Lunar

10 | Normal

"What did you think would happen?" She snaps and snarls at me.

He lays before me, bloodied.

His eyes are open, grey, and gone.

She laughs at me as I look down at my red-stained hands. My palm still burns a deep black, and I can still feel the pain of his final moments that came from it.

"Why!" I scream at her, my voice hoarse and angry. "I did what you asked. And I still couldn't escape his fate. I should have never slept, I should have never dreamed!"

But all she does is laugh. All she does is laugh at me.

And all I can do now is cry for what I have lost; for what I have loved most of all. 

***

But then I wake up in his arms, and I quickly forget the terror of my dream.

He's so warm.

My face still burns from the tears of last night and my eyes squint in the morning sun. I take in Bennet's wonderful presence. His arms are wrapped around me as he sleeps, his pretty mouth parted just slightly and his face relaxed and peaceful. 

It's barely after dawn, now. The birds speak soft melodies outside my window, and I can see the shadows of their wings flutter from tree to tree, greeting one another. 

My mind goes to my family. Do they know what happened yesterday? Did Bennett speak with them? Do they even know he's here? My heart rate quickens. I don't totally understand my feelings which have grown so quickly, so I don't know how I'd be able to explain it to my family... or why he is in my bed!

Bennett stirs above me, waking up just slightly. My eyes dart back to him from the window. I love to look at him. My heart continues to beat rapidly.

"I should..." he yawns. He stretches just slightly, still keeping me in his arms. "I should leave now, Lanie." 

My heart falls at his statement.

"Why?" I ask. 

Does he regret last night? 

My lips press into a fine line. "No, you can't go. You must stay here," I demand. If I refuse to leave him, or let him leave me, I must be confident. I must learn to be strong for the new life I have chosen.

He smiles, his eyes still closed. "Your parents..." he says, almost reading my mind from before. "They will start to wonder about you."

"Oh." My heart rises a bit now. It sounds like he doesn't want to leave. "What do they know? I assume that... this," I place a hand on his chest, "is a secret that needs to be kept... "

He laughs softly. "Yes." He runs a hand through my tangled hair. "They know that you got hurt in PE class, and I, as class president, offered to drive you home."

I chuckle, still groggy from sleep. "You are not class President! You just got here this week!" I push my face into his chest, inhaling his scent while he is still here.

His arms hold me just a bit tighter. "Ha! What, are you saying I couldn't be?"

"No, you could," I say, my voice muffled by his shirt. "Everyone would love you." I sigh.

Suddenly his eyes shoot open. "Close your eyes. Pretend to be asleep."

And in one second, he's gone. I don't even have time to react before my front door opens.

"Lanie?" The familiar voice of my nervous mother fills my room. 

I fake a yawn and stretch my arms above my bed, my hands closed into fists. "Hey, mama." I rub my eyes tiredly

"Lanie," she says again warmly, striding over to my side. I try to sit up to face her, but she gently pushes my shoulders back down onto the bed. "I want you to rest. I just can't believe what happened yesterday."

"I'm sorry, I should have been more careful."

"It's okay. I know PE isn't your best subject. But Lanie... you ran into a tree? And fell on your wrist? That's a little ridiculous... even for you." She shakes her head, her eyes shut. Her voice is incredulous, and I can tell that theres a small part of her that doesn't totally believe the story. "When that boy... Benjamin, was it? Well, when Benjamin brought you home, half passed out, I almost called the police!"

"Mom!" I gasp.

"Well, when a boy shows up on your doorstep with your barely conscious daughter, it doesn't look good. How did you expect me to react? But then he explained what happened and... well... I guess I'm still worried." She down at me nervously. I was right, she's not convinced.

"It's okay, mama. He's... a nice boy. You don't need to worry. He took care of me. See?" I hold up my bandaged hand. "And his name is Bennett."

"Yes, he told me you were patched up by the school nurse. I'm just furious that they never called me. Speaking of... I need to call that damned administration!" She gets up from the bed and walks angrily towards my door. She quickly swivels around and points a finger at me. "You stay there. We have more to talk about and you need to rest."

I shake my head on my pillow and she walks out the door, closing it behind her but leaving it open just a crack. I sit up in the bed once she's gone.

Suddenly, he is next to me again, and I'm warm. He sits next to me on the bed, crosslegged.

"Bennett!" I hiss. "My mother," I keep my voice low, pointing towards the door.

"Don't worry, I'm listening for her."

"Listening for her?" I question, my head cocked to the side.

"There's more to explain. We can discuss that later, if you'd like. How's your hand?" He takes my bandaged palm in my hand and inspects it carefully. 

He unravels the bandages gently and I gasp when it reveals a perfectly healed hand.

"How?" I say, dubious and slightly horrified. "It was bleeding so much yesterday. Now its just totally healed?" 

"As expected," he says under his breath, examining my cured hand. "This is normal." He says louder.

"This is normal? How!"

"I'm sorry, Lanie. I know this is so confusing. I know it's scary too. I can explain more to you, but maybe not here." He looks back at the door. "Your hand is healed, but are you feeling better?" He places a hand on my cheek and peers into my eyes. "Do you think you could go out?"

My heart thumps in my chest. He wants me to leave with him.

"Yes," I say quickly. "Where?"

"Well, I'd like to show you my world now, instead of just telling you about it."

Panic rises in my throat. Am I going to see the pack he told me about last night? Am I going to see more wolves? I look down at my hand. Last time I saw wolves... I was out of control. Will I hurt anyone?"

"I know..." he says, noticing me staring at my palm. He sensed my worry. "I'd like to figure that out too."

I look up at him, scared. "You... don't know what happened? You don't why I did that? Why I'm like this?" The lump in my throat grows bigger, and I can feel tears threatening to fall again. 

He places both hands on my cheeks now. "It's okay, Lanie. We can figure it out together. I just need to catch you up on the rest of it first. I'll take care of you now, I promise."

I let my head rest in his hands and I lean into him. I believe his promise.

"Okay," I say. I close my eyes and allow myself to let out a breath. I look back at up. "I trust you, Bennett." That's all I can do now, is trust him. And trust myself. Because I need answers, not just about him, but about myself and what happened to me yesterday. The world I grew up in and loved and is gone. I must accept and embrace the world... and the boy that I'm giving everything up for. "Let me get dressed."