The Wolf Girl

I shuffled into the living room, flinging my body down on the couch beside Dad, slamming my head down on the armrest.
I heard Charlie chuckle and I smiled to myself, still face down on the sofa.
“What’s wrong?” He asked. I could almost hear the smile in his voice. I groaned and held the book high up in the air. “’Romeo and Juliet’?”
“It’s awful.” I moaned into the seat cushion.
He laughed, “I never liked reading either.”
“It’s not just any reading, it’s Shakespeare.”
He laughed again, “Do you want to do an errand for me instead?”
I lifted my head and pushed the hair out of my face, “Really?”
“Sure. We’re almost out of milk; you wanna run down to the store and get us a gallon?”
“Yes!” I groaned, a sigh of relief deflating my chest.
I grabbed the keys out of his hands and practically sprinted to the door, yelling: “Thanks!” over my shoulder before sprinting to the car.
I wrenched the creaky door open and plopped into the driver’s seat. I did love the worn leather seats, they were so soft. And the huge, ultra-thin steering wheel was so fun to drive with.
I backed out of the driveway and pulled to the left, driving out into deeper woods. The road was slick with rain, but the tires were new and should be fine on the hard Washington roads.
I turned on the radio, trying to get rid of the empty silence, but turned it off again in frustration when all I heard was static.
I slowed down to nearly a stop and the engine popped in response. I jumped nearly a foot in the air, bumping my head on the roof. It sounded like a gunshot.
I looked both ways at the intersection, made sure the road was empty, put my foot on the gas, and then banged my head on the steering wheel, causing the alarm to go off. I had absolutely no clue where I was going, which turn to make, or what street to take. I could be so stupid sometimes.
But instead I figured, Hey. Here’s a chance to do something different. To go only where fate takes me. Besides, I didn’t want to go back to reading Shakespeare. So after a quick game of ‘Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo’ I turned the steering wheel to the left and stepped on the gas.
I nodded my head to a beat inside my head and hummed words quietly under my breath, subconsciously changing songs and mixing lyrics without noticing. I started to drum my fingertips against the wheel and sing obnoxiously loud, completely missing the relatively small sign nestled between the trees that read “La Push Indian Reservation”.
I putted along the back roads, passing the occasional dilapidated house or trailer. The area wasn’t exactly bathing in gold if you know what I mean.
I was really beginning to enjoy the beautiful scenery: the lush greenery of the forests, the mist shrouded mountains, there was even a beach! It wasn’t exactly Oahu, but something about the cloudy grayness of it drew me in.
Finally, up ahead I saw a patch of land cleared up and a small building came into my vision. I pulled up and read the sign: “RUNNING WOLF LIQUOR STORE”. Sighing in relief, I turned the wheel and pulled the orange machine into the small dirt parking lot. There was only one other car there. The store was small and painted red. It stood on the fringe of the forest; tall, deep green pines enclosed the backside of the building.
I jumped out of the truck and felt the impact travel from my feet up my jeans-clad legs. I swung the rickety door shut and walked around the car. The gravely dirt crunched under my boots, and I pulled the vest around my torso tighter as a breeze blew by me. A little bell rang as I opened the door. The store was like any other, a few aisles of snack foods and a glass refrigerator to the side. At the opposite end of the door was a man with tan skin and long, braided hair. Hmm, must be the same tribe as Billy and Jake. I smiled at him and he waved back.
I walked towards the refrigerator and pulled out a gallon of milk. I was walking towards the cash register when my stomach growled. I leaned down to the bottom of the shelf and looked at my choices. Rolos, Milky Way, Kit Kat, Snickers – Snickers! I snatched the bar and stood back up, heading towards the register when I bumped into something hard and solid, like a wall that wasn’t there before. I stumbled backwards, dazed for a moment when I felt a hot hand rest upon my shoulder, steadying me. I looked up at the man. He was scowling, but when his deep brown eyes met mine – well I don’t really know what happened. His face relaxed and he looked more shocked than anything else.
He was tall, with that copper skin and black hair, but his was short. He was wearing nothing but a wife beater and cargo shorts, but my eyes traveled back up to his face. He was handsome, very handsome, in a way that made my stomach churn. I met his eyes again, and held his gaze. His chocolate eyes smoldered and the pit of my stomach erupted in butterflies. I could feel a blush on my pale skin as my cheeks erupted in heat. I averted my gaze to the ground (he wasn’t wearing shoes) and cleared my throat. Suddenly I realized his hand was still on my shoulder, and I carefully shrugged out from under it.
I looked up at him one last time and smiled nervously. “Sorry,” I said, a little more breathless than I had intended, and brushed aside him towards the register.
Willing the fire on my cheeks to go away I placed the milk and the candy bar on the counter and smiled sheepishly at the old man. He gave me an odd look, and smiled knowingly, but about what I was unsure. I scrambled to pull the money Dad had given me out of my pocket and then took the plastic bag from the man.
I hurried out the door and sighed in relief at the fresh air. The cool breeze felt good, and I tried to forget the encounter in the candy aisle. Best to just move on. But unfortunately for me, Brown Eyes was waiting in the parking lot for me, and I braced myself as he approached me. Please don’t be a crazy psycho murderer.
“Hey I’m sorry for whatever happened in there, I haven’t gotten a lot of sleep and I feel a bit like a zombie,” He laughed anxiously and I involuntarily smiled at the deep sound.
“It’s alright; I’m a bit of a klutz.” I knew I should cut this chat down, walk past him and go on my merry way like a good daughter of a police chief would do; but instead I stayed where I was, talking to a complete stranger. Something about him didn’t seem strange though, it seemed…right. I felt comfortable talking to him, even he made me a little nervous. Which was weird because I didn’t even know him, right?
“I never got your name.”
“Oh, I’m Deena Swan. But everyone just calls me Dee.”
The corner of his lips twitched up into a smile, “Paul.”
Paul. Paul. Paul. Paul. Paul.
“Well, my dad’s probably waiting for me…”
“Oh, sure. See you around, Dee.”
I bit my lip as my name left his lips. It was a sweet sound.
Jesus, I needed to get away from this boy.
I smiled and walked past him towards the truck, wrenching the creaky door open and throwing the bag in the back. The Snickers bar was totally forgotten, I no longer had an appetite after my encounter. My heart was still racing and my palms were a bit sweaty. I started the car and backed out the parking lot, ready to head back down the road I came on, when I glanced in the other direction. I saw Paul walking down the deserted street, no car, barefoot.
I internally whined. I should just go home. I should just write off the little encounter as a normal everyday occurrence. But for some reason unbeknownst to me, I was interested, more interested in a guy than I had ever been. I had a few little relationships here and there back in Arizona, but nothing serious. All of a sudden I felt more invested in a guy I knew for five minutes than any guy I’d ever met. But I decided to go with my gut, because what’s the worst that could happen.
I turned the steering wheel in the opposite direction of home and pulled up alongside Paul.
I rolled the window down and called him. “Hey Paul? Do you need a ride? Its kinda chilly out and you’re only wearing a tank top and shorts and I was just wondering…?”
He smiled a blazing grin and I swear, I swear my heart stopped for a moment. Maybe two.
“Sure,” He said, climbing in to the truck.
In such close proximity to him, my heart sped up a few paces. He smelled like the sharp scent of men’s cologne and evergreen trees. In the small truck, the lovely odor surrounded me and I nearly sighed.
What had I gotten myself into?