Wolfblood
Bad Dreams
"Maddy; wake up." Maddy slowly opened her eyes to see Rhydian gently shaking her awake. She looked at the clock to see it was only 7:15.
"What is it?" she asked. Instantly, she was on the alert. "Is there trouble?"
"No, it's time to go." Rhydian rolled his eyes.
"Where are we going?" Maddy asked. Rhydian hugged her closer to him and stifled a laugh. She was so cute when she'd just woken up and her brain hadn't clicked into gear.
"We're going on holiday, remember?" Rhydian gestured to the cases they'd packed the previous night. "Tom and Shannon should be here soon. You need to get dressed. You can't answer the door in your nightie again." Maddy buried her face in the pillow and let the stuffing squelch out some extra-colourful words. She remembered the time she'd done that. She'd been too embarrassed to speak to Tom for a week afterwards.
"Okay, I'll get dressed." Maddy shrugged as she pulled the covers off herself. Her body instantly protested to the rush of cold air that hit her. "Would it kill you to turn the radiator on?"
"I have you at night." Rhydian shrugged as Maddy briskly ran her hands over her arms to try and get the blood flowing properly in the cold.
"Yeah, but then every morning I'm freezing!" Maddy protested.
"You say that like you never forget." Rhydian rolled his eyes.
"I know I remembered to put my own radiator on last night and if my bed wasn't broken I'd have slept in there with or without you." Maddy shot back. Rhydian visibly swallowed his sharp reply as the doorbell rang.
"That's probably them." Rhydian got ready to go downstairs. "Go get dressed and I'll make sure no one walks in on you."
"Unlike you, they know better." Maddy scoffed. She tried to hide the inner cringe at the memory of Rhydian trying to knock on her door as she was getting changed. It hadn't shut properly and it had swung open as soon as his fist hit it just as she was getting dressed. It had taken her a while to forgive him even though the fault actually turned out to be with the door. Dan had fixed it immediately, but she'd felt humiliated because she'd ranted at him out of embarrassment before she'd taken the time to actually inspect the door catch.
"Well, it's not like there haven't been accidents with things like that before." Rhydian shrugged. "I'll see you downstairs." He headed down the stairs as Dan answered the door.
"How's it going, Dan?" Rhydian heard Tom's voice and saw him and Shannon as soon as he got downstairs.
"Nice one, guys." Dan said as he let Tom and Shannon in. "I see you remembered to bring your cases this time. I'll grab the car keys so you can put them in the boot."
"What do you mean by 'this time'?" Rhydian asked as he jumped the last flight of stairs with agility that Dan could only wish Maddy possessed.
"We went on a holiday years ago long before we even went to Bradlington." Shannon told him. "We brought our cases in here and forgot to put them in the car. Tom had a bit of an epic freak out because he had a cuddly toy in there he couldn't sleep without."
"Hey, that was given to me by my aunt and I'd just lost her!" Tom defended.
"Either way, I don't want a repeat of it." Dan added as he grabbed both the cases and took them to the car.
"So, where's Maddy then?" Shannon asked as she and Tom made their way over to him.
"I bet she's not even up yet." Tom smirked. "Actually, I bet you a fiver." He turned to Shannon and held out his hand.
"I'll take that bet." Shannon shook his hand. "So where is she?" she asked as she turned back to Rhydian.
"Where's who?" Maddy asked as she tried to jump the last few stairs and fell flat on her face. Rhydian burst out laughing as he helped her up.
"Tom, you've just done yourself out of a fiver."
"This day sucks so far." Tom muttered.
"So, what time are we looking to leave?" Shannon asked.
"We're going as soon as Mrs Vaughan gets here." Rhydian replied as Tom dug a fiver out of his wallet and reluctantly handed it over. "She's staying here to have a proper roof over her head while we're gone."
"What actually happened at your place?" Tom asked.
"Ollie and Joe crashed the bathtub through the kitchen ceiling." Rhydian told him. "They nearly crushed Mrs Vaughan in the process while she was making their supper. She'd sent them up to wash their hands."
"So, what are social services saying?" Shannon looked horrified.
"She persuaded them to wait on passing any judgement until the repairs are complete." Rhydian said. "That way, we can rule out any chance that the fault was to do with the bathroom floor."
