Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Here it is, the infamous story that keeps getting taken down for being too freaky. I've decided to make the first chapter just one large trigger warning for the entire story so that there's no excuse for anyone being shocked to their very own core at the subject matter in here.

Because "My Werewolf Daddy" keeps getting removed, I've decided to publish it on AO3 and FictionPress, under the same pen name, Guzmasboi (because Guzma is my husbando).

I really do hope that you all enjoy this story as much as I've loved writing it!

**TRIGGERS!!**

THIS STORY CONTAINS BLOOD-RELATED INCEST BETWEEN FATHER AND SON!

There are also instances of DDLB, Foul Language, Underage, Severe Underage (No sexual acts, but mentioning thereof), Sexual Material, Dubious Consent, Incest A'plenty, and Physical Violence.

If you don't like it, then please don't read/report.

Enjoy!

♡ Guzmasboi

Chapter Text

Michael

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Kyle/Daddy

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Dylan

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Markus

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Brady

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Max

Chapter Text

“When You Grow Up, Your Heart Dies” - GUNSHIP

When you grow up your heart dies / Just keep holding that secret code by your side / Some call, somebody call it / Don’t let it go 

♡✧。 (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡

[Michael, Age 4]

I saw Daddy get out of his truck and walk inside the station to come pick me up.  He’d been out on the beach because he said that there was a whale on it, and he had to help to get it back home to its family.

“Daddy!” I cheered, running over to him to attach myself to his leg.

“Hey Kiddo!” Daddy smiled, lifting me up in his arms to bring me into one of his tight, bear hugs.  I buried my face into his neck, sniffing in his usual smell of sea salt and pine trees.

“Did you save the whale?” I asked, eagerly waiting for his heroic story.  My Daddy is my hero.  He was Superman in my child eyes, capable of doing no wrong.  I loved when Mom would fly me out to see him.  We’d spend all day together playing and having fun.  It was just me and Daddy.

“Sure did,” Daddy grinned.  He turned to thank Trixie for watching me while he was away before walking us out to his truck to go home.  As he put me in my car seat in the back, he recounted his tale for me.  “It was huge, and it smelled really bad.  So bad that I had to hold my breath the whole time I was there…”

My wide eyes glimmered as I listened to Daddy’s story about the whale.  Despite hearing about tractors and crane lifts, I pretended in my mind that it was Daddy himself who’d picked up the whale and threw it back into the ocean.  He was the strongest man I knew, after all.

When we pulled up in front of the house, Daddy got out of the truck and helped me out of my seat, keeping me in his arms.  “And how was your day with Trixie?” he asked me as we entered the house.

“It was fun!” I exclaimed.  “She showed me pictures of her wedding.”  While I was at the station, she’d showed me pictures of her in her white wedding dress, looking super happy as she stood next to a man in a tux.  She’d told me that it was the happiest day of her life because she’d spent it with the man she loved the most.

And that got me thinking, because Daddy was my most favorite person in the whole wide world.

“Daddy,” I said, wrapping my small arms around his thick neck, “when I get older, I’ma marry you.  And then we’ll have our own happy pictures to show everyone!”

Daddy smiled down at me and nodded.  “Okay, Kiddo,” he chuckled.  “We’ll get married when you’re older.”

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[Age 5]

The wind whipped around Daddy’s house, making it howl like one of the dogs down the block.  The sound made me think of one of the monsters that I’ve seen on TV, and I hid underneath my blanket.  That way, whatever monster was outside in the storm, it wouldn’t be able to see me.

The rain tapped against the window and when I peered out it, the trees blew like crazy.  It was scary whenever there was a thunderstorm, and I shivered and went back to hiding under the blankets.

CRASH!

The thunder crashed in the sky and I could see a flash of bright light even from under the blankets.  The windows even shook with the great boom and my stomach twisted in knots.  Nope.  Forget that.

I scurried out from under the blanket and hurried out of my bedroom, down the hall, and into Daddy’s room.  Daddy was still asleep, resting on his side.  He snored a little bit, but I’d rather deal with that than the scary thunder outside.  Quickly, I shimmied under Daddy’s blanket, latching onto him with my arms and legs.

As soon as I cuddled up to Daddy, he let out a grunt; and even while he was asleep, he wrapped his big arms around me and pulled me in closer to him.  All of a sudden, my heart stopped racing and I felt myself relaxing.  Even with the loud thunder and flashing lightning bolts, I wasn’t afraid anymore.

Daddy always made me feel safe.  He was the strongest man I knew and he could protect me from anything.  He always said that I could go to him whenever I was scared and he would take care of me.  

And I knew he always would.

“Daddy’s got ya, Baby,” he mumbled, rubbing my back reassuringly as he pressed his lips against my forehead, his prickly beard leaving tingles behind.

I snuggled up closer to him and fell asleep.

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[Age 6]

“Thanks for the taffy, Daddy!” I cheered, eagerly unwrapping a third piece to pop into my sticky mouth.  Banana flavor, my favorite!  We were riding in the truck back to the house after a fun time at the beach.  Daddy had the day off and decided to take me to the beach where we played in the sand and watched the sea lions swim.

I love spending time with Daddy.

“Of course, Kiddo,” he smiled as he drove.  Since we were soaked from swimming, he only wore his shorts as he drove.  His muscles made me think of my Goku action figure that he’d bought for me yesterday.  “Did you have fun today?”

I nodded wildly, bouncing my legs up and down.  “Yeah!  Mommy and Daddy Johnny never take me to the beach in Tenn’see,” I said.  Mommy took me to the park every now and then, but Daddy’s house was more fun.

Daddy looked back at me in the mirror.  “Well Nashville isn’t close to the ocean,” he mumbled.  “And who’s ‘Daddy Johnny’?”

“He’s Mommy’s friend,” I explained, looking back out the window as we traveled down the road.  A seagull was flying close to the truck and I pretended that it was following us home so that I could have a pet.

“And you call him ‘Daddy’? Whose idea was that?” Daddy asked, his voice raising a little bit, which almost never happened.

“It was Daddy Johnny’s idea,” I said, wondering what was wrong.  “He told me to call him that.”

Daddy slowed the truck down and turned around to face me, pointing one of his fingers at me when he spoke.  His eyes were wild with rage and his face was red like a tomato.  “Listen to me, Michael,” he growled, his voice loud and scary, making me cower in my seat.  “Don’t you ever call that man ‘Daddy’!  He’s not your Daddy, I’m your Daddy!  Okay? You’re mine, and if I ever hear you callin’ someone else ‘Daddy’, then you’re gonna be in trouble.  Understand?”

I slowly nodded, my bottom lip trembling because somehow I’d made Daddy mad at me.  We continued back to the house and when we pulled up, Daddy took me out of the seat and held me close to him.

“I’m sorry, Kiddo,” he murmured as he hugged me tightly to him.  “I-I just don’t like the idea of another man being your Daddy.”

I nodded, burying my face into his neck.  “But you’re my Daddy,” I said, sad that Daddy was sad.  Whenever I was blue, he always made me happy, so I had to do the same for him.  So I leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek like what I’d seen people do on TV.  It always seemed to make them smile.

And it worked, because as soon as I leaned back, Daddy had a giant smile on his face.  He sniffled and nodded.  “Yeah,” he breathed, “I’m your Daddy and you’re my boy.”

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[Age 7]

“Kiddo, where are your crutches at?” Daddy asked when he saw me hopping on my good leg all the way into the kitchen.  I’d broken my leg falling off the jungle gym at the after school care Mommy made me go to when she was at work.  Thanks to that, I had a large cast on my left leg; but it was super cool because I’d gotten my friends to draw all over it.  Even Daddy signed his name— the biggest name on there too.

I looked over him and shrugged.  “I dunno,” I said, grabbing a banana off the counter and peeling it open to take a large bite.  I could fit half of it in my mouth to take one large bite, a trick that I’d learned from some of the older kids at school.  It must’ve been a funny joke because they always cracked up whenever I did it.

Daddy’s eyes went wide when he saw my trick and he gulped.  “Um, w-well,” he stammered, his face turning red, “you can’t just hop around all the time.  What if you lose your balance and fall? You’ll break your leg all over again.”

That would suck.  As cool as the cast looked, it wasn’t very much fun having to be careful all summer.  I couldn’t even go down to the beach because Daddy was scared it’d get all dirty and ruined.

“You can just carry me everywhere,” I suggested, finishing off my banana, devouring the whole fruit with just two bites.  

Daddy sighed and shook his head before letting out a low chuckle.  “Sure,” he agreed, walking forward and lifting me up into his arms bridal-style.  “Where to?”

“Let’s play with the PlayStation,” I said.  Daddy was good at video games, but he always let me win, so I preferred to play with him.  “But can I have another banana?” I pointed over at the bunch of yellow fruit on the counter.

Daddy quickly snatched a banana off the counter and handed it to me.  “Sure,” he nodded, “why don’t you show me that trick one more time?”

“Okay!” I cheered, peeling the banana and shoving it into my mouth as Daddy carried me into the living room.  As soon as he set me on the couch, I perked up and saw my crutches leaning up against the front door.  “Hey!  Daddy, there’s my crutches.”

He looked over to where I pointed and frowned.  “I think I’ll still carry you around,” he said.  “That sounds a lot more fun, right?”

I nodded.  “Yep!” I agreed, taking another large bite of my banana as I leaned into Daddy on the couch.

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[Age 8]

I followed behind Daddy as we left the movies, trailing behind as I replayed my favorite action scenes in my head.

“C’mon, Michael!  Hurry up!” Daddy called as he unlocked the truck and hopped inside.

“Coming!” I yelled.  The box of gummy bears fell from my hands and tumbled a couple of cars over, so I scurried after them to get it back because gummy bears were my favorite— especially the orange ones.  I found the box next to a beat up, red car that had a lot of rust on it.  As I bent down to pick the box up, the driver of the car jumped out.

“Hey kid!” he grunted, tugging down the waistband of his sweatpants to let his wiener hang out.  “Look at this!”

