Author's note: Hey everyone! :) Hope you all are still enjoying the story. I just wanted to let you guys know this chapter might contain a lot of errors cause I've got a bit of a cold and I was having trouble concentrating while proof reading. I'm sorry!
ENJOY!
After dinner the girls went up to Elizabeth's room and Aurora got an ear full.
"You owe me so big." Elizabeth said between clenched teeth as she shut her bedroom door. "I hope you know how much I wanted to throttle you at six when my parents were wondering where you were and all I had was a dumb look on my face and no explanation!"
"I know! I'm sorry!" Aurora agreed hanging her head.
"Did you at least have a good time with stranger danger? I mean when you weren't passed out." Elizabeth said more calmly. "Why did you fall sleep? Stranger danger THAT boring?"
"Shut up! No, we were watching a movie and I just ended up passing out. I had a great time though. His sister is really cool. And I absolutely love his roommates." Aurora smiled.
"His roommates? So there is a whole clan of backwoods dwelling people? Good to know." Elizabeth said sarcastically.
"Elizabeth Dawn Walker. It scares me sometimes how much we think alike." Aurora laughed.
"You know what they say, great minds think alike." Elizabeth joked.
"Derek would have a conniption fit if he could hear this conversation." Aurora teased.
'Oh shit! Speaking of Derek, I forgot to text him.' She thought getting out her phone to do just that.
To: Mountain Man
From: Princess
Hey! I'm back at Elizabeth's. Sorry it took so long for me to text you, we were having dinner.
Derek responded within a couple of minutes.
To: Princess
From: Mountain Man
No worries. Just got back. I see Elizabeth didn't commit homicide.
To: Mountain Man
From: Princess
Lol Nope. It's not cause she doesn't want to. She just figures her dad might notice the dead body in his house, you know, with him being the sheriff and all. P.S. You are a ninja! Remind me never to try and race you, okay?
To: Princess
From: Mountain Man
Lucky for you. ;) Can I see you tomorrow after school? P.S. I will definitely remind you that trying to race me would be embarrassing for you and extremely hilarious to me.
To: Mountain Man
From: Princess
Of course. :D Camp site? P.S. You're a douche.
To: Princess
From: Mountain Man
Yes ma'am. Well, I'm gonna grab a shower. See you tomorrow princess. P.S. and you love it.
To: Mountain Man
From: Princess
Night Der! P.S. Unfortunately. ;P
To: Princess
From: Mountain Man
Good night Aurora. Sweet dreams. P.S. I'm really thankful that you do.
"Is that stranger danger?" Elizabeth asked.
"Yeah, how did you know?" Aurora questioned looking up from her phone.
"The goofy ass grin on your face is a dead giveaway." Elizabeth joked.
"Shut up." Aurora said sticking her tongue out.
"We should do some homework." Elizabeth told her reluctantly.
Aurora nodded grabbing her bag from the floor.
XXXX
*7:00 a.m. Monday morning*
Aurora woke up terrified from another nightmare.
"You okay, A?" Elizabeth asked looking over at her best friend. Elizabeth had woken up before Aurora and was fully dressed gathering her things for school when Aurora had called out in her sleep.
"Fine. Just a bad dream. What time is it?" Aurora asked rubbing her eyes.
"Seven. Plenty of time for you to shower and eat before we have to go." Elizabeth smiled.
"Meet you downstairs in a bit." Aurora told her getting up to shower.
"Okie dokie." Elizabeth said throwing her backpack over her shoulder as she headed out the door.
Aurora took a quick shower, got dressed and was downstairs within twenty minutes. She grabbed some toast then her and Elizabeth left for school.
"You know I was thinking, we should probably tell my dad about the wolf you saw last night. If its brave enough to come into the neighborhood, it might be brazen enough to attack a human." Elizabeth said to Aurora when they got in Aurora's car.
"You're right. I'll tell him this afternoon." Aurora said.
For the rest of the car ride Elizabeth and Aurora talked about school and the upcoming Honor Society dance that was taking place not that Friday but the next.
"Are you going to ask stranger danger to go with you to the dance?" Elizabeth asked as they arrived at school.
"Definitely." Aurora smiled. "What about you, my lovely best friend, who are you gonna ask to go with you?"
"I was thinking Paul." Elizabeth told her as they walked into homeroom.
"Paul?! As in your lab partner Paul? As in totally cute and ridiculously sweet Paul that your best friend has been telling you to date for months? That Paul?" Aurora mocked.
"Yes, that Paul. No stop gloating." Elizabeth said.
XXXX
The day went by terribly slow. Aurora nearly fell asleep in last period, the final bell scaring her out of her daze. She walked to her car with a little more pep in her step when she remembered she was going to see Derek. Aurora had told Elizabeth at lunch about her plans and offered to take her home before she went to the camp site but she just rolled her eyes and asked Ethan to give her a ride. When she got to the site Derek was waiting on her, as usual.
