My Wolf’s Bane(24)

“Their moms are sisters. Zack’s mom has been sick most of her life. An immune system disorder or something like that. Anyway, between school and work, he couldn’t be there all the time to take care of her. So she and Zack moved in with Trevor’s family where there’s almost always someone home.”

“Where’s his dad?”

“Died when he was a little boy.”

“That’s awful.” My heart ached for him. “How sick is his mom?”

“She gets better, then gets worse. She’s on medication that helps but...” Maya shook her head. “It doesn’t look good. I guess she’s got a few weeks, months at the most. Which is the biggest reason she and Zack moved here. She wanted to spend her last days with family.”

My throat constricted. I couldn’t imagine losing one parent, much less both. “I’m so sorry for Zack.”

“Yeah, so you should try to be nice to him. Get your tray and eat with us. Then we can firm up our plans.”

I shook my head, unwilling to press my luck. I would get enough of Zack on Friday. “You go ahead. I’ll see you after school.”

Maya took off. I was about to relocate to John’s table when the bench moved and someone claimed the spot next to me. I knew by his scent it was Daniel.

“Hi, babe.” Daniel wrapped his arms around me. What the hell?





CHAPTER EIGHT

“Don’t touch me,” I hissed, wiggling from Daniel’s embrace.

He scooted closer. “Just forgive me already so we can kiss and make up.”

“Are you kidding me?” I pushed on his chest. He didn’t budge, but my butt slid across the bench.

“What’s wrong?” Daniel frowned.

“What happened to Gina? I thought you were with her now.” I scooted further away.

“No need to be jealous. I told her you were the one I wanted.” He smiled patronizingly, like he was doing me a huge favor.

“You cheated on me.” My eyes narrowed to slits. “And I’m supposed to act like it was no big deal?”

“We were drinking at the party and she came on to me. I didn’t know what I was doing.” He swept a hand through the air as if to wave it all away.

“Were you drunk yesterday too, Daniel, when you were making out on a toilet?”

Daniel sighed. “I’m sorry. It was a huge mistake. But you could be a little more understanding about a man’s needs. If you were taking care of me like you shoulda been, it would’ve never happened. We’re in the real world and,” he shrugged, “things happen. But I still love you.”

I stared at him. “Well, I don’t love you.”

“Aw, grow up, Autumn.”

“Oh. Getting so drunk that you do stupid things is really grown up.” I flattened my hands on my lap to steady them, on the verge of making a big, fat scene in front of the whole school. The bell rang and I rose to put my tray away, hoping he wouldn’t follow, so I didn’t have to smack him.

“You’re being ridiculous,” he said. “I’m trying to give you a chance to make this right.”

I ignored him and kept going.

“This isn’t over, Autumn,” he called after me.

Forcing himself on me had been disturbing. Cheating on me was vile. But acting like it was my fault, then stalking me? Psycho.

“I said I was sorry!” he shouted.

Hoping Daniel would give up on me if I ignored him, I continued at a brisk pace without looking back. At my next class, I slapped my backpack on the surface of my desk and rooted through it for my English book.

A shadow loomed over me. I could tell it was Zack by the warm scent of fresh rain that seemed to be his calling card. “It sounded like he was threatening you,” he said.

I spared him a glance over my shoulder and resumed my search. “Just expecting me to blow off the whole incident.” When the shadow didn’t move, I straightened and turned to meet Zack’s gaze. Our arms brushed and I realized how close he stood.

“You’re not thinking of forgiving him, are you?” he asked.

“No way.” Students brushed past Zack as they filed into the classroom and he shifted toward me to get out of their way. I inched back until my butt hit the edge of the desk. We were still almost touching.

“Good.” Zack’s face softened. “He’s not ready for a relationship.”

“He’s not ready to mix with people at all.” I grimaced.

Zack seemed pensive as his eyes roamed my face. Heat radiated through me as I held his gaze. It was as if Zack emitted an energy which reacted against my own, turning my brain to mush. What were we talking about?

Zack shifted his weight, bringing him closer. “I don’t think Daniel’s balanced. You should probably avoid him.”