Free Feral by Anne Berkeley Page A

put an end to it all.  I wouldn’t see it coming.  Hopefully it would be quick, and wouldn’t hurt.  It beat worrying over my prospective future.
    By the time I reached the curb, I was nearly jogging.  I loped across the street and turned the corner, watching the ground at my feet, my hair draping around my face, hiding my red, puffy eyes.  The eyes of every neighbor bore into me, watching as I made a spectacle of myself.
    See Thale run.  See Thale cry.  See Thale fall to her knees and turn into a bloodthirsty beast.  I giggled hysterically, muffling it with the back of my hand.  Christ, I was losing it.
    “ Thaleia!”
    I froze, knowing the voice all too well.  Lifting my head, my father jumped from his beamer, rushing in my direction.  I felt immediately relieved, yet horror-struck.
    “Peter, Paul and Mary!” my mother exclaimed, joining him.  “Where in the Sam Hill have you been?  We’ve been looking for you for hours!  Have you been crying?”  Freezing, my mother’s eyes took on the mother-of-all-fears look.  “Are you hurt?  What happened to you?”
    “Easy, Mare,” my dad said.  “Let her answer one question at a time.”
    God, where did I start?  What did I say?  Sorry Mom and Dad, but I can’t come home with you.  I was mauled by a werewolf.  Well, and you know how allergic Mom is to pet dander.  Can’t have her sneezing in the acai berry smoothies.  What would the customers say?
    “Marcus cheated on me.”  It was effective, and it wasn’t a lie.
    “Oh dear,” Mom gasped, dragging me into a huge hug.  My dad hovered in the middle of the street, tongue-tied.  He glanced to his beamer and back then slowly sidled closer to his car where he could escape the atrocity of his baby girl’s dating tribulations.
    “I’ll wait in the car,” he said apologetically.
    “Are you sure?” Mom asked me.  “It’s not just a nasty rumor?”
    “Oh, yeah, there’s no doubt about it.  I walked in on them.  Peyton dressed up as a nurse for Halloween.  I’d say she was actively checking his blood pressure.”
    “Oh, Peyton,” Mom tsk’d.
    (Yeah, that’s what Marcus said, too.)
    “ Thale, you used protection, right?”
    “Mom!” I snapped.  “Why do you always have to go there?”
    “Because I’m your mother and it's my job.  If Marcus was with Peyton, God only knows where else he’s been.  With all the things you could catch…”
    She had no idea.
    Aghast, I glanced around, but found neither the twins, nor Icarus in sight.  I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation.  Right now.  In the middle of the street.  Unfortunately, Mom was indefatigable when on a mission.  I knew I would do best to answer her questions.
    “Well if you must know, I never slept with him.”
    Mom sighed, mildly satisfied, but I knew better.  The inquisition wasn’t over by a long shot.  She was just winding up.  Like me, I could see it in her stance, the cock of her hip, the set of her jaw, the way she folded her arms over her chest.  I emulated her resolve.
    “Ok, Thaleia, so I know why you didn’t ride home with Marcus last night, but where did you stay, and why haven’t you answered your cell?  Your father and I have been worried sick.  Some boy named Jack called the house and said that he thought you might be in trouble.  We’ve been looking for you all morning.  The police won’t officially do anything for twenty four hours since your eighteen, and technically a legal adult.”
    I took a moment to gather my thoughts.  It was best if I stuck to the truth as much as possible.  “There was a girl at the party that I go to school with, and she wasn’t feeling well.  I helped Jack get her up the stairs and into a bedroom.  And that was when I found Marcus and Peyton.  I was upset, so I went outside to get some fresh air, but when I got outside, there was this young girl there.  Hailey.  I knew she was too young to be at the party, so I walked her home.