Radley
I kept my head down as I scurried along the walkway.
Everyone I knew was at the party last night.
Everyone.
And they had all seen what happened to Alaric.
But seeing all of those people in the centre of the town today, going about their business, visiting stores, going to work ... they all just seemed so ... normal. Like nothing unusual had happened the night before.
There was no way I had imagined Alaric rolling around on the floor. Okay, so maybe he hadn't been in pain, as I had thought. Maybe he had been drunk, like Claudia said.
But, still ... something had happened. Right?
I shook my head and buried myself further into my jacket, wishing for the tenth time that I'd put my coat on. This thin jacket was doing nothing to keep the biting wind away from my body. The cold had seeped through, chilling my joints and freezing my bones. I shoved my hands deeper into my pockets, hoping to seek a little heat to warm them up.
Claudia had wanted to stay at home, not really wanting to venture out into the cold autumn weather. It wasn't like she was very old. She was in her sixties and still quite agile and upbeat. But some days ... she struggled. And it was usually on cold days.
Like today.
With winter on its way, I knew she would be spending more and more time in the house, snuggled up warmly by the fire that kept out the bitter winds and rainy days.
So it was up to me to grab supplies and groceries from the town. We didn't need much today, just a couple of things. So I'd fetched them already, bagged them up and was on my way to the coffee shop to grab a couple of their milky lattes, and take them home. I preferred hot chocolate, but I was waiting till Christmas before having one.
Something about hot chocolate and Christmas ...
I stumbled a couple of steps and started to curse myself at my clumsiness.
Keep your head out of the clouds, Radley, as Claudia would say. Always reminding me to watch where I was going. Constantly telling me I was a daydreamer. She blamed the beasts in the woods on my overactive imagination.
She firmly believed that I had somehow managed to twist what I had seen into something more sinister.
She kept telling me that they were only wolves in the woods. Nothing more than that.
But I knew they were something more.
I had seen them.
They were bigger than normal wolves.
Much bigger.
And they had strange eyes.
Normal wolves didn't have eyes like that. Instead, they had eyes like Alaric did last night.
Silver eyes.
I shivered at the memory.
It was definitely a memory. It wasn't my imagination. I would be the first to agree with Claudia ... yes, I did have a wild imagination. As a kid, I used to dream of beasts, and see them in every shadow, behind every tree.
But I knew what I saw last night ...
I hadn't made it up.
It had really happened.
Shaking my head, I hurried to the coffee shop, hoisting the backpack further up my shoulder as I went.
Everyone I passed offered me a kind smile or a nod of their head. No one was freaking out. No one stopped to warn me about Alaric. Everyone seemed ... normal. It looked like a normal day here, too. Like it did every day.
So, what had happened last night?
Was I ever going to find out?
Reaching the coffee shop, I pushed open the door and was immediately hit with the heavenly aroma of coffee beans and cinnamon. I stopped and breathed it in, revelling in the warmth blasting out of the heaters above the door and the soft scent of coffee as it surrounded me.
I peered around the shop, took in the comfy chairs and small tables, the wooden creaky floor and well worn mat at the door. It looked ... homely. Inviting. Almost as if I was welcome here.
The counter was piled high with cakes and pastries, chocolates and sandwiches. All of them were made here, in the shop, by the lady who owned it.
She was usually found behind the counter, sleeves rolled up, dark hair in a bun, baking and rolling, buttering and heating. The rest of the staff would serve the coffee, and make it while you waited.
And I didn't mind waiting for the coffee they served here. I would wait a whole week for a coffee from this place. It was that good.
Mmmm.
Taking another deep breath, I walked over to the counter.
"Hi, Radley." Tala smiled as I approached, her long red hair tied away from her face in a ponytail. She cocked her head to the side. "What can I get ya?"
"Hi, Tala." I gripped the strap of my bag and smiled nervously back at her. "Two lattes, please."
"Got ya." She winked as she shouted my order over to the barista, who's name I couldn't remember ... some guy around my age. I moved along the counter, avoiding her eyes as memories of last night assaulted my mind again.
Was Tala at the party last night, too? Had she seen what had happened?
Honestly, I had no doubt that Tala had been at Alaric's party. She was popular and very well liked. Tall, pretty, gorgeous curves - she caught everyone's eye, mine included and I wasn't even into women. I mean, I just didn't know how to act around her. She always looked at me like ... she was trying to study me. Work me out. Kind of like Conri did. In fact ... almost exactly like Conri did.
What was all that about?
I could feel her gaze on me as I glanced around the coffee shop, so I turned my attention to the cakes lined up on the counter.
They looked so good. Should I grab one of those, too?
"So, how have you been, Radley?" Tala's voice was soft, inquisitive.
Oh god. Now she wanted to make conversation. Why? I couldn't seem to talk to her properly. I kind of struggled to speak to her.
For a guy who admitted to being gay, I was always surprised she had that effect on me.
