*Samantha’s POV*
I couldn’t believe that Ryan was in my Geography class as well. There was something about him that was starting to give me a calm feeling and it made no sense to me. I knew how scary he could be.
But he had chased that guy away, and he wasn’t trying to force me into conversation. He just sat quietly in his seat, looking straight ahead. I knew this because I kept stealing glances at him. He really was quite handsome, with his dark brown hair and brilliant hazel eyes.
The bell rang, breaking me from my thoughts. I looked at my schedule and groaned when I realized I had Gym now. I hated that class with a passion. Not because of the physical activity so much, but because I was supposed to change in front of a bunch of girls.
I reluctantly left my seat and trudged towards the gymnasium. I went into the locker room and cringed when I saw all the girls in there already. Luckily, there was a notice on the door that informed us that we didn’t have to get changed for today. I let out a sigh of relief and followed the rest of the girls into the gym.
When we entered, I froze and cursed violently under my breath. There were boys scattered around the gym already, and guess who was there? Apparently I was only allowed one class that he wasn’t in.
His eyes locked onto mine from across the large area and I swear I felt an electric current race through me. I shivered a little before looking away and finding a spot against the wall to sit down. I hugged my knees to my chest as I waited for the teacher to start the class.
I sensed someone sitting down beside me and I turned my head, half expecting it to be Ryan. But instead, it was a little red headed girl and she mirrored my position. She gave me a shy smile. “Hi,” she said.
Remembering my promise to Charlie, I gave her a half smile in return. “Hey,” I replied.
“I’m Sarah.”
“I’m Samantha, but you can call me Sammy or Sam if you want.”
“I like Sammy,” she said. “You’re new, right?”
I nodded. “Yeah, we just moved here a few weeks ago.”
She nodded, but didn’t pry anymore. I decided I liked her for that reason alone. The teacher finally made an appearance and he told us all to gather around. I got to my feet and Sarah followed me as we headed to stand in front of him. I felt another presence to my side, but this time I knew it was Ryan without even looking.
“Alright class, I’m Mr. Kasper. Welcome to Phys Ed. Due to school cutbacks, we had to make this a coed class this year. This is the first year we’re attempting it, so consider yourselves guinea pigs.” He looked down at his clipboard. “Today, we’re just going over the rules. There will be health weeks that we go through as well, and I’ll give you a couple of days warning for those.”
The class actually went by fairly quickly, considering we were all just standing around listening to him. When the bell went, Sarah walked with me towards my locker. When we reached it, she waved and said she’d see me tomorrow.
Charlie was already waiting for me, so I grabbed my bag and then we both headed out the school doors. We starting walking home, telling each other about the rest of our days.
The closer we got to home, the tenser we got. It wasn’t until we saw the empty driveway that we both visibly relaxed. We went inside and both went our separate ways. I went up to my room to listen to some music until I had to start dinner.
When five o’ clock rolled around and no one else had entered the house, I started to relax. There was now a good chance that we wouldn’t see him until tomorrow. I went downstairs and started making dinner for Charlie and I.
I had put the pasta on for spaghetti when I heard Charlie coming down the stairs and a moment later he peered into the kitchen. “Spaghetti? Awesome!” He came over to the stove to help me with the sauce.
We were goofing around with making dinner when we heard a car pull into the driveway. We both froze and looked at each other with wide eyes. When the front door opened, Charlie moved to stand close to me.
Jason came into the kitchen and took in the scene. His light brown hair was messy, but his eyes were clear, meaning he hadn’t started drinking yet. Without a word, I went to the fridge and got a beer out. I opened it and brought it over to him.
He grabbed it from me and stomped into the living room to plop himself in front of the TV. I let out a quiet breath and turned back to making dinner. Charlie and I stayed silent until it was ready, and then he volunteered to bring a plate in to Jason. I gave him a grateful smile and sat at the table to eat.
I ate quickly, with Charlie joining me after delivering the plate. When we were done, we cleaned up quickly and then I escaped to the outdoors. I breathed in a breath of fresh air and felt myself slowly relaxing again.
