Nine

                                    

                                          
I had no idea what time it was when I came around. I didn’t know how long I had been out, where I was, or who had taken me here. 
                          

                          
My thoughts were blurry, but when my memory awoke, new panic set into my bones. I had wanted to believe it- no, I had thought I wanted to believe it. I had thought I wanted to believe what Calix had told me about werewolves, but now that I had seen it, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was crazy.
                          

                          
Maybe I was. All these years, people have told me that I was crazy, mostly others my age, but I had heard my mother more than a few times telling my father that maybe I needed to go back and see a psychiatrist again, maybe even be put on meds. 
                          

                          
Now that I had seen- thought I had seen, at least- what I had, the possibility of me actually being mentally ill crossed my mind. 
                          

                          
But hallucinations could be because of exhaustion, they could be from dehydration, maybe even stress. It wasn’t guaranteed that I was crazy. 
                          

                          
I tried to sit up, and took in my surroundings. Two adjacent walls were a cream color, the other two a light blue/green, and the bedspread that was laid across my lap was light gray with blue pillows behind my head and a blue and blue/green throw at the foot of the bed. There were two dark dressers pushed against the wall facing the bed, a flatscreen TV suspended above them, and green plants sat brightly on the surface. There was a huge window to the right, covered by white curtains that blocked out most of the light. 
                          

                          
A small bookshelf hung against the left wall with a desk below it, a laptop open but powered down on top. I slid my feet off the bed, and the soft white rug over the dark hardwood was plush beneath my toes. 
                          

                          
I walked over to the window, and pulled the curtain back slightly. Outside, I could see both the woods and a populated residential street. It was fully dark. 
                          

                          
Which meant I was still in Calix and Damien’s home. I needed to get out. 
                          

                          
I began to try to open the door, but realized I was barefoot and without a sweatshirt. I looked around the room, searching for my boots. I finally found them stuffed in the closet, and slid them on quickly. 
                          

                          
“Akina,” 
                          

                          
I spun around, my heart hammering in my chest, and backed away from the doorway, where Calix stood. 
                          

                          
“Please, just listen,” He said. 
                          

                          
I backed up more, but soon felt my back press up against the window. I took a deep breath, and shook my head. “I just want to go home. Please, just let me go home.”
                          

                          
Calix’s shoulders drooped, and his determined expression turned slightly… desperate. “Okay. Alright, I will take you home. But will you… will you be able to talk to me soon?”
                          

                          
I remained silent, and Calix shook his head, then stepped into the room, and closed the door. “Akina, I need you to be able to talk to me. I need you to talk to me and tell me that you will not tell anyone about what happened tonight.”