o.o -hides under rock somewhere- umm sooo i know i haven't updated in a while and i know that a lot of people have been like wth? where's the update but but but...i can explain!!!!!!!!!!!!

i've been extremely and i mean EXTREMELY busy lately...and lately i've been trying to focus on college and which colleges i want to go to and i've been drawing lots to show to some schools and stuff (you can find proof of that in my profile my avatar is one of my drawings)

sooo i'm SORRY x100000 that i haven't updated but but but here it is now :)

i hope you like the POV's in this :D and i didn't have time to fix my grammar errors so if there's mistakes sorry for that i'll fix them tomorrow

ENJOY!

Song for this Chapter- Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol

Chapter 10

Beneath the Surface

Brady's POV

As soon as Melody dropped me off at home I waited until I could no longer see her car. Once it was finally out of sight I ran into the woods and phased. If it were any other girl, then I'd wait at least an hour to check up on her. But since Melody lives with a bunch of lunatics I figured I'd go now.

The faster I ran the harder my paws pounded onto the ground. I was about halfway to her house when I could hear thunder roaring above me. I ignored the noise and moved as quickly as possible. Getting caught in the rain was the least of my worries right now.

You going to Emily's?

I hadn't realized that I wasn't alone until I heard Collin, No, I answered simply.

Again? He sighed, seeing where I was going in my head, I'm sure she'll be fine, Brady.

I growled, I'm not risking her getting killed by that asshole.

You're overreacting.

I wish I were closer to Collin just so that I could strangle him, If you could really see what he does to her with your own eyes and not just in my head, then you wouldn't be saying that.

Ok, fine. Let's say something really bad does happen. You're just going to sit and watch?

No, I'm going to phase and get her out of there.

He sighed again, Do you not understand what I'm trying to say to you at all? I didn't say anything. I just kept running, If you go in there and try to get her out what's she going to think of you, Brady? Even though I haven't spoken to her I know that she is nowhere near accepting the fact that you're a werewolf let alone her friend, I snarled at that, So if you just randomly burst through the door and beat the crap out of her dad where's that going to leave the two of you?

So you want me to act like nothing's going on in that house when I know there is?

I saw him mentally roll his eyes at me, No dude, I'm saying if you get yourself involved in this situation right now then she's never going to trust you. Yeah, maybe you're meant to be together, but she's obviously not ready to figure that out.

The idiot had a point, Fine I won't get involved...maybe.

Collin chuckled, Whatever don't listen to me just come over to Emily's place when you're done.

He didn't leave me any time to respond as he phased into human form. I slowed down once I finally managed to reach the edge of the forest that was closest to her backyard. As the rain began to come down I watched her. I would watch as she made dinner and as she cleaned it up. I watched as she sat on her small window seat and stared up at the stars crying every now and then. It went on like this for a couple of days. I would constantly watch over her whenever she left the house to work at the grocery store. Then when she came home I would listen to her parents fight and stare up at the window she always seemed to be curled up by. I knew I wasn't helping much by just sitting here, but like Collin said I couldn't get myself involved.

It was the weekend before we had to go back to school and I was spending my day sitting in the same spot I had been sitting in for almost a week. Not much was happening in the house from what I could see. I could just hear the shuffling of Melody's feet as she walked around her room. Her father was in his usual spot, drinking the day away while he cursed at the television. My ears perked up when I heard Melody starting to walk down the stairs. I raised my head off of my paws and stared at the house when I heard her father screaming at her for letting the trash pile up. He let out a couple more curse words before he told her to take the garbage out. I took that as my cue to watch closer.

As soon as I saw the glass door slide open my breath hitched. She stood on the deck for a couple of minutes, holding the garbage bag in her hand before she finally threw it away. I saw tears streaming down her face when she started to walk closer to the forest, closer to me. I didn't care if she saw me or not. At this point I would be happy just to be able to hear her talk to me even if I couldn't talk back.

I heard the door open again and my eyes immediately traveled in the direction of the sound.

"Get in the house!" he screamed and I saw Melody freeze up.

She wiped the tears off of her cheeks and turned towards him. As soon as she did though, he stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes grew colder if that were even possible. He looked over her once before he grabbed her forearm.

