'Hi Janie,' I answer, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.
'Is everything okay?' Janie's voice is urgent and concerned.
'Yes, of course, why wouldn't it be?' I ask, although I can't help but feel a twinge of guilt at the lie.
'I had this awful feeling something was wrong. It was so strange, Rose. I had to call you to ensure you were okay,' Janie says.
'I'm fine, I'm with Brad anyway, and he's about to take me home. I'll see you later, okay?'
'As long as you're okay, just be careful, alright?' Janie's concern is palpable.
'Always,' I reply, ending the call and slipping my phone back into my pocket.
‘But, Rose, you promised my mother you’d stay with me. She won’t let me stay the night without you,’ she says.
‘After the party,’ I blurt out. ‘I’ll go with Brad to the party, and afterwards, I’ll go straight to Grammy’s house to be with you,’ I tell her.
‘I guess that will work,’ she says, unsure.
As Brad drives me home, the sun sets, and darkness descends upon us by the time we reach my driveway. As he leans in to give me a gentle kiss, my body flinches involuntarily, still on edge from earlier. But his eyes are soft and free from malice, and he whispers sweetly, 'I love you so much, Rose. I'll text you before I go to sleep tonight and see you at the academy tomorrow,' with a smile.
‘Okay,’ I reply with a forced smile and gaze at his grazed knuckles. My smile fades.
Brad stares at his hand, ‘Oh, don’t worry about it, Rose. You didn’t mean for it to happen. It will barely be noticeable by tomorrow,’ he assures me.
‘Are you sure?’ I ask, feeling bad for his wound.
‘I’m sure,’ he says.
I nod, step out of the car and wave goodbye as he backs out of the driveway.
My mother opens the front door, ‘Oh, I was hoping to meet him before he left,’ she says.
‘Next time, Mum,’ I smile at her.
‘All right, don’t forget?’ she says.
‘I won’t.’
‘Your dinner is in the fridge, next to your father’s. Just zap it in the microwave for a minute. I’m going to watch a movie before I go to bed,’ she says.
‘Thanks, Mum,’ I say and proceed inside the house to the kitchen.
I open the fridge to see she’s made burgers. I take my plate, pull the meat patty out of the salad roll, and eat it. But I’m still hungry, so I pinch the patty from my dad’s burger and laugh to myself when he thinks he’s been given a salad roll for dinner. I hide the bun with lettuce and tomato in the bin and proceed up the stairs to my room.
I shower quicker than normal as my mind drifts to Brad’s outburst. Thinking about it has only made me feel worse. If it weren’t for these stupid ears and stupid tail, none of it would have happened. I had to upset Brad just to conceal them. I feel so terrible for hurting him. I probably would have gotten upset, too, if we were intimate and he stopped to answer a call from one of his mates. I must be the worst girlfriend.
Feeling down and exhausted, I climb into my bed and grab my buzzing phone to find a message from Brad that instantly lifts my spirits. 'I love you. I hope you have a good sleep. xx.' I quickly reply, 'You have a good sleep, too. See you tomorrow,' and add a smiley face emoji.
***
As soon as I'm dressed for the academy, I eagerly pull on my beanie and race outside to meet Janie in the middle of the road, causing a stir with the blaring horns and obscenities from angry drivers. Janie and I break apart from our embrace and walk along the footpath together.
‘So, tell me how yesterday went with Brad?’ Janie asks.
‘It was okay,’ I tell her.
Janie stops walking and frowns at me, ‘Just okay?’ she says, giving me a questioning look. ‘Are you sure nothing bad happened? I know I sensed something was wrong.’
I let out a deep sigh. 'Okay, fine. We were getting intimate, and I freaked out at the last second because I thought he was going to discover my tail. It's getting harder and harder to hide, and I'm worried about the risk. You must have sensed my panic and called me. I used the call as an excuse for us to stop making out.’ I huff, ‘Janie, I can’t be like this any longer. It’s too risky now. You have to find a way to change me back. I’ve been this way far too long and don’t want to break up with Brad. I care a lot about him, and I don’t want to hurt him by breaking up just so that he doesn't find out I'm a werewolf,’ I tell her.
‘Okay, okay, I get it. I’m sorry, you’re right. That makes sense. I felt your panic. I’m glad I followed my instinct and called you. Today after the academy, we can meet at the tree house with Imogen and Xander. Maybe if we work together, we can figure out how to break your curse,’ she says.
‘Thank you,’ I reply with a sigh of relief.
Janie, Imogen and I are the first at our lunch table at lunchtime.
‘Imogen, are your free later on to meet at the treehouse? Brad almost found my tail yesterday. I need all the help I can get to change me back into a human,’ I tell her.
‘Yeah, I’ll be free. I can go to the library before I head there and borrow some books on spells and witches?’ she suggests.
‘Great idea,’ I smile.
Xander appears and places his tray of food down with a clang, making me jolt.
‘Are you okay, Rose?’ Janie asks as she stares at the tray and then at me.
‘Yeah, of course I am. Xander needs to stop sneaking up on us out of the shadows all the time, though,’ I reply.
‘I thought you’d be all used to it by now,’ he says.
This time Brad places his hand on my shoulder, making me jump, and plants a kiss on my cheek as he sits next to me. He wraps an arm around my waist, pulling me into him while he grabs a sandwich from my tray with his other hand and munches it down. I smile and keep my eyes downcast, hoping no one notices how jumpy I am. Brad smiles at me as soon as he’s eaten the sandwich, ‘What do you want to do after academy?’ he asks me.
‘Oh, I can’t see you this afternoon. I have plans with Imogen and Janie already,’ I tell him.
‘You didn’t tell me that,’ he says, looking disappointed.
‘I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you,’ I assure Brad.
Brad smiles, ‘Then drop your plans Friday night with them and come to Neilson’s party with me instead,’ he smiles.
‘Oh, I’m already going to his party,’ Imogen says.
‘It’s Janie’s first night at her Grammy’s house. I really want to be there, to support her,’ I tell him.
Brad's expression darkens momentarily, revealing the same malice I had seen in him yesterday. I nervously bite my lip, 'But I would still like to go to Neilson's party with you,' I add.
‘Great, I can’t wait to take you,’ he says, taking my hand and placing a kiss.
Janie notices the graze along Brad’s knuckles.