Shadowed Instincts Read Free Page B

door shut and barely resisted
the urge to scream. After Darren’s proclamation, she hadn’t said a word. She
stared at her mom for several beats, but there was no help there. Elaine hadn’t
even looked at her. Melanie had stood abruptly and pounded her fist on the
table. When Elaine still refused to make eye contact, Melanie flew from the
kitchen and stomped as loud as possible up the stairs.
    “No way,” she said aloud. “There is no way in hell I am
moving to Kentucky.”
    She threw herself down on her bed and picked up her phone.
Jeremy was at school, so she couldn’t call him. Tara was, too. Dropping the
phone with disgust, she closed her eyes and counted to one hundred. Her anger
was just starting to fade when there was a knock on her door.
    “Go away!” she yelled.
    “Melanie, please.”
    “Mom, I don’t want to talk to you right now!”
    Her door creaked softly as it opened a crack. Elaine stuck
her head through and gave Melanie a sad look.
    “Melanie, please talk to me, baby.”
    “You really don’t want me to, Mom. Not right now.”
    Elaine walked into the room and shut the door behind her. She
walked over to Melanie’s bed and sat gingerly on the edge. Melanie refused to
look at her, keeping her eyes trained on the ceiling.
    “Melanie.”
    “Mom, don’t. I’m too mad and I don’t know if I can control
it right now.”
    “Just listen, baby. I know this sounds like a terrible idea,
but I only agreed to move because I thought it was for the best.”
    “For the best? I have a life here! What about Tara and the
rest of my friends? I’m a junior! You want me to start a new school my senior
year?”
    “Why don’t you just say what’s really bothering you?”
    “Fine! I can’t leave Jeremy! I won’t! I love him!”
    “You’re so young, Mel. You have your whole life ahead of you
and you’ll find lots of boys to love.”
    “Are you kidding me with that?” she shouted angrily, sitting
up to glare into her mom’s eyes. “Is that what you told yourself after dad? You
were young, too and I don’t seem to remember you ever having a date, much less
finding someone else to love.”
    “That was different. I had you.”
    “Oh, don’t you dare blame your lack of relationships on me.
Be honest. You never tried because you are still in love with Dad! I can see it
all over your face!”
    “I’m sorry, honey,” Elaine said with regret. “I didn’t mean
to make it sound like I was blaming you. You are the best thing that ever
happened to me. And…you’re right. I do still love your dad.”
    Elaine turned her head to stare at the floor. Whether it was
with embarrassment or remorse, Melanie wasn’t sure. She reached out and placed
her hand on her mom’s cheek. Elaine looked back into her eyes with the gesture.
    “Is it so hard to believe that I have the same thing with
Jeremy? That it would destroy me to leave him?” Her eyes hardened a little. “We
are, after all, the same species.”
    Melanie’s voice trailed off. She couldn’t imagine leaving
Georgia, leaving Jeremy and Tara and her life. She laid back down and sobbed
into her pillow for a few minutes while Elaine rubbed her back. Suddenly, an
idea occurred to her and she sat up.
    “I know! I could stay with Tara and you could go to Kentucky
with Dad.”
    “Melanie, don’t be ridiculous. I am not leaving you here.”
    “But, Mom-”
    “No,” Elaine interrupted. “That’s my final answer. I am not
leaving my daughter. Besides, this move isn’t just about me and Darren. It’s
about you, too. You are going through some major changes right now and you need
support. Darren’s community can help you. They can teach you what it means to
be a cynanthrope.”
    “So can Jeremy.”
    “Melanie.”
    “No, Mom. I. Am. Not. Moving. You need to figure something
else out.”
    The door to Melanie’s bedroom opened and Darren walked in.
He had a determined look on his face as he stalked toward Melanie’s bed.
    “Don’t. Don’t you dare