiled back at me, turning her head towards my front lawn.

It's true. I want to have friends here. I want to fit in and be happy and have friends. Keating's mother likes us, they don't throw eggs at our house, and Keating is around my age.

"Well shit, look who it is." Keating pointed her glass across the street. I turned my head, watching Logan start to walk across his lawn, towards the forest. He had a shotgun slung over his shoulder. That same smell hit my nose not a moment later. The one that touched my nose before breakfast,  the one I smelled in the Auden's home. Pine trees and then the sea, wrapping me in a world without worries.