I didn’t quite know what was going on or why the man was showing his privates to me in the dark parking lot.  All I could was clutch onto my candy and stare, a little confused as to why he was so hairy.  “Eww!” I shouted, taking a step back.

“What’s taking so long?” I heard Daddy ask, his footsteps sounding out as he came over to where I was.

“Oh shit!” the man cried, yanking his sweats back up to cover his privates.

“What the fuck are you doin’ to my boy?” Daddy roared.  He must’ve seen because I saw his face get all red like a cherry, and his vein popped out on his forehead that only came out when he was really, REALLY mad about something.  Daddy lunged forward, shoving me behind him and tackling the man in one movement.  It was so cool!  Daddy looked like one of those wrestlers that I’d watch on TV.  He punched the man in the face over and over, blood gushing out of the dude’s nose and flying in all directions with every hit.

The man tried to cover his face with his hands, but Daddy was too strong.  He didn’t let up at all and kept beating on him as he was full with rage, yelling out swear after swear until he was just shouting out a garbled mess of nonsense.

“Is everything okay over there?” a woman yelled from the sidewalk, rushing over to us as she pulled out her cell phone.

Daddy pushed himself away from the beaten up man.  He had some of the guy’s blood splattered on his shirt and face, making him look crazy.

“Daddy?” I asked, my voice low and careful.  I didn’t understand what just happened or why Daddy attacked that man just now.  “Are you okay?”

He didn’t say anything, his blue eyes still wild with rage.  With one swing of his muscled arm, he flung me over his shoulder and stomped over to the truck.  He tossed me into the backseat before jumping in and speeding off towards home, scowling and breathing heavily the whole time.

“Daddy?” I asked again, a little scared that he was mad at me.  “What—“

“Are you okay?” he interrupted, looking at me in the rearview mirror.  “He didn’t hurt you, right?” His voice was rough and gravelly.

I shook my head.  “No.”

Daddy pulled over to the side of the road, holding his face in his hands for a little bit.  “Can you— can you just come sit next to me for a little bit?” he asked.  “Please?”

I quickly climbed over the arm rest into the front seat with Daddy.  “Are you okay?” I asked him.  He was still shaking and his face was still really red.

He wrapped his arms tightly around me, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.  “Just let me hold you for a while,” he muttered, resting his head on top of mine.  “Sorry if I scared ya.  I just… I just— if someone harms my boy, then all I wanna do is kill them.  But I can’t do that, ‘cause who will look after you if I’m gone?”

I still didn’t get it, but I did know that I didn’t want Daddy to go anywhere.  So I clutched his shirt tightly in my small hands and held onto him as if my life depended on it.

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[Age 9]

When I woke up it was still dark in the house, so I had a little trouble seeing where I was at first.  I knew for a fact that I wasn’t in my own bed because it wasn’t this soft or warm.  And plus there was something big and warm that surrounded me, snoring lightly.

“Daddy?” I asked, shaking him awake.

“Huh?” he grunted, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around me.

“Why am I in your bed?” I’d fallen asleep in my own bed, so I was kind of confused to find myself in Daddy’s with him holding me.  I didn’t mind though; I’d fallen asleep in Daddy’s bed plenty of times before when I was little.

Daddy chuckled and buried his face into his pillow.  “You’re gonna laugh,” he giggled.

Already I felt myself crack a smile.  “What?” I grinned.

He groaned and tugged me closer to his chest so that I tucked my head under his chin, feeling his body vibrate as he spoke.  “Daddy just had a nightmare, that’s all,” he mumbled, rubbing my back.  “So like how you’d sneak in my bed whenever you were scared, I brought you into mine because I won’t fit in yours.”

That was funny.  And it made me happy that I was Daddy’s teddy bear.

“What happened in your bad dream?” I asked him, a little curious as to what could scare Daddy so much.  He was the strongest and most brave man that I knew.  So whatever it was had to be totally scary!

“I, um,” he stuttered, his arms growing tighter and tighter by the second, “I kept callin’ your name and no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find you.  And I got scared ‘cause I didn’t know where you were and I didn’t know if you were safe or hurt.”

“I’m okay, Daddy,” I reassured him, nuzzling into his hold.  “I’m right here.”

Daddy was quiet for the rest of the night.  But I knew from the lack of snoring that he stayed awake the entire time, just holding me close to him.

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[Age 10]

My dad is my best friend in the whole world. 

Every summer, I fly out to Bodega Bay, California where he lives so that I can spend all three months with him. Throughout the school year, I eagerly await June, July, and August so that it can be me and my best buddy, doing whatever we want together. He works as a park ranger, so he loves to spend lots of time outside in the Redwoods that are close to his house; and I often accompany him on some of his patrols to keep him company. He will drive his ranger truck with the windows rolled down and the music blasting full volume, and we’ll share a bag of spicy sunflower seeds. Whenever we stay home, we will stay up all night watching scary movies and eating pizza (he’ll drink beer while I down gallons of soda); and we will spend so much time together that the sun will be rising before we even know it. Or sometimes I’ll wake up on the couch, sprawled on top of Dad as he snores, the two of us sharing the sofa somehow. 

Summers with Dad are the happiest times of my life…

This summer, something was wrong though.

It’s hard to explain, but Dad was acting… off. 

Chapter Text

“When You Grow Up, Your Heart Dies” - GUNSHIP

Keep running on / Just hold on / Just fight on / Until the sun goes down / Just remember when you grow up your heart dies

♡✧。 (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡

[Michael, Age 10]

I visit my dad every summer, and often times it’s the best time of my life. I love my dad with all my heart and there’s nothing more that I want than to spend all day with him. He’s my best friend, my world, and I would be devastated if I never had him in my life at all. Even when I’m at Mom’s during the school year, Dad would call me every night and we would spend loads of time recounting our days to one another. Even some nights he’ll be dog tired from work and just say that he wanted to hear my voice and that he loves me before hanging up and going to bed. 

I can go on and on about how I love Dad and he loves me, but for some reason, this summer things felt different.

It’s hard to explain, but I can kind of narrow the begging down to about three weeks before school let out and I was to fly out there to see him. He didn’t call me one night, which was really unusual for him. So I just left him a voicemail telling him goodnight and that I love him, hoping that he was okay and just had to work late for some reason. That was weird thing Number One.

Number Two was the next night when he did call me. 

“Yeah sorry I didn’t call you, Mikey,” he’d said over the phone, his voice sounding almost a bit deeper than normal. “I can’t really go into specifics, but I was actually bitten by a wolf while I was on patrol.”

My resulting gasp had nearly sucked in all the air from my bedroom. “What?!” I cried. “A wolf? Are you okay? How’d it happen? Why was there a wolf there? Did you catch it?” I rambled on and on all different sorts of questions, each one going unanswered. 

“I’m fine,” Dad chuckled, not really convincing me. “I got bandaged up and everything. Didn’t even leave a scar. But besides that… um, I will have to do some stuff about it…”

“Like hospital stuff?” I asked. “‘Cause Johnny got bit by a chihuahua and had to get a shot!” It was pretty funny, but I hoped that my dad wouldn’t have to be in and out of the hospital getting his wolf bites taken care of while I was down there. Call me selfish, but I wanted to spend all my time with him.

“Um, sure that works,” Dad muttered. “I’ll have to be workin’ on this whole bite fiasco, so there’ll be a lot of times I’ll have you stay with Uncle Dean and your cousins.”

I’d been relieved that Dad and I were on the phone, that way he hadn’t been able to see my look of sheer disappointment. My uncle and cousins lived in Guerneville, which was the small town next over, further away from the coast and built more into the Redwoods. Uncle Dean was okay, I guess. I really hadn’t had a lot of time with him because Dad didn’t get along with him, always claiming that he was a good for nothing drunk… which he was. Then there were my two cousins. Max is a year younger than me, and deaf. I don’t know sign language so our talks are short. That, and I always got the feeling that he didn’t like me because of the way he’d always mean mug me.

My older cousin, Brady, is pretty nice. We are kind of close and would often times spend a day or two together playing video games (he’d always let me win), going to the beach (he would always let me hold onto him when we got in the water since I can’t swim), or watching scary movies (he’d always keep an arm wrapped around my shoulders whenever I got scared… and Max would roll his eyes every time for some reason). Yeah Brady’s fun and all, but he’s not Dad. I can admit without a moment’s hesitation, and with no ill will towards my cousin, that I would rather spend twenty-four/seven with my dad.

And I’d thought that he’d felt the same way since he’d usually be a little less likely to let me stay over at Uncle Dean’s; his go to saying whenever Brady asked me to ask him if I could stay the night over there being, “Well, if you don’t mind your daddy being all lonely…” and he’d give his signature puppy dog look, complete with wide eyes. That one-hundred percent led me to turning down Brady. Therefore, the fact that Dad was so keen on me staying over at Uncle Dean’s some more was weird thing Number Three.

Number Four occurred when I’d gotten off the plane in San Francisco.

Dad always met me at the gate whenever I’d get off the plane, so when I exited the long ramp tunnel, I eagerly scanned the waiting crowd for him. Dad was super tall, so it didn’t take long before I spotted him, eagerly waving at me.

Instinctively, I rushed forward, but my steps faltered a bit when I took in the sight of my father.

Dad was huge!

My dad is a park ranger, so fitness kind of goes hand in hand with that job. Hence, he’s always been a bit on the fit side. That being said, it was as if the dude had had his head transplanted onto a life-size He-Man action figure! The green t-shirt he was wearing was stretched to the limit as it struggled to contain his massive muscles. For real, his arms were thicker than my legs, making his biceps look crazy huge. His shoulders were broader and a foolish piece of me even wondered if he were a little taller too. And his chest was so built that I was willing to put money down that he could’ve ripped his shirt to shreds just by taking a deep breath. Speaking of which (and yes, I was cringing at how much I was checking out my dad), he wore a v-neck which showed off the chest hair that was growing all over his new pecs. I swear I’m not weird, but I’ve seen Dad shirtless plenty of times whenever we’d gone to the beach, and he’d never looked like some Teen Wolf actor before, which only made the dark stubble on his chin even odder.

