Page 14 of The Boy With The Sharp Teeth
Staringpast the flickering TV ahead of them, she looked at the darkened window thatstill had no curtains put up. If it were daytime, she would be able to look outthat window and squint and see a peek of Zach's red house through the trees.For the past week, Zach's attitude to her constant dismissal had grown darker.If there was a meeting with the cities' mayors, he was there withoutinvitation. If she needed to speak to Kevin or Adam, somehow, Zach wouldintercept and gruffly answer her questions always with a piercing waiting look,wanting her to say more, wanting her to break first, but she never did. It tookeverything she had not to argue with him, to give in to the antagonistic gamehe was playing, but Sana endured all the while his patience thinned. Sana couldfeel whatever was about to break behind that crumbling resolve he maintained,approaching her like dark looming clouds of an oncoming storm.
Thewarm, wet sensation to her knee jarred her from her thoughts. With his nosepressed against her bare knee that peeked out from the folds of her robe, thewolf gave her knee another lick before looking back at her.
Smiling,she picked up a kernel of popcorn and held it out in the flat of her palm.
Witha flash of long sharp teeth, the wolf gently mouthed the piece of popcorn offher hand and swallowed it. Happy that he liked the snack, Sana scooped up a fewmore pieces and repeated the process. At some point, the sneaky beast had madeits way up onto the couch with her and laid his head in her lap while the restof its big furry body took up a huge portion of her olive-green six-seatsectional. Smiling to herself, she stroked at the massive head in her lap. Thiswas so unreal. Glancing at her phone on the ottoman, Sana stared at itlongingly, wishing she could capture this unbelievable moment with a photo.
Itwas the high-pitched canine yawn that woke her. Blinking, Sana looked down tosee the pair of amber eyes watching her patiently. By now, the DVD had playeditself to the end and was paused on the title, the screen casting a blue hazeon her living room. Shifting slightly, Sana waited for the wolf to take herunspoken cue and hop down to the floor. Instantly, she missed the warmth hislarge body had given her. Tightening the tie of her robe tighter, she walked tothe front door as the sound of the wolf's nails finely clicked against thewooden floor in his pursuit. Stepping out into the vestibule, she opened thedoor to the cold night air.
"Becareful," she said with a shiver, hugging her thin robe even tighteraround her as the wind whipped around her bare legs. She let out a soft laughunder her breath. Why did she keep talking to him as if he could understand andrespond? To him, she was simply the crazy lady that fed him popcorn and couldpossibly be a future human snack in the cold winter months.
Turninghis head, the wolf gave her a silent look over his shoulder.
Lookingup beyond him towards the drive and down the tree line, Sana frowned at thefaint yellow light that glowed through the trees. One of Zach's lights wasstill on in his house. The wolf was halfway down the porch stairs when athought went through her mind. She hoped wherever the wolf returned to wouldn'tlead him back through the neighborhood. She could only pray his human curiositystopped with her. She couldn’t bear to think what another person would do ifthey caught the huge black wolf loping through their lawn. A memory from yearsago resurfaced in her mind with a clarity that surprised her. It had been atthe end of her summer vacation, the first summer she met Zach, and her parentswere packing up to leave and saying their goodbyes to friends in town. A groupof boys, mostly Waatese boys with their signature dark complexions and blackhair, stood talking loudly and excitedly in a group. Slung over their shoulderswere bows of all kinds, from recurve to compound and even a few crossbows withthe older teens. They all stood waiting patiently for their hunt led by Adam.Watching the black shape of the wolf sink into the darkness, Sana couldn't helpbut worry for the lonely beast.
~*~
Mostlyeverything about fall was absolutely magical: the changes in the leaves, thecrispness to the air, the warm comfy clothing, just about everything. What wasnot and nor will ever be her favorite aspect of the change in the season wasthe long nights and short days. It felt as if she had only a few hours ofdaylight to bask in before BAM it was night. It was beyond annoying.
Squintingthrough the darkness, Sana drove at a careful speed down the dark two-lanehighway back to Tarki. Her meeting in Gaulding with the mayor, Gabriel, ran wayover the time frame she had estimated. Ninety percent of the time was spenteasing the man's worries over the "colossal failure" Antor Falls'mayor Thomas called Gabriel's previous decision to hire an engineeringconsultant.
