The Werewolf Hunter

The Kiss

-Andrew Peterson-

She gathered all her things up into the basket and started for the laundry room. It had been well over two weeks and she needed things to be cleaned. She started to rewear clothes four days ago to avoid doing laundry.

She passed through the kitchen but avoided eye contact with whoever was in there. She hardly noticed a soul in the house anymore. Vaguely she heard footsteps behind her but ignored them as she turned into the laundry room. She separated clothing by darks and colors. The way her mother had once taught her.

Throwing the first load into the washer she started pouring softener into the tray and then detergent. She turned on the washer, pressing start, when arms wrapped around her waist. They pulled her back and then her back was against the wall. While she recovered from bonking her head she flashed back to three days ago.

-flashback-

"Good morning!" Matt spoke as he entered her bedroom to wake her. It was the crack of dawn and she'd promised him a morning jog.

Jumping out of bed she began throwing on some clothes. With a single glance she could tell Matt looked more tired than she felt. "Are you getting enough sleep?" She asked suspiciously, and he shrugged. "Maybe you should stay behind and get a few more hours of sleep.

She slipped into a pair of crop-leggings and a tank top, tucking it in to the leggings. Taking a step closer to Matt she examined his face. "I think I can jog on my own today." She suggested and took his chin between her fingers. The dark circles under his eyes. He hadn't slept much at all. She could tell he needed it. "I'll honestly be fine." She was practically begging to go out on her own.

After several moments of contemplation Matt's face dropped. "Are you sure?" She started nodding immediately and his shoulders dropped. "Fine. I'm going back to bed. Don't do anything stupid, Andrew." He pointed a knowing finger at her before turning and leaving her room.

She slipped into a pair of socks and running shoes before grabbing Jake's joggers and exiting her room. Once outside she spotted the running trail and started for the border. It took her twenty minutes to get to the border and without looking for a look-out she crossed it. If they let Matt know she'd left, by the time he found out she'd be close to Jake's border. Too far for him to catch her.

She took the trail through no man's land to the closest side of his border. It took her a good thirty to forty minutes to make it to his border. As she neared she tried to listen for any other noises. Pausing at his border to consider how smart it was to do what she was about to do.

Just as she lifted her foot to cross she was pulled back. Quickly she threw the pants over the territory line. She tried to fight off her attacker when she was pushed back against something hard. Her head smacking into a tree and she gasped out in pain.

-reality-

When she opened her eyes, she found Matt staring her in the eyes. His hands caging her in on the wall, on either side of her.

"What the fuck." She breathed out, rubbing the back of her head. "Can I help you?" She tried to keep the bite of annoyance out of her voice.

"I'm tired of waiting for something, Andrew. I've spent my whole life standing on the sidelines, slowly falling in love with you. I can't stand on the side anymore without knowing how you feel about me." He whispered in anger, her eyes going wide.

"I-I..." She stuttered out but couldn't form a coherent sentence. Words racing through her mind but not staying long enough for her to form anything useful.