"Hey princess." Derek said when Aurora launched herself into his arms; her only reply was a passionate kiss.
"I missed you too." He smiled when Aurora stopped to catch her breath.
"I can't stay long." Aurora said sadly. "I've got tons of homework."
"That's alright. I need to get to work." Derek confessed.
"I don't want to go though." Aurora told him as he buried his face in her neck.
"Me either. But we will see each other this weekend, right? You're coming over so we can watch that Supernatural show, aren't you?" Derek asked with a smile.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Mountain Man." Aurora beamed. "Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, maybe we could take a little adventure into the woods to look for Silky this weekend as well? I haven't seen him in forever." She asked frowning deeply.
She had been so caught up with Derek, her friends, and school she had totally neglected Silky and it broke her heart.
"Aurora, I'm sure he is fine. He's probably moved on by now." Derek told her.
"How could you say that? Silky wouldn't leave. He's probably devastated that I haven't come to see him in so long." Aurora scolded.
Derek rolled his eyes.
"Fine." He huffed.
With one last kiss Aurora said goodbye to Derek and went back to Elizabeth's.
She was walking in the front door when her phone rang.
Aurora: Hi momma!
Mrs. Montgomery: Hello my sweet girl. How have you been? I've missed you so much!
Aurora: I've been good momma. Just got to Elizabeth's from school.
Mrs. Montgomery: Are you sure you're all right? Mr. Walker told me happened. I've been worried sick. I'm so sorry I haven't called you before now, you're father and I have been swamped. Thankfully we were able to get an earlier flight so we will be home in a couple of hours.
Aurora: I'm fine momma. The Walkers have been taking good care of me. I wasn't hurt, just freaked out. I can't wait to see you guys!
Mrs. Montgomery: I can't wait to see you either. I've miss you and your brother terribly. Well, they are calling our flight number. See you soon Aurora. I love you.
Aurora: Have a safe flight momma! I love you too!
When Aurora hung up the phone she was overwhelmed with joy. She couldn't wait to see her parents and sleep in her own bed.
"Aurora?" Elizabeth called coming down the stairs.
"Hey! My mom and dad are gonna be home early!" Aurora told her cheerfully.
"That's great!" Elizabeth said. "I bet you've missed them."
"So much. And that little brat I call my brother…but don't tell him I said that." Aurora teased.
"I was just about to grab something to drink and then start on some homework, you joining?" Elizabeth asked.
"Sounds like a party. I'm in." Aurora joked.
Time went by in a flash and two hours later the girls were still working on school work. Aurora had just finished reading a chapter of her English book that was assigned when she got a text from her mom saying that she and her dad were home.
"My parents are back. I'm gonna head out." Aurora told Elizabeth who was writing a paper for her Economy class.
"Okay bestie. I'll see you tomorrow." Elizabeth said getting up to hug Aurora.
"Thanks for everything Lizzie. You are the best friend a girl could have." Aurora told her hugging her tight.
"Right back at you A." Elizabeth said.
Aurora left Elizabeth's in such a hurry, she forgot to tell the sheriff about the wolf she had encountered the night before.
XXXX
"I missed you guys so much!" Aurora shouted as she plopped down on the couch in her living room between her parents.
They were watching TV when Aurora got home.
"We missed you to darlin'." Her dad told her.
"Mom! Dad!" Nathaniel shouted busting through the front door.
"Hey there son!" Mr. Montgomery said as Nathaniel joined them on the couch.
"Oh look at my family!" Mrs. Montgomery gushed.
"Did you guys have a good time?" Nathaniel asked his parents.
"As good of a time as you can have while working." Mr. Montgomery joked.
After watching a little bit of TV and telling their children about their trip, Mrs. Montgomery decided it was time to cook dinner. Mr. Montgomery helped Nathaniel with his math homework he had forgotten about while Aurora set the table. Within an hour they all sat down as a family to eat. Aurora was so happy. All of her stress melted away and for once since the past couple of days she wasn't thinking about the break in or the strange things that had happened.
"I think your mother and I are going to go to bed early tonight. That flight was brutal." Mr. Montgomery told his children after they had all pitched in to clean up the kitchen.
"I'm think I'm gonna do the same." Nathaniel added making all of their jaws drop. "What? Ben and I stayed up all night Saturday and really late Sunday night." He confessed getting dirty looks from his parents.
"I still have some homework to do." Aurora said.
"Well, we'll see you in the morning." Mrs. Montgomery told Nathaniel and Aurora hugging them individually. Mr. Montgomery took his turn hugging his children then he and his wife went upstairs to bed.
"Good night, brat!" Aurora called to Nathaniel as she sat down in the living room to finish her homework.
"Night Sis!" He called as he ran up the stairs.
XXXX
It was eleven before Aurora knew it. She finally finished all of the reading she was behind on. Putting her books back in her backpack, she stood to make her way upstairs when she heard a loud sound from outside.
It was a howl.
