“I work at the same bar as he does, the Shabby Shotglass, in the Raven district.”
“Really? I go there all the time but haven’t seen you before. I can’t believe I didn’t notice someone as beautiful as you.”
“I started working there recently, a month and a half ago. I just moved to Ashville.”
“Ah. I’ve been busy with a school project the past two months, so I haven’t gotten out much. But I would love to show you thecity. If you want, of course.”
Sawing my lip between my teeth, I ponder his offer. Even if Logan was such a dick to me, our kiss inevitably pops into my mind. It’s as though something inside me refuses to move on.Ugh, stop thinking about him, Ava.He doesn’t deserve to occupy space in your head. I shakeLogan’s ghost off my shoulders, and tell him, “Yeah, sure, I would like that.”
We finally reach the keg but have to wait in a line to actually get our drinks. “Cool, it’s a date.” He winks and gives me a rueful smile that looks downright sinister with the makeup he has on, sweetened slightly by the boyish dimple.
“What do you study?” I ask after a few beats of silence.
“Architecture,” he responds and takes three red solo cups. “Do you want beer? I think there’s also some Vodka and OJ in the coolers.”
“Um, I can’t drink alcohol.”
“I got you, no worries,” he says, then starts searching through the drinks in the cooler. He throws me a look over his shoulder. “So you got two options, orange juice or alcohol-free cider.”
“Cider, please.”
He hands me the cider after he opens the bottle using his keys. He then pours two beers for himself and Tony, and we fall into an easy conversation as we stride back to the group. It doesn’t take long before I’m jumping to the music alongside Tony and Olivia. I laugh as Tony twirls me and bumps his hips with mine. He then excuses himself to talk to a guy dressed as a firefighter who’s been ogling him since we arrived. Olivia takes his place, and we start grinding to the music. I think the last time I had so much fun was when I went to the Deadly Sins concert with Chloe. Well, before I decided to snort cocaine like a dumbass and trigger my second heart attack, of course.
About an hour later, and after two more drinks supplied by Ethan, I realize I haven’t seen Tony since he went to talk to thatguy. “Have you seen Tony?” I ask Olivia.
“When I last saw him, he was pulling the firefighter with him through those trees.” Her eyes are glazed by alcohol when she points with her finger at the tree line on our right. “He’s probably getting some action, if you know what I mean,” she tells me with a smirk, slurring the words.
“I think maybe you should drink some water,” I say, a bit worried that she’s going to get sick soon.
She hiccups. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.”
“I’ll take her,” Ethan offers as he returns from his bathroom break. “Do you want another cider?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
They both leave, and at this point, I have to shuffle on my feet a bit and press my thighs together because my bladder is so full I feel like it’s going to burst any minute now. The idea that I have to go squat behind a tree where anyone can see me is not appealing at all, but at the end of the day, the only other option I have is peeing myself. So, I decide to put on my big girl pants and go take care of my business.
I make it past the tree line on my right when it dawns on me. I’m wearing a freakin’ jumpsuit.Mierda.I haven’t thought this through. So, if someone accidentally passes by me, they will get a full damn show. At least I’m wearing my jacket on top, but still. I pinch the bridge of my nose during the second it takes me to gather my courage, and when I think I finally made it far enough and start taking off my jumpsuit, a heaving noise pulls my attention to a guy dressed as Batman puking his guts out only two meters behind me. I hastily retie back my jumpsuit around my neck as the disgusting smell burns my nostrils, making me gag. I step away from him as fast as possible and decide to go further into the woods.
After walking for about fifteen more minutes, I look around and listen, but there’s no one here, only the wind rustling thebranches of the pine trees and the lonely hoot of an owl in the distance. I take care of my business with a happy sigh, and when I finally finish sticking the cleavage portion of the jumpsuit back to the tape, a blood-curdling scream cuts through the air.
My stomach drops to the bottom of my feet. Another scream follows. It sounds exactly like Tony. The screech saws through my bones like a serrated knife, and my body reacts instantly. I have to do something to help him. My legs propel me forward at lightning speed.
Icy pine-scented air fills my lungs and burns the back of my throat with every hurried inhale, and I don’t think I’ve ever run this fast in my entire life. The forest is nothing more than a hazy blob around me. The speed ends up being a curse, though, because soon the unmistakable stench of copper is filling my nose so potently I can almost taste it on my tongue.
I skid to a halt behind a tree when I come face to face with a golden, sequined-clad leg twitching on the ground. Ice shards fill my veins the moment I step to the side, and my eyes take in the horror scene before me.
Nonononononononono! It, it can’t be.
I’m dreaming. I have to be dreaming. This can’t be real. My body is frozen in place, and I can’t hear anything over the ringing in my ears and the pounding in my chest.
Everything seems to move in slow motion as the biggest wolf I have ever seen claws Tony’s heart out of his chest.
He’s not alone; a mangled body sits in a pool of blood next to Tony. The firefighter guy is barely recognizable, with his limbs all wrong and his chest slashed open savagely.
I muffle a scream and take a trembling step back—right onto a branch. The crack slices through the eerie silence, and the wolf turns its head back toward me, baring its teeth menacingly. A deep growl leaves its chest as it steps in my direction.
Oh, God. What do I do? What do I do?