"Is everyone ready?" Emma asked.
"Yeah, we have our suitcases upstairs." Maddy nodded.
"Get them and put them in the car." Dan instructed. "We'll grab breakfast on the way. There's a great café I know of about an hour from here."
"If it's that branch of Little Chef then I'm so done." Maddy sighed. Seeing Rhydian's confused look, Maddy elaborated. "Mum ordered their pancakes with ice cream and then had a go at the waitress because they were cold in the middle. If you put ice cream on top of pancakes, that's going to happen!"
"Don't remind me!" Emma buried her face in her hands and let out a groan. "I'd be surprised if I ever got let back in there!"
"Okay, we'll grab a quick breakfast before we leave." Dan hurriedly fished a frying pan from under the kitchen counter. "Maddy, you and Rhydian put your cases in the car and I'll get some bacon going. Tom and Shannon, can you lay the table please?" Maddy and Rhydian raced upstairs to grab their suitcases.
"Well, I think that's the question of breakfast sorted." Emma muttered as she dug the bacon out of the freezer and threw it at Dan. He caught it easily and sliced open the plastic top with a knife from the knife rack. As he worked on breaking the rashers apart, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Tom went over to the door and opened it. Mrs Vaughan stood there with a suitcase of her own.
"Hello, Leona." Emma beckoned her in. "Sorry, we're just having a quick breakfast before we leave. It turns out we have experience with the breakfast stop Dan had in mind."
"That's okay." Mrs Vaughan shrugged as she sat at the table and took a granola bar from her the inside pocket of her coat. "I can't count the amount of times I did that."
"Are you okay?" Shannon asked, noticing the change of tone in her voice.
"It's just been a hard couple of days." Mrs Vaughan told her. "I've found out the fault for what happened was to do with our house. I found out because my bedroom ceiling gave out last night and drenched me. What they think happened is a water pipe started leaking and flooded the gap between the upstairs floor and the downstairs ceiling. The insulation between them hid it until it was too late."
"So what happened to your bedroom ceiling?" Tom asked.
"They think it was the same thing again." Mrs Vaughan replied. "Somehow, a water pipe sprung a leak and the pressure just built in the ceiling until it gave out. My home insurance covers it, but my problem is the length of time it's going to take."
"Well, Rhydian can stay here for as long as you need and he likes." Emma shrugged. "He's more than welcome."
"I'm pretty sure my little brother would love to meet Ollie and Joe at some point if they need someone to play with." Shannon offered. "He's pretty easygoing."
"That sounds like it might be nice." Mrs Vaughan said as Maddy raced downstairs with her suitcase. Rhydian was right behind her.
"What the hell took you so long?" Dan asked over the crackle of the bacon cooking.
"We'll tell you later." Maddy said hurriedly as she rushed her suitcase outside. Rhydian quickly followed her and opened the boot of the car so she could dump their cases on top of Tom's and Shannon's. There was a resounding crack as she threw Rhydian's case into the car.
"That wasn't Shannon's chemistry set, was it?" Rhydian asked uncertainly.
"Even Shannon wouldn't bring a chemistry set on holiday." Maddy rolled her eyes.
"So, we're not actually going to tell them what we were doing upstairs, are we?" Rhydian whispered as he leaned close in a way that made Maddy's back go cold.
"Rhydian, why would we?" Maddy asked.
"That's what I was wondering." Rhydian rubbed the back of his neck. "That's why it confused me when you said it."
"Kids, don't you want breakfast?" Maddy and Rhydian peered in through the door to see everyone except Mrs Vaughan sitting around the table with bacon sandwiches in front of them. Maddy and Rhydian made their way inside and sat together at the table. It struck Rhydian how weird it was that the two of them locking their legs together under the table felt normal.
"So, where's Mrs Vaughan?" Rhydian asked as Tom threw him the ketchup.
"She's gone to unload her cases." Emma told him. She'd somehow already finished her sandwiches and was taking her plate to the sink.
"Okay, well I'll say goodbye properly before I leave then." Rhydian shrugged.
Once everyone had finished eating and taken their plates to the sink, Rhydian went to go upstairs.
"I'll be waiting in the car." Maddy called over her shoulder as she went to the door.
