Animal Attraction

Jared stopped his car in front of the emergency room and didn’t even locked the car when we got out of it. He wanted to carry me, but I told him I wasn’t crippled. At the front desk they examined me and my hand wasn’t broken. I looked at Jared with narrowed eyes.

“What? I’m not a doctor,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “Can we go then? It probably just needs ice.”

“We have some ice, I’ll bring it,” the nurse said and walked away.

“So, no need to call your mum?” Sean asked.

“There’s no need, Sean,” I said.

The nurse came back with an ice pack and told me to drink some pain relievers like Advil. We went back to the car and headed back home. It was a two hour drive and going back always seemed faster than actually going. The trees passed by and I rubbed my face. I turned to Jared.

“You really think Paul is going to kick Embry’s ass?” I asked.

Jared scoffed. “I’ll be surprised, if he’s alive tomorrow.”

“Paul cares?” I asked.

Jared sighed and looked back to Sean slightly and I knew he couldn’t speak with him there. I sighed and turned back to the window. I didn’t know what to think anymore. I was starting to believe I was Paul’s imprint, but it wouldn’t make sense. What kind of sick game was destiny thinking when it thought Paul and I were meant to be together? Destiny was fucked up.

I looked back to Jared. Why couldn’t I have had him? He and I had a lot in common. We could stand each other and I didn’t hate him. I loved Jared, well as a brother. Why did I get stuck with the one person I didn’t want? Jared got to my house and Sean got out. I stayed in the car with Jared.

“I’m Paul’s imprint, aren’t I?” I said softly.

“Yeah,” Jared said.

“When did it happen? I saw him many times when he changed and never did he give me that puppy dog look that you gave Kim when you imprinted,” I said.

“I didn’t have a puppy dog--”

“All we did was kiss!” I talked over him. “I mean, how can one lousy kiss--out of a freaking dare--become all of this?!” I heaved my chest up and down.

“Okay, Erin,” Jared said slowly as if he was approaching a deadly animal, “you need to calm down. It’s not the end of the world.”

“It is the end of the world I once knew and enjoyed!” I said.

“You don’t have to do anything, Paul isn’t doing anything about it,” Jared said.

I looked at him with a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“He tried to give it a chance and you blew it in his face and he… just didn’t want to try again, Erin,” Jared shrugged. “You hurt him.”

I scoffed.

“I know, he has hurt you too, but it’s not really the… okay… don’t give me that look,” Jared warned me.

“I know what you were going to say, Jar, how isn’t it the same? You know I did try to make peace between him and I and he also blew it in my face,” I said.

“Well then… let him go. He has gone his way and you should too…” Jared said.

I looked down at my hurt hand. I moved the ice pack so it could be right on top of it.

“You’re right… I don’t know why I’m caring if I am Paul’s imprint. It’s not like something is going to happen… see you later, Jared,” I said and opened the car door.

“Unless…” Jared said and I stopped and turned to look at him. “Unless you make an effort to make it work.”

I shook my head and gave him a sad smile. “I think it’s better this way.”

Jared gave me a sad smile and patted my back. “Don’t go into the woods.”

I nodded and got out of the car and Jared drove away. I walked up to my house and walked inside. Immediately a pair of arms went around me. Landon hugged me tightly.

“I’m fine, Landon, it’s no biggie,” I said.

“Why would you punch a tree?” Landon asked me as he let go of me. I looked over to Sean. I expected him to rat me out.

“I was mad about something and… well, I have anger issues,” I said.

“I swear, you’re just like your mother,” Landon chuckled and picked up my hand and checked it. “I’m a doctor, you should’ve come to me.”

“You’re a doctor?” I asked surprised.

He nodded and looked at me with a kind smile.

“It’s not broken,” he said.

“I know,” I chuckled. “It’s why I don’t have a cast. I should put the pack in the freezer.” I walked away from Landon and walked in the kitchen. Margaret was reading the instructions of the back of a mac and cheese box. I placed the ice pack in the freezer.

The last three weeks she had tried to cook… unsuccessfully, but she was trying. Margaret looked at me and then at my hand.

“What happened, dear?” she left the box on the counter and walked over to me and took my hand.

“I-uh--punched a tree,” I said.

She furrowed her eyebrows. “A tree? Why?”

“I have anger issues, what are you doing?” I asked as I glanced to the stove and saw the water boiling.

Margaret turned around and gasped a bit and turned off the water. She turned back to me.

“I’m trying to cook,” she said.

I laughed. “Margaret, you’ve been trying for the past three weeks, why?”

“Well, I never knew it was this difficult and I’m… kind of a perfectionist and I--”

“Want to perfect everything?” I asked.

“Not everything, but something as simple as making macaroni and cheese shouldn’t be so hard,” Margaret lets out a sigh of exhaustion.

I laughed again. “You can’t be perfect at everything, trust me, I tried.”

She chuckled and sat down on a stool next to the island counter.

“I take my cooks for granted and the maids, this is such hard work,” Margaret said.

“It’s not that hard,” I said in a small shrug. “My mom has done it her whole life and I learned to cook when I was eleven. I burnt my first mac and cheese.”

