"Austin!!!" Molly let out a heart-wrenching scream and ran over to his still body.
The boys moved out of the way as she kneeled down next to him and wailed. I've never seen my best friend look so devastated. Her curly, brown hair was a mess, and black streaks from her mascara lined her cheeks. From looking at her clothes, I can tell that something happened because they were dirty and disheveled. She kept shaking her head over and over.
The black wolf transformed back into it's human form, which was in fact Austin. Blood was leaking out of the hole in his chest, painting the ground red.
It was Austin this whole time.
"It's not his fault," she whimpered. "He didn't know." She buried her head into the crook of his shoulder.
Everyone was dead quiet. Sawyer slowly approached her with a small blanket and covered Austin's naked body. I could see a single tear run down his cheek as he looked at his best friend. He rested his hand on her shoulder before walking away.
I looked over to Wesley, who was getting helped up off of the floor by his father. When he steadied himself, he finally saw the sight in front of him. His best friend was motionless on the ground with Molly sobbing above his body.
"No," he whispered when he registered what had happened. "No! No! Not Austin. I would've known! I would've..." His blue eyes were glowing, and tears freely fell down his cheeks. He held onto the towel around his waist as he ran over to his best friend. "It wasn't him! He can't be.." He looked over at Jason. "You killed him!"
"Son, I had no choice. He had no humanity as a wolf. He had no self-control. There's nothin' you can do once a werewolf turns into a Vargulf. The only option is to—"
"Kill him?! No! There had to been another way!" Wesley shouted. His chest was moving rapidly.
Rhett walked up to his brother and tried to put his hand on his shoulder, but Wesley moved back and turned his head away. "There was no other way. He's right. There's no comin' back from that. I'm sorry.."
Wesley shut his eyes and shook his head. A few seconds later, he fell to his knees and cried above Austin like Molly. Rhett patted his back before giving his brother space.
I found myself forcing my gaze away to my family. Watching the people I care about be devastated is heart breaking. My mom was crying into my dad's shoulder and Gigi was covering her mouth in shock. I don't think anyone expected this. We knew it was someone possibly from the high school, but we never imagined it would be someone close to us. Our little town wouldn't be quite the same after this. My best friends wouldn't be the same.
I felt a hand intertwine in mine, bringing me back to reality. Rhett's eyes bore into mine—pain swirling in his green iris'. He squeezed my hand, which calmed my racing heart.
"We had no choice," he said in a rough voice, trying to convince himself. He looked tired. A large gash was across his chest, but was already healing.
"I know." It was the only way to stop him. It's Austin for Christ sake, but people have died and some have been horribly injured. It doesn't make this whole situation any less horrible though. "It's okay... I know you guys had no choice. I wish... I wish there was another way. Molly.." I sighed. My best friend lost someone she loved—the man she loved.
"I couldn't imagine what she's feelin'.. If I lost you, I—" He took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't know what I'd do, Rae."
"I don't know what I'd do either." I squeezed his hand. If I lost him... The fear I had when Austin had him down was something I never wanted to feel again. "I'm glad you're okay. I was so scared. I thought it was.." I looked away.
"Hey," He placed his hand on the side of my neck and used his thumb to move my face towards him. "It's gonna take more than that to get rid of me. I'm not goin' anywhere, ya hear? I've already thought about it, and I can't be without you, Rae."
I leaned into his hand. "I don't think I can be without you either ."
"Good, because you're stuck with me," he whispered.
"I think I'll be okay with that." I gave him a small smile before glancing over his shoulder. As much as I would love a happy ending, some of the people I love don't get one. I sighed. "I'm gonna go be there for Molly and Wesley. They need me."
Rhett nodded. My hand slipped away from his as I walked over to my broken best friends. Molly's curly hair was clinging to her wet cheeks, and her eyes were casted downward. She was motionless, almost as if she was a statue. Wesley had his eyes shut tightly and was clutching the ground. I could see claws instead of finger nails on his finger tips. I kneeled next to them and put my hands on their shoulders. Right now, no words would help what they are feeling.
