I pointed to the dried blood along his torso and thighs. “You’re right. There’s no other explanation for that. It must be witchcraft.” I continued scrolling through the internet search results. The town was just as rustic as Roscoe made it seem. The buildings and houses were old, and there was a lot of nature around the area. “I hope this place has decent internet.”
“I hope they’ve got someone who gets rid of curses.”
“You’re fine, Roscoe. I didn’t have anything of yours to use in the ritual.” Darryl stood and calmly walked over to the door while Roscoe eyed him. “I just remembered something.” He ran inside and slammed the door shut behind him.
Roscoe leaped out of his chair and dashed inside after him. It was probably the fastest I’d ever seen him run. “I rescind my offer! You ain’t gettin’ my tooth!”
I leaned back and shook my head while reading through more information on the town. The loud pounding of the floors and Roscoe yelling hysterically at Darryl lightened the mood a little bit. Maybe they were going to be okay after all, but I was still uncertain aboutmyfuture. The last big move I’d made hadn’t turned out so well, but I’d been younger then, and alone. This time I’d have someone to rely on—even if it was Roscoe.
His OnlyStans idea was actually pretty good, and despite my objections, it sounded like it could be fun if I hid my face. There was no way in hell I’d admit that to Roscoe.
Dark shades protected my eyes from the afternoon sun as I lay on the beach while reading a book I borrowed from Darryl’s shelf. The supposed ‘beach bum werewolf’ was a surprisingly avid reader of epic fantasy. There were so many interesting layers to both him and Roscoe.
I’d managed to find a normal-sized book I’d thought was contemporary fiction, and I was half-right. It ended up being a fascinating read about the theorized origins of the werewolf condition. The book was science-y at first, but it quickly dove into the absurd and mystical, which made it even more fun.
Adam stopped in front of me and grabbed the book out of my hands. His hair style had changed since the last time I’d seen him—shaved on both sides, with the same long dreads in the middle. The thicker fur-like hair on his arms, chest, and legs dripped with sea water, and he wore only a pair of white swim trunks and sandals.
“Dude, c’mon.”
“We need to talk.” Adam glanced at the cover and rolled his eyes before plopping down next to me, tossing it back into my lap. “Are you and Roscoe gonna live with Darryl?”
“No, why?”
“That lying bastard. I’m not going to let him use that as an excuse next time I ask him if I can stay.”
“Okay, I’m not sure if you know this or not, but usually when someone doesn’t want you living with them, you don’t keep asking.” I picked the book back up then thumbed through the pages to find where I’d left off. “Don’t you have a place of your own? And aren’t your parents rich or something?”
He turned away and sifted sand through his fingers. “I’m not pathetic enough to live with them at this age.”
“At this age? Aren’t you like sixteen or something?”
“Hilarious.” He threw the rest of the sand onto the ground and narrowed his eyes on me. “My living situation has changed.”
“What do you mean? I thought you lived with your werewolf in an apartment?”
“I do, but… it’s complicated. I had to keep him a secret for reasons. So, as far as the state knew, I was living by myself. I got a surprise audit a few days ago for the first time, and they’re gonna kick me out.”
“What about your werewolf?”
“He’s the whole reason I’m in this mess, and he treats me like shit anyways. I’d rather break the kuu and live with Darryl.”
“Is that why you both were arguing the other night?”
Adam groaned and rolled his eyes. “I wish I’d gotten the kuu from him. He keeps telling me he has a boyfriend and doesn’t want to get involved with a half-turn, but I’ve never seen him serious with anyone. No one likes me.”
“I like you,” I said through my teeth, “when you aren’t being a total prick.”
“Sorry.”
“If you get kicked out, what’s going to happen?”
“They’ll put me in Stonebrook, and I don’t wanna go to that place. I heard they do weird experiments on half-turns.”
“I’m sure they don’t do that. That would be a violation of human rights.”
“Yeah,humanrights.”
“We’re still human… somewhat.”