Margaret chuckled, but then sighed again. “At least you didn’t burn your water and you know what you’re doing.”

“I had no idea what I was doing, I literally almost burned the house down. Thankfully, Mr. Black noticed and helped put out the fire… that was before he was in a wheelchair,” I said sadly.

“Who is Mr. Black?” she asked.

“Billy Black, my neighbor, he’s like half a mile down,” I pointed.

“What happened to him?” she asked.

“Car accident… took his wife and… well… his legs,” I said sadly remembering the funeral. I remembered it was the last time I tried to make peace with Paul. I was twelve and I remember seeing Jacob’s face. He looked so defeated and Billy looked… torn, but somehow they made it through. Jacob’s sisters fled the town as soon as they could.

“That’s just horrible,” Margaret said.

“I’ll make food,” I said. “Don’t worry.”

“Your hand is injured,” she said in protest.

I chuckled. “I can do it with a blindfold on, Margaret.”

“Maggie, Erin, you can call me Maggie,” Margaret said.

I smiled almost forcefully. “Maggie.”

I went over to the stove and saw that it wasn’t totally wrecked.

“Tell me, Erin, do you have any hobbies?” Margaret asked.

“I used to be into gymnastics,” I said.

“Really?” By her tone I knew she was really surprised.

“Yeah, until I couldn’t go anymore because we had no money,” I said.

“Oh, what did your mother do with the money your father used to send?” Margaret asked.

“She had to pay bills and mortgage, oh… and get a new car because I kind of wrecked hers,” I chuckled. “I was ten and I took a joyride.”

Margaret chuckled just a bit, which told me she wasn’t as uptight as I thought.

“Maggie?” I asked.

“Yes, Erin?” she asked.

I went over to the fridge and took out the milk to make the cheese.

“What did you think when you found out your husband and an illegitimate love child?” I worded it carefully. I looked at her to see her first reaction. She was thinking.

“I was… surprised, to say the least,” she said.

“I would be too,” I half laughed.

“I just wondered why he didn’t tell me,” she said.

“Were you two engaged when… he and my mom… hooked up?” I asked not sure if I used the correct words.

She gave me a half smile and nodded. “We were.”

“So, did you hate me?” I asked.

“No,” she said at once, “it wasn’t your fault, Erin.”

“Right, I didn’t get to chose to be born,” I joked. I placed a top over the mac and cheese because it would be ready in five minutes.

“When I found about you I was mad at your father. It wasn’t fair to you to be kept a secret,” she said.

“Why did you come here? You could’ve just sent… more money,” I said bluntly.

“Because I believe in family, it’s how I was raised and you are part of my family. I couldn’t just pretend you didn’t exist, Erin, you are a human being and you are my step daughter,” she said with a kind smile.

Wow, how did Landon get such a nice woman?

“Thanks for the support,” I said.

When dinner was ready, we served everyone. They were pleased with my cooking. Angie didn’t bitch and neither did I and for the first time since they came… they felt like family. After dinner we all watched TV. We went to sleep at the same time because they were now used to my time zone. Angie and I went up to my room. I changed in the bathroom and when I was back she was brushing her hair down.

“How’s your hand?” she asked.

I stretched it out a bit and winced a little. “Still sore.”

“Sean told me it wasn’t a tree,” Angie said.

I looked over at her. “Yeah, so?”

“He didn’t tell me why you hit the guy, why did you do it?” she asked.

“He pissed me off and I punch people who piss me off,” I said in a shrug.

“Please remind me not to piss you off,” she joked and I actually laughed.

“Right, you’ll know, I’ll warn you,” I said.

I went to sleep.

A few hours later I heard howling outside and I thought of Paul. I heard another howl, but it sounded different. It sounded hurt. Injured. I panicked. What if it was Paul? WHAT IF IT WAS JARED? I got up and went over to my phone and called Jared. I don’t know why I thought he would answer, but I was hoping he would. It went to voicemail. I left him a message.

I got a text message two hours later from Jared.

‘Hey, you called?’

‘Duh! What happened? I heard howling outside my place’ I quickly texted back.

‘Uh, ran into some leeches and… someone got hurt’

‘WHO?!’

‘It doesn’t hurt as bad as I thought’ he wrote back. He got hurt.

‘I’m going over right now!’ I said and I was already putting my shoes on.

‘NO! the leeches are still out there and it’s the middle of the night just come in the morning. Bright and early’

‘No I’m going right now’ I wrote back.

‘Erin I mean it, stay home! It’s dangerous!’

‘how badly are you hurt?’ I asked.

‘I’m a werewolf dude I’ll be healed in the morning… I hope… oh hi, it’s Seth, I’m writing for Jared since he cant text’

‘uh hi Seth… how badly is he hurt?’

‘well… he’s alive’

‘that’s it I’m going over’

I didn’t wait for their answer. I picked up my sweater and I sneaked out of my room. I tip toed downstairs and saw that Sean was passed out cold. I got a piece of paper and wrote that I was going to be at Jared because he was hurt. I took my keys and quietly opened the door and got out. I closed it gently and turned around and I almost screamed when I saw Paul on my porch.

His chest heaved up and down like he had been running for miles. His eyes were dead set on me. He looked pissed.