Sarah was sobbing. She was terrified.
I said, “I didn’t… I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean to—”
The bartender pushed through the crow
d. He carried a shotgun. He pointed it at me. “I don’t know who you are, but if you touch him again, I’ll blow your head off.”
He tracked me with the shotgun as I stepped away from the tattooed man. Sarah rushed forward, going to her knees next to her brother. She cradled his face in her hands as he moaned. “Oh god, I’m sorry, I didn’t ask them to—”
“His eyes,” the man babbled. “His eyes. His eyes. His eyes.”
“Get out of here,” the bartender said coldly. “I’ve already called the cops. You’ve got maybe five minutes before they show up.”
I nodded and turned toward the truck, my eyes burning.
I only stopped when the bartender said, “Wolf.”
I didn’t look back.
“Don’t let me catch you here again. Your kind isn’t welcome here.”
I left.
peter and the wolf/our father
The third note came in August.
I thought I was dreaming most days. Kelly was there more and more, and everything had a hazy edge to it. It was getting harder to wake up.
The roads all looked the same. The days bled together.
Kelly said, “You’re going to lose your mind.”
I laughed, though it sounded rusty and broken. “I think it might be a little late for that.”
He sighed. “Why are you doing this to yourself?”
“I have to. He would do the same for me.”
He had that stubborn set to his jaw. I ached at the sight of something so familiar. “You don’t know that. You don’t even know him.”
“Years. He was with us for years.”
“And stuck as a wolf,” Kelly (Not-Kelly) reminded me. “Feral. For all you know, he doesn’t remember anything. Like Robbie.”
“He saved us,” I whispered, hands tightening on the steering wheel.
Kelly shook his head. “I know. But don’t you miss me? Don’t you want to come home?”
“More than anything,” I said hoarsely. “You know that.”
“I need you, Carter. Why would you do that to me? You know what losing Robbie did to me. You were there. And yet you didn’t even hesitate in leaving me behind.” He was crying. “I don’t understand. How could you be so cruel?”
I couldn’t look at him. I was numb. “I love you.”
“Do you?”
“Yes. More than anything.”