Howl.

"What is your worst memory?"

Embry and I found a diner about an hour away from our rest stop, and seeing as how we were both pretty famished, we decided to check it out. Our plates were filled to the edge with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and sausage links. I couldn't remember the last time I had a breakfast like this.

"I have two," Embry sighed, sipping his orange juice. "The day I told you we couldn't be friends, and Schuyler's party."

I shuddered, and poked my food with the silver that I seemed to be holding a little too tightly, as it cut into my ring finger. Embry and I hadn't spoken of the party since I got out of the hospital, which had been almost three weeks ago. Clearing my throat, I finished off the last of my breakfast, and pushed the plate away from me. I felt weird, almost like I was buried in guilt about something.

Embry looked at me, and I shifted uncomfortably. "When are you going get your hair cut?" He asked, smirking.

"Never," I whispered, a smile on my face. "I don't know. Soon, I guess."

He nodded. We sat in silence for a long time, even when the waitress came to give us the check. The diner had been a family-oriented little place in a town bordering the Montana and Wyoming. We still had a long drive ahead of us, but Embry didn't seem to mind.

"I've been thinking about this whole endeavor," he said as we loaded ourselves into the truck. "What is it that you want to see him about exactly?"

I buckled myself into the seat and sighed. "I want to know why he decided that we weren't good enough for him. And, Mom doesn't have the gene. I just.. it pisses me off that he never told me."

Embry was quiet, and I let my head fall against the window pane, the cool glass soothing my forehead. "Maybe he did," Embry said after about ten minutes. "You were young. It's not like you would've understood."

I shrugged, listening to the tires as we drove down the high way. We had turned the radio off back in Idaho, and hadn't touched it since. Neither Embry or I were big music people. We appreciated silence.

By the time we had crossed into South Dakota, I had seriously started to think over the situation. Maybe I was making a mistake. Maybe Dad didn't want to see me. He would have to, though, because we came all this way, right? Embry and I were traveling more than two thousand miles. There was no way we could turn around and go straight home.

I looked at Embry, who was staring out at the road, almost absent-minded. "Am I doing the right thing?" It had been almost three hours since either one of us said a word. The sudden break of silence startled me, too.

Embry glanced at me, a frown on his lips. "I think that you're a lot stronger than you think you are. You'll be fine."

I sighed, and twirled my hair between my fingers. The truck filled with silence again, and remained that way until we were somewhere near the center of the state. "Can we stop somewhere?" I asked, sitting up in an attempt to stretch my legs. "I need to get out of this car."

He nodded, and we got off of the interstate and turned onto another ramp. I hadn't realized how close we were to civilization. I must've completely ignored the skylines. We entered Pierre, South Dakota within five minutes. I paid little attention to where Embry was driving. I was just eager to get out of the truck.

"Do you have a sixth sense, or something?" I asked him as he parked the truck near the boundary of a forest. "We're in fucking South Dakota."

Embry smiled, but without a word, got out of the car. I followed, itching to run. I hadn't phased since we were at Sam's. "There's no one here," Embry whispered as we entered the woods. "At least, I can't hear anyone."

I was the first to phase, but only after making sure that I was well within the woods to be hidden. It was a good thing that I wore clothing that I didn't particularly care for, because my outfit was torn to shreds. I sprinted away. Embry's footfalls were the only thing that I focused on as I ran, and I made it a game to stay ahead of him.