Page 51 of Adored By the Wolf
“None of us will think you’re crazy,” Becca said. “I promise.”
I took a deep breath and began telling them about how Jacob had taken me ice skating. Then how Bruno had shown up at the end of our session, all wound up. Even though I wasn’t sure what was true anymore, I told them everything I could remember. At the end, I was met with silence.
“That’s a lot worse than I thought,” Jill said.
“Me too,” Becca said.
I looked over at Lira, and she looked exactly how I thought she would look—pale as a ghost, jaw dropped in shock, and staring at me with wide, unblinking eyes.
“Lira.” Taking her hand in mine, I began rubbing it, trying to get some warmth back into her. It didn’t escape me that this was probably what she had done with me when she found me at home last night. “I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s probably all just my imagination.”
“It’s not your imagination,” Jill said.
Lira and I both turned and saw how serious Jill and Becca looked. “What do you mean?” I said. “How could any of it be real? People don’t turn into wolves . . . do they?”
The slight nod from Jill and Becca had me jumping from the sofa and running to my room. Lira wasn’t far behind. She closed the door behind us, and we both slumped onto the floor, the door to our backs. I pulled my knees up and let my head fall, feeling my eyeballs pressing into my kneecaps.
This couldn’t be happening. I finally found the guy of my dreams. We had a connection. One I couldn’t explain and had never felt before. And I knew if I asked Lira, she would say the same.
“What is going on, Millie?” Lira whispered in a scared tone.
“I don’t know.”
Her eyes were wide as she stared back at me. “Did you really see what you said you saw?”
“Yes. It’s very vivid in my memory.”
“You weren’t hallucinating or had a really bad dream?”
“I wish.”
“And Jill and Becca are really there in your living room right now?”
“They sure are.”
Lira let out a whimper and dropped her head onto her knees, and I put my arm around her. “I really thought he was the one,” she said.
“I did too.”
After a few seconds, Lira popped her head up and said the last thing I thought she would say. “At least we didn’t date the same guy, that would be weird.”
“That’s what you’re relieved about?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure what to make of your story.” She stood up suddenly, went to my closet, and pulled out her suitcase. “I think I’m going to go traveling again; maybe see where Mom and Dad are and join them for a bit. It’ll be good to get away.”
I stared at her in disbelief, but I couldn’t blame her. I wanted to run away, too, from all this craziness. She threw a bunch of clothes into the suitcase, and I stood up when she came marching over to open the door. “You’re really leaving? Just like that?”
Lira looked me in the eyes. “Yes.” With a nod, she opened the door. I heard her say goodbye to Jill and Becca, and when the main door closed, I listened to her footsteps fade away until I couldn’t hear them anymore.
Wishing I could hide in my bedroom forever, but knowing that wasn’t possible with the two women still sitting in my living room, I went back out and sat down on the sofa.
“So, how are the boys?” I asked them. My back was ramrod straight, and I clutched my dress in both hands as if my life depended on it.
“Bruno hasn’t been let out of Miti’s care yet, so the rest of us haven’t seen him, but she says he’s slowly recovering. Jacob seems to be doing well, though he’s heartbroken at what happened. You have to know—”
“I don’t have to know anything. I really don’t!” I cut in quickly. “I’ll be moving back to San Francisco soon. My parents need me back in the city to find another gallery. The Tahoe one went so well they want to do an even bigger showing.”
“Millie—”