The Luna's Nerd

~Chapter 14~

I don't go to lunch the day after Nicole and I began our project. She and I both enjoyed our time, and, call me crazy, but I think I like her.

My arms trembled underneath my wool jacket. I visited the local library instead of eating. With me knowing something is going on with Titus, gradually, it grows harder for me to sleep at night. I keep one eye open at all times, and I've even hidden a bat underneath my bed unsure of what to expect at this point.

The first book I pulled off the shelf was filled with history conspiracy theories on animals and nature. I'm not necessarily targeting anything, but the way those wolves showed up at the party so unexpectedly put holes in any logic I can think of.

"Ty?" Questions someone as I'm flipping through the pages in deep concentration.

When I look up I meet familiar eyes of a girl I've never seen. Her hair is the color of the pitch-black night sky and her eyes twinkle like stars. "Hello?" I reply setting my book aside.

"Hi!" She hugs me very tightly all of a sudden. Her hair brushes against my cheek and she smells of a fruity fragrance.

"Um," I scratch the back of my head nervously as she pulls back and sits in the chair beside me. "Who-Who are you?" I manage to ask. The girl looks no older than 13 and wears a short black dress that reaches above her knees. Her hair is abnormally long and she also has grey eyes.

She looks at me funny, "Imogen. My name is Imogen. Don't you remember?"

My head lifts from the desk of the library in a sudden jolt of my phone vibrating. I check my surroundings: First, the seat beside me that lay empty of the girl I previously saw. The book I'm reading is still opened to the page I left it on. I don't remember falling asleep while reading; and I definitely don't remember an Imogen. My phone continues to vibrate, and I reach into my pocket. When I fish it out, I realize it's my alarm telling me to go back to school to before class starts.

Pale as I ghost, I gather my things-including the book-and hurry out of the library without checking out the book because I'm so panicked.

When I reach the outside and embrace the cool air I see Imogen across the street. This time she stands beside an animal that is so large I can't call it a dog or wolf. Imogen smiles at me faintly, and the midnight-black wolf follows me with its crystal-like blue eyes as I walk in the direction of the school.

Still in a hurry and stricken by what I'm seeing, I can't keep my eyes off of them. The wolf is unfazed by my presence, and Imogen waves at me just before a bus passes, and as it crosses over the wolf and Imogen I'm left with the sight of a stop sign frozen over by the ice and empty patch of snow where Imogen and the wolf once stood.

Even under the hazy weather and disbelief that occurs between the distance between the stop sign and I, There is still recognizable paw prints engraved into the snow.

~•••~

"Ty, you alright?" Asks Titus tossing a football at me, and under a trance, I catch it just before it reaches my face. "Nice reflexes. What are you, The Matrix?" He scowls as I drop the football.

It's been hard for me to keep my concentration after what I experienced earlier in the library. How would a sane person react to something that was real-but isn't?

I need to take a few deep breaths and relax. I've been so caught up with this Titus business it's been lowering my grades.

"I'm fine." I finally manage to say under Titus' condescending stare. I avoid looking at him in the eyes. The dead, empty look he gives me makes me wonder if this man in front of me actually my brother. The Titus that doesn't have to deal with all the issues, the pain, and have to feel like I can't take care of myself.