"I thought you'd have gone with him." Rhydian heard Emma whisper.
"This is personal and I don't want to interfere." Maddy replied. Rhydian couldn't help smiling to himself as he made his way up. As much as he loved Maddy's closeness, he also liked how she knew when to give him space. Growing up as he had, it had been a rare thing to have privacy.
"You can come in, Rhydian." Mrs Vaughan's voice came through the door before he even knocked. How did she do that? Was she a Wolfblood too? Surely he would have sensed it. "Rhydian, no one else in my house is as heavy-footed as you. I'd know your footsteps anywhere." Mrs Vaughan told him. Sheepishly, he opened the door and entered.
"It's really nice that Emma and Dan let you use their room as well." Rhydian felt his face start to burn. He'd come to say goodbye, but now he couldn't think of what to say.
"Rhydian, I feel like I should be apologising." Mrs Vaughan said.
"What the hell do you have to apologise for?" Rhydian asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed with her, stunned by how differently this was playing out to how it did in his head. "You've taken me in, given me a better life and I'm the one who's been the angsty teen making your life hell at every step." Mrs Vaughan gave a hollow laugh at that.
"You could never make my life hell." Mrs Vaughan leaned over and hugged him. "I was the one who took you in and promised you a home."
"Look, I know what you're going to say and there's no need." Rhydian assured her. "What happened wasn't your fault. Ollie and Joe were the ones that crashed the bath through the floor. You had no control over that and you certainly couldn't have foreseen that the plumbing in the whole house was as bad as it was. Maddy's parents understand and they're happy to let me stay here as long as I need to. These things happen. They're a pain in the arse when they do, but they happen."
"Thank you, Rhydian." Mrs Vaughan gave him a small grin. It was enough to let him know that even though she was still struggling, he'd done some good.
"I'll see you when we get back." Rhydian patted her on the shoulder before getting up.
"Just don't go getting over excited." Mrs Vaughan rolled her eyes. "You get clumsy when that happens."
"I'm fine." Rhydian replied as he tripped over the metal strip at the bottom of the door and fell heavily against the banister. "I'm okay!" he called back. He picked himself up and headed back downstairs. The first thing he noticed was that Maddy had come back in and was standing in the kitchen. Three cans of Sprite were sitting on the counter.
"Don't worry, I wasn't listening in." She reached into the fridge and grabbed a fourth tin before throwing it at him. "Tom and Shannon are overheating in the car so I came in to grab us cold drinks. Fair play though, that was a spectacular crack when you hit your head. Have your ears stopped ringing yet?"
"Yeah, they're fine." Rhydian shrugged.
"You are such a liar." Maddy giggled. "Come on, before Tom and Shannon die in the car." Maddy and Rhydian made their way outside and got into the car. Maddy passed Tom and Shannon's drinks to them. They instantly popped open the cans and started gulping down Sprite. Dan and Emma had opened the windows but it was doing very little to dissipate the heat.
"Why the hell is it so hot?" Tom gasped.
"I have no idea, but I hope it keeps up over the holiday." Emma shrugged as she pulled the road map out of the glove compartment.
"Don't jinx us!" Maddy buried her face in her hands.
"We should be fine once we get moving." Shannon assured Tom. "The air should circulate as we drive."
"Okay, so what are we waiting for?" Tom asked. They could see the sweat pouring off him so he was clearly still far too hot. Maddy was surprised since he should have been used to it from the exertion of football training. She couldn't help but wonder if he was coming down with something.
"We're just waiting for Dan to find his keys." Emma said as Dan furiously rifled through his pockets. Shannon pulled then from her pocket and passed them to him.
"You gave them to us to put our bags in the car."
"So I did." Dan muttered as he started the engine. Tom gasped a sigh of relief as the car pulled away and the world instantly seemed to have air again. Maddy rested her head on Rhydian's shoulder. He shifted in his seat and rested his head on top of hers before wrapping an arm around her. She closed her eyes and let the tiredness wash over her.
"Actually, they probably have the right idea." Emma muttered.
"Sleep sounds enticing, but I can't." Shannon shrugged. "If I try to sleep in a moving car I always get carsick."
"How does that make a weird kind of sense?" Tom muttered.
