Eight Phases

Chapter 3

Riley didn’t want to give herself a chance to slip up in front of Aidan.  If she stayed for too long, he would undoubtedly find out that she was, in fact, a girl.  It would turn into another Luke-situation, and Riley couldn’t let that happen.  The less people who knew her secret, the better.  No secrets stay hidden forever, and Riley knew that.

    It took her half a minute to get back to her aunt’s house; the fastest she’s ever ran.  Riley was in such a hurry that she completely forgot her clothes in the rotting stump, but she opted to get it tomorrow.  For now, she needed to get ready and sleep.  She stayed in wolf form until she reached the bathroom just in case her aunt walked in.  Riley would rather have her aunt see her in wolf form than naked. 

    She focused on her human form and felt her bones meld.  They shifted in places and popped.  Riley was used to the feeling as she changed after many years of practice.  At first if was uncomfortable and painful, but now it was like a daily occurrence.  Now it was comforting and freeing.  Once all of her bones were back in place, Riley stretched her tight muscles and stepped into the shower.  She could feel the knots in her muscles loosen and fall apart.  She forgot her worries for about 15 minutes as she scrubbed the day away in the shower.  Once she felt as clean as possible, Riley stepped out, dried off, and threw on a fluffy purple robe.  It was getting late and she was getting tired.  Her eyes drooped as she lathered lotion onto her sore skin.  She paid special attention to the spot where Luke bit her.  It was still smooth, to Riley’s delight.  With that, Riley rushed through her nightly routine.  She brushed her hair, put it in a messy bun so it would be wavy in the morning, and sprayed it with leave in conditioner to keep in the frizz.  Riley spread a facial mask over her pores, and brushed her teeth.  She always followed this same routine every night.  Her friends always called her OCD, but it worked for her.  Riley missed her friends.  Back at home, Riley had a lot of friends, but only a couple really close ones.  She made a point to be nice to everyone, and people in her old school respected her for that.  People always told her she was gorgeous, but Riley never used it against anyone.  Boys seemed to always want her, but Riley refused to get close to any of them.  Her mystery made her all the more attractive though.

    Riley snapped herself out of her reminiscing thoughts by splashing her face with water.  It was almost eleven o’ clock at night.  She always went to sleep at midnight, right when the moon was at it’s highest.  She always felt a connection with the moon, being a werewolf and all, but it was more of a comfort than a necessity.  With an hour to kill, Riley looked up the blue prints of her new school.  She memorized the layout and all of the exits; just in case.  That took about twenty minutes, and with the rest of her time she rehearsed answers to hard questions.  Like where she was from or why she moved.  Things like that.  She decided that she didn’t want to hide at this new school.  She didn’t want to turn into one of those antisocial loners who don’t talk to anyone.  She wouldn’t let Luke make her do that.  He had no control in her life.  Riley was tired of hiding, and school was going to be different. 

    With the thought of school the next morning, Riley decided to lay out her outfit for tomorrow.  She always planned ahead like this.  The closet was overwhelming and she didn’t know where to start.  Riley decided to find one piece of clothing and start her outfit from there.  She ran her fingers through the clothes and stopped at a high waisted tan skirt with pockets.  The rest was easy.  She grabbed a grey loose fitting blouse, deep purple tights, riding boots, and a brown leather jacket.  “Perfect,” she thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep while drowning in the millions of pillows around her.

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    Riley slept peacefully;  Luke did not invade her dreams even once.  She got up nice and early right as her alarm went of at six in the morning.  She had an hour to get dressed, do her makeup, and eat.  Everything was going right on schedule.  The day seemed to start off well, and Riley took no time to get ready.  Her heart beat expectantly for the day to come.  A new day to reinvent herself and start over with a new cover story and new friends.

    “Riley, sweetie, come down and have some breakfast!”  Kristine yelled from down the stairs.  Smells of pancakes and toast wafted up into her room, making her stomach growl as she ran down to the fully stocked kitchen.  There was a plate of pancakes and fruit on the table waiting for her.  She ate all of the food ravenously.

    “Thanks so much Aunt Kristine!  This food is amazing!”  Riley stammered in between bites of food. 

    “Oh and Riley, you can borrow one of your uncle’s cars to drive to school.  You remember where the garage is right?  The keys are hanging on the wall.  Pick any one you like.  They don’t get much use anymore since . . .”  Her aunt tapered off to stop herself from re-living the pain of her late husband’s death.  It was just too painful for her.  Riley gave her a hug as she grabbed her satchel for school and ran out to the garage.  Her uncle collected sports cars that were, to say the least, expensive.  Riley remembered sitting on his lap in the drivers seat of most of these cars.  Right as her aunt mentioned being able to take one of these to school, she knew which one she would borrow.  Her uncle always took her out in the Aston Martin DBS.  It was her favorite, and it reminded her of simpler times.  The car was silver and extremely clean, but all of the cars seemed unused for years.

    Riley quickly grabbed the keys and cautiously drove out of the large garage.  She wanted to get to school early to get her schedule ready.  Riley drove perfectly, trying not to damage the car at all.  She finally reached the school and there were only a few cars in the parking lot.  Riley was relieved because she didn’t want to draw that much attention to herself on her first day.  At least more than she already would.  She parked the car in the back and locked the doors after grabbing all of her stuff.  Riley walked swiftly to the office to pick up her schedule.  She paid no attention to the people staring at her; she was in too big of a hurry to introduce herself.

    Once she got to the office, the plump receptionist greeted her warmly and nicely gave Riley her new schedule.  They made small talk about where she came from and why she transferred as her final paperwork was being processed.  As they talked, people started to filter into the office.  The bell would soon and people were getting their final affairs in order for the day. 

    “Hey Mrs. Reed!”  Oh boy nodded toward the receptionist, “How are you today?”  Mrs. Reed smiled and started to talk to him as she straightened the rest of her papers.

    Riley was deep in thought until the receptionist interrupted her.  “Riley, dear, is that okay?”  Riley looked confused, not knowing what Mrs. Reed was talking about.  She seemed to realize that Riley wasn’t paying attention.  “Do you want him to show you around?  I can arrange that.”  Riley looked at the boy and was about to say that she didn’t need help finding her way around, the boy interrupted her.

    “I would love to show you around, I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure to meet you,” the attractive boy stated flirtatiously.  He seemed innocent enough, so Riley smiled and agreed.

    “Yeah I’m new here.  I would love for someone to show me around!” 

    “Well you just got yourself a new personal tour guide.  Here follow me, I’ll show you around a little.”  The boy smiled encouragingly and led Riley out into the hall. 

    “Wait, I don’t even know your name yet!”  Riley realized that she was being rude for not asking him his name. 

    “Oh!  My name is Aidan.  Nice to meet you Riley.”  Her heart sank as Aidan grinned.  Her day just a whole lot worse.

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Duh-duh-duhhh!  Haha remember Aidan was the wolf in the forest ;)  Sorry this chapter was short and still kind of boring!  I pinky promise it will have more action and intrigue next chapter!  I would love to hear some feedback!  Tell me what you think!  Don’t forget to vote, comment, and fan!  xoxo -Hannah