Promise Me This [Werewolf BoyxBoy]

Chapter Four - Attack

Danny

Alicia’s parents were divorced and her Paw Paw, who I could tell she adored, was out of town on business. Usually she’d go with him, she told me, but he insisted that she stay in school for the time being.

                I went to the kitchen and got down to work, chopping up vegetables and taking the thawing chicken from the fridge. By the time my aunt came home, Alicia was sitting at the table, drawn by the smells, and was telling me about the time when two girls got into a fight at the nearby lake over the guy who was standing in as a lifeguard.                 

                I heard the door slam shut and the slide of my aunt kicking off her shoes. The keys clinking into the bowl by the entryway. And then:

                “That smells delicious, Danny.”

                Naomi walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table to put her hands into her face and breathe in deeply.

                My aunt and I looked absolutely nothing alike.

                She was dark skinned with wide brown eyes and dark hair that fell down to her shoulders. Her expression held a severe, “Don’t mess with me” attitude that I guessed made her job as a doctor easier. A sharp look from her would beat a patient into submission.

                She’d been a doctor for years, now. Gran would always call her and the pride would be obvious in her voice. I’d only met my aunt twice before, though: once, when I was born, they say, and another time when she visited Gran and I when I was ten.

                I nodded in thanks and began to fix the plates.

                “Hard day at work?” Alicia asked.

                Once the initial shock of her appearance wore off, the same, weary “she’s not going to go away” acceptance that I’d adopted eased onto her. She asked me, once, if we were dating. I immediately said no and she left it at that. I’d been glad. Like Alicia, Gran guessed about my preferences, but I wasn’t sure how Naomi would react so I didn’t say anything.

                “You could say that.”

                I set the plate of food in front of her with a fork. She gave me a weary smile and tucked in after a brief prayer.

                I gave more food to Alicia, knowing that she’d come up for seconds (and maybe thirds) anyway. Where she put it all, I have no idea.

                “How was school?” She asked once we were both seated. 

                “Fine.” My aunt didn’t accept shrugs for direct questions.

                “Meaning that…?”

                “My art teacher’s hosting Secret Santa for her classes.” I speared a piece of meat.

                “Oh?” She raised an eyebrow.

                “She’s very unconventional.” Alicia said in explanation.

                “Right,” Naomi said dryly. “Danny, you can take some money from the grocery jar and use that to buy a gift.”

                “Okay.”

                We finished dinner with small talk, mostly between my aunt and Alicia, who was trying to pry what “You could say that” meant. Had she operated on a person with no arms? Killed one of her patients? Slip and fall into someone’s vomit?