Aurora stopped dead in her tracks. Walking over to the front door, she looked out the peep hole cautiously.
"Silky?!" She shouted as she threw the door open and dashed toward him.
The wolf was sitting at the bottom of her porch steps looking at her curiously.
"Oh my gosh! What are you doing her buddy? How did you even find me?" Aurora asked grabbing his face and nuzzling it to her own.
The wolf responded by licking her cheek.
"I've missed you so much! I'm so sorry I haven't come to see you. I've been busy." She said scratching between his ears as she sat down on the bottom step.
Silky put his head on her lap and whimpered.
"Aw, buddy! You aren't upset with me are you?" Aurora asked sadly.
The wolf huffed.
"I'll make it up to you, promise." She reassured him.
"Aurora? Sis, are you okay? I heard yelling." Nathaniel asked appearing at the front door.
Aurora jumped up in surprise.
"I'm all good little bro. I was just talking to Silky." Aurora said motioning to where she thought the wolf was sitting.
"Silky? What is a Silky? And aren't you a little old for imaginary friends?" Nathaniel teased looking from his sister to the empty spot where she was pointing.
"Where'd he go?" Aurora asked looking around but there was no sign of the wolf anywhere.
"Was it a stray dog? You know dad won't let you keep it. Now come back inside before you freeze." Nathaniel said.
Aurora did as she was told and decided to let Nathaniel think it was a stray dog she was talking to, considering he had already thought she was crazy for doing that.
"Try and get some sleep Sis. I'll see you in the morning." Nathaniel told her once they both got upstairs.
"Night baby brother." Aurora said as they parted ways into their rooms.
It took Aurora a while to fall asleep but when she did it was restful. Seeing Silky probably had something to do with that.
XXXX
The rest week was torturous. Aurora were extremely busy with the Honors program and large amounts of homework. Her situation wasn't improved any be the reoccurring nightmare she was having every night, except for the night of Silky's surprise visit. Plus, because she was so bogged down with school work she had no time to talk to Derek let alone see him. The arrival of Friday wasn't even a relief for Aurora because she had to stay late after school to attend a meeting for Honor Society. After that, she had to spend an agonizing hour and a half with Dylan trying to explain their chemistry homework to him. Next she had to pick Nathaniel up from soccer practice, drop him off at home, and then go to the store. To make matters worse, when she got there, she ran into Alex.
"Aurora, isn't that your name?" Alex asked walking up to her. She was in the cereal aisle getting some Coco Puffs for her brother when he showed up.
"Yeah. It's Alex? Right?" She asked putting the cereal in her cart.
"That's me. How are you?" He inquired.
"Just fine. You?" She asked trying to be polite.
"Ditto. So, where's Derek? Is he here with you?" Alex asked out of the blue.
Aurora was starting to feel uncomfortable.
"He's around here somewhere." She lied hoping that the thought of Derek's presence would make him go away.
"We both know that was a lie." Alex stated flatly stepping closer to Aurora.
"No, it wasn't. I suggest you leave before he gets back. You don't seem to be his favorite person." Aurora threatened trying to sound convincing.
Alex wasn't having any part of it.
"Oh Aurora. I can tell you are lying." He told her.
"And how's that?" Aurora asked defiantly.
"I can hear your heart beat quickening." He told her softly.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Aurora asked as she began to walk down the aisle.
She needed to get away from this creep.
"Hey, don't walk away from me." Alex warned grabbing her left arm tight enough to make Aurora cry out in pain.
"Let. Me. Go." Aurora seethed.
"Is there a problem here, ma'am?" Asked a man dressed in uniform walking up to them.
It was an employee of the store.
"No problem." Alex said sweetly.
"I was talking to the lady." The employee said gruffly.
"No, everything is fine. He was just leaving." Aurora replied giving Alex the dirtiest look she could muster.
"Of course." Alex said putting his hands up and backing away. "I'll see you later Aurora." He said slyly then disappeared around the corner of the aisle.
Aurora smiled over at the man who had helped her and noticed his name tag.
"Thank you, Charles." She said.
"Not a problem ma'am. If you don't mind, I would like to walk you to your car when you are done shopping." He told her.
"I don't mind at all, that is very kind of you." Aurora said with one last smile for him before she continued shopping.
Aurora's brain was buzzing. She was torn on whether or not to call Derek right then and there. Or should she even tell him? Aurora didn't want Derek to do anything irrational. Alex was a creep, but Aurora didn't want Derek to get in trouble for hurting him. She knew Derek would hurt Alex if he found out he had put a hand on her. So she decided to let it go. Aurora would just ignore Alex completely if she ever saw him in public again. She should have never even talked to him in the first place. When Aurora was done shopping and all checked out, Charles did as he said he would do and walked her to her car.
"Thanks again Charles." Aurora said getting in the driver's seat.
"No problem, ma'am. Just wanted to make sure you were safe." He said with a smile heading back to the store.
Aurora locked her doors and put her car in drive. She was on edge the whole way home.