Chapter Five

Sitting across from Shadow, Rayne felt a bit more comfortable. Right before they went into McDonald’s, she had a small break down and he tried to console her. What kind of amused her was how his idea of consoling was running his fingers in circles on the back of her neck and hitting the pressure points.
“Oh, sorry. I’m all like ‘It’s ok. Everything will be alright’ and then I hit the pressure points.” Was what he’d said. Once they were inside, she was having trouble not crying. She was certainly calmer with him, but, not much. She ate her hamburger slowly while he woofed two of them down. ROTC had a way of making you hurry, apparently. But, she didn’t care how fast he ate. He was there for her and that’s what mattered.

Dairy Queen was full of annoying people. A little kid who wouldn’t shut up and workers who didn’t know what the hell they were doing. It was so tempting to her to take a knife and stab one of them in the throat. After she told that to Shadow, he tried to hand her one. “Are you crazy? I can’t kill someone and get away with it like you can.”
“What? You can’t kill someone and make it look like you didn’t in a room full of people?”
She was amused at his new sense of humor. “No.”
“That’s a shame.” At that, she wanted to hit him, but, she knew that would be a bad idea. If she hit him, he’d hit her much harder and possibly knock her out. She hated that she barely had any time to spend with him. It was all her mother’s fault. In a few hours, she’d have to leave. It amused her how not long ago, she couldn’t stand Shadow, and now, she couldn’t stand to be away from him. Once they were back at his place, they cuddled for a bit and talked-something she’d wanted for a long time. She knew he was capable of more tenderness, but he didn’t express it often. She was happy he was now. She had her arm over his stomach and her hand started to fall asleep. The time came for her to go. She could go now or be late to somewhere she did NOT want to go.
“You could say there was traffic.” he suggested. He was right. She could do that. But, an hour late from traffic? From their house? Wouldn’t work.
“Or I could say I fell asleep.”
“Or that.”

‘the f**k?’ Rayne thought. Shadow was on all fours looking like he transformed into his panther form again. He was circling around her while holding a defensive stance. She hated it when he was like this. He liked to bite more like this. Hard, too. As he charged her, she crossed her arms around her midriff and leaned forward. That was a stupid move on her part. He bit her with half his strength on her shoulder blade and held on for 2 seconds that seemed like forever. As he sat back and calmed back to his old self, she held her shoulder blade and blinked back tears. That was the hardest anyone had ever bit her. Once he was finally calm, he crawled back over to her. She was very cut off at first. All she did was stare at the blinds on the window blankly.
“Let me see it.” he said as he lifted up the back of her shirt.
She said nothing. She only tensed up as her touched her shirt and some of her skin.
“Wow. I had no idea I bit that hard. That’s gonna leave a mark.” he kissed the bite making her wince. “That hurt?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s ok.”
He rolled over and went to his computer while she still stared at the blinds. Finally, it was about time for her to leave. She and he stood around the counter. “How’s the bite?” he asked.
“It’s mostly stopped hurting now.” right after she said that, she moved away from him a bit.
“That was a smart move. I was tempted to bite you again. Though, I could still get you in that position too.”
She already knew that. He didn’t have to explain to her how he could take her head, push it forward, slam her to the ground and bite her. After he put some gum in his mouth, he walked her to the door and held it open. “You gonna leave while the door’s open or are you gonna stand there?” it amazed Rayne how he could make a simple question sound so cocky and rude.
“Close the door.” she said quietly.
“Huh?”
“Close the door.” She said a bit louder.
He closed the door, finally. She pulled on his shirt to bring him closer to her and she kissed him. He deepened the kiss and she felt his strong arm come along her shoulders to keep her there for a bit. Once the kiss was broken, the door was reopened and as she stepped outside, she said, “I like that gum, by the way.”
“Yeah. So do I.”
“Yeah. I know. You like mine too.”
“F**k, yeah, I do!”
She laughed softly. “Bye. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Ok. Bye”

Church. What an un-fun place to be. She was right next to her father waiting for him to yell at her for being so late. Church started at 5:30. She didn’t get there until 6:30. They were having their final prayer and the Psalm right after that then finally, the last song, then benediction and they’d be allowed to leave. Altogether, that would only take about half an hour, so, she was lucky. Once church was over, they were all going to Joe Lee’s. ‘Great. Seafood.’ she thought sarcastically. She was allergic to shellfish and she hated fish. But, she thought she’d go anyway since she was so late. At Joe Lee’s, she and her mother both ordered chicken. Instead of waiting for everyone else who was praying, they just ate and Rayne left early. ‘BED!’ she screamed in her head as she dove under the covers. The crappy day was over, thank Satan!