Dead On Arrival
This rivalry goes so deep, between me and this loss of sleep over you…
When Tyler finally fell asleep, he ignored the dark clouds on the horizon of his dream. He paced back and forth along the pebbled beach as cold water frothed at his feet. When the rain started, he scowled at the sky but kept up his pacing.
"Nice weather we're having," Jamie said, drawing his attention.
She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt that looked like something she would have borrowed from Casey. Her red hair whipped around in the angry wind, tangling and matting in the icy rain.
Tyler thought she was beautiful, and that annoyed him.
"I know what you do," he said.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"This," he said, indicating his dream. "I'm not just dreaming about you, Jamie."
She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry," she said quietly. "When I first met you, you were so sad. I could feel how frightened and exhausted you were. I could sense it. I just wanted to give you some peace. Then…"
"Then what?" he demanded.
"Then I just wanted to keep seeing you," she answered. "You were so different. You and your friends have your own secrets, your own gifts." She shrugged. "I just wanted to have a connection with someone who understood." She sighed and shook her head. "You thought you were just dreaming about me, so you let your guard down. I took advantage of that, and I'm sorry, but I would never hurt you. Any of you."
"What about Casey?" Tyler asked, striding toward her. His blue eyes were nearly purple with intensity and lightning streaked behind him.
"What about Casey?" Jamie hedged.
"You didn't think telling anyone that Casey was a werewolf was important? A woman is dead!" he shouted, his eyes firing and blackening.
"Casey wouldn't—you're wrong!" Jamie shouted back at him. The wind picked up and the rain came down in sheets, soaking both of them.
"Oh?" he asked. He was so close now that Jamie had to look up to meet his eyes. He glared down at her. "Why the secret then?"
"That was Casey's choice," Jamie said. She shivered against the cold. "We hadn't—out there, you and I hadn't talked about anything like this. I couldn't very well have walked up to you and said, 'My best friend is a werewolf.' And even if I could have, I wouldn't have. That's Casey's business. But Tyler, I swear to you, Casey didn't kill that woman."
He believed her. He saw her eyes and knew she was telling the truth.
Tyler blinked raindrops from his lashes. He watched her chin quiver from the cold and felt the instinctive need to ease her discomfort. Without an indication of his intent, he hauled her against him and lowered his mouth to hers. Jamie squeaked in surprise and reflexively pushed against his shoulders, but the next second, her fingers gripped the material of his t-shirt and held him close.
"Please don't hate me," Jamie whispered against his lips.
"I don't," Tyler said, resting his forehead on hers. "I can't."
Tyler woke suddenly. He breathed deep and threw off his blankets, scrabbling in the dark for his cell phone. He hit Caleb's speed-dial and waited for the answer.
"Uhmf?"
"Casey didn't kill the old woman," Tyler said.
Caleb grunted. "Tyler—"
"Look, trust me on this, ok? Reid was right. There's another werewolf somewhere around. It isn't Casey."
"Alright, I believe you if you say so," Caleb said sleepily. "Relax."
Tyler heard rattling and swishing sounds and inferred that his friend was getting out of bed. Caleb inhaled deeply and Tyler pictured him rubbing his hand over his face as he was prone to do when deep in thought.
"Did you call Reid?" Caleb asked.
"No. I thought I should call you first…"
"Ok, it'll be dawn in another hour. Call Reid. I'll call Pogue and we'll go to Jamie's. Do you have her number?"
Tyler frowned. "No. We haven't really hung out a lot except for the dream thing."
"Get Casey's number from Reid," Caleb said. "Give 'em a call and let them know we're on our way over to talk." He swore. "One day I'll wake up on my own with no pressing emergencies or supernatural bullshit."
Tyler chuckled. "Yeah, good luck with that."