Maybe I looked different too, since Dad’s eyes widened and his fuzzy jaw dropped as soon as we made direct eye contact. “Oh fuck…” I could kinda make out him muttering, his voice deep and growly. His face went pale, looking paper white.

I tried to shake away the weirdness, already ecstatic and looking forward to spending three months with my best friend in the whole world.

“Hey Dad!” I happily cheered. “You been working out?”

Immediately, Dad blushed, his face growing bright pink. “Oh, y-yeah,” he stuttered, scratching at the back of his neck nervously for some reason, the action causing his tiny shirt to lift up a little, showing off his hairy abs. He bit down on his lip for a second before yanking me closer to him. “Here, give Daddy a hug.”

The big muscle man wrapped both of his buff arms around me while shoving me into his chest. Whoever coined the term “Rock Hard Muscles” is wrong because hugging Dad was like embracing a large teddy bear. Seriously, his chest muscles were so soft and even though I was practically being smothered, I was so comfy cuddling up to them. Dad even upped the ante, nuzzling me as he gave me a big hug, his beefy chest vibrating as he… growled, purred? Huh?

“Mine,” Dad happily hummed in his deep voice, tightening his hold on me.

“What?” I wondered aloud, looking up at him confused.

That snapped him out of whatever daze he was in, the blush deepening on his face as he knit his eyebrows together. “Oh, uh, n-nothing, Kiddo,” he stuttered. “Let’s go get your bags.”

He reluctantly released me from his bear hug, instead opting to grab a tight hold onto my hand, interlocking our fingers. I didn’t think that any of that was odd. I missed him like crazy whenever I was at Mom’s, so I assume he must’ve missed me too. Still, there was something else that was bothering me.

“Dad?” I asked him, craning my neck to look up at him. Yeah, he had to have had a growth spurt. “Why are your eyes yellow?” For real, his normally ice blue eyes were now a chilling yellow that didn’t match his usual look at all. They looked pretty cool, sort of like the eyes on those creepy wolf masks at the Halloween store, but they totally clashed with my Dad’s teddy bear personality.

For the millionth time, Dad’s face reddened and he averted his gaze from me while simultaneously tightening his grip on my hand. “Um, I, uh…” he trailed off, “I got some bear mace in my eyes at work, and it must be a reaction.”

That sounds like a lie. But Dad never lies to me, ever. I may sound like a broken record, but he’s my best friend. We tell everything to each other. Honestly. Even though we live states away, the first person I notify whenever I have a hard day at school, whenever I miraculously pass my math quiz, whenever Mom’s boyfriend gets mean— literally anything, is Dad. I’ve never been maced before (nor do I have any plans to be), so I guess some sort of side effects, like eye color change, could happen.

“I think they look really cool!” I beamed up at him, again eliciting a blush from him.

“Th-thanks,” Dad gushed, letting go of my hand to wrap a buff arm around my small shoulders instead. “I r-really like your eyes too.”

“Mine are the same…”

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Weird thing Number Five is like a big umbrella that covers numerous little instances and stuff. For the first week I was staying with Dad, he was really off. 

We usually stick together like glue, always side by side. There was practically zero time that we would even be in separate rooms whenever I’d visited in the past. However, for some reason, I swear up and down that Dad was avoiding me this summer. It’s only been about a week, but Dad has barely hung out with me at all so far. 

Seriously, as soon as we’d gotten home, I had expected us to eat pizza and play video games— basically a ritual we’d perform every time I’d first come over. However, I was saddened to find that he had to rush back out to work, claiming that he’d needed to talk to one of his bosses. He’d said the guy’s name was Alan and that he’d had to talk to him about something extremely important. When I’d asked if I could come too, which wasn’t too out of the ordinary since there were loads of times when I’d go to work with Dad, he’d quickly said “No” and had sprinted out the door. But his truck was still in the driveway, so I don’t know if he’d ran all the way to Alan, or if Alan had picked him up. Either way, it was super weird. However, that was just the beginning.

Dad always left for work early, and I’d wake up all by myself at home, leaving me to my own devices to entertain myself. Granted I could easily walk to the beach, play video games, or really do anything on my own, they were all incredibly boring by myself. To make matters worse, Dad returned home way late at night and claimed to be too tired to do anything. I understand that he has a job and has to pay the bills, but I’m starting to feel like he’s trying to avoid me.

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For the third day in a row, Dad had to work a long shift, leaving me all alone.  I glanced out the window at the nighttime darkness, happy that it was interrupted by a flash of bright headlights.

Finally!  Dad was home and now we could finally hang out!  In the past whenever I’d come to visit my dad for the summer, we’d do everything together.  It was the best and that was why Summer was my favorite season: I got to see Dad.

Dad walked in through the front door, dark bags under his yellow eyes.  He groaned and undid the top two buttons of his uniform shirt as he slumped inside.  “Damn,” he sighed, “it’s been a long day.”

“Dad!” I cheered as I bolted from the couch and over to him, grabbing a strong hold of his hand.  “I’ve been waiting all day!  C’mon!  You gotta play Crash Bandicoot with me!  There’s this one level that I can’t beat and I need your help!”  I tugged as hard as I could on his arm, trying to get him to follow me into the living room, but he wouldn’t budge an inch.

“Sorry, Kiddo,” he yawned, gently pulling himself out of my grasp while refusing to look me in the face, “I’m beat.”

“Okay, but you can at least watch TV with me, right?” I tried.  “There’s a sci-fi marathon on HBO.”

Dad shook his head.  “Sorry, Michael,” he sighed, “I have to be back at the station in five hours, so I need to get some sleep.  G’night.”  He let out another loud yawn and left me to go to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.

My shoulders slumped and I returned to the indentation on the couch that I’d created from being there all day.  I knew that Dad had to work and all, but I rarely got to see him this summer.  And it was really bumming me out.

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Lately, I’d totally been put on the back burner.  Dad would make excuses not to be with me, whether it be work or some mysterious thing that came up that he couldn’t exactly explain.  I was beginning to think that maybe he just didn’t want to see me anymore, which made me sad.  Dad used to be my best friend, the man who I would always go to whenever I needed a shoulder to cry on, a buddy to joke with, or just a warm body to sit next to.  However, he was more of a stranger to me now. 

But I refused to give up on him.  He was my father, and that meant something; it had to.

On Saturday morning, two weeks after I arrived for Summer Vacation, I skipped into his bedroom, finding him face-down in bed, snoring loudly.  “Dad!” I yelled, shaking him to wake him up.  “C’mon, get up!”

“Huh?” he groaned, cracking open a yellow eye to look at me, confused.  “What’s wrong, Pup?”

Pup? I ignored that odd nickname for the moment. 

“Nothing,” I said, “I just wanna do something with you.  You pick!”  I hopped onto the bed and sat down beside him.  “You wanna lie down all day? I can do that too, I’ll just sit here.”

Dad rubbed the sleep from his eyes with one hand and grabbed a light hold of my arm with the other.  Gently, his fingers traveled down my skin until he flinched, his eyes widening with what looked like shock.  He snatched a pillow and shoved it over his lap, shaking his head.  “I, uh, I’m sorry, Kiddo,” he stammered.  “You can’t lay in my bed with me.  It’s, um, inappropriate.”

“Oh, okay,” I sighed.  “Well, if you’re going to work today, can I come? I can organize your desk or I can trek the forest with you.  Or I can even make your coffee for you—“

“Michael,” Dad snapped, “no, you can’t go to work with me.  Now get out of my room.”

I slid off the bed, my throat growing dry.  My dad had never kicked me out of his bedroom before, so maybe he really didn’t like spending time with me anymore.  Pausing at the doorway, I turned back to him.  “Dad,” I tried one more time, “when you’re done sleeping, do you wanna play cards? Or maybe watch TV? Or if you’re hungry, I can make you a sandwich?” Seriously, I was so frickin’ lonely and just wanted something to do with my father, even if it was chores or going to work with him!  I was so tired of being alone at his house!

Dad loudly groaned, keeping the pillow secured in his lap.  “Michael,” he roared, his face turning a light shade of red, “just…leave me alone!”

“Okay,” I murmured, quietly closing the door behind me to go watch TV all by myself, again.  It really bummed me out that Dad was giving me the cold shoulder, but he probably had his reasons.  Maybe he was sick and didn’t want me to catch whatever he had? That was most likely it.

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Things only continued to go downhill. For real, there were enough instances for me to make a list:

1. Dad was avoiding me. I haven’t seen or really talked to him for more than thirty minutes combined since I’d flown in. He’s always using work or his new friend Alan as an excuse. And when he is home, he will legit go out of his way to avoid looking at me.

2. This new Alan guy, who I have yet to meet, seems to be Dad’s new boss. However, he doesn’t work at the ranger station with Dad and Dad doesn’t have a second job. I do not understand that at all. What I do know is that this Alan douchebag is seriously starting to piss me off since he’s stealing all of Dad’s time away from me.

3. Dad frickin’ growled at a guy the other day, like literally growled… like a dog. We were at the little corner store getting some groceries, and I busy picking out some chips. I’d been so enthralled in the numerous delicious options that I hadn’t been paying attention to the other people in the aisle. This random dude innocently bumped into me. Like, that was it. We just bumped into one another, and Dad lost his shit! In a flash, Dad was right by my side, shoving me behind his bulk as he flexed all of his huge muscles in unison. A gravely, animalistic noise erupted from Dad, sending shivers down my spine, which seemed to make his growls even louder. He then bared his gleaming teeth at the other man, making him whimper and hurry out of the aisle. Once he calmed down, Dad was in such a hurry to leave the store that I didn’t even get time to pick out chips!

4. Dad’s been acting really awkward lately. The man is usually all cool and the epitome of chill, yet for some reason, he can’t help but blush and act all nervous whenever we’re in the same room. The other day, we passed each other in the hallway after I’d just taken a shower. I had the towel wrapped around my waist, and Dad looked like he was about to explode. The poor guy got all red and flustered, going so far as to stumble over his words. “W-why— what are y-you… I hafta go!” he’d stuttered, rushing out of the house.

