Chapter 4 – Leah – Ties That Bind
I woke late, my head throbbing from sleeping to long and restlessly. I stumbled from my room to the bathroom, barely opening my eyes. Feeling totally inhuman I turned the shower on as hot as I could stand, and stood blankly under the water until I felt rejuvenated enough to go through my morning ritual of lather, rinse, repeat. Stepping out of the shower I felt somewhat lightheaded, there was also an uneasiness that the shower had done nothing to dissipate.
As I made my way back to my room wrapped in a towel, I could hear mom down the halls rustling about in the kitchen. I dressed quickly paying little attention to the black shorts and tank top I put on, except to check that they were clean. I ran my hands through my hair, tucking it messily behind my ears, and finally decided to face the day... as soon as I had some coffee. I wasn’t scheduled for patrol today; it was Sam’s pack’s turn to take their shifts. I also didn’t have to go to my admin job at the Res Council office. So I had the whole day free.
Immediately, I felt a grin cross my face. I decided I was going to go for a walk along the beach, and if I happened to meet run into the girl with the green van, well that was just luck wasn’t it... sort of? Still this little plan made my whole day seem brighter. I was practically grinning as I walked into the kitchen. Mom was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, surrounded by texts books, and printed out readings. She’d recently taken up a correspondence course in Social Work, and seemed to be really enjoying it. She murmured a vague greeting at me, as I headed towards the stove and the half full coffee pot.
“Who are you reading this time?” I asked her, as I poured myself a cup.
“Huh?” She looked up, at me and smiled, “Oh some Jungian, it’s about archetypes from an “Indigenous Perspective.” It’s not bad, a bit generic though.” She put the book down, and took off her reading glasses. “What are you up to today?”
I swallowed a large gulp of coffee, and pretended to think for a moment. “I think I might go for a walk, maybe take some lunch down to the beach, read, and relax. Generally be lazy.”
“Well there’s some tuna salad in the fridge, so help yourself. Keep an eye out for Seth down by the beach, he went out there early this morning with Jacob to try and fix that girl’s car.”
My jaw dropped, and I felt a momentary sense of terror mixed with disappointment. I realized I really didn’t want this mystery girl to have left without having met her. I quickly tried to regain my composure and gulped down the rest of my coffee. Luckily mom’s attention was already back on her books, and she barely noticed me as I raced out the door, tuna salad entirely forgotten.
I started out at a jog, but by the time I rounded the block on to Oceanfront Road I was sprinting. I slowed down a little as I turned into the parking lot, but not much. In spite of my breakneck speed, I soon realized the parking lot was empty. Damnit! I thought, Please don’t let her be gone.
I continued running down toward the beach, wondering vaguely if I might be able to pick up her scent, and then feeling incredibly stupid at that stalkerish idea. Still I couldn’t give up the feeling that I had to find her somehow, so instead of circling the parking lot, I took the path that led to the beach. I hoped that maybe Seth or Jacob would be there, and he could tell me where she had gone. At no point did it actually occur to me that the single mindedness, with which I focused on the girl, was anything out of the ordinary. It seemed so perfectly natural, that my mind refused to question this new impulse. Instead I scanned the beach hungrily for any sign of my pipsqueak brother, or my most venerable Alpha, but they were nowhere to be found. In fact the only person I could see was Paul.