"What the hell are you wearing?!" he yelled. She didn't say anything, "Answer me!" he demanded.

I watched as her lips began to quiver. My paw lifted off of the ground and I took one step forward and then another, causing a twig to break. His head shot up slightly, but Melody's voice caused him to turn his attention back onto her, "N-Noah's…s-sweater," she barely whispered.

I saw him push her onto the ground, "Take it off!" He swatted his hand across her face, "Take it off right now!"

Just as he was about to hit her again I snapped and accidentally let out a loud snarl. The sound caused both of them to look towards the forest. His eyes began darting everywhere while hers landed right on me. I met her gaze and immediately calmed myself down for her sake.

"Fucking wild animals," I heard him mutter right before he backed away from her and ran into the house. All the while Melody eyes didn't stray away from mine.

I could see the tears that were trickling down her face because of the way the moon glistened on her skin. I kept my gaze on her as she rose up off of the ground and started walking towards me. She wiped the salt water off of her cheeks with the back of her wrist and extended her arm forward as soon as she was close enough to me. I closed my eyes when I felt her palm on the top of my head. I noticed that she was trembling and I wished that I could make everything that was eating away at her and hurting her just disappear.

Slowly, I opened my eyelids and took a good look at Melody. Her brows furrowed as she bit down on her lower lip, staring at me in wonder. I didn't know if I should look away or not, because at any given moment she could figure out that I wasn't just a big huge wolf. Maybe if she wasn't so beautiful then looking away would be easier for me because right now it seemed like that was out of the question.

Just before my brain could completely turn to mush I heard her cell phone begin to ring in her pocket. She slightly flinched before coming out of the trance we both seemed to be in and grabbing the phone. Melody closed her eyes for a moment when she looked at the caller ID and realized who it was. I glanced down at the cell phone to try and figure out why she looked so flustered all of a sudden, but she put the phone up to her ear before I could.

"Hello?" she breathed, focusing on the ground instead of me.

On the other end I could hear rustling and someone mumbling to themselves before they spoke, "Meloooody!"

She sighed and closed her eyes again, "You're drunk, Connor."

He began to giggle, "Only a…aaa….liiittlee," more rustling.

Melody ran her fingers through her hair once before setting her hand on her forehead, "Why did you call?" she gritted her teeth as she spoke.

"Ow!" he shouted, "Stupid tree! Get out of my way!"

Did he just say tree?

"Tree?" she whispered, "Connor where the hell are you?"

More giggling, "Mel…Mel I just…..I n-need to…ha ha the tree ran into me…"

I rolled my eyes.

"Connor, listen to me!" Melody yelled into the phone, "What are you looking at right now?"

"I…love…"

She shut her eyes once more before speaking, "Don't talk about that right now, Connor," she muttered, "Just tell me what you're looking at."

I heard the rustling again from the other end of the phone, "It smells like shit," he slurred.

My eyes were glued to Melody when suddenly a sickeningly sweet scent hit me.

"Oh wait!" Connor laughed, "I see someone!"

My mind went in fifty different directions when I felt the scent linger in my nose. The aroma was all too familiar to me. Thinking about the fact that he was probably lost somewhere in the woods drunk and that close to a bloodsucker had me turning my ass around and running as fast as possible. I didn't know where Connor was, but following the disgusting scent seemed like I would soon find out. I howled when I got closer to Emily's house, knowing that the pack would phase once they heard me. Out of all the things that could possibly happen this I wasn't expecting. If it were anyone I thought I'd be saving right now it'd be Melody.

Melody's POV

I watched as the wolf ran off into the forest, feeling myself longing to run after him. But knowing what happened last time I did that I stayed put and brought my attention back to the phone.

"Connor I'm getting in my car and driving until I find you," I said as I walked towards the front of my house, ignoring the fact that my father could possibly notice I left. That didn't matter to me right now. Once I reached my truck I quickly got inside and fired up the engine. I grabbed my cell phone and put it up to my ear again, hearing absolutely nothing, "Connor?" I pulled out of the driveway while I spoke. There was still no response from the other line, "Say something!" I screamed.