5. He was oddly worried about the full moon.

That last one led me to now:

I have never been one of those people who subscribe to the idea of the moon and stars having a legitimate effect on life. I mean, I’d learned in school that the moon is responsible for the tides and whatnot, but I didn’t really think that it extended beyond that. Therefore, I was utterly lost when Dad appeared to panic the more the night of the full moon approached.

“Dad?” I asked him as he silently drove me to Guerneville to stay the night with Uncle Dean and my cousins. The air was so tense in the tiny cab of the truck. Even though we were technically sitting side by side, we might as well have been miles apart. What was even weirder to me though, was that before we left the house, Dad had demanded that I wear his sweatshirt, which was way too big for me. The long sleeves went way past my hands and the bottom of it traveled nearly to my knees. The strong smell of Dad’s usual pine tree and ocean breeze odor wafted off of the sweatshirt in waves, thereby making me smell just like him. “Are you okay?”

For the millionth time, Dad refused to look over at me. He had his window rolled down and appeared to position himself so that his face was close to it, forcing himself to deeply inhale the fresh air instead of the stale tension of the cab. He was wearing a black tank top, which allowed most of his muscles to be on display, and I couldn’t help but marvel at their size, especially how the potholes in the road made his hairy pecs bounce a little. “Y-yeah,” he muttered in his growly voice. “I, uh, j-just have some stuff that I need to take care of, so you’re gonna have to stay with your cousins for the night.”

“What kind of stuff?” I asked him, hoping that it was something I could possibly help him out with. Again, I really miss him— and that was such a weird feeling: missing someone who was quite literally sitting next to me. “Can I help?”

Dad shook his head. “Sorry, Mikey,” he deeply frowned, yet he put his arm around the headrest of my seat.

I shared his disappointed look, yet took the opportunity at the physical proximity and scooted a little closer to the guy. It was something I’d done on instinct. And Dad seemed to have a reaction too. His arm quickly dropped from the headrest and onto my side, pulling me in closer to his warm body. His head leaned down towards mine and he began to nuzzle me, his muscled chest making that vibrating sensation that it had at the airport when he’d hugged me.

It was so comfortable. No, that doesn’t quite describe it correctly. 

After for what seemed like forever of being ignored by Dad, it felt so great just being close to him. His heavy arm draped over my shoulders was like the best weighted blanket I’ve ever been covered with, keeping me secured to his large body. I snuggled up to his bulk, enjoying how his pine and ocean breeze smell permeated my senses, completely surrounding me with him. His chest hair prickled my nose a little, causing me to rub it against him, making it look like I was nuzzling him back. I knew that he liked it too since I could easily hear his heart beat faster as soon as I did it. And to be one-hundred percent honest, it felt right.

It felt like I was home. 

Simply being cuddled up to Daddy was the best thing in the world. All of my sadness and worries about how distant he’d been over the past couple of weeks immediately disappeared once I was in his hold. I couldn’t help but reach over with my far arm, trying my best to wrap it around him in my pathetic attempt at a hug, but he was so muscular that I barely made it halfway. Still, Dad actually seemed to hug me back. His hold on me was so strong that he practically shoved me against him, and he purred happily as he nuzzled me. There was a wide, toothy smile on his bearded face and his chest muscles vibrated like crazy as his heart sped up. Really, Dad looked so happy now. Whereas he’d been walking around looking stressed out all the time, he genuinely appeared to be enjoying himself.

He pressed his stubble-framed lips against my forehead, happily humming, “Mine.”

“What?” I asked him, looking up in confusion.

Instantly, Dad jerked back and recoiled. His arm shot away from me as if I were burning hot, and his newly characteristic blush made a return to his face. “N-nothing!” he lied… really, he lied to me. A coldness started to form in my chest at the realization.

Thankfully, we weren’t too far from my uncle’s house. Dad pulled in front of it and quickly unlocked the truck’s doors. 

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning,” he hurriedly said, nervously looking out his window and up at the darkening sky which was shrouded by the tall trees of the forest. However, the full moon’s shining light was still able to shimmer down the smallest bit, making Dad’s Adam’s apple quiver.

Frowning to myself, I half considered confronting the man right then. I knew that there was something wrong, that he was hiding something from me. It must’ve been really bad since we always shared everything with one another— there were no secrets between us. Ever.

Still, I decided to drop it, my heart falling to the ground as I hopped out of the truck, the tingles from Dad’s stubble when he’d kissed my forehead still present on my skin. Slowly I walked up the cement walkway to Uncle Dean’s front door, the rumbling of Dad’s truck roaring in the background.

My finger hovering over the doorbell, I paused and looked over my shoulder at Dad who waited in his truck, his yellow eyes running over me rapidly.

“I love you,” I almost whispered as I rang the doorbell, my voice cracking the smallest bit.

There was this one time when I’d accidentally stepped on one of my friend’s dog’s paw when I was over at his house. The poor creature had made this yelping noise that let me know that it was in pain, immediately followed by a sad whimper that pulled at my heartstrings. 

Dad made the same exact noise as I looked at him. He knit his eyebrows together and he briefly looked utterly broken, matching how I felt inside. I half-expected him to rush out of the truck just so he could drag me back into it. “Michael,” he whimpered, “I love—“

The front door swung open, revealing Brady who was smiling widely down at me. “Michael!” he cheered. “It’s so great to see you!”

Before I could say anything to him, the screeching sounds of Dad speeding away roared in the background. He left me. The rumbling of the engine grew fainter as Dad traveled farther away from me until I couldn’t hear it at all, making the lump in my throat grow larger and larger. 

Brady, unaware of the heartbreak I was experiencing, continued to smile at me. “C’mon!” he happily said as he grabbed a tight hold of my hand, pulling me inside.  “I’ve been looking forward to seeing you for so long!”

Well, at least someone was happy to see me. I just wish it was Dad….

Chapter Text

“Time to Wake Up” - Cacti

I try so hard to fade away / But something’s forcing me to stay / It’d be easier for me / If I’d turn away to flee / But there’s something holding on

♡✧。 (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡

Staying over at Uncle Dean’s wasn’t too bad, if I’m being honest. My uncle and I were never really close. Sure he’s a nice guy and everything, but a majority of my memories of him involve him slurring his words or stumbling over his own two feet. Tonight wasn’t much of an exception. We’d exchanged our hellos before he headed to the bar for a date, handing Brady some cash for some pizza. Brady, being the great host he is, ordered a ton of pizzas, making sure to get one with pepperoni and jalapeños: my favorite. Brady, Max, and I then settled in on the couch to watch some old 80’s slasher movie with the subtitles on for Max. Brady sat in the middle, and he was nice enough to wrap a protective arm around my shoulders whenever a scary scene happened on the TV.

It was nice… but it would’ve been perfect if Daddy were here.

I still wore Dad’s oversized sweatshirt, finding childish solace in his overwhelming musk consuming my nostrils whenever I inhaled. Oddly enough, it helped steel my nerves during the movie more than Brady. And my cousin was tall for thirteen and played a ton of sports, so he had lots of muscle— but Dad made him look like a twig by comparison.

I know it’s rude to play favorites, but Brady is my favorite cousin. He’s always been like an older brother of sorts, frequently taking the time to look out for me. Dad calls me daily when I’m at Mom’s, but Brady and I will text every now and then. Sometimes he’ll send some funny memes or a little joke, but most times he’ll just say that he misses me and can’t wait to see me during the summer. And whenever I do come to California, obviously most of my time is dedicated to Dad, however I still manage to squeeze in some time for my cousin. We’ll go the beach and explore the tide pools or sometimes we’ll just stay up all night playing video games. He’s my second best friend (Dad’s first).

Max was on the other side of the couch, petting his siamese cat, Tom-Tom. His thin, pale fingers stroked the stressed cat’s fur, trying to relax him since for some reason as soon as I entered the home and Tom-Tom sniffed me, he started to hiss and freak out. Every now and then, Max would peek over at me, his ice blue eyes cold and calculating. His gaze honed in on the arm that Brady had secured around me.

He nudged his older brother, briefly letting go of Tom-Tom to sign something.

Brady, being the protective older brother he is, warmly smiled down at Max, speaking slowly so that he could read his lips that were illuminated by the glowing TV screen. “Don’t worry, Maxie,” he grinned, “you don’t have to be scared. I gotcha.”

He wrapped his free arm around Max’s thin shoulders, and Max happily leaned into him… after shooting a quick sneer in my direction. He blissfully went back to petting Tom-Tom… who paused to give me one more hiss.

I ignored them and continued to watch the movie, fighting hard to pretend that the growing, empty pit inside of me wasn’t there. The movie’s nice and the pizza tasted delicious, and yeah, Brady is cool (Max and Tom-Tom are jerks though), but darn it. I just really wished that Dad was here.

So far this summer was not going according to plan. Granted there never was a set plan, it typically followed an established pattern! No matter what I was doing, Dad was supposed to be right by my side. Yeah, I get that he’s a grown up and that he has to go to work to pay bills, which are apparently a lot bigger in California, but still! I might as well still be in Tennessee! For real, I feel as if the man’s avoiding me, which has never happened before. If anything, Dad would be classified as “Clingy”, which is what some of my friends back in Nashville tell me whenever I recount summer stories. But I don’t mind, in fact, I prefer my overprotective daddy. But now, he’s like some stranger.

As a matter of fact, Dad’s been acting really off and it’s starting to irk me. He’s hiding something from me, I know it. What makes it even worse is that he’s never done that before. We tell each other everything! However, lately he’s been so secretive and hasn’t been wanting me around.

A part of me is starting to fear that he doesn’t love me anymore.

That thought sent a bolt of fear throughout my heart, making it race. And as if on cue, the very millisecond that I felt that terror rushing through my core, an earsplitting wolf’s howl rang out.

