Trapped (Book 1)

Chapter 10

On Saturday morning, I meet Chris at the park like we agreed last night. I tell him what my brother and Aunt Julie told me.

"What now?" Chris asks me.

"I don't know," I admit, taking a seat on a wooden bench. "I want to know what my brother is hiding but I don't have a plan yet."

Chris sits next to me. "I have a plan about something else."

"What is it?"

He looks unsure. "The other werewolf. I plan on following him until he transforms back to human form. That way I will know his identity."

"Okay," I nod.

"But I have to wait for the next full moon," he reminds me. "In the mean time we will try to come up with a plan to find out what your brother is hiding."

Tonight we are going out with my friends so we decided to have some time alone this morning. I wonder what my friends will think about him. Will they like him? Will they hate him? I already told Steph that we went out on a date and she knows I am spending much of my time with him. I hope Nate does not feel offended that I did not tell him before, like I did with Steph.

"Can I ask you something?" I say to Chris.

"You just did," he teases.

I reflect his grin, then ask, "Why didn't you kiss me on our first date?"

His grin turns into a frown. "I was afraid that I didn't have much time at the end. I wanted to keep you safe from me."

I nod in understanding. "Is it safe now?" I ask tentatively.

I smirks at me knowing where this is going. He moves closer to me and puts an arm around my shoulder to pull me to him. I get lost in his blues for a second. He holds my face in his other hand and leans in to touch those full, soft lips to mine. My eyes are closed and I feel like I am floating. I forget that we are in public until he pulls back and says, "There are kids around." I realize that I leaned into him and almost climbed onto his lap. I move back to my original position but he keeps an arm around my shoulders. He looks amused by my reaction.

"There's something else I want to ask," I say. "Are there other things out there? Like... vampires?" I whisper the last word.

His face turns serious again. "No, not that I know of."

"Have you ever killed anyone?" I ask.

"Once and it was in self-defense. My father always taught me how to control myself."

I nod and rest my head on his chest. We stay there for some time and then he takes me home.

I get ready to spend the evening with my friends and... boyfriend. We are going to the arcade so I wear a casual dress and flats. I put on some foundation, eye liner and mascara. The doorbell rings and my brother opens the door before I do.

"You here for my sister?" my brother asks Chris in a rough tone.

"Yes. I'll bring her home safely," Chris answers with his hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket.

"I can take care of myself," I tell both of them. I am not a little girl anymore.

"Do you still have the necklace?" Luke asks me. I can see he is tense and worried. I understand because Chris is my first actual boyfriend.

"Yes." I nod and grab Chris's arm to leave before my brother opens his mouth again.

"Sorry about Luke," I tell Chris when we get into his car.

"It's fine. He's protective of you."

He has always been that way. We grew up together. It has always been me and him against the world. Except when Nate came into the picture, and then Steph. But we always kept in contact, no matter what.

"Are you ready to meet my friends?" I ask.

He gives me a wicked grin. "I'd rather keep you to myself... but that's not fair." He starts the engine and drives off.

The arcade is packed with people and the air is too warm. I feel like I am suffocating. My friends are already playing on the dance machine so we join them. I enjoy watching them but I do not dance. I can dance and act crazy on my own in my room where no one can see me embarrass myself.

"Guys!" Steph yells over the noises. "Emma's here with her boyfriend!"

I did not embarrass myself by dancing but Steph did that by just yelling to everyone that I came in with my boyfriend. I hang my head down to hide my embarrassment. When I recover, I introduce Chris to everyone.

Chris offers to battle a dance with Nick and they go for it.

Nate comes to stand next to me and says, "I'm sorry about your sister. Is she okay?"

"Yes, she's doing much better."

"I really am sorry," he repeats wistfully.

"It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault." Except for the mysterious werewolf and maybe Eric for taking her there in the first place.

Everyone in our group hollers and claps.

Chris comes to me and says, "Did you see that? I won. Can you believe it?"

I saw bits and pieces of his incredible dance moves while I was talking to Nate. "That's awesome. Now I know I should never challenge you for a dance battle."

The night ends with laughter and joy... and kisses.