Suddenly, the line went dead. I threw the phone in frustration and drove as fast as my truck could go up and down every street in La Push. Name a place and I had looked there. If Connor's parents found out that he had gone off and gotten himself drunk, then they would freak out. If he didn't give them any indication as to where he was or answer the phone when they call –which I'm sure they've done- then they would freak out even more.

It was around ten when I found myself driving down the darkest road possible. All I knew was that there were absolutely no street lights to let me know where I was heading and that there was nothing but trees around me. I don't know what I would do if I didn't manage to find him. No doubt I'd feel like shit, figuring that it was my fault that he got himself drunk. It was always my fault.

I slowly felt myself losing hope the farther I drove down the road that seemed endless. Pretty soon I was sure that I'd reach a dead end. What would I do if that happened? Search for him in the forest?

He said something about a tree though…

I squinted in an attempt to see some sort of sign that he could possibly be close. I was desperate at this point. My speedometer went down the more I took my foot off of the gas pedal and my eyes began darting everywhere. I looked to my left out of my window and then to the right out of the passenger side window. And when I turned my head forward again I pressed my foot down onto the brakes at the sight of a sandy colored wolf that was sitting in the middle of the road.

Once my car came to a complete stop the wolf stared at me through the windshield and I stared back at him in disbelief. It was the same height as my wolf and just as intimidating. And yet somehow I knew that it wouldn't hurt me.

The wolf slowly stood up from its sitting position while it kept its gaze on me. As it walked off towards the woods I watched it carefully, trying to grasp what was happening. Before it entered the heavily wooded area it glanced at me from over its shoulder and then it disappeared out of sight.

I blinked a couple of times and loosened my grip on the steering wheel, still a bit confused. That is until I saw a couple of empty beer bottles on the side of the road where the wolf had walked off to. I put my truck into park before stepping out and shutting the door behind me. My eyes were set on the beer bottles as I got closer to them. I got the feeling that the wolf wanted me to follow it. And since I was running out of places to look for Connor I figured I'd listen to the wolf.

I kept my eyes open as I took a few steps into the forest, hoping that I'd find him before something terrible happened, "Connor!" I shouted while I walked. It was pitch black and as a result of that I couldn't even see where I was going. All I knew was that I had to find him. Despite the fact that I was heading deeper into the unknown and scared to find out what the unknown was I kept moving.

As soon as I heard twigs breaking somewhere ahead of me I thought I'd find out what the unknown was a lot sooner than I was expecting, "C-Connor," I stuttered, my voice lower than it was earlier.

Who I saw made all of my fears wash right out of my system, "He's fine," Brady's husky voice said as he became more and more visible to me. Surprised wasn't even a good enough word to describe what I feeling right now. A million questions went through my head, but I shook them all away when I saw Connor's arm slung over Brady's shoulder.

"You found him?" was all I could say at the moment.

Brady's eyes met mine for a second, "Not too far from here."

Connor groaned and then he finally looked up at me, "Mel," he barely managed to spit it out.

I was still trying to absorb that the reason I was standing here was because of a wolf. Now I had to try and swallow the fact that Brady was here…shirtless…with my drunken friend slung over his shoulder…

"We should probably get him home," Brady suggested while I couldn't stop looking at him in disbelief.

I snapped out of it enough to respond, "Yeah…that's a…a good idea."

We began to walk and somehow Brady found the way out even though he didn't even know where I had come from. There were so many things running through my brain that I felt like I was going to lose it at any given moment.

When we got Connor into the back seat of my truck Brady offered to drive. I said yes because I didn't really think that I was capable of driving with how confused I felt. For part of the drive the atmosphere was completely silent except for the moans Connor would let out every now and then.

I scanned over Brady for a minute and took in his perfectly sculpted biceps and his washboard abs. My eyes widened slightly. Washboard abs? Oh my Jesus. I'll admit he has nice abs but did I have to consider them washboard abs?

I glanced at him again.

Fine, I do…

I finally took the time to notice the rest of him. His hair was a lot more tousled than it usually was. The only form of clothing that he was wearing was a raggedy pair of cut off shorts. I looked back at his face for a moment, noticing how hard he was concentrating on the road instead of looking at me. Maybe he already knew I wanted some answers.