It wasn’t from the movie we were watching, and from the direction it came from, it seemed as if the wolf was behind the house somewhere in the backyard. The bad/good part about Guerneville (it depends on the situation) is that the town is literally built within the Redwoods, so much that it’s more so a forest with some houses. That meant that it was very plausible that a dangerous wild animal was right outside.

Tom-Tom whined and sprinted away to hide while Brady and I jerked back in shock at the sheer volume of the howl, letting us know that the animal was eerily close. Max, unable to hear it, simply cocked his eyebrow at his older brother.

Brady ignored him for the moment and hopped off the couch, his head turning towards the doors, double-checking that they were all locked. Yeah, that makes sense because wolves totally use the doors!

Foolishly, I couldn’t help but sink further into Dad’s sweatshirt, looking like a frightened turtle retreating into its shell. It just so happened that my source of safety was an oversized piece of fabric that reeked of my father’s manly musk. As ridiculous as it seemed, it worked. By the smallest fraction, I could feel my heartbeat gradually steady as I inhaled Daddy’s smell, oddly making me feel safe. I don’t quite understand it, but it worked.

Thinking back to the work stories Dad had told me, I couldn’t help but vividly recall the one when he’d gotten bitten by a wolf. He never really confirmed if he’d caught the animal or not, so a tiny part of me worried that it was the same monster coming to finish off the offspring since it couldn’t eat my dad. That was a dumb thought, yes, but my ten year old mind couldn’t help but travel there. Again, even more stories Dad had told me about how he’d track down tons of wild animals that go too far into town, sedating them and sending them back to the wilderness where they’d be safe and couldn’t accidentally harm any people. So far, he’d saved the town from cougars, bears, and coyotes; and there was even this one time where a great white had entered the shallow waters and Dad had alerted all these surfers and managed to get them out of the water safely. Dad was an expert when it came to wildlife, which was obvious given his job. Therefore, there was no one I wanted more than Daddy here right now with the wolf outside the house.

“Shit,” I groaned to myself, my fingers trembling with fear, “I wish Dad were here…”

“Arrroooo!” the wolf outside howled again, this time scarily closer than before. Shoot, if I were a betting guy, I’d say it was standing right outside the backdoor… huh, maybe Brady was right in making sure it was locked. Anyways, the howl was deep and had lots of baritone in it, letting us know that the wolf had to have been massive. I’m not too familiar with the typical size of wolves (I’ve never had a pet dog before), but I’m willing to bet based on the wolves I’ve seen on the Discovery Channel that this one had to have been humongous! And, call me crazy, but based on the way its howl seemed to crack a little bit, the wolf sounded… sad? Heartbroken seemed like a better adjective. Despite specifics, the wolf definitely seemed to be sad about something, and it sounded big, and worst of all: it sounded close.

Great, so there’s a depressed, overgrown wolf outside! Why does this summer suck so much?!

Max, still wondering what was happening, looked around the living room for a little bit before turning to Brady. He moved his hand to his face, pinching his index and thumb together as he pulled it away, looking concerned.

Brady huffed for a moment before forcing a sympathetic look onto his face. “I don’t know where the cat is,” he sighed.

Max sharply exhaled and stomped off. “Tom-Tom!” he called out, looking for that jerk cat of his. “Kitty! Kitty!” His voice was loud and definitely would alert his cat that he was looking for him, as well as inform the wolf outside that there was a child inside the house. And I’ve seen documentaries, and the predators seem to go after the young because they don’t run as fast as the adults.

Uncle Dean’s home is rather small, so from the living room, I could easily see the kitchen. In there, there was the back door which had a swinging plastic flap that served as a pet door for Tom-Tom. Due to its swinging, it was safe to assume that the jerk cat had ran out of it. Which was why Max walked over it, hoping to find his pet.

Brady and I were both unable to stop him before he opened up the backdoor, swinging the white-painted wood to reveal a large, black wolf with glowing yellow eyes. I’ve never seen one of the wild canines before in my life, therefore I couldn’t exactly compare it to anything. That being said, this wolf was massive! It was about the size of a Clydesdale horse, looking tall and thick with muscle the was shrouded beneath black fur. His ears were flat against his head, but not in a menacing way like the dogs who snarled at trespassers. Instead, it looked like a saddened pet who desperately missed their human, looking lonely, especially when coupled with the depressed yellow eyes that looked so incredibly down that it almost tore at my heartstrings. His tail hung low, between his hind legs, looking pathetic and like it knew that it was doing something wrong by being here; yet, here it was.

Max yelped and jumped back, frozen in fear as he eyed the wild animal.

Brady took a protective step in front of me, pushing me behind his bulk.

I made eye contact with the wolf and, for some reason, my heart began to race wildly in my chest. Despite how large and intimidating it looked, the wolf seemed to be so sad and lonely that I felt an almost sort of kinship with it. I was by myself all summer so far, so if the wolf was separated from its pack/family, I one-hundred percent understood what it was going through. The wolf looked at me and a little whimper escaped from its muzzle, and I could sort of make out its tail wagging back and forth a little bit.

My breath hiked in my throat.

Brady, being the protective guy he is, quickly caught on the way the wolf seemed to be staring me down. He stepped closer to me, wrapping a secure arm around my waist and pulling me into his tough body.

“I gotcha,” he whispered to me, helping my heart to speed down the slightest bit. “I won’t let the wolf hurt you.”

In response, I couldn’t help but wrap my arms around his torso to keep him closer to me. This was so not the time for it, but my mind couldn’t help but begin to make comparisons, pointing out that Daddy was much, MUCH larger and cuddlier than Brady was.

Instantly, the very second I held my cousin, the wolf’s entire demeanor changed.

The wolf’s tail stopped wagging and the hair on his hackles started to raise. His upper lip curled over his fangs, baring the powerful and menacing teeth angrily. An eery and bellowing growl erupted from him, sending a shiver down my spine. The wolf took a dangerous step forward, baring his terrifying fangs… and directing his heated gaze from me to Brady.

“GRRRR!” the wolf snarled as he officially entered the house, his powerful paws stomping down onto the linoleum floor which clacked as its eerily sharp claws hit it.

My heart raced in my chest, beating painfully against my ribcage. Even my breath got caught in my windpipe, and my legs felt wobbly from the lack of oxygen. I feared I would’ve collapsed if Brady wasn’t there to hold me to himself. I tightened my grip on my cousin, which for some reason only served to cause the wolf to growl even louder. His sharp fangs were larger than the yellow pencils I used at school, and the overhead oven light in the kitchen gleamed off of them, showing off just how jagged and knife-like they were.

Max hid behind the backdoor, peeking out at the wolf with wide eyes from the safely behind it. Meanwhile, Brady and I slowly moved backward, refusing to turn our backs to the massive, dangerous animal. Unfortunately, with every step back we took, the wolf took one large step forward, covering much more ground than we were.

I knew that running was not the smart idea, since wolves love to chase. However, we were literally trapped inside the house with the wolf. There was no other exit, except for the front door which was practically miles away right now. I had no idea what to do besides wish like crazy that Daddy was here. He was an expert at wildlife and would know what to do with a wolf in the house. There was no doubt in my mind that Dad would protect me, rescue me from this situation and take me home where I would be safe in his buff arms.

But he wasn’t here.

Dad had practically ditched me, leaving me all alone (with my cousins, I guess) to be eaten by some wild animal. Man, I hope that he at least shows up to funeral, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his new boss, Alan, has him do something instead!

I know that I should focus on not becoming dog chow, but I couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of anger starting to seep down into my core over the fact that Dad had ditched me and left me in danger. Damn him!

With a quick lunge, the wolf bolted forward in a fuzzy blur. I fully expected it to open up its massive jaws and chomp down on my puny body, totally gobbling me up like the cheap snack that I am. However, instead of feeling the sharp puncturing of fangs, I felt the soft fur of its huge head literally wedging itself between Brady and me, managing to break my hold that I had on my cousin with ease.

“Wha—?” I gasped, more so out of wonder than fear as the wolf on steroids forcibly nudged me behind him, completely separating me and Brady.

At first, Brady looked at me with the same confusion written all over his pale face. However, once the wolf let out a bellowing bark towards him, he quickly looked afraid as he took a step back.

I could not help but mentally point out how odd this was. I would’ve bet money that the wolf would have eaten me and my cousins (and Max’s jerk cat), but instead all it did was act like some sort of border. Its jet black fur was ultra soft, almost as if it actually used expensive conditioner out there in the forest. I could tell this due to how close it was to me… actually, it would be more correct to say that it was pressed tightly against me. I’d tried to back away so much that my back was pressed flatly against the wall, and my front was unfortunately against the wild animal which reeked of pine trees and the ocean, sort of complimenting Dad’s smell which clung to the hoodie I wore if I’m being honest. Regardless, I’ve seen loads of documentaries where animals will try to separate the small ones from the rest of the herd, only to devour them— and holy shit! I’m way smaller than Brady! This wolf was planning on eating me!

The wolf did one of those fake-out lunges towards Brady, tensing his large muscles and making it look like he was going to pounce only to remain at my side, totally succeeding in making my cousin stagger backwards even more… completely creating a large chunk of space between us.

The wolf cut me off from Brady… and Max cut himself off from us, but whatever.

And despite being seconds from death and feeling the crazy heat of the wild animal radiating onto me, all I could stupidly think of was how much I wish Daddy was here to save me. My fingers trembled and my knees wobbled underneath my weight with panic, my chest growing tight and my eyes stinging the slightest bit.

The giant wolf beside me tensed up, his ears falling flat against his large head. A small whimper escaped from his muzzle and he looked at my fearful face with his yellow eyes which looked all puppy-like.

I tried to side-step away, but because my life sucks, my feet stumbled over themselves and I toppled over onto the hardwood floor, landing on my back with a thud. The back of my head slapped against the floor as I landed, sending stars shooting across my vision. As I blinked them away, my breath hiked in my throat as I realized that the wolf had repositioned himself so that he stood directly over me. Both of his front paws where on either side of my head, and my breathing turned into wheezing as I stared upwards at the giant canine who slowly opened up his large muzzle to show off his razor-sharp fangs.

