“Shiny arms,” Tanner said. “That’s… amazing.”
“Magic,” Chris said. “I… don’t know what to do with that.”
“And what about you?” Rico demanded. “How do you fit in with all of this?”
That led to tethers and mates.
“Like destiny and bullshit?”
“Oh my god, Ox, your life is like those shitty sparkly vampire movies. That I’ve never seen and don’t like at all, shut up.”
“Oh man. That explains the whole Jessie thing. She never stood a chance in the face of sparkly vampire destiny or whatever it is.”
I put my face in my hands.
The conversation went on for another three hours after that.
At the end, it was Tanner who’d spoken.
He said, “Your mom was very brave.”
And then he hugged me.
I held on for dear life.
Eventually, Rico and Chris came over too and I was surrounded.
THE TEXT came from Gordo.
Joe’s fine. Ran into some trouble. He’s sleeping it off. He didn’t want you to worry.
I didn’t sleep much that night.
THEY STARTED coming to the house, Rico and Tanner and Chris. At first it was just every few days. And only for a little bit at a time. They were slightly wary at first, jumping at every little thing. Laughing too loudly. They would talk to Mark. They would watch Elizabeth. They would ask questions, always asking questions.
Soon, though, they came almost every day. We ate dinner together. The second full moon after the others left, Rico, Tanner, and Chris were there. They were nervous. I told them not to be. I didn’t understand what was happening, but I was starting to see them differently. Mark just smiled his secret smile when I asked, though it was a shade less bright than it used to be. Elizabeth was always a wolf, so I could never ask her, though I talked to her like I normally would. For some reason, she seemed to like the sound of my voice. I didn’t know if she could understand me, especially since she’d been a wolf for so long. Mark said it was harder to come back the longer she stayed, but that she’d do it when she was ready. He trusted her and said I should too.
Mark and Elizabeth ran through the trees under the light of the moon. They didn’t sing, though. None of us did. We couldn’t seem to find the songs within us to show how we felt.
HOW ARE they? he asked.
okay, I wrote back. your mom hasn’t shifted yet. I didn’t tell him about my friends knowing about them now, because I didn’t want it to get back to Gordo. Not yet, at least.
I waited for him to write back.
It was days before he responded again.
MARK PUT an obituary in the newspaper announcing Thomas’s death, revealing no details. He asked for privacy. Condolences were sent. And flowers. So many flowers. They were red and orange. Violet and blue. There was so much green.
Elizabeth touched each one of them with her nose, inhaling deeply.
Sometimes, it felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“WE’LL HAVE burners,” Joe had whispered to me as we lay side by side. “Cell phones that can’t be traced. We’ll trade them out every now and then. But I promise you I’ll keep in touch.”
“I don’t understand,” I’d admitted.
“I know,” he’d said, tracing his fingers over my cheek. “I know.”