Ripper(4)

Did that really give her the right to fuck with my life? I knew she thought I was wasting my talents on police reports and catching cheating hubbies. She thought I should put my skills to use helping the helpless and shit. She’d watched one too many superhero flicks. I wasn’t that girl no matter how much she wanted it to be true. I would help Helen Taylor because she’d gotten through a chink in my armor and I felt a responsibility to her, but I would be fixing that fissure as soon as possible. Liv needed to understand that if I decided she was my weakness, I might have to dump her ass. She could find a more suitable friend and I would be happy alone without anyone’s expectations to live up to.

“Fuck.” I banged my hand against the steering wheel as I took the exit and then I winced because that hurt. I was smart enough to know that I was never going to kick Liv out. I could bitch and moan all I liked about being a loner, but I needed her. The thought of a world without Liv left me cold. I even tried to get along with her deadbeat boyfriend, Scott, and I hated him with a passion. I dreaded the day I had to stand beside her as her maid of honor while she threw away her life on that idiot because she was way too loyal to her college love. Sometimes I thought Liv collected people the way others collected stray dogs though, I should point out, she collects those, too. Once a person got into Liv’s circle, she would never kick you out no matter how bad your taste in music or how surly your outlook on life was. Sadly, that last bit could be me or Scott.

Like I said, I’m honest with myself.

It was almost four o’clock when I pulled into the parking lot of the Montrose School for Special Children. I wondered if it bothered the students to be considered “special.” I was sure the outside world heard that moniker and assumed special needs. These kids had special needs, but they had nothing to do with what you normally associated with the term. These were the children of supernatural citizens. The teachers here knew how to handle teen werewolves when the moon was full. They had classes to teach young witches how to control their power.

I hopped out of the Jeep, noting that Liv’s little hybrid was still in the half full parking lot. The school went from kindergarten through high school. It was a small school, but they had lots of afterschool activities. At this hour, it would mostly be the high school kids left attending their Spanish club meetings or the mandatory “Dealing with Demons” seminar they held twice a year.

“Hey, Kelsey,” I heard someone say.

I glanced over and saw a young werewolf walking toward her car carrying a stack of books that I was surprised she could see over. Ellen Yardley was a student of Liv’s and I ran over to grab a couple of those books hindering her sight.

“Thanks.” She was a lovely seventeen-year-old who would graduate in the spring. “It’s not the weight that bothers me, but boy, are those things unwieldy.”

I laughed as she opened her trunk. “Is your teacher trying to kill you?”

We dumped the books in the trunk. “No, it’s a book drive. It’s my service project. I’m collecting books for a big sale. All the seniors have booths and we’re donating the proceeds to the homeless.”

“That’s great, Ellen.” My high school had been more about keggers and pot than helping the public. I wondered if Ellen knew those same people she was helping would likely kill her if they knew the truth about her. That was the world I’d grown up in. I kind of liked Ellen’s more. “I think y’all are doing some good work.”

“Well, I’m glad you think so because I expect to see you there buying stuff,” the teen replied with a saucy smile. She hopped in her old sedan. “See you later!”

I walked back to the building, trying to ignore the lump in my throat. I waved at some of the teachers heading out. They were supernaturals, too. They accepted me and most of them knew my background. They were just people trying to live their lives and do the best they could for their kids. I hated my father so much in that moment I had to shove the emotion down or I was sure the look on my face would scare the kids.

I opened the door and walked down the hall to Liv’s room and decided to think about another emotion. I always felt it when I walked these halls and people called out cheery greetings. It was acceptance and sometimes it felt awfully close to redemption.

Nope, I was still gonna kill her. She was making me tear up and I couldn’t accept that. I’m not the kind of girl who cries.

I threw open the door, and Liv was sitting at her desk grading papers. She looked up with a sunny smile that immediately turned wary.

“Okay,” she said in her most patient voice. “Maybe I shouldn’t have talked to Helen but…”