This is it, I thought to myself. I flew all the way over to California only to get ignored my dad/best friend and to be eaten by a deranged wolf! Why is life unfair?! As the wolf lowered its face closer to mine so that it could eat me, I closed my eyes and awaited my shitty fate.

But instead of feeling teeth gnash my face to pieces, I felt the wolf’s long, wet tongue drag against my cheek.

“Huh?” I gasped, opening my eyes to see the wolf— smiling?! I don’t think dogs can smile like people (I don’t have a pet, so I can’t say for sure), but legit, the frickin’ wolf was grinning widely down at me, his tongue happily lolling out of his muzzle. To make things even odder, his tail was wagging like an excited puppy’s behind him.

“Woof!” the wolf barked, behaving more like a pet who was happy to see its master than a wild animal. He then leaned back down and blissfully licked my face, leaving no spot untouched.

This must’ve been some weird edgelord’s pet who had gotten loose. I briefly started to feel slightly relieved, but refused to relax one-hundred percent since a big ass wolf literally had me pinned under him. I was so caught up in having my face licked by the dog that I hadn’t noticed Max trying to be a hero, tiptoeing up to us, holding a broom in his clutches…

SMACK!

The broom slammed down onto my forehead, actually splitting some of the skin and making me bleed. My head screamed with pain and I was stunned silent for a moment as I struggled to piece together just what on earth was going on.

“Bad dog!” Max cried out, crazily swinging the broom down onto me. I like to believe that he was aiming for the wolf, but his coordination was such ass that he hit only me each and every time without fail. Over and over, the broom slammed down onto my face sending waves of pain throughout my body. If he’d actually hit the wolf just once, he might’ve managed to hurt it enough to make it leave…

“Max!” I yelled, trying to cover my face from the broom’s assault. “Stop!”

The wolf yelped when he FINALLY got hit with the broom, his ears flattening against his skull and he stared daggers at my cousin. But instead of attacking him or anything, he simply caught the broom in his powerful jaws, and with one slight tug of his head, snatched it away from my cousin with ease. He then tossed it to the side with a huff… and rolled his eyes? What the hell?

“Michael! Are you okay?” Brady piped up and took one step forward—

“GGRRR!” the wolf snarled at him, his upper lip curling up to display his gleaming fangs which were so eerily sharp that they sent a shiver down my spine. Seriously, those things were crazy long and looked as if they’d have absolutely no problem in destroying Brady in a matter of seconds… which was also weird. The wolf seemed really, really fond of me. He tolerated Max, but he seemed to hate Brady with a passion. Come to think of it, all of his growls and displays of aggression were all directed at Brady, not me.

Brady froze in place at first, but then he slowly continued to inch his way forward, looking at the broom which was on the floor with purpose. “Just hang tight, Micheal,” he whispered to me, “I got ya.”

Even from my position on the floor underneath the wolf, I could tell that the hair on the animal’s hackles was starting to rise as he gave my cousin the death glare.

Max must’ve seen it too and he tried to grab onto the back of Brady’s shirt to hold him back, but was largely ignored.

As Brady closed the distance between us, the wolf snarled and tried to get him to back up. However, once it became clear that Brady had no intention on ditching me with a wild animal (unlike Dad), the wolf paused momentarily, and he knitted his eyebrows before perking up.

The wolf let out a small whimper that was barely audible and leaned down to lap at my face real quick. He then huffed and opened up his jaws real wide—

“Fuck!” I screamed out as the wolf lurched forward and clamped his jaws down onto my left shoulder. It all happened so quickly that my brain was struggling to piece together all that had happened. I’d been so fixated on my hurt over having Dad ditch me and the fear over the wolf, that everything seemed to be happening in a blur. However, it was as I’d been thrust out of my headspace and into the harsh real world all from the hot, piercing sensation of having the wolf’s fangs sink down into my flesh. The fangs had cut right through Dad’s smelly hoodie as if it were butter, soaking it in my oozing blood as I thrashed back and forth, trying desperately to free myself.

The wolf pulled back, and I could’ve sworn that he looked…pained, hurt, guilty? No, that’s impossible. Still, even though my eyesight was blurry from the tears I was actively shedding, it definitely looked as if the wolf felt bad over the physical pain it had caused me. His ears were back at against his skull and his tail was between his legs as he pathetically lapped at my bite mark, looking as if he was cleaning it. The holes in my shoulder stung like crazy as the wolf’s tongue dragged over them, but I must’ve been in shock or something because just as soon as the wolf licked my wounds, the pain started to disappear until it was gone completely.

Brady stood across the room, wide-eyed and pale, looking as if he were about to faint from the sight before him.

And Max was gone. The backdoor was still open and I could faintly hear his feet slapping against the concrete as he ran off. “Help!” he screamed out, his voice hoarse and breaking as he alerted the neighbors to our predicament.

The wolf jerked back and his eyes darted around the room, panicked. He quickly leaned back down to give me one last lick. He looked directly at my eyes, his yellow orbs piercing right through my core and making me shudder.

The wolf had the same exact eyes as Dad.

I was so caught up in that odd comparison that I didn’t even flinch when the wolf gave me a quick nuzzle, rubbing itself against me like a puppy, before turning around to bolt out of the house.

What the fuck just happened? Everything was in such a bizarre haze, my brain struggling to put the pieces of tonight together. I was hurt from Dad leaving me, I was afraid of the wolf, I was content with Brady, I was mad at Max, I was mad at Dad, I was mad at myself for coming to California in the first place, I was in physical pain from the bite on my shoulder, I could barely feel the bite on my shoulder, I was in awe over how the wolf treated me, I was afraid of how the wolf treated Brady, my head hurt like crazy from where Max hit me, I was so confused, I was mad at Dad, I was so scared and I wished that Dad was here, I was so mad at Dad, I could not stop crying over all that had happened right now and this summer in general, I felt safe with Brady holding me, I was mad at Dad, I couldn’t answer the frantic questions of the neighbor who ran inside after Max got him, I struggled to stand up when the ambulance got here.

And I was so fucking mad at Dad. I really don’t think I’ll ever forgive him for ditching me tonight.

Chapter Text

✼ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ✼

Seven Years Later

✼ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ҉ 　 ✼

“Forever” - CHVRCHES

And you will never see my side / And I will always think I’m right / But I always regret the night / I told you I would hate you ’til forever

♡✧。 (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡

Rain pattered atop the tiny umbrella that I shared with my date, uh… Brandon? I think? Oops. Anyway, I huddled up closer to him so that I could try to stay warm and dry in the autumn rain of Nashville, Tennessee. We’d done the typical dinner and a movie kind of date; and sure, he was nice, but I really don’t see there being a second date.

“…it’s really a nice job,” my date rambled on about something, completely oblivious to my wandering thoughts.

A part of me genuinely felt a little bad about already making up my mind regarding not going out with him again. I couldn’t help it though; I mean, I can’t force anything that’s not there. Sure, there was a basic level of attraction, don’t get me wrong. What’s-his-name is hot in a  conventional sort of way. He is slightly taller than me, has a nice smile, and his hair is dyed in a hot red color that shouts out that he can be a pretty fun guy. Plus, he ran on the track team, so his body was slender with lean muscle, and as he kept his arm around my waist, I could feel how hard his form was. However, it didn’t really line up with my dream guy, unfortunately.

I do have simple likes. Whenever someone asks the classic, “What do you like in a guy?” I have pretty common answers: taller than me, funny, loyal, older, and comfortable with silence (that last one being that I hate whenever someone feels the need to fill up the empty air in the room constantly).

That being said, if I were to have some sort of magical program that let me built a man from the ground up, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t already have some specific physical aspects that I’d immediately punch in. The taller thing was briefly stated, but I’m talking about that I really love it whenever a man completely dwarfs me; and that can be a little difficult seeing as how I’m a modest five-foot-ten, so I need to find a really tall dude. Next, I would give him some muscle… or a lot. The guy doesn’t have to be in bodybuilder territory, but I go weak in the knees whenever a guy is wearing a tight shirt that his biceps and pecs strain against. But in addition to that, I don’t like the whole aesthetic-based form of muscles where a guy dehydrates himself to dangerous levels just to have his abs pop. Therefore, I’d say that the guy should have burly muscle, kind of like a football player; and I’m a sucker for manly chest hair, so he shouldn’t shave his chest. Don’t judge me— I don’t like when a guy takes off his shirt and it’s smooth. It makes me think “Boy” when I’m looking for “Man”. Speaking of which, I want the guy to be older than me. My current date is a year older, but that’s not enough in my mind. I’m not a grave robber, but I find the idea of a larger age difference kind of hot. For example, I’m exponentially more attracted to the man who’s in his mid-thirties and has a house and a job, than I am to the guy who’s also seventeen and in my class and who didn’t get hired at Subway because he lacked “work experience”. 

So to sum it all up, my perfect man is tall, older than me, has muscles, and a hairy chest. And he’s funny, totally devoted to me, and wants to just pamper me endlessly.

Damn, where the hell am I going to find a man like that? Why can he just fall into my life right now so I wouldn’t have to go on all these dates?

My phone started to buzz in my pocket and when I looked at the screen, I rolled my eyes as Kyle lit up on the screen.

“Who’s that?” my date asked, a little hint of jealousy already starting to seep into his voice. Eww.

Ignoring the call, I leaned back into my date and laughed it off. “It’s my father,” I simply answered, my dry tone hinting that I wanted to change the subject as soon as possible. 

He didn’t get it though. “You call him by his first name?” he asked, even cocking his eyebrow. “I take it you two don’t get along.”

“Not really,” I shrugged, pursing my lips into a thin line. 

“Is it because he doesn’t like that you’re gay?” my date assumed.

I shook my head. “Nope, just don’t like each other,” I mumbled. “So, have you decided what college you’re going to apply to?”

