Austin stuffed the last sandwich into his mouth. “When I was little, my grams used to make this for us.”
“Us?”
He finished chewing but sat still on the chair. The look in his eyes was terrifyingly similar to the other night.
“You don’t have to say anything else.”
His breath quickened, and he scooted away, gripping the fur on the sides of his head while rocking back and forth.
I shot up and tried to put my arm around him, but he smacked me so hard with the back of his hand that I went airborne, slamming into the wall before falling to the floor. Ignoring the pain in my head, I stumbled to my feet and tried to console him again.
Austin let out a horrible snarl and lunged for me in a panic, knocking the table upward. Soup splashed the walls as one of the bowls shattered. He wrapped his right hand around my neck, lifting me from the ground and squeezing. Blood pooled in my head, and I could no longer breathe.
“Don’t touch me,” he shouted while staring at nothing before tossing me aside like a doll. “Don’t hurt him!”
I writhed on the floor, rubbing my neck and gasping. It was pointless. I wasn’t strong enough to restrain him, and he was too far gone to soothe with words. He would definitely kill me if I tried that again.
The werewolf paced the room, howling, his eyes distant and glowing bright orange. The more I tried to think about what Roscoe would do, the less feasible it was.
Then I had an idea.
The longer fur-like hair on the back of my neck stuck straight up, and I stomped one foot, catching his gaze.
“Get a hold of yourself, soldier!” I barked, the tone of my voice harsh and unnaturally low. It was then the room began to turn silver.
Austin froze, his eyes widening as their color faded from orange to light blue.
“Attention!”
It was as though his body was on autopilot as he gave a salute, standing up straight and puffing out his chest.
“Yes sir!”
With my hands behind my back, I strode with as much confidence as I could muster, not breaking eye contact as he awaited with a doll-like emptiness. Inside I was trembling, my heart racing.
“At ease.”
The blue in his eyes faded, and his breathing slowed. He stumbled forward as if whatever demons were gripping his mind let go.
“Austin?”
“I’m gonna lay down,” he said, his gait meticulous as he crept through the living room toward the hallway. He looked back at me, his now watery eyes silently pleading, but not before his usual scowl returned. He disappeared through the door, closing it gently behind him.
If I read this wrong, I risked knocking down a delicate house of cards, but I also couldn’t leave him alone after that. The safest thing was to at least check on him without being pushy.
I tiptoed toward his bedroom door, turned the knob, and peeked inside. He was lying on his back with both hands folded behind his head.
“Are you okay?”
He didn’t respond, so I slipped into the room, keeping my eyes peeled for any change in his body language. If he showed even the slightest anger or discomfort, I’d take that as my cue to leave.However, he remained emotionless, except for the tip of his tail slightly patting the mattress between his legs.
I scooted next to him, cautiously put both feet up on the mattress, then leaned back against the headboard.
“You ever wonder why we exist?” Austin asked without looking at me.
The question was so unexpected it took me a moment to respond.
“Sometimes, especially when things get bad.”