I turned towards the woods that bordered out backyard and I followed the trail that I had discovered the day after we moved here. Soon, I arrived at the clearing I had found that had a small stream running through it. I settled myself on the ground and just enjoyed the silence.
I don’t know how long I was there, but a sudden sound to the left of the clearing had me bolting into a sitting position and looking around. I screamed when I saw the large gray wolf standing at the edge of the trees, looking intently at me.
I scrambled to my feet and turned to run, when something stopped me. I could almost swear that something told me not to run, that I didn’t need to be afraid. Slowly, I turned towards the wolf again. It was sitting now, and it was regarding me calmly. I swallowed loudly, and then cautiously sat down again, still facing the massive creature.
The wolf stood up again and ever so slowly started to approach me. Strangely, I no longer felt any fear at all. When the wolf was directly in front of me, it sat down again and looked down at me.
I couldn’t believe how large he was. I also didn’t know how I suddenly knew it was a male, but I did. We watched each other for a while and then he lay down, resting his head by my knee.
I hesitated before reaching out to rest my hand on the large head. I stroked him gently and I swear he almost purred in contentment. I giggled a little at the absurdity of this whole ordeal, and the wolf looked up at the sound. “Sorry, but I just realized how crazy this is. I’m sitting in the middle of the forest, with a massive wild wolf lying beside me, and I’m petting it. And yet, I’m not scared in the least. Maybe I’ve finally gone nuts. Hell, I’m talking to a wolf, so I must be nuts,” I was barely mumbling by the end of my speech, but the wolf continued to look at me calmly.
We remained like that for a while, before I realized how dark it was getting. I gave the wolf one last pat before reluctantly standing up. The wolf stood up as well and his head came almost to my chest. “I have to get home before it gets too dark.”
I started walking back towards the path and the wolf surprised me by walking beside me. I looked down at him as we walked. “I know that logically, I should be terrified of you. But I’m not. I wonder why that is?” I mused as I saw the end of the trees.
At the end of the path, the wolf stopped and I followed suit. I gazed at the house, not really wanting to go back in, but knowing that I had to. I sighed and scratched the wolf on the top of his head. “Thanks for keeping me company.”
I walked towards the house, turning back once to look behind me. The wolf was sitting on the path watching me. I couldn’t help but smile a little as I turned and continued into the house.
The smile was wiped off my face almost immediately though, when I saw Jason advancing towards me. “Where the hell have you been?” He screamed at me.
I took a step back. “I-I was o-outside.”
“What the hell for? I needed you in here and I couldn’t find you. What were you doing out there for so long? Meeting some guy so you could whore yourself for him?”
I took another step back, trembling now. “I was just in the forest. I’m sorry Jason.”
Before he could say or do anything else, Charlie suddenly appeared in the doorway. He moved to swiftly stand beside me and I relaxed instantly. “Back off, Jason. She didn’t do anything wrong.”
Jason stood there for a moment, glaring at both of us before spinning on his heel and stomping off, muttering under his breath.
I let out a shaky sigh of relief as I turned to my brother. “Thank you,” I said.
He rubbed at his temples with one hand. “No problem. I really hate that guy.”
I smiled weakly. “Me too. But we have to put up with it for now.”
Charlie sighed. “I know, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He dropped his hand. “Are you going up to bed now?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Don’t worry; I’ll lock my door. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” I stretched up and kissed his cheek. “You’re a good brother, Charlie. I love you.”
He ruffled my hair before moving away. “Love you too, sis.”
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Another chapter for you lovely people, because I'm still on the What's Hot list. I've got two more chapters already written out, so if I get high enough up on the list, I'll post another chapter tomorrow. But as long as I even just stay on the list, then I'll update again in two days. I don't care about how many votes I actually get, I just like seeing my story on the list. Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
Anyways, I'm looking for an editor if anyone is interested. Also, I'm looking for someone to make me a cover as I am artistically challenged when it comes to things like that. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
P.S. The story starts to get a bit more exciting now. You eventually find out who Jason is and why he's their guardian and all that lovely stuff. I'm having so much fun writing this :-)