Sea Wolves

"Um... hi, Grandma. It's Megan," I murmured into the phone, biting my lip as I waited for a reply from the other end. I sat in the living room on the sofa in the shorts and shirt I wore as my pajamas, my hair pulled up in a messy bun. It was a Saturday and I was alone - my parents had gone to explore the town. They told me I couldn't come with them (not that I wanted to anyway) because I hadn't called Grandma Nora yet. So here I was, waiting for Grandma to say something, my stomach all in knots. In spite of how nervous I was calling her up, I didn't regret anything I had done the other night. I was really pretty much scared out of my mind that she would take away my car...

"Hi, Megan," came her voice. She sounded like her old, happy self.

"Hey... um, I'm really sorry about what happened the other night." I practically gritted my teeth to hold in what I really wanted to say to her. "I know what I did was... wrong and I'm... sorry. I didn't mean to get so angry." But Amy was my best friend, and you need to understand that it's not that easy to get over someone so close. But of course you wouldn't know what that's like. "Can you forgive me?" I said a little prayer over my car as I anxiously waited for her to speak.

"Thank you for your apology, Megan. Of course I forgive you, Sweetie. I'm sorry I brought up your friend like that... it was wrong of me to say what I did. But I'm glad you called me. I feel a lot better now. Honey, I was just out the door when you called; I was planning on going to the grocery store. I'll come visit you again soon!"

"Bye, Grandma," I said, grinning triumphantly into the phone. I hung up and let out a huge sigh of relief, knowing that my car was safe. Now that I had gotten that over with, I could rest easy. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my chest.

Since I had gotten that chore out of the way, I didn't know what I was going to do for the rest of the time I had to myself. I listed a couple options in my head, ruling them out one by one. Watch TV? No. Read something? What was there to read? Drive to the beach? Not today... maybe some other time when I felt like it. Drive anywhere? No. I felt like doing something at home today. Take a walk? I glanced out the window at the street; beside the sound of the trees in the wind, the neighborhood was quiet at this hour. I smiled. Maybe I would take a walk, do a little exploring myself. It occurred to me that I hadn't seen the whole neighborhood before. Maybe there would be a park somewhere I could relax in.

Feeling eager, I ran upstairs (nearly tripped over Jojo on the way) and changed into more fashionable shorts and a T-shirt. As I was in the bathroom fixing my hair, I suddenly caught sight of my bare wrists. I scowled down at how visible the long pink scars were against my pale skin. They would surely draw unwanted attention to myself. Racing back to the bedroom, I grabbed two matching bright wrist bands from my dresser and slipped them on to cover the old scars. Jojo rubbed forcefully against my legs, announcing that he had just entered the room. I ignored him and hopped down the stairs two at a time, rushing to the closet to locate my favorite pair of black converse. Once I found them I slipped them on and hurried out the front door, not wanting to waste any more time indoors.

I started down the sidewalk walking briskly at first before I decided that there really was no hurry; I had all day to see the neighborhood. Slowing down, I took time to examine the houses I passed. None of them were as cute as mine, in my opinion, but there were some really beautiful ones. The landscaping in the front yard of one house was totally professional and extravagant. It obviously cost them a fortune to create. I visualized my own yard, noting how plain it was. I made a mental note to consider planting some flowers by the porch, maybe a rose bush, sometime during the summer.

I didn't get far fantasizing about my garden - or down the sidewalk - when a shrill whistle interrupted my thoughts. The sound brought me to an abrupt halt. My heart starting beating a little faster than usual as I looked around nervously, trying to find who had whistled at me. Maybe someone had just been calling their dog, or trying to get their kids' attention?

Then I saw a familiar figure jogging towards me, his shaggy brown hair blowing in the breeze, and I released my pent in breath. At first I was surprised to see Trase here, but then I remembered him telling me he lived in the same neighborhood. I immediately studied his forehead as he approached. The cut over his eyebrow looked a bit better than it did when I saw it at school, and the bruises weren't as noticeable.

"Hi!" I greeted, forcefully removing my eyes from the cut. Trase slowed and fell into step beside me, his trusty blackberry already subject to his rapid typing.

Nice day for a walk, huh?

"Yeah," I replied. "My parents are gone for the day so... I thought I would check out the neighborhood. Find a park or something."

There is a nice park here, Trase informed. I can show you if you'd like. It's got a little duck pond... a lot of grass.

