Time Mends(10)

“You brought more than enough food, Gramma.” Gramma Hagan was always on me about being too thin, which was certainly not the case. I’m a very average sized girl, in no way the skin-and-bones look of models or actresses. Even with the weight I lost over the past month, I am still within the normal range. I just didn’t look it at the moment. “I just haven’t felt like eating much.”

She patted my cheek, the highest point she could reach on me. “That’s going to change now. I imagine you’ll be starved after this whole ordeal, aren’t you, sugar?”

“Yes, ma’am.” The smell of food from inside overpowered all my other super-senses. I was half dizzy from it. I had a brief moment of insanity where I thought about pushing Gramma aside so I could get to the kitchen.

She chuckled in that cute way old women do. “Well then, Tobian, I think it’s time you let your Pack eat.”

Toby nodded and the Shifters all stood up and began arranging themselves into some sort of line. The younger guys from the porch were mostly towards the back, although Makya seemed to be somewhere squarely in the middle. Jase stood behind Toby and Charlie behind him.

I stood more than a little awkwardly off to the side.

“If this is some sort of canine instinct thing, I haven’t developed it yet,” I said. “Where am I supposed to be?”

Toby looked down the line at his Pack members, meeting each of their eyes before turning back to me. “Why don’t you go ahead and get your food, Scout?”

There was a smattering of grunts and gasps. I don’t know what their problem was. Yes, I understood there was some sort of Pack social hierarchy at play, but Toby was still mostly human and a product of Gramma Hagan’s raising. I was technically a guest and most assuredly a female, as Toby liked to point out in the most demeaning fashion possible. Toby might be a giant pain most of the time, but he does know how to use his manners. Anyway, it wasn’t exactly like I could eat everything all by myself, although I was half tempted to try. I settled on loading up two plates with heaping helpings of eggs, pancakes, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and donuts. And, God bless Mrs. Matthews, I even had a salad bowl full of Cap’n Crunch.

There was only one place in the Matthews house where I could escape the cold stares of the Hagan men. As an added bonus, it was also where I could find some pants.

I was able to enjoy my breakfast in a sanctuary of complete privacy and near silence. Talley owned a pair of super-expensive headphones which miraculously blocked out all the annoying background noise, which was annoying even if it wasn’t the complete sensory overload it had been.

I was just slurping the last of the sugary milk from my bowl in the most unladylike fashion imaginable when someone invaded my Fortress of Solitude. I’m not sure how I knew he was behind me. I just know one moment everything was fine and dandy, and the next the little hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end as I began to mentally review defensive strategies.

I slid off the headphones and turned to find Layne, Toby’s tween-age son, standing in the doorway of Talley’s bedroom.

“You’re not supposed to be in here,” he said. “This room is off limits.”

“This room is off limits to boys.” I dabbed at a spot of maple syrup I spilled onto Talley’s bedspread and prayed Mrs. Matthews wouldn’t notice. “I can come in here whenever I want. I even have my own drawer full of clothes and a toothbrush in the bathroom.” It was an arrangement our parents came to when we were seven and started demanding weekly sleepovers. Talley had a drawer of clothes and a toothbrush at my house too.

Layne wasn’t impressed. In fact, he seemed to be a bit angry. “You’re not special, you know. You’re a freak. Something is wrong with you.”

I made a display of smelling the air even though I recognized his scent the moment I stepped into the house. “I hope you thanked him for saving your life.”

“He’s the Pack Leader and my dad. It’s his job.”

“I wasn’t talking about your dad, moron.”

Layne was visibly shaking. “There is something wrong with you. My dad is going to kill you and put you out of your misery, you know.”

I showed my teeth. “I’m going to rip you apart and enjoy watching your blood leave your body.”

The moment the words were out of my mouth I wished I could stuff them back in. Yes, Layne was an annoying brat and someone needed to put him in his place, but it was mean of me to purposefully scare him. He was still a kid, a point driven home by his quivering lip.

“Layne, listen…” But he didn’t want to. He darted down the hall before I could even think of the right words to apologize with.