We sat there quietly for what seemed like a lifetime until the sound of footsteps moving rapidly up the driveway caught our attention. Savannah was running frantically towards us. I stood and approached her. Her eyes didn't meet mine. They were trained on the body that Molly and Wesley were sitting next to.
"Oh my...oh my Lord!" Her voice trembled as she rose her shaky hand to cover her mouth. "Austin!"
I quickly pulled her into a hug, and she cried into my shoulder. "Shhh..I know, Vannah.." I tried to comfort her.
She pulled away after a few seconds and started to talk through her tears. "Rae... I came as quickly as I could. It was awful!" She began to sob again.
Everyone began to crowd around Savannah as she tried to calm herself down.
"What happened?"
"Amma.. She and I were havin' dinner like we planned over at Sheila's when we heard a scream. Oh God.. it was the worst sound I ever heard. It was comin' from across the street at Wesley's house..."
Wesley immediately got up from the floor. "My mom?!" He asked in a panicked voice.
"She's okay," Savannah confirmed. She looked down. "But Wes... it's your dad. Mr. Bedford—I'm sorry, but he didn't make it..."
Wesley stood still with his lips slightly parted. His blue eyes seemed to lose their glow and looked dimmer than normal. He lost his best friend and the man who raised him. He didn't deserve any of this. Jason embraced him in a hug and held on to him as Wesley broke down.
Savannah turned towards me with a sullen look on her face. "It was an animal—a black wolf. It—it attacked Mr. Bedford. Wesley's mom was hidin' in the closet when we got there. She said that he showed up to get some of his things when the wolf broke their door down. He protected her while she hid. When it was done with him, it took off runnin' this direction. I had to warn you guys. I've never seen anythin' like it. The door... It was off the hinges. There were claw marks in the wood floor. Blood. There was so much.." She began shaking her head before covering her face with her hands.
This time Sawyer pulled her into his naked chest and just held onto her.
"Where is Frankie?" My mom asked.
Savannah lifted her head and sniffled. "She's at the hospital with Amma gettin' checked over just in case. I had to sneak away. Amma wouldn't have let me come here after what happened." She quickly glanced over at Molly. "I was too late in warnin' you... Maybe if I got here faster, then it wouldn't have got to Austin."
Sawyer looked over at me, knowingly. Savannah had no idea. I shut my eyes and took a breath. "Vannah... Austin is the wolf you saw."
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "What?! Rae.."
"She's right," Sawyer spoke up. He stepped away from her. "Austin was a type of werewolf that was out of control. We had no choice but to stop him before he harmed anyone else."
She looked between us and then around at everyone who were watching her. "This isn't funny."
"It's true, honey," Gigi spoke. "All of them are werewolves, even Sawyer."
She looked up at my brother, bewildered. "But.."
"I am." Sawyer shrugged. "I know it seems crazy, but werewolves exist."
"But then why did Austin—"
"He didn't mean to," Molly finally spoke. "That wasn't him. He's not his dad."
"Molly, what do you mean?" I asked.
She rose to her feet. "His dad is the violent one, hittin' him. Austin was the sweetest... When we went back to his house after the diner, his dad ran out of the house askin' why he was out so late. He grabbed him in front of me—he pushed him into the side of the truck. I told his dad to stop, but he didn't. He wouldn't stop hittin' him. He kept goin' no matter how bad I screamed at him to stop. Then, Austin just changed into..." She shut her eyes as if she was reliving the whole thing. "He went after his dad and then took off. I tried to find him—to stop him, but I couldn't find him quick enough."
"Oh, Molly," I sighed and walked up to her. "I'm so sorry." I pulled her into a tight hug.
"He didn't mean to, Rae," her voice cracked and she began to sob. "He didn't mean to! It wasn't his fault. He couldn't help it." She buried her head into my shoulder.
Savannah walked up to us and wrapped her arms around Molly too.
"I'm so sorry."
•••
A/N:
It was Austin! Sorry to keep you guys hanging.
Who saw this coming?