"So," I started, "What were you doing out there at ten o'clock at night?"

Brady's grip tightened on the steering wheel, "Would you believe me if I said I was taking a harmless night time stroll through the woods?" he finally looked at me.

"No, because even if you were taking a night time stroll through the woods I wouldn't believe that it was harmless," I paused before continuing, "What were you really doing?"

Once again he started to concentrate on the road as if it were his first time driving and he was afraid of hitting something, "I was attempting to clear my head."

As I studied his face carefully I noticed something. By the way his lips were formed into a hard line and the way his eyebrows were scrunched together I noticed that there was something that he was hiding beneath the surface. Under all of the perfection there was imperfection.

"In the woods?" I wasn't the type to pry because I hated when other people did it to me, so why did I suddenly feel the need to do it to him right now?

Brady pursed his lips and looked at me for a slight second before looking back at the road, "What should we do about him?" he nodded his head in the direction of Connor.

I raised my brows in suspicion. If he didn't want to tell me then I couldn't complain. I'd do the same thing if someone asked me something I couldn't find the right lie to answer with. Despite that, "His parents would kill him if he came home drunk," I glanced over my shoulder, "But I guess-,"

"He can stay at my house," Brady interrupted.

I shook my head, "He's not your responsibility, Brady."

He shrugged, "Kind of is since I decided to get myself involved."

He did have a point there. I huffed and sunk back into my seat, trying to come up with a reason why Brady felt the need to get himself involved. Sure I get he was in the woods and all that, but he still didn't need to be the hero, "I still don't get why you were randomly walking around in the woods. Not to mention walking around in the woods without a shirt on," I bit my bottom lip in an attempt to not smile at that last statement.

Brady chuckled, "I told you I was clearing my head and what's wrong with walking around without a shirt on?"

I eyed him up and down, taking in his washboard abs once again, "Nothing, I guess," I mumbled.

He caught me eyeing his muscles and my cheeks began to turn a deep shade of red, "Didn't think so," he retorted with a smug expression on his face.

I rolled my eyes, "Don't flatter yourself, I was just trying to understand your motive," I lied.

"By checking me out?" He smiled.

I felt my lips being tugged upward, "No," I muttered.

By the way his smile grew wider I knew that he knew that I was lying. I wasn't ashamed of him seeing through my lie. For the first time in my life my heart was speeding up for the right reasons. I couldn't even tell you how good it felt to be able to smile every now and then. It was something I would force myself to get used to.

***

I helped Brady lead Connor into his room where Connor immediately crashed onto the bed. While Brady went into the kitchen to get a bowl for Connor to puke in I sat down on the end of the bed and made sure he would be ok here.

Hopefully in the morning he would be sober and we could talk. I had the feeling that Connor wouldn't be too happy to find out where he had to spend the night. Honestly, I wasn't too excited for that part. I could picture the scene in my head and well…it wouldn't end pretty.

Brady came back into the room and set the bowl down beside Connor, "I should go," I said, disappointment seeping into my tone. If only I liked where I lived. I got up from the bed and turned my gaze onto Brady, "I'll come back in the morning to pick him up."

I turned on my heels to leave but was stopped my Brady's warm hand on my forearm, "Stay," he seemed to be pleading, but I figured I was just imagining it.

I peered up at his face, "I can't, Brady. You've already got him to deal with; I won't make you deal with me too."

He looked at me as if I were crazy, "That's a poor excuse."

I shivered from the warmth that was radiating off of his skin, "Really? I thought it was pretty good."

"Come on, just stay. It's already eleven, do you know what types of creeps are out there at this time of night?" he seemed to be pulling out every excuse in the book. Not that I minded this protective side of him.

"What about your parents?" I asked.

"They like you Melody. I'll even go ask them if it'll make you stay," I didn't know why he was practically pleading with me right now. I felt exposed again.

Going over everything in my head I heard his voice.

Why are you hesitating? He's offering to let you stay at his house. Would you rather spend your night with dad or him?

He had a point, "Alright," I tried to make it seem like I wasn't excited about the idea when in reality I was ecstatic, "I'll call my parents and tell them I'm staying here," another lie. If I called my parents it'd lead to more conflict.

