I was a zombie of sleeplessness. I was
English essay
Mr. Rink’s voice
Flickering fluorescent light above my desk
AP Biology
Isabel’s stone face
Heavy eyes
“Earth to Grace,” Rachel said, pinching my elbow as she passed me on the sidewalk. “There’s Olivia. I didn’t even see her in class, did you?”
I followed Rachel’s gaze to the kids waiting for the school bus. Olivia was among them, jumping up and down to stay warm. No camera. I thought about the photos. “I have to talk to her.”
“Yes. You do,” Rachel said. “Because you need to be on speaking terms before our vacation to hot, sunny places this Christmas. I would go with you, but Dad’s waiting, and he’s got an appointment in Duluth. He’ll go all fanged if I don’t get out there this second. Tell me what she says!”
She ran toward the parking lot and I jogged toward Olivia. “Olivia.”
She jerked, and I caught her elbow, as if she would fly away if I didn’t. “I’ve been trying to call you.”
Olivia pulled her stocking cap down and balled herself up against the chill. “Yeah?”
For a single moment, I thought about waiting to see what she would say. To see if she would confess to knowledge about the wolves without prompting. But the buses were pulling in, and I didn’t want to wait. I lowered my voice and said in her ear, “I saw your photographs. Of Jack.”
She abruptly turned to face me. “You were the one who took them?”
I tried, with some success, to keep the accusation out of my voice. “Isabel showed them to me.”
Olivia’s face went pale.
I demanded, “Why wouldn’t you tell me? Why wouldn’t you call me?”
She bit her lip and looked across the parking lot. “I was going to, at first. To tell you that you were right. But then I ran across Jack, and he told me I couldn’t tell anyone about him, and I just felt guilty, like I was doing something wrong.”
I stared at her. “Have you talked to him?”
Olivia shrugged, unhappy, and shivered in the growing chill of the afternoon. “I was taking photos of the wolves, like always, and I saw him. I saw him”—she lowered her voice and leaned toward me—“change. Become human again. I couldn’t believe it. And he had no clothing, and my house wasn’t far, so I had him come over and get some of John’s clothes. I guess I was just trying to convince myself that I wasn’t crazy.”
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically.
It took her a moment. Then she said, quickly, “Oh, Grace, I know. I know you told me at the very beginning, but what was I supposed to do—believe you? It sounds impossible. It looks impossible. But I felt sorry for him. He doesn’t belong anywhere now.”
“How long has this been going on?!” Something was stinging at me. Betrayal, or something. I’d told Olivia at the very beginning about my suspicions, and she’d waited until I came to her to admit anything.
“I don’t know. Awhile. I’ve been giving him food and washing his clothes and stuff. I don’t know where he’s been staying. We talked a lot, until we had a fight about the cure. I was cutting class to talk to him and to try to get more photos of the wolves. I wanted to see if any of the others would change.” She paused. “Grace, he said you’d been bitten and cured.”
“That’s true. Well, that I was bitten. You knew that. But I didn’t ever change into a wolf, obviously.”
Her eyes were intent on me. “Ever?”
I shook my head. “No. Have you told anybody else?”
Olivia gave me another withering look. “I’m not an idiot.”
“Well, Isabel got those photos somehow. If she can, anyone can.”
“I don’t have any photos that really show what’s going on,” Olivia said. “I told you, I’m not a total idiot. I just have the photos of the before and after. And who would believe anything from that?”
“Isabel,” I said.
Olivia frowned at me. “I’m being careful. Anyway, I haven’t seen him since we fought. I have to go.” She gestured at the bus. “You really never changed?”
Now it was my turn to give her a withering look. “I never lie to you, Olive.”
She looked at me for a long beat. Then she said, “Do you want to come back to my house?”
I kind of wanted her to say that she was sorry. For not confiding in me. For not answering my calls. For fighting with me. For not saying you were right. So I just said, “I’m waiting for Sam.”
“Okay. Maybe another day this week?”
I blinked. “Maybe.”
And then she was gone, onto the bus, just a silhouette in the windows making her way toward the back. I had thought that hearing her admit to knowing about the wolves would give me some…closure, but all I felt was an uneasy disquiet. After all this time looking for Jack, and Olivia had known where to find him all along. I wasn’t sure what to think.
In the parking lot, I saw the Bronco pulling in slowly, heading in my direction. Seeing Sam behind the wheel gave me peace in a way that the conversation with Olivia hadn’t. Strange how just seeing my own car could make me so happy.
Sam leaned over to unlatch the passenger-side door for me. He still looked a little tired. He handed me a steaming Styrofoam cup of coffee. “Your phone rang just a few minutes ago.”
“Thanks.” I climbed into the Bronco and gratefully accepted the coffee. “I’m a zombie today. I was dying for caffeine and I just had the weirdest conversation with Olivia. I’ll tell you about it once I’m properly caffeinated. Where’s my phone?” Sam pointed to the glove compartment.
Climbing into the Bronco, I opened the glove compartment and retrieved the phone. One new message. I dialed my voicemail, put it on speakerphone, and set the phone on the dash while I turned to Sam.
“I’m ready now,” I told him.
Sam looked at me, eyebrows doubtful. “For?”
“My kiss.”
Sam chewed his lip. “I prefer the surprise attack.”
“You have one new message,” said the recorded cell phone babe.
I grimaced, throwing myself back in the seat. “You drive me crazy.”
He grinned.
“Hi, honey! You’ll never guess who I ran into today!” Mom’s voice buzzed out of the cell phone speaker.
“You could just throw yourself at me,” I suggested. “That would be fine with me.”