We girls huddled together and made our way to our cars.
“Let’s all go to the mall,” Ivy said. “We can grab some pizza at the food court.”
“Maybe I’ll catch up to you guys later.” I couldn’t think of eating—my stomach still felt pained having watched Brandon being harassed. “I’ve got a few things I have to do.”
“What could be more important than being with us?” Ivy asked as she got into her SUV.
“Only one thing,” I mumbled under my breath. I jumped into my car and headed straight for Brandon’s.#p#分页标题#e#
When I got to Brandon’s grandparents’ house, I found him outside his guesthouse, crouching down by his Jeep with a hose, a bucketful of soapy water, and a rag. He was beginning to wipe off the word WOLFMAN from the side of his Jeep.
I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t sure how Brandon would react to me.
He spotted me, and for a moment I sensed his pain. I knew he loved that Jeep and took great care of it. I also knew that it must be horrible to have your property and name defamed in front of the entire school.
However, his royal blue eyes bore through me, and I saw a hint of a smile. I felt the sadness wash away and was exhilarated in his presence.
“I can help you with that,” I said, walking to him.
“No, that’s okay,” he said, standing up. “It needed to be washed anyway.”
I took the rag from his hand and began to wash away the letter W. The paint was pretty thick, and it took some muscle to get rid of it.
“Fortunately the morons didn’t use spray paint,” he said. “It’s just like paint you’d find in art class.”
“Nash didn’t do this,” I said. “He might have left the costume there—he’s a prankster—but not a vandal.”
“So? Why should that make me feel better?” He took the rag from me and began washing it himself.
“I didn’t mean to defend him. I just wanted you to know.”
He didn’t respond but kept on scrubbing.
“I want to tell them,” I began. “I want to tell my friends how I feel about you.”
Brandon was surprised. He wiped his hands off with a dry rag. “About us?”
“Yes,” I said. “And if they don’t like it, then they’re not true friends, right?”
“Well, I can see Nash not liking it.”
I cracked a smile then, too.
He took my sudsy hands and began to dry them with the rag. It was relaxing as he attended to me by rubbing my hands with the cloth, and I stared blissfully up at his gorgeous face.
“And Ivy,” he said. “She seems possessive of you. And I don’t fit neatly into her world.”
It would be hard—our clique was strong, and no one had penetrated it for years. If she knew I was seeing Brandon instead of Nash, she’d be bummed, to say the least. I imagined Ivy and Abby snubbing me in class, whispering together when I walked in the hallway, filling in my seat at lunch with their backpacks. No calls, texts, or study buddies. I was afraid I’d lose my best friends.
But it wasn’t going to make me happy to lose Brandon, either.
“I’m ready to tell them,” I said. “That is . . . if you want this, too.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I do.”
He tossed the rag into the bucket, took my hands again, and drew me to him. A few soap bubbles from his sleeve tickled my cheek as he caressed my face. My boots splashed in the sudsy puddles.
“So, you’ll sit with me at lunch?” he said dreamily.
“Or you’ll sit with me.”
It was going to be different. I’d sat with Ivy since elementary school. I knew it would be difficult to stare at her from across the lunchroom and watch her and Abby giggling and gossiping without me. But if it was too awkward with Brandon and me at our table, we’d have to eat at his.
“And we’ll meet each other after class,” I said.
“I wouldn’t want to meet anyone else,” he replied with an extra squeeze.
I imagined getting smirks as we passed other Eastsiders in the hallways. And who knows, the Westsiders might not be too happy, either. There would be obstacles, but to be in the company of the guy I was in love with, I was ready.#p#分页标题#e#
But then I remembered that night Nash saw Brandon change into a werewolf. And I thought about how Nash had threatened to tell my friends what he’d witnessed if I continued to see Brandon.
“But there is one problem,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
“Nash threatened me—he said that if I continue dating you, he’ll tell the whole school what he saw that night—you changing into a werewolf.”