Taking a deep breath, I raised my eyes to find that she had moved down and around the counter, almost standing next to me, her head cocked to one side, her hands in the pockets of her trousers, and her button nose scrunched up. She looked like a cute rabbit. I swallowed and took a step back, aware that my heart had picked up its pace. Her smile widened.
"I ... uh ..." I swallowed again, feeling like my throat was drying by the second. "It's going well, thanks." What else was I supposed to say?
She nodded. "That's good." She leaned her back against the counter. "How's Claudia?"
"She's okay," I managed to croak out, cringing when I heard how raspy my voice sounded.
Tala opened her mouth, probably to ask another question, but a customer came into the shop and stopped at the counter, pulling her attention away from me. She simply nodded her head at me, the bright smile still on her face, and then walked back behind the counter.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I felt my shoulders sag and willed my heart to calm down. I glanced over to see how our drinks were coming along - very slowly, I noticed - and then cast my gaze out of the floor to ceiling window on the other side of the counter.
The cool autumn sun lit up the afternoon, rays streaming through the window, but it did little to warm up the air. A gentle breeze chased leaves across the walkway outside and many people walked past, buried deep into their coats, rushing to wherever they had to be.
Someone stopped outside of the coffee shop, their back to the window, their wide shoulders wrapped in a black coat with the hood up, their strong legs covered in black jeans. They lowered their hood and I felt my heart stop, breath catch in my throat as I recognised the light colour of the person's hair.
Alaric.
He was standing outside of the shop, his arms hanging loosely at his sides as he glanced up and down the street, raising his face up and sniffing the air.
Wait ... sniffing the air?
I frowned as I watched him, his gaze turning from one end of the street to the other. People walked past him, nodding in his direction. I couldn't hear from inside the coffee shop, but I was sure that they were greeting him, speaking to him. But he seemed to ignore them all as he ran a hand through his hair. I watched as his fingers tugged on the strands, his head whipping up and down the road, his feet shuffling.
He seemed ... agitated. Frustrated. And not in as much pain as he was last night. His limbs seemed to be in good working order, not distorted or broken.
In fact, he seemed ... normal. Like he did every other day I had seen him.
Scratching my head, I watched as Enzo walked up to him, and the two of them started talking, heads bent, bodies twisted away from the window.
I cast a glance around the coffee shop, at the people seated at the tables, at the customer standing with me waiting for their coffee order, at Tala tidying up the cakes on the counter. Everyone just seemed ... normal.
So what did happen last night? Was it just like Claudia said? Was Alaric simply drunk?
He didn't look like he had a hangover, but it was afternoon. Maybe he had been rough this morning when he'd first woken up. I mean, it wasn't as if I had been hungover before, so I was just guessing.
Heaving a sigh, I realised I felt more confused than I did last night.
What did all of this mean?
"Here you go, Radley." Tala's voice cut through my mind and I blinked.
She was standing next to me again, holding two plastic cups of coffee out to me, the usual pretty smile on her lovely face.
"Oh, uh ... thanks." I took the cups from her, and offered a shaky smile.
With a nod of her head, she disappeared back behind the counter and I made my way to the door. Snapping my head up, I noticed that Alaric and Enzo were no longer standing outside the coffee shop and I sighed in relief.
I didn't really want to see Alaric today. I had seen enough of him last night. Memories of his beautiful naked body filled my mind and I gulped, feeling a shiver run along my spine and heat at my crotch.
Oh crap.
Gripping both cups in one hand, I smoothed down the front of my jeans, biting back a whimper as my hand brushed my groin.
Oh god.
I could do without this right now.
Giving myself a mental shake, I grabbed the handle and pulled the door open, stepping out into the chilly autumn air. A breeze whipped past, teasing my hair, cooling my face.
Making sure I had a cup in each hand, if only to warm them up, I spun on my heel ... and nearly walked straight into Alaric's back.
Oh god!
Stopping, I held the cups close to my chest, as he bent his head towards Enzo, who was standing next to him, the two of them deep in conversation.
No.
I didn't want to see him today.
Taking a step backwards, I slowly turned around, just as Alaric lifted his head.
Not wanting to make eye contact with him, I walked as fast as I could along the walkway in the opposite direction, keeping my head down, clutching the cups as hard as I could, dodging other people as I went.
Keep walking.
Keep walking.
Don't look back.
My heart knocked against my chest, beating in time with my quick footsteps. I had the strong urge to just turn around and run towards him and wrap my arms around him, but I didn't give in. I just kept on moving.
I wasn't really sure why I was being like this. Running away from him. Especially since I was starting to believe that Claudia was right ... that Alaric had simply been drunk the night before.
But whenever I saw him, even before last night, I always felt a funny tickle near my navel and it annoyed me. I had always had a crush on him, and I knew that he didn't even know who I was. I think it was that fact that annoyed me the most - the way he didn't even notice me. Never looked at me. Paid me any attention.
Well, he wasn't noticing me now as I hurried along the walkway and turned the corner, knowing I was out of his sight.