"I'm putting some music on." Emma muttered as she reached for the car radio. "Who wants to pick the first song?"
"Can we have Whitney Huston?" Maddy mumbled sleepily.
"No!" Emma, Dan, Rhydian and Tom all snapped in unison.
"Yeah… oh, okay then." Shannon shut up instantly when she realised she'd been outvoted.
"Tom, do you have a choice?" Dan asked.
"I'm thinking either Linkin Park or Three Doors Down." Tom shrugged. "I've always liked some of the older songs."
"I don't really listen to music." Rhydian shrugged. "In a care home I got put in once, everyone would turn their music up full just so they could hear it over each other and it used to kill my wolf hearing."
"How are you not deaf after that?" Emma couldn't believe it.
"I have no idea." Rhydian cringed at the memory. "They used to do it all night long. I honestly wondered if I was going insane and if a person who's going crazy feels their sanity slipping away or if they think everything's normal."
"That must have been hard." Maddy cast a glance up at him and reminded herself yet again how glad she was that he was here. Just then, Rhydian clicked something on her seat. Instantly, she tipped backwards as she let out a high-pitched yelp. Just as she was about to yell at Rhydian, she saw something covering her. Rhydian had taken his hoodie off and used it like a blanket to help her settle.
"Just get some sleep." He ran a hand gently through her hair and something about that was strangely soothing to her.
"I really don't deserve you." Maddy muttered as she drifted off to sleep.
Three Hours Later…
Maddy's eyes flew open as she felt the car stop. She sat up abruptly and looked around.
"What's going on?" she asked. Rhydian noticed the sweat on her forehead and reached over to rub her back between her shoulder blades.
"You mumble in your sleep." Rhydian said as she cuddled into him. "I hate bad dreams too."
"We're here, kids." Emma said as she got out and went round to the boot before starting to unload cases. As she took hold of Shannon's case, there was a worrying crunch like glass in a blender.
"That had better not be my science equipment!" Shannon snapped as she covered her ears to protect them against the awful noise.
"Why the hell would you bring that on holiday?" Tom asked.
"I always keep some test tubes and stuff with me." Shannon shrugged. "You never know when you'll need them."
"Maybe you should have wrapped them in your clothes or something." Rhydian suggested.
"I'll do that next time." They noticed her roll her eyes in grudging acceptance of the advice as Rhydian helped Maddy out from the car and she stretched to click the stiffness from her bones. They all grabbed their cases and walked inside with varying levels of energy. The doors opened and immediately they were all hit with a welcome blast of cold air from the air conditioning.
"Welcome to The Lodge." They looked over to see someone standing behind the desk with an almost worried expression on his face. He was definitely a Wolfblood. Maddy and Rhydian could both smell it and Emma and Dan seemed to have known that before coming. They'd mentioned the owner was a Wolfblood, so was this him?
"You look nervous, Martin." Dan said as he practically hugged the man in greeting. "I know it's been a long time, but are we that scary?"
"It's been far too long, Dan." Martin returned the hug. Maddy noticed that he was only using his left arm. The other one was hidden from view behind the key rack, but she couldn't help wondering why he didn't just move over a bit. It would make things so much easier. "It's not you that's making me nervous. We have some very important guests staying over. The Wolfblood paying for the stay is the owner of a power company. It also happens to be the power company that provides for us and gives us cheap deals on energy in exchange for cheap stays in their exclusive suite."
"They have an exclusive suite?" Dan gave Martin a withering look. "I know you. You hate that kind of thing. You've always said it's grovelling for customer satisfaction instead of earning it."
"Well, it's not like I had much of a choice." Martin shrugged. "He got a court order to have one built."
"I thought you had to have a legal reason to get a court order like a child or animal being abused or neighbours spying on you." Rhydian piped up.
"You do." Martin told him. "On the other hand, if you're Marcus Black the CEO of Salem Energy, you have the judge wrapped around any finger you want if the price is right."
"That's disgusting." Emma couldn't stop her eyes from flaring yellow.
