Switched!

Seven

Strike Two||Square One


March 21, 2010

10:00 AM

Sunday


It was only a matter of time before I was pulled in for questioning.

"How did my nephew get that bruise?" Carson demanded loudly, looking at me with distaste, his mouth pulled tight into a pucker.

I crossed my arms and sneered. "I don't know," I said, shrugging.

"He's got a giant bruise on his stomach," Carson yelled, spittle flying. His look intensified ten fold and I could feel Nadia reacting accordingly, prickling and bristling, pacing back and forth, anger radiating off her. It was making me twitchy and uncomfortable.

"It wasn't me," I snapped, scowling back at him.

"It had to be you. You're a menace. You've had violent misunderstandings where you've hurt people severely. You're just a dog that needs to be put down before she bites the hand that feeds her," he snarled. His hands rose and fell and a heavy force threw me to the ground, hard and my head cracked against the ground.

I could see him standing there, hands raised, ready to attack again and his scent was hard and cold and metallic.

Sorcerer.

I clenched my teeth and braced my arms, pushing up hard. My back ached as the crushing force hit me again, slamming me back down into the ground.

"Uncle Andrew?" It was Simon, walking in now and Carson dropped his hands.

I scrabbled to my feet quickly and tried to look normal as possible. Rarely did I lose my composure and it was unnerving as my back throbbed with imaginary hands.

I booked it out of there as fast I could without actually looking like I was running away.


10:30 AM


"What was that all about?" Derek asked as I bumped into him in the hallway on the way to class.

I tried to ignore the possible bruises on my back. "Nothing," I lied as I shrugged, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye.

He was staring down at me, not buying my bullshitted story at all. "I heard him yelling," the necromancer said slowly, avoiding my eyes, "and I saw you on the ground when Simon opened the door."

I stopped walking and he stopped too, blinking this big, green eyes at me. "In other words, you were eavesdropping," I muttered quietly, ignoring the way his eyes went wide.

Color washed out of his face. "I-I—" he stuttered as I wheeled around, in his face now.

I must've shifted or something because he stepped back, eyes locked on mine. "Y-Your e-eyes ch-cha-anged," he blurted.

I ignored his ridiculous accusation and said, softly, "Don't think you can just eavesdrop on anyone. You might overhear something that drives you mad." I'm sorry, Mr. Saunders, but the boy will never walk again. We have to put her in a group home; she's a menace. "You know how Rae said I was in here because I nearly killed two people?" I leaned back against the wall, arms crossed as his eyes darted down the hall and then slid back home.

"She was lying." He shook his head and his long hair fell out of his eyes as his jaw clenched and his bottom lip jutted out.

"She wasn't lying, Derek," I spat and the spittle from my lips landed on the wide chasm stretching out between us. It was slowly widening, growing larger and larger as he stared at me like I was a monster under his bed.

"I broke his back. I saw the knife and—" I broke off, took a deep breath.

Nadia whimpered softly.

Don't be sorry, I told her, reaching deep down to comfort her.

It was my fault; I overacted.

He's our dad, I countered, what were we supposed to do? Let him get stabbed?

Regardless, I should've—

You did everything you should have. He is a part of our pack and we protect our own.

"Uh, Chloe?" Derek asked shakily, reaching up to touch underneath my eye, yanking me back to reality.

I backed up with a scowl, swatting his hand away. "What?" I snapped.

"Your eyes turned…red…" he whispered.

"Red?," I said.

"I've never met a werewolf," he mused.

I scowled. "Werewolves aren't real," I countered sharply, stepping closer.

"But necromancers and witches are?" he argued.

I looked away. "There's something wrong with me, something that isn't part—" I stopped. Sucked in a deep breath. Tried to calm down.

Nadia, what's happening?

I don't know.

How can you not know? I mean, you're my Wolf; it's in your instincts to know what's happening to me. I've never met another werewolf.

This isn't natural, what's happening to us. It isn't part of the Change. This is unnatural, too strong. Nadia shook her head and retreated to the back of my brain to think.

"Chloe, what are you?"

I looked at him, looked up at his bright green eyes and flushed cheeks, his face scattered with acne, a solid two feet taller than me, his head bent down to stare at me. It was hard to believe I was the werewolf; with his muscular build and intimidating stature, surely, he would be the werewolf. Everything about him screamed: "Hey, I'm a werewolf!"

"What am I?" I repeated slowly and something in his face shifted, panicking, thinking he'd made a mistake. "None of your damn business." Compelled by a strong pull inside the ppit of my stomach, I drew closer and closer.

He barely breathed when I stood on my tiptoes and got in his face, looking into his eerily green eyes. For a second, I thought he would kiss me but he didn't move.

"So you need to stay away," I whispered, stepping away. "Because, just like your uncle said, I'm nothing but an animal to be put out of her misery." I turned and walked away and I could hear him choking on words that would never see the light of day behind me.

One step back? Nadia whined.

One step back, I sighed as I closed the door to my room.