My date’s smile returned. “Yeah, I’ve gotten some scholarship offers…” He began to drone on and on again, and I contentedly walked beside him in silence, not really paying any attention to his words at all. 

It didn’t take long for us to reach my apartment building, and we stopped in front of the entryway. I started to pull my key fob out of my pocket to scan the sensor and walk in, thus ending this uneventful date. “Well, this was fun,” I muttered to my date, figuring that it was important to keep up social institutions. 

“Yeah, it really was,” my date smiled, awkwardly shoving his hands in his pockets as he rocked slightly back and forth. “I hope that there’ll be a second one?” He looked at me expectantly, gauging my reaction.

I didn’t want to be blatantly rude and reject him here on the spot. Plus, there might come a weekend where I have no plans and I could call him up and have him buy me dinner. Who knows? “Oh, definitely,” I uttered noncommittally, my key fob tight in my grasp.

My date bit down on his lower lip nervously before deciding to take the jump and reaching out to grab a gentle hold of the back of my neck. He slowly leaned forward, closing his eyes and puckering his lips.

It was just a kiss, and I’ve kissed dozens of guys before; and plus, the dude paid for my meal, so why not? I leaned forward and prepared to kiss him back, our noses slightly grazing against each others and—

Buzz! Buzz! my phone vibrated again, making me wince and pull back so that I could check to see if it was anyone important.

Kyle flashed across the screen again.

Damn it! I ignored the call again and annoyedly shoved my phone into my back pocket, too irritated to try and finish kissing this guy. “See you later, Brandon,” I told him as I scanned my key fob and entered the apartment building.

“Um, my name’s Jared,” he murmured as the door closed on him. Oops. 

I entered the elevator and went up to my floor, entering the apartment. Luckily I’d made it home early enough to send home the babysitter for my little brother, Dylan, that I’d hired at school to watch him while I went out on my date… and my mom thought that I was going to be at home babysitting Dylan. Mom was still out for the night, meaning that I was in the clear.

I took advantage of the free time and hopped in the shower and started to scrub Jared’s cologne off of me.

Unfortunately, my thoughts couldn’t stop but wonder back to Kyle, making me grimace.

Growing up, I used to have an extremely close relationship with my father. I’d gone so far as to have considered him to be my best friend.

He lived all the way in California while Mom raised me in Tennessee.  She’d used to insist that I visit him every Summer Vacation, claiming that it was important for a boy to have a male role model in his life; yet, once I had flown over to see him, and he’d been too busy with work or had behaved as if he’d wanted nothing to do with me.  He worked as a park ranger in Bodega Bay, a beach town in Northern California where the movie The Birds was filmed.  Year-round the town was shrouded in a thick fog, yet the large ocean waves proved popular with surfers.  Hence, Dad had always been called out to the beaches to supervise the visitors or to the nearby forests to patrol for lost hikers, leaving me all by myself at home. It had gotten so bad that I’d even gotten attacked by a fucking wolf— and he was nowhere around to help me.

When I’d turned eleven, I’d called him and had asked him if he’d mind if I didn’t go see him that summer.

“Well, I gotta admit, Kiddo, I really wanna see you,” he’d said over the phone, sounding immensely disappointed which was odd since I’d figured he’d be down for it.  “But if there’s something else you’d rather do, I guess it’s not a problem.”

“Yeah, Mom’s new boyfriend wants to take us to Disney World,” I’d lied, thinking that it sounded better than telling him truth, saying that I was feeling utterly rejected at his place.

“Okay,” he’d sighed, making me feel a little guilty for ditching him.  “Make sure to ride Space Mountain for me.  It’s my favorite.”

The year after, Mom had gotten pregnant with Dylan, and I’d used that as an excuse, saying that she needed my help since her boyfriend had ran out as soon as they’d found out.  That last bit wasn’t a lie though.

Eventually, Dad had gotten the hint, and had actually called to tell me that he wouldn’t be able to make my eighth grade graduation due to, surprise, work.

“It’s just eighth grade,” I’d said over the phone when he’d told me.  “It’s not high school, so who cares?”

“Well, I care, Michael,” Dad had said, scoffing a bit.  “I really wanna be with you— er, there with you, but with everything going on, it’s really hard to make it out there.”

“Mom’s new boyfriend is coming, so I’ll be okay,” I’d muttered before hanging up.  It was a low blow, I know, but I had been getting fed up with coming in second. 

It was odd at first since my Dad had used to call me every night, even leaving a goodnight message when I’d obviously ignored him. He’d eventually gotten the hint after a few years of me refusing to talk to him, and then he’d finally left me alone. He does still call me once a month though, kinda like clockwork. Every thirty or so days, Kyle will call me up and whenever I would have enough patience to answer, he wouldn’t really talk too much, but would instead struggle to string together a damn sentence in some strange growly voice. Mom always liked to joke that the full moon brings out all the lunatics, since he weirdly does that only on full moons. I seriously do not understand that man. I just hope that whatever mental defect he has isn’t hereditary. 

Once I was washed and clean, I toweled off and frowned deeply as I looked at the crescent moon-shaped scar that was on my left shoulder from the incident when I was ten. The wolf’s bite mark was clearly evident on my skin and acted as if it was some sort of branding that was supposed to stand out and shout out to everyone that I’d gotten attacked by a wild animal. Seriously, everybody notices it whenever I take off my shirt (some odd people even acting like it’s cute— weirdos), so I usually keep my shirt on at all times, even while swimming. 

Oh well, it can’t be helped.

I finished drying off and changed before checking on my brother, Dylan, real quick. He was fast asleep, cuddling up to his stuffed dog. My little brother is five, and the two of us have a strong bond that I truly do cherish. His dad is trash and ran out on us when Mom had gotten pregnant, and my own father is barely in the picture too. Therefore, the two of us share that unfortunate camaraderie, and I’ve made it point to always be there for him no matter what (with the small exception of skipping out at night to go on dates). Still, I love him and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.

Quietly, I closed his bedroom door and went over to my room to lie down for the night. Before hopping into bed, I turned on my TV since I need it on in order to sleep, and I gathered my mountain of blankets and pillows to make myself semi-comfy. I know I’m not special in this, but I really have a hard time sleeping and I have ever since I was young. I just can’t seem to get comfortable in my big bed and I can never feel warm enough. There was this one time when I’d slept over at one of my boyfriend’s (nothing sexual happened— I’m still a virgin, sadly) and I slept even worse! For real, his stick thin arms were so boney and hard, and his chest was cold and his ribcage was so evident that I might as well had slept on a skeleton.

I really need to get a prescription for Ambien, or I need to miraculously have a strong, muscle daddy come and cuddle up to me so I can sleep. Keep dreamin’, amiright?

Buzz! Buzz! my phone vibrated for a third time.

“What the hell?” I groaned loudly as I flopped down onto my back, seeing that Kyle was trying to call me again. Although it was cloudy and rainy out, I knew that I didn’t need to look out and see that it was a full moon. Seriously, this guy is dedicated to his freaky routine.

I guess there’s only one way to shut him up.

“Whaaaat?” I dramatically sighed, already beyond irritated with how he’d inadvertently ruined my kiss on my date… but eh, at the same time, I really wasn’t looking forward to it too much. I was just mad in general.

“Pup?” Kyle asked on the other side, his voice low and gravely, reminding me of a dog’s growl. Oh yeah, that’s another odd thing he does. Whenever he calls me on these cryptic, monthly phone calls of his, he likes to refer to me as “Pup” for God knows why!

I shoved my face into the pillow out of irritation, already getting a migraine over having to deal with this old man. “What do you want? You ruined my date earlier, I hope you know that,” I huffed, my voice muffled from the pillow. 

He must’ve gotten a dog because there was yelp audible. Then the line went dead.

“Ugh,” I loudly grunted, tossing my phone to the side. I really have no clue what is up with Kyle or why he continues to be a constant nuisance. I mean, I know that I can be childish in this plight, but seriously. If he really and truly cared, then he wouldn’t have been so distant to me all those years ago, he wouldn’t have ditched me, he would have visited me in the hospital after the wolf had bitten me, and he wouldn’t have tried to fight my cousin (yeah, that was a fun time). 

Yes, we’re blood, and I know that some say that’s supposed to be important. However, he doesn’t really act like it unless it’s during that weird monthly calls. I used to want to do everything with that man, but he practically ghosted me, and now the tables have turned and I do not have time for him.

I don’t like Kyle, and I really do not want him in my life. I’m far better off without him…

That was the last thought in my head as I lied down, only to be woken up by the Nashville Police Department at my door ten minutes later to be told that Mom had died in a car accident.

Chapter Text

"Paranoia ???" - Yui

After all you said / You came back into my arms / This hurts, you know / Tell me that this isn't for show

♡✧。 (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡

The next three weeks were a total blur.

I was trying with all of my might to digest the information thrusted at me all at once. Mom had died in a car accident because some asshole drunk driver t-boned her. That left seventeen year old me and five year old Dylan without her, and therefore, to our own devices. Dylan's father was nowhere to be found— I don't even know if he's still alive, to be honest.

The social worker assigned to us told me that she'd taken the liberty of contacting Kyle, claiming that he'd instantly jumped at the chance to fly me and my brother out there to live with him. There was just the matter of paperwork and adoption stuff for Dylan, which was graciously being expedited given the circumstances. Meanwhile, Dylan and I stayed with Mom's bestie that she'd known since high school.

At first, I was extremely hesitant to move all the way out to California to stay with a man whom I've barely had any communication with for the past seven years due to a major falling out that we'd had. The social worker had claimed that Kyle had apparently been eager to fly me and Dylan out there to live with him, so maybe I could let my guard down by two percent and chalk that up as him actually wanting to see me. However, a more rational part of me said that it was because of the tax incentives that he could get for having dependents. Yeah, that makes more sense.

Even so, after so much time had passed, I felt as if my father was virtually a complete stranger to me.

