Chapter 23: Why Is He Here?

CALEB.

"Is this some sort of joke? What do you mean by you're a werewolf?" Brielle yelled, obviously annoyed.

"It's not a joke." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. I watched his expression. No amusement, no sarcasm, no horseplay.

"How do you know then?" I asked, leaning forward.

"I've been experiencing weird shit Caleb. Random headaches, waking up in unknown places, and I've been having these weird dreams. Last weekend, during the full moon, I transformed. It was scary as hell. Julia confirmed it. She even got it on video. I'm scared…."

He was fidgeting, and his face was pale. Kyle wouldn't joke to this extent, and the seriousness in his face sent panic down my throat. "Are we part of it too?" My voice was basically a whisper.

"That, I don't know. But something happened to me a month ago. I was chasing after Rufus, he ran into the woods chasing a squirrel. I lost him for a sec, and I saw what I believed was a wolf, not a werewolf, but the way it looked at me was…..strange. It's eyes were bright green, and I had reason to believe it wasn't just a wolf. Then, it lunged at me. I tried escaping but it bit me on my arm." He rolled up his sleeves and showed us the mark. Two teeth marks carved into his skin. That must've hurt. "I think that was it."

"How else would you explain it? Mom was a werewolf? Or was it dad? That's very unlikely. I think if we got the genes from them, we would have known about it by now." I reasoned. My parents weren't werewolves, that's for sure.

"But what if it's just dormant in our system? I mean what if I needed to get bit by another one for it to manifest?" Kyle muttered.

"So what are you suggesting? We should intentionally get bit by werewolves?" Brielle snarled. "You were careless Kyle. Don't give us such a scare."

"Oh you're the ones getting scared, what will you say about me??" He raised his voice slightly. Brielle opened her mouth to retort, but I interrupted them both.

"Look, why don't we just test it then? I could get one of my doctor friends to run to test. And I know just the right one."

"That's fine by me." Brielle stated.

"And Kyle, you can't tell anyone else about this. You and Julia should be the only two. I don't want you taken away by some mad government paid scientist because you have fangs and claws." I warned him.

They were out there, eccentric humans with no conscience, waiting for the next big abnormality in nature to study. Kyle will not be a part of that.

We rounded up the meeting, on a lighter note. Brielle was going to graduate in a few months, and Kyle would soon get married to Julia, his fiance. I was the odd one out.

"He's still not over that girl..uh what's her name?" I glared at him. "Helena. Get it into your thick skull."

"Oh come on big bro, you gotta get over her. It's been long enough." Brielle chipped in.

"Says the girl that changes boyfriends every three months." Kyle snarled.

"Hey, I'm a hopeless romantic okay? None of them want to fit my taste." She pouted. "Look, the bottom line is, you gotta move on. Periodt."

"No." I said curtly.

She humphed.

I rubbed my temples, having them both in the same room with me was a big mistake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The weekend was fast. And I no longer saw Helena anymore. My sources told me she went to a town called Henley, which was where she grew up.

I couldn't control the excitement in me as I drove downto Henley early the next day. It was two town away from Hulvey, and it's path was marked with grassy terrains and slippery track roads. The rain was angry. Nonetheless I still made it.

Henley was a measly town, and it had this eerie feeling to it. The weather here was gloomy and withdrawn. I felt a stab of nostalgia. I had never been here before, but there was something all too familiar about the place. I stepped out of the car.

The residents were awfully wary of me, most of them giving me weird looks and running away in hidden steps. Not to mention I was dressed in a dark gray suit and had sunshades on. Not the best decision, but it added to the strange mystery that is this place. Enough chitchat. I slid back into the driver's seat, preparing for my next line of action, her.

Why I didn't seek her out this way before, I didn't know. I waited so long, trying to get over a woman that basically still had my heart.

Marcel told me she had a farmhouse, so I headed there with his directions. On the way I saw her, running past me at a strange speed. My heart jumped so hard I slammed the brakes in an effort to control myself. I thought she was going to trip over the pavement. She steadied herself, turned around and kept going. I did a U-turn and followed her, keeping the car at a safe distance.

She walked into a store, and I lost sight of her again. Obviously she didn't work there, did she? I lost all my footing and stepped out of the car. I narrowed my eyes at the entrance, eagerly waiting for her to show up. The roads were empty, it was a Tuesday morning after all.

Eventually, she popped up, and I was so startled I stumbled a bit before regaining balance and steadying my gaze. She walked a few paces, paused and swiveled her head around. Her gaze locked on mine.

Here goes nothing.

HELENA.

No, no no no no no no...

This can not be happening. I'm dreaming right? I'm still asleep. Wake up! Wake up Helena. The cold early morning breeze slapped me in the face, and I was indeed reminded that I wasn't asleep. I narrowed my eyes, hoping I was hallucinating. He was there, Caleb was actually standing in front of me. How nice.

He paused at my realization, studying my expression. There wasn't anyone else around, and the morning weather wasn't favorable in any way. He reached out for me, eyes filled with conflicting emotions.

Emotions?

I flinched and stepped back quickly.

Why was Caleb here ? He didn't know Henley, I only told him that was where I grew up. My mind raced as I stared at the man in front of me. He looked a little older than before, faint purple smudges under his eyes. His eyes spoke of a great deal of stress, worry and alcohol.

He moved again, and I could see the desperation in his eyes. Fresh adrenaline burned my veins. This is wrong, so very wrong. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't look at me like that. Fucking hell I shouldn't even be looking at him. Memories came flooding back in. Memories I had kept sealed for an awfully long time. A painful sting crept up behind my eyes. I blinked.

He exhaled, dropping his head. God my heart was beating so fast. I held my chest, trying to calm it down. I should walk away; we didn't have anything to talk about. But I was transfixed, too curious to move yet too scared to utter a word. It was two years….two fucking years. I took a long, deep breath, and finally summoned up the courage to break the thin ice we were standing on.

"Hi." I said, looking away.

He widened his eyes, and his expression softened. "Helena.."

My stomach curled. His voice….it'd been so long since I heard it. Fresh waves of chills ran down my spine and I stared at him. A faint mist formed in front of my eyes, and I blinked again.

"What are you doing here?" My voice was barely a whisper, but he heard it. Behind him, I could see a black Audi, and he was dangling the keys in his hands.

Even nicer.

"I…I don't even know." He replied, his head hung low.

"How did you find me?" That was the obvious question.

"My sister saw you in Hulvey…and I followed you."

Shit, of course. I knew I saw Brielle somewhere in Hulvey. I didn't think much of it, there were plenty hot college brunettes around.

"You shouldn't have. I think you should leave."

"Helena…I"

"You what?"

"I want us to make amends. I can't live without you in my life. I've been a mess for the past three months. I can't take it anymore." He blurted, and I could see the realization of what he said in his eyes. Initla trepidation turned into explosive anger.

"Amends? What sort of stupid amends Caleb? Oh now you remember that I exist? How many times did I beg you goddamnit!!! Don't come here asking for "amends". You will not get it." I said, breathlessly. He had nerve, I'd give him that.

He was about to speak when a deep husky voice sounded behind me, and strong arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me backwards.

"I believe the woman doesn't want your presence anymore."