"It's not all bad." Martin shrugged before beckoning them all closer and lowering his voice. "This goes no further, understood?" Everyone nodded. "Marcus is an old man. He's fast approaching his seventh decade. His daughter Ashley is the heiress to the company and the power transfer is looking to happen soon. She and Marcus' wife are here with him today, but I know her. She hates special treatment. As soon as she's the CEO, she'll release all claim to the suite. That means I'll have a spare luxury suite that I can put up for anyone interested meaning no one else gets special treatment. If anyone's staying in there in future, it'll be because they have the money or because they're a close friend. Who knows? You guys could be first in line."
"Well, I hope that works out for you." Dan clapped Martin on the back and offered a grin. "So it's three rooms under the name of Smith." Maddy remembered everyone sitting down and working out the rooms. Tom and Shannon had wanted one together. Dan ended up making the most awkward phone calls to their parents to find out if they were okay with it. They'd said that since they'd recently started dating, it was okay provided they had separate beds. Emma, Dan and Mrs Vaughan had set the same rule for Maddy and Rhydian too.
"Here you go." Martin picked three sets of keys from the rack and handed them to Dan. Maddy and Rhydian had room 146, with Tom and Shannon on 147 at the very end of the corridor and Dan and Emma on the other side of the hall in 148. Only as he moved to hand Dan the keys did Maddy see why he was only using one arm. Martin's right arm stopped just above the elbow. His shirt sleeve was tied in a knot where his arm ended to stop it from hanging uselessly and getting in the way. She averted her eyes just as Martin caught her staring.
"Maddy!" Emma snapped.
"No, it's fine." Martin waved it off before turning to Maddy whose cheeks were now flaming with embarrassment at being caught looking. "Believe it or not, this is how I met your parents. I came to their territory to visit a friend, but I got sick and ended up having to stay with them for nearly a week. When I recovered, it was a full moon day and I still wasn't well enough to travel. I had to go up on the moors and transform there, but I got caught in a fox hunter's trap. Emma and Dan saved me but it was too late for my arm. It got infected and the wire had sunk in so deep anyway that it had started to ware into the bone. Either way, I was pretty much screwed."
"That's awful." Shannon muttered.
"It's the reason I voted to ban fox hunting when the choice was granted." Martin said. "We don't worry about any non-vermin animals here and even the vermin have a reasonable degree of freedom provided they don't go where they aren't supposed to. That being said, we do still have hygiene regulations. We've still got a five on our food hygiene rating and my wife is the chef here."
"How is Arianna these days?" Emma asked.
"She's doing well." Martin nodded before turning to Maddy, Rhydian, Tom and Shannon. "Sorry, kids. Don't let our conversation shackle you in place. Go up and check out your rooms. Go look around a bit."
"Yeah, you all go and explore. We'll meet in the café at six for dinner." Emma nodded.
"Okay, thanks Mum." Maddy called over her shoulder as she grabbed her suitcase and made a break for the stairs. Rhydian, Tom and Shannon were right behind her. Maddy didn't know about Tom and Shannon, but she was damned if she was taking the elevator. She was claustrophobic enough in the den. Rhydian was clearly of the same mindset because he followed her immediately, only offering a nod of understanding. Tom and Shannon were right behind them, but didn't have nearly the amount of stamina. They were panting by the time they got to the top and went staggering to their room at the end of the corridor.
"We'll let you get your breath back." Rhydian called after them. Their room door slamming in his face was the only response he got. Shrugging, he turned to his and Maddy's door where she looked like she was having a hard time unlocking it. Rhydian calmly walked over and gently took hold of her wrist, turning the key the other way.
"One of these days I'll learn how doors work." Maddy slapped her hand to her forehead and pushed the door open. She dumped her case down by the wardrobe near the doorframe and flopped on the bed. Rhydian paused, knowing instantly that something was off. The room had a cinnamon carpet with turquoise walls and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling that lit the room especially well and really made the bright red duvet stand out. In a flash, it hit Rhydian what was odd about the room.
"How come there's a double bed?" he asked.
"I have no idea." Maddy shrugged while giving a smile that wouldn't fool a baby. "They must have had a mix-up with the room."
"Maddy, you and I both know you phoned up while your parents were out and changed our room to a double."
"Actually, I asked my parents to put us in this one since Tom and Shannon's had two single beds and my parents had a double but both are just across from each other. I told them I wanted to be near everyone. The fact that they forgot to check what type of bed was in the room wasn't my fault."
