A Howling Heart
Chapter six

The staggering pain comes and goes through my dreamless night. I wake groggily, a strangled gasp leaving my lips as my hands jet to my throat, where the remaining feeling of someone's powerful grip lingers.

He was choking me. I couldn't breathe. The black was caving in, and I thought I would be gone forever. Then, Matias, I swear I saw him. My knight in shining armor. He came to the rescue, but was it too late? I squint, eyes adjusting to the darkened room before noticing small familiarities: my dresser, bed, and cute little chair in the far corner.

"What the -How the hell did I get home?" My throat feels raw, and after swallowing a bit of saliva that's pooled on my tongue, I manage to sit up and rub my forehead. My confusion is evident as I scan the room one more time to make sure I'm not hallucinating.

When did I get back home? Was it Matias?

I frown, setting my scowl on the door as I half expect him to barge in and angrily state something. I'm surprised when he doesn't. Something terrible happened last night. I can scarcely recall the events, but I know one thing. His uncle strangled me. I thought he was sick. Too sick to get out of bed and hurt me.

I shiver, remembering the power behind the hands that were at my throat.

I can't go back there after last night. Can I?

A gentle knock on my door catches my attention. My mom's soft cadence follows it as she calls to me from the hallway.

"Fae, is everything alright? Can I come in?"

"Yeah, come in."

I sigh softly, unsure as to whether I'm really in the mood to discuss anything right now, but it's my mother, and the last thing I want to do is shoo her away.

She's probably worried. Or did she see Matias bring me in here? Or something...

When my mother enters, I clench my jaw as light from the hallway streams into the room, and I notice just how much weight she's lost.

God, it scares me. I hope she's been eating.

"Have you been eating?"

Her face falls, and she smooths her shirt down as she nears my bed. Her hair looks brittle in its bun, as if there isn't really enough hair to make a bun, but still, the effort gives me some sense of hope. People who've given up don't try to look presentable.

She stops at the edge of my bed, straightening my comforter quickly before clearing her throat. "So you decided to stay home after all?"

Stay home? That doesn't make any sense.

I shake my head, dark locks flying about.

"No, I left. Remember?"

Her face scrunches questioningly, and she shrugs. "I thought you were, but when I checked on you an hour later, you were in bed." "In bed? Really?"

There's no way. No damn way. I went to Matias's. I was watching his grandfather. I swear.

I try to tap into last night's memories, but they are so blurry that I can't really focus on one thing.

I did go.

Right?

With a resigned sigh, I toss my arms up in defeat before letting them slap back down onto my thighs. My mom sits at the end of my bed, the blankets and mattress shifting from what little weight she's settled on them before she squeezes my ankle reassuringly.

"You didn't drink, did you?"

"No! I didn't drink!"

"Okay, okay. Just wondering. You don't seem to remember last night."

This is a nightmare.

"I was probably tired. I didn't get sleep, and I was up late. I don't know."

I shouldn't worry her. She looks weak as it is. Besides, it's healthy to keep a little mystery.

My mother arches her brows, and I can tell by her wrinkled forehead and how she firms her lips that she doesn't call my bluff. She's always been a worrier, but since we moved, it's been amplified. But with her, increased worry has come even more health problems. She's getting weaker and weaker.

"What's the matter, Fae? Tell me. Please? I can tell there's something wrong. Something on your mind."

She stands and sways slightly.

I jump out of bed and move to her. "Mom! Are you alright?"

She chuckles gently, waving a hand to dismiss my anxiety. I reach out to her.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired. Don't change the subject. I'm not leaving until you tell me what you're thinking."

Without my mother, I have absolutely no one to confide in.

It's a kind of loneliness that would drive someone mad.

"Something weird happened..."

I don't realize I'm stroking my neck again until I see my mother's eyes moving to my hands. She quirks a brow and shakes her head.

"I told you this town was no good."

"I - I swear someone attacked me."

"What?"

She rests her hand against the end of my bed to steady herself, her usual dizziness taking over, but it doesn't dissuade her anger. "Who?" Well, I'm not exactly sure. I don't want to make accusations if I don't know for sure it was that person.

"Some guy. I can't really remember, honestly. My memory's a little foggy."

She moves around the bed, her eyes moving to my throat.

"D-did they bite you?"

Her question takes me aback. Out of everything she could've asked, or all the trauma that could've been inflicted, she asks if I was bitten. "Uh... no. Why would someone bite me? Are there vampires in this town?"

I can't smother the awkward chuckle, but the seriousness that's on her face makes the blood drain from my face.

"No. There's not. I - it's nothing."

By the way, my mother appears shaken, but I know it's more than just 'nothing.'

"No. Tell me. I feel bothered when you try to avoid the subject. What is it about this town that makes you so cautious?"

My mother steps back and shakes her head.

"Mom?" My stern tone is met with more opposition.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, I do. How can I be safe if I don't know what to protect myself from?"

"Fae! Stop!"

My mother's raised voice makes me clamp my mouth shut. In the twenty-three years I've been alive, I only ever recall her having yelled maybe a handful of times. She begins to shake, wrapping her arms around herself.

I move to her, rubbing her arms to warm her up. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I- I didn't mean for you to get upset. What time is it anyways?"

She yawns and pats my arm as we begin to walk toward the door and out into the hallway. "Early. 6 am."

I nod. "What time did you go to bed?"

She shrugs. "I've been waking up on and off."

"Well, then, you should get some sleep. Come on. Back to bed. I'll make you breakfast when you get some more rest."

Once I'm in front of her door, she places a quick kiss on my cheek. After she's disappeared into her room, I press my back against the door. A sigh leaves my lips.

Wait... didn't he put his number in my phone?

I shuffle back to my room, urgency in my steps.

I search my room for my phone. Finally, I stumble upon it on the floor beside my window. I swipe it up and quickly go through the contacts.

Where the hell is it? I swear it was here last night.

I glower at the phone, angered how I can't remember clearly what the hell happened, and now I'm beginning to feel crazy, jumbled even. I huff angrily and toss the phone on my bed. Shaking fingers rake through my hair. I'm not crazy, okay? I was there. I. was. There. This is ridiculous. Maybe he's trying to mess with my head. Make a joke out of me.

I groan and run a hand down my face.

He can't just do that.

I want the truth.

But it's very early. I can't just barge over there now.

But how considerate was he in making me feel crazy? I know I was over there. I swear I was... maybe he's protecting his uncle. He probably doesn't want me to go to the police.

I could've been killed!

I sigh and move toward my bed, resigning to plopping down.

Maybe I should just find a new job and put it all behind me. I wouldn't say I like confrontation, but the notion of being in one with Matias scares me to my very core. His silence is intimidating.

I decide against confronting him - that is, until a piercing howl floods my room with an urgency that's foreign to me, and I find myself climbing out of bed.

"If I don't do this now, then I won't be able to bring myself to it."

I quickly throw on some clothes and run a brush through my hair, hoping to look presentable. Making haste through the hall and down the steps, I swipe the keys off the key rack and jog out to the van. The sun is not even fully out yet. The sky is pink.

And I'm going to confront someone...

This town really is making me crazy.