Brady grinned, "I'll be right back then," he finally let go of my arm and walked out of the room again.

I shook my head, "What are you getting yourself into?" I mumbled.

Behind me I could hear Connor groaning, "Fucking r-red eyes," he slurred.

I looked at him and furrowed my eyebrows, "What?" I asked.

He managed to set his eyes on me, "Mel," he moaned.

I took a couple steps toward him, the scent of liquor coming off of his breath, "Sleep Connor. We can talk in the morning," I was dreading that conversation. I knew what was coming.

"No," he protested, "I saw them…I saw the…the wolves and the…" he started gagging, "Red eyes."

I could only describe what he was saying as the alcohol speaking for him. But then again…he said he saw wolves. Which reminds me of the sandy colored wolf that I saw close to where Connor was.

"Parents are fine with it," I jumped when I heard Brady's voice behind me, "Just as long as we don't uh, sleep in the same bed," I blushed, "You can borrow a pair of sweatpants if you want something that's more comfortable than jeans to wear to bed."

I examined myself for a moment, "I'll be fine. Besides, I highly doubt your pants will fit me."

He laughed, "You're probably right about that."

As soon as Connor decided to teeter his way into the bathroom instead of using the bowl we both guessed that he was going to spend the rest of the night in there. So, I was going to sleep in Brady's room while he slept on the couch which I tried protesting to, saying that it was his room and he should be able to sleep in his bed. Nonetheless, I didn't protest good enough to change his mind.

I checked up on Connor in the bathroom before I settled myself into Brady's bed. His mattress was tainted with his scent which made sleeping in it so much more enjoyable. I fluffed the pillow a little bit before burying my head in it for a moment. God what I'd give to sleep in a house that was this quiet at night.

A knock on the door interrupted my little fantasy and my head shot up at the sight of him, "I'm sorry," I said, "Uh, I was just trying to make sure your pillow was…soft enough…" this is where I begin to slap myself.

"I can see that," he smiled, "I just wanted to make sure you were ok in here."

I nodded, "I'm fine." A couple minutes of constant staring at one another and silence later I remembered my manners, "Thank you…for everything."

He walked closer to the bed, "You don't have to thank me."

More silence and staring.

"So, I guess I'll see you in the morning?"

I nodded again. As soon as Brady turned his back on me a flood of thoughts started coming back to me and before I knew it I asked, "Did you see any wolves?"

He stopped and slowly turned around, "Wolves?" his voice was more on the defensive side now.

Well I guess I had to keep going now, "In the woods where you found Connor were there wolves?" I paused for a minute, "Particularly a sandy colored wolf and a…dark brown one?" Stupid, stupid, stupid.

He walked over to the bed again and set himself down onto the end, keeping his eyes off of me while he thought of his answer, "No, I don't remember seeing any wolves, but I know what you're talking about."

I was surprised by this, "You do?"

His gaze met mine, "Yeah."

"So, I'm not crazy," that was a first.

"Not at all," he half smiled.

I felt an urge overcome me when I saw that smile appear on his face. It was the urge to reach out and touch his face, his hand, anything. Just so that I had some proof that he was real and not a figment of my imagination.

"You're too good to be real," I said before I even knew what I was saying, "I feel like you're going to fade away if I try to," I tried to come up with the right words to say, "get close to you."

Brady sat there for a minute just looking at me. And then he reached his hand out and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, "I'm not going to fade away," he stated, "Just as long as you're here I won't, Mel."

He placed his warm hand on my cheek and I closed my eyes, soaking it all up. I liked the way he said my nickname more than I've ever liked anyone saying it, "I think I believe you," I opened my eyes again.

He pulled his hand away and kept a sweet smile on his face as he said, "Good," after one more minute of us gawking at one another he finally stood up and began to walk out of the room. Before he left the room he turned around towards me, "Goodnight, Mel."

I grinned, feeling my heart speed up again, "Goodnight," things were changing again and I knew it. And for once I felt good.

hope you like my chapter! :D

if you're still alive and well and reading this story then review to let me know you still like this story and want updates

i promise i'll get back into updating more often!!!!