Flicker

We've All Got Our Issues

A/N Thanks so much for reading! Hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a little shorter than the others but I wanted it to be this way. Let me know what you think! 

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When Jackson left rain poured down like a faucet had been turned on. Aiden ran inside, drenched from head to toe. When I asked him about his night, he mumbled something tiredly and ran upstairs. I waited for the tiny "click" of the lock on his bedroom door before I decided to call it a night. My phone vibrated in my hands. Declan had already left five voicemails, but he was going to have to wait for a response until morning. Aiden had discretly stepped into the shower while I wasn't paying attention-and since he was soaking up all the warm water I decided a shower would also have to wait until morning. I combed through my blonde locks as I simultaneously removed my makeup. I slipped on an oversized t-shirt that reached just above my knees and pulled my hair back into a messy bun as I climbed into bed. Tuck's bedroom light flickered on from outside my window. A pebble was thrown at my window, making me jump. I waited for another one to hit the glass until I got up. I glided towards the window in my fuzzy socks. Tuck was leaning outside his open window, a pile of pebbles in his hands. I unlocked the latch on the window and pushed it open. "I had a feeling you would still be up." He smiled at me, his bulging muscles taking up all the space in the window's small opening. 

I sighed and hopped onto my window seat, listening to the quiet thuddering of rain as it trickled down. "Do you ever sleep?" I teased. "Not to sound like a total creep or anything, but your bedroom light is almost always on." We both laughed.

"It's hard to sleep when there's so much you have to worry about." He replied as a bolt of lightening struck against the sky. We both watched it silently.  "How are you holding up?' 

"Could be better, but I'm not complaining." I shrugged. "What we you guys doing all night?" I changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on the past. 

"Have you heard about the wolf attacks?" He asked. I nodded. "There was another one tonight."

I leaned forward. "Who was it this time?"

"A Junior girl. She was walking home from school when she was attacked. She's stable condition, but the attacks are progressively getting worse each time. The first time it happened the boy got away with a couple scratches, the second time the girl got broken leg, the third time the boy was practically skinned, and this time...."

I was almost afraid to ask. "What did they do to her?"

"Her eyes were gouged out." I clasped my hand to my mouth. Tuck blew out a long breath of air. "Maybe she saw something she shouldn't have, I don't know. All I know is that these attacks aren't going to stop themselves, we have to do something about them."

"It doesn't make any sense. Why would they be targeting random people?"

"I think it's a scare tactic. The Caedis way of telling us that they're not afraid to to get innocent people invovled. It's almost as if they're previewing what they are going to do to us."

"This is all my fault." I leaned my head against the window. "I was the one who provoked Carter." I admitted.

"Carter's known for his short temper. He holds grudges, but he's never been like this."

"Do you ever miss him?" I asked, and immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry," I apologized. "I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine." Tuck assured me. "And to answer your question: yes. I do miss him, but I miss the old Carter not the monster he's become. We're twins, we've been attached at the hip since birth. He was like my other half, now he feels like a stranger."