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Can t you be even remotely supportive? Just one time it would be nice if you would take my
side.
 Your side? I don t understand your side, Mitch. I ve never understood you or your life.
You had everything a career and a family who loved you and you threw everything away
for  He stopped, looking away from me.
 For what Dad? I threw it away for what?
 If you had just killed that vampire twink like you were told, none of this would have
happened. You did this to yourself, and I won t sit here and listen to you be a whiny bitch
about it. You made your bed, and now you and your faggot little vampire can lie in it
together.
There it was. The truth, finally. He hated what I was and always had. And now I was
going to be a queer monster, and he could walk away guilt-free over it.
 Get out, I growled at him.  Get the fuck out of here.
He looked up at me again, opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, but
thought better of it and walked to the elevator. I sank into the chair and listened to the door
of the elevator rattle into place.
 Mitch?
I looked up to see Jarrod leaning against the wall by the hallway. His arms were crossed
over his bare chest, and his hair was sticking out in odd places. I smiled, realising I would
never be sorry that I had given up that life for this one. I would never regret having Jarrod in
my life. My father could go to hell. I would be just fine.
I stood and walked over to him, pulling him into my arms and kissing his head. He ran
his hands up my back, fingers playing in my hair while we stood there and held each other.
 Are you all right? he finally asked after a minute.
 I don t know. I sighed.  How much did you hear?
 I walked in just in time to hear him call me a  faggot little vampire .
 Sorry about that.
MITCH Dakota Rebel
132
 Hey. He grabbed my chin and made me meet his eyes.  Do not ever apologise for
him. I have been called worse, and I don t give a fuck what he thinks of me anyway. You love
me. That s all I need.
I smiled weakly and kissed the tip of his nose. We walked over to the couch, and I took
both of his hands in mine.
 He actually didn t come over just to insult us. He wanted to let me know that my
blood tests came back positive for lycanthropy.
Jarrod gave me a soft smile, but there was no surprise on his face. Apparently, he had
figured it was going to happen, too.
 Are you okay?
 Not really, I admitted.  I m going to lose my job. I m going to be a werewolf. No, I
can t say this is one of my best days ever.
 That wasn t what I meant. He sighed.  I don t know what I meant. I m sorry, I don t
want to upset you more. I just don t know what to say. I haven t been human in a long time. I
don t remember what it was like when I found out I d become a vampire.
 Well, finding out you re a werewolf isn t too much fun.
 Do you even know what it s going to be like? Have you ever met a werewolf you
haven t killed?
Our voices were rising, and I was too upset to be the one who ended the conversation
before it became a full blown fight. I wanted to fight. Fighting I understood.
 No. I ve been killing monsters for ten years. Sorry, I don t tend to have conversations
with them before I shoot them.
Jarrod wrenched his hands from mine and jumped to his feet.  You re going to have
stop referring to us as monsters, Mitch. You re going to be one, too. Since I seem to be the
only person around who is still on your side, attacking me probably isn t your best course of
action.
Great, just fucking perfect.  You know what? I don t fucking need this right now,
Jarrod. I m not trying to offend you, but I just found out my life is over. Perhaps you could
try to be a little more understanding.
MITCH Dakota Rebel
133
 Understanding? Your life isn t over. It s just going to be different. And if you don t
realise that soon, you re going to have even bigger issues to deal with. Like being alone and
miserable.
He turned and walked down the hall, slamming the bedroom door behind him.
 Fuck! I screamed.
I found my jacket lying over a kitchen chair and was relieved that my car keys were in
the pocket. I threw on the jacket and ran down the emergency stairs to the street. I got behind
the wheel of my car and squealed my tires as I drove away from the kerb.
I drove to my apartment. I was relieved to be home. It was quiet and familiar there. I
threw my keys on the table then walked down the hall to take a shower. I scrubbed at my
skin under the hottest water I could get. If only, I could wash the day off of my body. As the
water grew cold, I still felt like shit.
Someone was knocking on the front door when I walked out of my bedroom after
getting dressed. I figured it was Jarrod, but I really wasn t in the mood to talk to him just yet.
I threw the door open prepared to start yelling but stepped back in surprise at the strange
man standing there.
He was tall and thin with shaggy brown hair and bronze skin, and I had no idea who he
was at first glance.
 Mitch? he asked timidly.
 Can I help you?
 My name is Christian. Jarrod asked me to stop by and check on you.
 Well, you can tell Jarrod I m fine, thanks.
 I think we need to talk. Can I come in?
I walked away from the door, leaving it open for him. He looked vaguely familiar, but I
was too angry to try and place where I knew him from. If Jarrod had sent him, I was willing
to assume he wasn t going to attack me so I could at least let him come in.
 Jarrod tells me you got some& interesting news this morning.
 Did he? What the hell business is it of yours? I don t even know you.
 No, but he does. And he cares about you and is really worried. He thought it might
help if you actually talked to a werewolf before you started jumping to conclusions about
being one.
MITCH Dakota Rebel
134
I turned and looked at him. He still stood by the door, inside but just barely. I suddenly
realised he was in the band, and I had seen him at the Heartstrings concert and in the photos
that had landed on my desk a lifetime ago. Christian Jaquea, the drummer. The werewolf.
 So what? You re here to tell me how great it is to be a werewolf? How turning furry
once a month is the best thing that could happen to me?
He laughed. It wasn t the reaction I had expected.
 No. No, not at all. He closed the door and walked into the living room.  Why don t
we sit down?
I sat on the couch and turned to face him as he sat in the chair. He looked at me for a
minute before leaning forward and putting his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together
in front of himself.
 Mitch, I ll admit that being a werewolf is not the end of the world, but I won t lie to
you. It won t do any good to paint you some beautiful picture when you re going to find out
the truth in a couple weeks anyway. It s a difficult life.
 I take it Jarrod didn t send you here to make me feel better, then? I laughed  cause I
didn t know what else to do.
 He just sent me here to talk. He has no idea what I m going to tell you, and to be
honest, I didn t really know, either. I wish I could ease your fears, but when I got infected, I
had someone who tried to do that. I just ended up angry that I d been lied to. I don t want to
lie to you. I don t know you, but I know Jarrod. He s a good friend, and pissing off his lover
isn t going to win me any points with him.
 Then why are you here?
 Because he asked me to come. He shrugged as if that explained everything. Maybe it
did to him, but I was not in a mood to have a meaningful conversation about the ins and outs [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]