Easily Breakable

Chapter 24

The next day seemed to pass in a blur and before I knew it, it was my birthday. I didn't get any sleep at all last night and I was dragging when I finally decided to crawl out of bed. When I came out of the shower, there was knocking at my bedroom door. 

       When I answered it, Kaleb stood there with a small smile. "Good morning birthday girl," he said and pulled me in for a hug. I lay my head against his chest and hugged him back. I was terrified of what would happen today. I was scared but I wasn't going to admit that to anyone, though Kaleb already knew.

       I hadn't talked to Dani for the past few days, nor had I heard from him. I was a little worried about him and I decided that if I didn't get anything from him by noon today, then I would go find him. When I finally came back to reality, I pulled away from Kaleb. He looked me over again. 

       "You look tired. Did you get any sleep last night?" I shook my head wearily. "No. I just… couldn't sleep." He gave me a crooked smile. "I couldn't either," he teased. I laughed and pushed him playfully and he dramatically staggered back, as though the small shove actually had any effect on him.

       "What do you want to do today Anna," he asked me. I shrugged my shoulders. "Not die," I answered. His smile fell when he looked at me with his serious, piercing gray eyes. I gave him a fake smile to let him know that I was kidding, but he kept a straight face. "That wasn't funny," he said. I lifted a shoulder and his jaw remained locked. 

       We went downstairs only to find that Kathy had made a larger breakfast than usual. There were chocolate chip pancakes, bacon, and eggs set on the table with a bottle of orange juice. "Kathy? What's all this?" She looked up when she heard me speaking. 

       "It's your birthday breakfast Arianna. You should just sit down and enjoy it." I glanced at Kaleb for answers but he just shrugged his shoulders. I sighed and sat down at my usual spot but for the first time, Kaleb sat down beside me. 

       Kathy set a plate in front of me and gave me a warm smile. I returned a smile, but I didn't go for my food. I felt weirdly self conscious for some reason. Kathy was staring at me expectantly and gestured a hand towards my plate. I finally picked up my fork and began to eat.

        This morning's breakfast was eaten in an uncomfortable silence. Usually, Kathy tries to make small talk at least and ask me about school and everything, but this morning she just sat there, watching me, while pushing her food around her plate. 

        When I was done, I took my plate to the sink and walked back upstairs and Kaleb followed. When he saw me grabbing my car keys, he questioned me. "Where are you going?" I squeezed past him through the door before answering.

       "I'm going to go check on Dani. I'll be back though." He didn't say anything but I wasn't sure if that was good or bad. I walked out and got in the car and pulled away.

       I parked a couple streets away so I didn't rouse suspicion, or anymore than usual. When I got to the warehouse, it was silent as usual. I knew I shouldn't be here, but I was worried. Something could have happened to Dani and I wouldn't be able to know about it, so I decided to take the risk.

       So many doubts and worries were clouding my brain that I guess I didn't comprehend the heavy footsteps behind me. When I felt a warm hand wrap around my wrist, my first reaction was to scream. I was spun around and a hand clamped over my mouth. 

       "Open your eyes Angel," came the familiar voice in front of me. I did as he said, though I hadn't realized my eyes were closed. Dani stood there, looking beautiful and mysterious as always. An unintentional smile broke out on my face, but it quickly vanished. 

        "Where the hell have you been? I've been worried about you." A smirk appeared across his face when he looked at me. "I've been busy. You should have waited for me to call you though. You know it's not safe for you to be here." I didn't look at him when I answered.

        "I know, but I wanted to make sure you were okay." He shook his head slightly with an amused smile on his face. "You still should've waited." I shrugged and he pulled me in for an unexpected hug. "Happy birthday Angel." I gave him a grim smile, not wanting to be reminded of this day. 

       I didn't need to think about all the terrible things that would happen tonight. I didn't need to think about the pain and the blood and the fact that I could very well die and- 

       "Then don't think about it." I looked up at Dani when he spoke. I narrowed my eyes slightly when I looked at him. "I thought you said you would stay out of my head," I challenged. 

       "I did say that, but I don't need to be in your head to figure out what you were thinking. You're kind of easy to read love." I rolled my eyes and glanced around the empty lot. 

       "We should go," he said. I turned my attention back to him and nodded in agreement. "Okay. Where are we going?" Instead of a verbal reply, he smiled and took my hand, leading me to the passenger side of the car.

       Once he was in the drivers seat, he turned the key and put it in drive. I didn't know where we were going, but I honestly didn't mind. As long as it distracted me then I would be okay with whatever happened next. 

       We drove for what felt like hours, trying to fill the silence with small talk and conversation. At one point, my droopy eyes must have gotten the best of me because what felt like seconds later, I opened my heavy eyes to see that the sky had darkened. I turned to see Dani was staring intently at me. I pulled my gaze away from his and looked at our surroundings. We were in front of Kaleb's mansion.

       "How long have we been sitting here," I questioned. He glanced down and looked at the silver watch on his wrist. "About six hours," he replied. My eyes widened as I gaped at him. "Six hours? Why didn't you wake me up?" He just lifted a shoulder. 

        "I know you didn't sleep last night so I wanted you to rest." I glared at him for a second longer then glanced up at the rising moon. How ironic that it was full tonight. I remembered Kaleb telling me, after I had asked, that werewolves don't shift just because of the appearance of the moon. It's always on their eighteenth birthday. He said that it made no sense to shift only under a "full moon" because technically the moon is always full, it just isn't always visibly full.

       When I opened the door, Dani got out as well. "I don't think you should come in," I said hesitantly. I knew that Kaleb still didn't like him, and he wasn't as forgiving as I was. As always, he read my mind.

       "Your leech will just have to get over it," he said bluntly. I instantly felt defensive for Kaleb. "Be nice at least. It's not his fault." He muttered something that I didn't catch but I let it go. When we were walking towards the front door, Dani suddenly stopped and I looked up at him.

       "I forgot your present," he said. "I'll be right back. I just need to run by the warehouse really quick." I was shooting daggers with my eyes now. "I don't need a present. Let's just go in and forget about it," I insisted. He shook his head slightly.

       "It'll only take a few minutes Angel. I'll be right back," he reassured me. It didn't work though. I thought it over for a second. "You promised you'd be here with me," I pointed out. He nodded as though he were expecting my answer.

        "And I fully intend to keep that promise. I'll be right back." I gave a small reluctant nod and he kissed me on the forehead before jogging back to the car. He pulled away and after a few seconds of staring at the empty space, I felt a pang in my stomach that I didn't take as a good sign and I was beyond hot. It felt like I had been set on fire and I couldn't roll around enough to put it out. Little did I know that it was only the beginning.