Phase Ten

Snare Lupo

Kai

"And where the hell have you been?" I tried my best just to look away, but even when I did, I could feel Ann's gaze picking me apart. She had never been an easy girl to please, but it was especially true lately. Not that I could really blame her for being so angry with me. After all, there were apparently more people out looking for me than I thought, and I was sure every one of them had come to her for help. "Are you listening to me?"

"Ouch! Yes, I hear you!" She gave my ear another sharp tug. "All right, all right! I'm sorry!"

"You better be." She finally let go of me, but I could still feel my earlobe burning from her grip. Making me wonder- not for the first time- if she was possibly one of my own. "Do you have any idea what I've been dealing with lately? Gray was bad enough without your girlfriend coming here. You wanna know how hard it is to lie to a girl like that and tell her that her man hasn't been around when I saw him just that morning?"

"Honestly, Ann, I didn't know it was going to take me so long," I assured her with an innocent smile. "You know how it is with family... They never want you to leave." I could tell by the way she raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips that she wasn't buying it, so after rubbing the back of my neck thinking of something to say, I tried again. "Besides, I came back, didn't I?"

"Why not go on and tell Popuri that?" she challenged. "I'm sure she cares a hell of a lot more than I do right now."

There was certainly no arguing with that. To be honest, I hadn't even thought about going to see her, but I guessed it made sense. It wasn't like I had never snuck over there before... The only problem was what to say to her after all that time that I had been away.

"Fair enough," I agreed. Glancing back into the room where Cliff was still sitting, I smiled again, but when I looked back at Ann, I was more than a little nervous. "Oh, come on. What else do you want me to say?"

"What about my-" I put my hand over her mouth.

"Like I said the other night, I've put your tip under the sheets in the next room," I whispered. "I don't want to make any more problems around here, so I think it's best we keep it quiet. Don't you?" She nodded weakly, her eyes still wide with surprise, and it was only then that I pulled my hand back away. "That's a good girl."

"What'd you just say to her?" I glanced up to Cliff now standing in the doorway. He didn't look angry or even upset, but as I stepped back from her, I still did my best to look as innocent as possible. Not that I really thought it could work when he had caught me red handed as it were.

"Nothing she didn't already know," I reassured him. "Don't worry. It's not really that big of a deal." To emphasize my point, I even patted her on her red little head. "Now... I've got some catching up to do with a lady friend of mine, so I'll let you guys have all the fun up here. How about it?"

I really didn't want to be so hard on either of them, but it was getting harder and harder for me to keep my alternative lifestyle a secret. It was a shame, too, because I had grown to like the place. After all, it was a quiet town, and until recently, it was easy for me to slip in and out without too much hassle. Now, though, I was starting to realize the problem with living with so few people.

Anyone who was much of anything had to know everything about everyone else.

Of course, another thing that was nice about the town was that it took so little time to get where a person needed to. Thus, it wasn't long before I found myself standing in front of Chicken Lil's, but after getting there, I didn't know what to do. I was supposed to make up with Popuri, but I had to wonder if I really wanted to. She was a wonderful girl- cheerful, affectionate, loving, and all the rest- but I just couldn't see us ever working out. Still, I always found myself at a loss for how to tell her.

"Maybe I should just come out with it..."

"Come out with what?" My mouth went dry as soon as I heard her voice, and I had to force myself to smile as Popuri stepped out from beside the house. She didn't look particularly happy to see me, but at the same time, she didn't look all that mad. If she was much of anything, it was lonely. "I was looking everywhere for you," she continued, her voice unusually soft. "Claire told me I should wait, but..."

"Sorry it took me so long, doll." Popuri didn't even flinch as I kissed her on the head, but I still felt my heart sink lower in my chest. Having her break my heart with a look like that was even worse than having her mad at me. "I just want to see a few people... my family, actually. I was coming back."

"Then why couldn't I meet them, too?" As soon as she said it, she started to break down and cry. Hardly a first for her, but it had an affect all the same. "Is it because of me? Rick? Or are you just bored?"

"Now I didn't say it was any of that," I tried to assure her. "It's just I don't think you'd be interested in them. They're not exactly... our kind of people. If you know what I mean." I knew it was a lame excuse, but it was the best I could come up with without completely lying to her. It was bad enough I had to say as much as I did. My only saving grace was that I wouldn't have to worry whether or not she thought I had been cheating on her. Because if there was one thing to really make her angry, it was that.

"Kai? Am I... important to you?"

"Of course you are," I agreed. "If you weren't, why would I bother being here? You know as well as I do that Rick's coming back soon. I've got to be crazy for you if I know that and I'm still here." She couldn't help but giggle to hear that. She stopped pretty quickly after I kissed her, though, but she didn't seem to mind. It only made her all the more inviting. "Now... how's about you and I-"

"Kai, you son of a bitch!"

"Uh oh," I chuckled after a heavy sigh. "Looks like we've got trouble all over again." I almost laughed to see Rick trying to run, but I couldn't hold back when he fell flat on his face in the street. Even if I didn't have a keen enough nose to smell it on him, it was obvious he had a little too much wine. "Do you want me to help him?"

"No," she huffed. Then, with a pout, she looked back up at me and crossed her arms over her ample chest. "It's his own stupid fault anyway."

"True." Unfortunately, by that time, Rick had gotten back on his feet and started another charge. I gave his sister one more kiss just to irritate him, and like a shot, I was off again. Like always, it was a thrill, but it was also a short-lived one. After all, he was hardly a threat with so much drink in him, and it wasn't long before I heard him fall again. "Serves him right, though."

"Serves who right?" I glanced over by the sign post in the square to find Gray standing there. For the first time, he had actually managed to take me by surprise. Not only did I not see him, but I didn't smell him either. At least... it wasn't the same scent what I associated with him. Sure, he still smelled like an old coal stove, but it was his underlying scent that bothered me. It was different, and at the same time, it was oddly familiar.

"Ah, it's nothing," I said at last. "Just ran into Rick. You know- same old, same old." I studied Gray for a while longer, but not finding anything unusual about him, I went on. "Did you come looking for me again?"

"Yeah." His eyes were dark as he said it, but as far as I could tell, he wasn't any more annoyed than usual. In fact, he seemed to be genuinely curious about something. "You know how you said I wasn't asking the right questions earlier? Well, I think I have one for you."

"Do you now?" I grinned, wondering just what he had come up with in such a short amount of time. "Go on. Ask me anything," I prodded him. "It's not like we've got much to lose, right?"

"Who's Marin?"