"But what if they hear us making out or me complaining that you're taking too much duvet?" Rhydian shuddered at the thought of the consequences. "Your parents will kill the pair of us, and me especially."
"The walls of every room are soundproofed." Maddy told him. "One soundproofed wall wouldn't make a difference, but two sets of walls and the gap between the rooms with my parents being on the other side of the corridor mean they won't hear a thing."
"Right, but what if they come in here without knocking?" Rhydian asked. Maddy wordlessly got up, walked over and slid the bolt across on the door.
"No one is coming in here without our permission."
"Okay, that's comforting." Rhydian muttered as Maddy took him by the hands and guided him gently to their bed. "So, do you have a plan until dinner?"
"I can think of a few things we can do to kill time." Maddy nodded as she reached up and pressed her mouth against his. She melted into the kiss as he gently eased her down onto the bed. Maddy could feel herself overheating. Every nerve in her body was on fire, especially around the back of her head and the small of her back where Rhydian's hands were resting. She felt like she was about to explode. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Maddy and Rhydian flew apart, glaring furiously in the direction of whoever dared intrude on them.
"Guys, it's Shannon. Do you have any spare plasters? Tom's just cut himself on the edge of something."
"Keep your voice down. She'll think we've gone." Rhydian whispered.
"Maddy, if you pretend you're not in, I'll tell Emma and Dan you changed the reservation to give you and Rhydian a double bed!" Shannon bellowed through the door as she slammed her fist against it again.
"That's too risky." Maddy jumped off the bed and raced to answer the door. She flung it open and ushered Shannon inside in case her parents happened to have finished their conversation and were lurking nearby. She knew they probably hadn't but she knew that it was just like them to differ from their conversational habits and get things done quickly the one time she didn't want them to.
"Here you go." Rhydian emerged from the bathroom area and threw a box of plasters to Shannon.
"Thanks." Shannon caught the box and stuffed it in her cardigan pocket.
"By the way, how did you know about the bed thing?" Rhydian asked.
"Maddy was never exactly subtle about things." Shannon rolled her eyes. "I bet Emma and Dan actually know what's going on right now."
"No, I covered my tracks really well." Maddy told her. "I waited until they went out and made sure it was just after they rang this place to confirm the rooms. If they checked 1471, they'd find the last number dialled was this place and think it was them who dialled it last."
"You know it gives a time, right?" Shannon checked with a cautious look on her face.
"Yeah, and I didn't know how long they'd be out for." Maddy explained. "I did it straight away. The error in the minutes is so small they'd just think the clock's running slow." Shannon was about to reply when there was a knock at the door followed by Tom's voice.
"Shan, I don't want to rush you but I am sort of dripping blood everywhere!"
"Okay, well I'll leave you to it." Shannon shrugged. "By the way, there's a box of provisions under the beds. I'd have a look through and hide anything you don't want to use."
"Why?" Maddy asked.
"You'll see." Shannon winked as she left. Maddy contemplated searching under the bed right then and there; wanting to know what Shannon was on about. Rhydian, on the other hand, didn't waste time contemplating. He dragged the box out and she knelt down beside him as they pried the lid off. The colour instantly drained from Maddy's face. Rhydian looked ready to be sick.
"What kind of 'provisions' are these?" she screamed as she slammed the lid back on the box again. "Am I having a nightmare?"
"I think we will have nightmares after that." Rhydian said as he grabbed some duct tape from the nearby drawer and sealed the box shut before sliding it back under the bed. "It'll be a while before we stop having bad dreams."
End!
Author's Note: Okay, I thought I should give you a quick update for what to expect with my stories. First of all, I'm working on restoring on Blood Red Sky to rewrite and upgrade the chapters of that I lost and start updating that again. Sorry it's been so long. Aside from college starting, I have no excuse other than the face that losing about seven chapters of your work is a serious enthusiasm killer.
Also, I decided to write my Halloween story early. I was also challenged by someone to write a Wolfblood story that's a comedic horror featuring Jana and Victoria Sweeney. I'm happy with the result so I'll be posting that in early October. I'm working on the sequel to this story too. With that being said, please review and let me know what you think of this story. All feedback inspires me to work on my stories when I have time and is greatly appreciated.