The Pack (The Pack 1)

I slammed my locker shut, ignoring the few curious glances I still got. I hadn’t really made friends since I’d basically shut down Anna and Caleb. A few people still gave me sideways glances, but the curious ones always came from the Pack table. I recognized them by now, the people who were part of the Pack or the ones who sat at the table. I didn’t realize at first that I was studying them as intently as they studied me. My gaze inevitably wandered to their table during lunch every day, to the point that I’d memorized all of them.

Apparently, I was just as fascinating to them as they’d become to me. Maybe it was the mystery I couldn’t quite let go of.

More like a certain angry giant, a mocking voice whispered to my irritation. Dominic had made it a point to ignore me after his warning, but it didn’t mean I hadn’t occasionally caught his gaze on me, usually after I’d been searching for him with my own.

I avoided Caleb’s gaze like the plague, always feeling a rush of guilt when our eyes met, like I’d refused to come play with a puppy. His disappointment was second only to Anna’s worry. The first time our eyes had met after I’d pointedly ignored her, I’d expected anger, instead I’d gotten a glance full of worry and it hadn’t changed over the past two weeks. Out of all of them, Anna’s gaze bothered me the most. I had the feeling she was genuinely concerned about me, but again I didn’t know why other than it had something to do with Dominic’s cryptic warnings.

As I slid into my seat, I felt the buzz of a text message against my leg. Surreptitiously, I reached for the phone in my pocket, making sure Ms. Nichols didn’t catch me. It was my last class of the day, and ever since the incident when she’d warned me about Coach Dominic, we hadn’t been on the best of terms.

“Stuck in town picking up supplies. Won’t be there in time to pick you up from school. Sorry, Bunny.” A frowning face followed the text and I let out a sigh. I didn’t relish walking home again, even with Dominic’s warning floating around the back of my head. I really didn’t see any other options though. I hadn’t made friends and awkward wouldn’t begin to describe me asking Anna for a ride. The same went for Caleb or Dominic. Plus, my pride wouldn’t let me. I’d been successful in my attempt to be an island for the school year. It was a little lonely, I’d admit, but it would save some heartbreak down the road when I left for college. And I was determined to leave.

I sighed and quickly typed a reply while the teacher wrote on the board.

“It’s fine. I’ll catch a ride with someone.” I lied with ease, nothing in a text message to give me away to Dad. I added a smiley face for good measure and shoved my phone back in my pocket as Ms. Nichols turned to face us. I loitered after class, rearranging my book sack, and giving the rest of the class time to leave. Since it was our last class, it didn’t take long.

I knew some members of the Pack drove to school together and I wanted to give them time to get on the road. I didn’t want any of them to catch me walking because somehow, I knew it would get back to Dominic and I’d have him breathing down my neck again.

By the time I made it to the front of the school, it was practically a ghost town. Few people lingered on Fridays, and I watched several teachers make a beeline toward their cars. I’d stopped at my locker to lighten my load of books, grateful the teachers had been kind this weekend and not assigned a ton of homework.

I forced myself to start walking, a strange dread pooling in my stomach. I couldn’t shake Dominic’s warning to not walk home alone and almost turned back to see if they were still at the school.

“ARGH, you’re being ridiculous,” I told myself, shaking off the odd feeling and marching toward the road. I would not let some cryptic warning scare me from walking down a main highway. It wasn’t like I hadn’t walked to the motel the first day I arrived. Dominic was being overly cautious. I appreciated his concern, but I hadn’t seen a single reason for it.

As I walked along the shoulder of the highway, I glanced over my shoulder, my back exposed and vulnerable to whoever might drive by. I hadn’t forgotten Dominic’s declaration that some people would have no issue snatching a lone woman walking down the road.

My foot hit a rock and I watched as it skipped across the blacktop. The road was a four-lane highway with a wide shoulder, but it was mostly deserted at this time of day. The sound of an oncoming car had me moving closer to the shoulder, but it roared by without incident and I let out a sigh of relief. I didn’t want to admit how jumpy I truly was.