Hunter's Moon

[5]

With last night's events still reeling in her mind, Hollis spent much of the school day preoccupied with her thoughts. Somehow their crazy plan of breaking Isaac out of jail had worked. She could rest easy knowing that he was now safe and getting the proper help and training from Derek. Even if the group of hunters were still roaming Beacon Hills, it wasn't likely that they would be able to locate either of them. Though the imminent danger was now over for Isaac, more troubles were slowly starting to pile on.

A new monster was in town. One that had her group of friends worried as it was new territory for them.

There was a need for her to worry and obsess over everything, and her overtired mind took advantage of it. It refused to let her rest. She rubbed a hand over her face, trying to focus on her history class. The teacher was talking, but little of it sunk into her mind. She haphazardly jotted down the notes, angry at herself for not being able to focus. Her grades were starting to slip, and Hollis couldn't let that happen. Or let it continue to happen. Through much effort, she managed to keep her wandering mind from taking her in different directions long enough to pay attention to at least some of the class.

When the bell rang, she frowned at her notebook. Though written paragraphs covered the page, she knew she could have gathered more information in the forty-five-minute class.

Next time, Hollis promised herself as she gathered her belongings.

Balancing her books in her arms, she exited her history class and walked through the maze-like hallway with the rest of the student body. As she navigated the hallway, she made a stop at her locker to rid herself of the books she no longer needed. Morning classes were over, with only gym remaining, so there was little need for the materials that weighed her down. One of the books slipped from her grasp but was caught in mid-air and offered back to her.

Hollis reached for the book, a silent sigh escaping her lips as she looked up to be greeted by Carter. "Thanks," she said, taking the book from his gasp. She plastered a smile onto her face and put the remaining book in her locker. The last time she had spoken with him was the night of the Winter Formal before Lydia was attacked. Seeing him was just another grim reminder of that terrible night.

"No problem," he said. "I'm actually glad I caught you. We haven't really had a chance to talk since that night," he trailed off, shooting her a cautious look as his smile faltered for a moment. "I just wanted to see how you're doing. Given everything that's happened."

It wasn't that Hollis blamed him for what happened to Lydia. Perhaps at first, when everything had gone down, but she knew that none of it was his fault. He couldn't have predicted that when Lydia ran off to find Jackson that she would have gotten attacked. Neither of them foresaw it. It just so happened that Carter carried a lot of bad reminders with him. "I'm okay. You know, given everything," she answered. "Now that Lydia's safe, I'm definitely better."

"Good," he answered, throwing her a smile. He looked nervous just then, his gaze flickering across the emptying hallway. "Listen, do you have a minute? I really need to talk to you about something."

She didn't have a minute. Or even a second, for that matter. But catching the troubled expression on his face, she relented. "Uh, yeah. Sure."

Carter reached for her arm and pulled her off to the side despite the hallway being close to empty. When he was sure that no one was around to overhear what he wanted to say, he started to talk. "So I stopped by Jackson's last night, and you know that he lives across from the Lahey's, right?"

"Yeah, I knew that. Why?"

"Well, I - I heard some weird noises coming from that house. The Lahey one, I mean."