Shefelt drained from that conversation. All she wanted to do was go home, grab afull glass of wine, take a shower, and slip into the cool enveloping crispnessof her sheets. Sana nearly groaned at the mental image. She could practicallyfeel the coolness of the sheets against her skin.
"Justforty more minutes, and you'll be home," she mumbled to herself.
Turningup the radio, she sang along to the lyrics as she drove. Cresting a hill, shenoticed a small light in the distance. The closer she got, she expected thelight to get bigger. It did, but not by much. Instinctively, she slowed down.
Aflash of chrome gleamed in her headlights as she passed by the parkedmotorcycle. Too narrow to be a headlight, Sana replayed the image of the brightLED beam in her mind a few more times even as she slowed her own vehicle alongthe shoulder. It was a flashlight. There was a dark human-shaped figurekneeling down beside the bike with the flashlight perched in their mouth.
Stoppingthe vehicle, she stared at the figure in her rearview mirror, still kneeled bythe parked bike. With a stillness that almost seemed unnatural, the figuredidn't move, but Sana knew he was looking her way.
Rollingdown her window just a crack, enough for her voice to escape, she took acalculated guess at the man's identity.
"Zach?"She called out as she put the SUV in reverse and slowly backed it down thenarrow shoulder of the road. Red brake lights glared against the man,highlighting portions of him and casting the rest of him in deeper, sinistershadows. Stopping, she waited as the figure stood up straight and stepped awayfrom the bike, and at that moment, she knew without a doubt that it was Zach.
Approachingthe driver's side window, Zach stopped and waited for her to roll down herwindow fully. She expected a grateful smile or even a look of relief. What shedid not expect was his dark scowl.
"Whyare you out here?" he bit out.
Shocked,Sana turned deeper in her seat toward the window and glared at him with shockedoutrage. "Excuse me, I am coming back from a meeting with Mr. Masak. Whatare you doing playing with your bike on the side of the road at night?"She threw back at him.
Leaninghis forearm against the top of the SUV'S door, Zach leaned forward until hisface was closer to hers. "I'm notplayingwith it. I'm trying tofix it."
"Oh,"she immediately felt guilty. "Should we call someone?"
Zachlet out a heavy breath and turned his gaze back in the direction of his bike."I already tried; Noah didn't pick up."
Inthis position, Sana had full view of Zach's strong profile. The firm cut of hisjawline set the tone of his naturally fierce face. Even when they were younger,Sana noticed Zach was unlike any other boy she had met. Zach didn't look atlife the same way his peers did, he glared at it with a biting smirk on hislips. When they were younger, he viewed everything and everyone as something toconquer or something to take. But looking at him now, she didn't sense thatsame urgent need to prove himself to the world and others. Tracing over hisdark skin and up to his defined cheekbones, she followed the heavy black curlof his eyelashes until their eyes met again. Not turning away from the brightamber gaze, she took a moment to identify the air around him now. Confidence,that's what it was. The calming effect of assurance was what was differentabout him now. No longer was he the young rebel with something to prove, thiswas a man, a changed man who had gone out into the world reckless and angry andcame back certain and composed.
Realizingshe was staring, Sana looked away from his waiting gilded stare. "Doyou…do you want a ride?"
Shecould feel his eyes linger on the side of her face for a few torturously longmoments before he walked around her car and opened the passenger door.
Sana'sheart froze for a second as she realized her miscalculation. Sitting down inthe seat, Zach closed the door, encasing them both in the confined darkness ofher SUV. To her right, every inch of space seemed to be taken up with his longlegs and wide shoulders, making her car feel more like a compact rather thanthe roomy little SUV it was.
Takinga deep breath, Sana immediately regretted it. Darn, he smelled good. Needing totake control of the mood from the start, Sana put the car in drive but kept herfoot on the brake. "Will it be ok leaving your bike here?"
Allshe could imagine was someone spotting the unattended bike and stealing it forthemselves.