"That would be great!" The sidewalk gradually curved to the right; the change was so subtle I hardly noticed it. I studied the rows of houses as we passed by. "Which house do you live in?" I asked, suddenly curious.

Trase pointed to a house up ahead with a large green lawn. It was a beautiful white one with a bit of Victorian style to it. A wrap-around porch was slightly concealed by a few large trees, though none of them were as massive as the one in my yard. A cute little flower garden with an assortment of different colored flowers (mostly red) lay beneath one side of the porch. I stared at the house until we walked by it. "It's beautiful!"

Thanks, Trase typed, clearly pleased. You'll have to see inside it sometime.

"Maybe I could... stop by later or something, after we get back from the park?" I suggested tentatively. "I mean... I'm not really doing anything today. But only if it's okay with you."

I could almost feel the enthusiasm in Trase's text-answer. Sure! My family's home today, though. I hope that doesn't bother you.

"Why would it bother me?" I turned to look at him. "I don't mind."

He looked down at the sidewalk and shrugged, a little bit of an embarrassed grin on his face. I couldn't help but stare at his beautiful smile. His teeth were so perfect. When he looked forward again I turned away quickly, feeling a little color in my cheeks. We walked on in silence, following the pavement as it curved and took us down a new street. Up ahead, I was just beginning to see an open space of grass. Trase briefly held up his phone for me to see the message. That's the park.

When we reached the park, we left the pavement and cut across the lawn. I stared at the beautiful duck pond ahead. It was fairly large, with a fountain spurting water in the center. Lilly pads floated by the fountain and the shore, home to little water frogs that leapt away when we neared the pond. Small decorative black lanterns lined the pond; I reminded myself to come visit the park again on a gloomier day when the lanterns were on and glowing.

We chose two boulders by the pond to sit on. I stared into the dark, unmoving water, watching for the little white fish I had spotted just a moment ago. A flock of ducks drifted toward us, but when they saw we didn't have any bread crumbs for them they swam away.

Trase turned to me with his blackberry. Do you plan on getting a job here?

"Um, yeah... yeah, I was thinking about it. Why?"

There's a bookstore hiring down in town... it's a good opportunity if you like reading.

"Thanks. I'll look into it." I smiled at him. Although the conversation was getting awkward, it was nothing compared to how awkward it would get just now.

When I was handing him the blackberry, Trase reached over himself to take it from my hands. As he did, his fingers brushed against the wrist band I was wearing. Whether he was intentionally trying to remove the band or accidentally touched it, I still don't know. But as he did it I wrenched my hand away. My movement surprised him - he drew back too and looked at me. I dared to glance at him from the corner of my eye. He looked solemn and a little hurt. Finally he sighed and slowly began typing on his phone. I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing that he was going to interrogate me now. Great... I just had to let him get that close. Now he knows what I am. And it will ruin everything.

I felt a gentle nudge against my arm and slowly opened my eyes. I tried not to look at Trase as I accepted the phone. His question couldn't be more to the point. How long have you been doing that?

"It's nothing, Trase... forget it," I said dryly, tossing the blackberry back to him. I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs, wanting desperately to look away but knowing I had to face him in order for him to read my lips. "It hasn't happened in a while."

You won't be doing it again, will you? His tormented expression was killing me. There was a sorrow in his eyes that I didn't think I would ever see coming from him, especially for me. I felt like crying.

"It's none of your business, alright?" I tried to snap at him.

Isn't it about time you let someone in?

His questions would have sounded lunatic to anyone else, but for some reason they held a deep meaning to me. Trase knew how to reach the sensitive part of my heart. A knot was starting to form in my throat at his heavy words, and I found I couldn't speak. Slowly I reached my hand forward so Trase could see it. My trembling fingers struggled to find the right letters. Trase watched my hand silently, his eyes dim with sadness. Finally I finished and let my hand fall by my side. I had spelled N-E-V-E-R.

Trase looked away and stuffed the phone back into his pocket. I stared down at the dark water, fighting tears and trying to get rid of the knot in my throat. I wanted to leave. Go back home and curl up in my bed. Be anywhere but here beside Trase. I didn't want to see his pain, and I didn't want him to see mine. But for some reason I ended up staying on the boulder by the pond with him. As the minutes ticked by, I began to recover a little. I was sure Trase wouldn't talk to me again after this, but I was proven wrong when he pulled out his blackberry again and typed, Let's go. He got up and started walking back to the sidewalk, his hands in his pockets. I got up too and followed him, and we left the park.