I obviously knew that his name was Kyle Bentley and that he was born and raised in California. He'd met my mom when she had ran away to San Francisco to "find herself" and they had gotten pregnant when she was eighteen and he was twenty. He'd wanted to get married, but my mom didn't want to settle down just because she was prego. I'd asked her about it when I was fourteen, and she'd told me that she wasn't in love with my dad, claiming that the marriage wouldn't have been healthy if it was over just a baby. I saw her point. Besides that, I knew that my dad was a park ranger, that he loved the outdoors, and that he never dated... like ever. He was all alone in that house, pretty much married to the beach and forest I suppose.

However, despite my initial disgust, I knew that it was what was best for Dylan. I'm seventeen and don't work, so there's no way I can take care of him. The best method I see for us is for us to begrudgingly move to stupid Bodega Bay and put up with Kyle for a bit until I graduate high school and land some sort of job. Then I can move us out on own.

Besides, if Kyle's anything like he was seven years ago, then he'll probably just leave us alone and never be around.

I hated this, but what choice did I have?

And that was how I found Dylan and me, in the middle of October, landing at San Francisco Airport to go live with my estranged father whom I haven't seen in person for seven years. As we got off the plane and made our way out of the gate, Dylan was asking a million questions.

"Why are we moving here?" he asked, fiddling with the plastic wings that a flight attendant had given him.

I'd told him that Mom was gone, but I don't think he quite grasped the concept of death, hence I tended to stray away from the topic altogether. "Um, we're going to see the beach," I said, technically not lying.

"Are there sharks?" he gasped.

"Yep," I nodded. "That's why you gotta swim extra fast." I couldn't tell if sharks were a good or bad thing to him. I'm assuming good, since they look kind of cool.

His widened green eyes told me that I probably should've said that they weren't going to be anywhere near where we lived. Oops. As I held his tiny hand in mine, I led us down the escalator and out of the terminals over to where there were several luggage carousels lined up in a long row. After doing a quick scan, I couldn't see my dad anywhere. Shocker...

It didn't take long for me to locate our two suitcases. Luckily, Dylan wasn't a packrat and had only wanted to bring his stuffed wolf which I had managed to shove into the smaller of the two bags along with his clothes. I, on the other hand, was forced to part with at least seventy-five percent of my wardrobe. However, from what I could remember about Bodega Bay in the past, it was typically in the sixties and low seventies, so I ditched a majority of my summertime clothes, opting for jeans and long-sleeves. I was also bummed that I couldn't fit my PS4 or TV into one of the suitcases. Although, I did still have my laptop, Switch, and phone; so I think I'll live...maybe.

"Where's your daddy?" Dylan asked, trying to climb up onto the carousel.

"Get off there!" I hissed, yanking on his hand to pull him back to the ground. After another quick scan, I shrugged. "I dunno."

"What's his name?" my brother asked, trying to inch closer to the carousel so that he could play on it some more.

"You can call him 'Dad', I guess," I shrugged, but then my personality kicked in again. "Or 'Dumbass'."

"His name is 'Dumbass'?" my brother repeated loudly, and some of the other people around looked at us sideways.

"Um, don't say that," I muttered.

Dylan, blissfully unaware of my animosity towards my father, continued to ramble on. "Maybe he has a dog! Or a pool! Or two dogs!" he beamed, jumping up and down in place, shaking his red hair to and fro.

I just hoped that he had Wi-Fi. "I dunno," I repeated, having almost no clue as to what my father would have or wouldn't have. It had been seven long years since I'd seen him last. Truth be told, I even felt awkward calling Kyle my dad because he felt more like some random dude on the street rather than my sperm donor.

"Hey Michael!" a deep voice hollered, snapping me out of my annoyed haze.

I looked over to see Kyle waving at us as he strolled into the airport, a goofy smile on his face as his line of sight laser focused in on us. I flinched as I took his shape into account. My dad was a built, buff man, towering over a majority of the other people in the crowd by at least a half-foot. His broad shoulders stretched out the forest green shirt that he wore and the deep v-neck showcased the cleft in his hairy, toned pecs. Even his biceps seemed to be in conflict with the short sleeves, straining the fabric to its limit until it looked like it would burst at the seams due to the large muscles that it tried to contain. As he got closer, his weird yellow eyes lit up and his stubble-framed smile grew even larger, displaying rows of bright, white teeth. Yeah, Kyle was an attractive man, his hot body genes totally skipping me.

I was in complete contrast when it came to my dad. While he was a solid six-foot-six, I topped off at five-foot-ten. He had his thick blond hair neatly combed and parted to the side, while my hair was cut down to a short buzz because I was far too lazy to style it. Perhaps the most jarring difference was our body types. Kyle came off as an athlete (like a football player) and I was a twig thanks to my non-athletic lifestyle surrounding video games, manga, and reality TV binges.

Even our personalities were black and white. Whereas I preferred to be indoors with my beloved TV, Kyle was a complete biophile and craved to be outdoors all the frickin' time. He was loud and boisterous and I was quiet and found solace in peaceful activities. However, the number one difference was that I would always make time for my mom and Dylan, seeing that I shouldn't put other things in front of my family. In Kyle's eyes, priorities are ranked from greatest to least: work, the forests, the beach, rotisserie chicken (we'd had it at least once a week when I had stayed with him), his bestie Alan, and then finally me.

We were far too different, so it would probably be best if we just steer clear of one another while I stay with him.

Kyle stopped in front of us, looking all giddy like a kid on Christmas. "Well?" he grinned. "C'mon and give your ol' man a hug." He spread his large arms out, signaling with his fingers for me to come forward.

Eww.

Despite my irritation with the large man in front of me, I entered his embrace, lightly wrapping one arm around his hard torso. Kyle instead wrapped both of his steel-like arms around me, shoving me into his hold, my face shoved into his chest, muffling my voice. He happily nuzzled me and his chest did that odd vibrating thing that it had the last time I saw him, making it sound like the guy was purring in the middle of the damn airport.

Dylan glanced away from the carousel, looking at me with a confused expression. "Dylan," I called to him, "this is my father, Kyle. Come say 'Hi.'"

He rushed forward excitedly. "Hi Dumbass!" he cheered, eagerly jumping up and down as he pulled the shocked Kyle into a hug.

"'Dumbass'?" Kyle wondered before cocking his eyebrow at me, somehow knowing.

I shrugged. "Kids these days, right?" I nervously laughed.

He set his chiseled, stubble-covered jaw and nodded. "Yeah," he droned, his shoulders drooping a bit. "Well, looks like ya got your bags, so why don't we get goin'?"

"Okay," I murmured, grabbing onto Dylan's hand with one of mine, and grabbing onto one of the suitcases with my other. Kyle took the remaining bag, leading us outside and over to the parking garage. He had driven his work truck out here, the words Park Ranger written in bright yellow letters on the navy blue vehicle, making me cringe. We loaded the bags into the truck bed that was littered with pine needles and dirt. At least my clothes were protected by the bag's fabric.

I set Dylan in the back, strapping him in the seat behind the passenger's where I'd be sitting. There wasn't a car booster seat, so I made a mental note to ask Kyle to pick one up the next time he went out to the store or to the other towns. From what I remembered, Bodega Bay was really small and didn't have a lot of stores. The majority of the residents went to a convenience store that was on the main road, dubbed Bodega Highway, for their groceries.

I jumped into the truck and slammed the door shut behind me. The very second it was closer, I saw Kyle in my peripherals tense up. His muscled body went rigid and he sharply inhaled through his nose, letting out a small growl as he breathed in whatever he was smelling. Based on the slight grin on his face, it seemed as if he liked it... like a lot. A lot, a lot.

He put his arm on the back of my headrest, turning his body so that he could look out the rear window to back out of the parking spot. However, his arm remained there even when we were out of the spot, driving forward out of the garage and onto the freeway.

Whatever. I ignored the irritation that was bubbling up in my core, focusing on the city as we drove through it towards what I would be forced to call home with my estranged dad.

Luckily, it was only about a forty-five minute to his house.

Kyle's house, from what I recalled, was small and situated up on a hill. Said hill was covered in this weird kind of spiky, thick grass that would have large purple and yellow flowers scattered throughout. Behind the house were rolling green hills, and beyond those were some of the giant redwoods that Northern California was famous for.

As for the home itself, it was a single story dwelling— two bedroom, one bathroom. The outside was covered in dark wooden shingles that looked damp from the constant moisture in the air from the nearby ocean. It was jarring to think about how close the actual sea was to Kyle's house. The way the town was set up was that there was a small suburb of perhaps forty homes, the highway, and then a sheer cliff that touched the Pacific. If there was ever a tsunami, then we'd all be doomed. But back to the house— it was on the outskirts of the suburbs, by itself a little bit. The inside was cramped with tons of junk that Kyle had collected throughout the years: posters of action movies and old rock bands, "cool" rocks that he'd found during forest excursions, and mementos from trips to San Francisco. Perhaps the saddest part was that there was only one TV in the entire house, and it wasn't any bigger than thirty inches!

Dylan was in awe as he stared out the truck's window at the beach as soon as we had entered town. "Whoa!" he cried out, pressing his small hands against the glass. "Look, Michael! It's the sea!"

"Yeah, how about that," I muttered, squirming uncomfortably in my seat. The entire drive from San Francisco to here, Kyle had kept his arm around my headrest. He wasn't touching me, but he was still too close for comfort. I was a person who valued their personal space, family or not.

"You like the outdoors, Dylan?" Kyle asked, glancing in the rearview mirror to flash a smile at my little brother. Great, now he was trying to recruit an innocent child to the boring world of trees.

Dylan happily nodded. "Michael takes me to the park every Saturday!" he exclaimed. That was true. Every weekend, I took him to the playground a block away from our now old apartment. He had fun playing in the sandbox while I usually tried to use my sex appeal to get a discount on a Spongebob popsicle with bubblegum eyes from the ice cream man, but I think he'd overcharge me instead. Rude.

"Well, that's nice of him," Kyle commented, his yellow eyes traveling back to me. I could've sworn that every few minutes, the dude looked at me, sometimes biting on his lower lip. It was weird so I'm certain that I had to have imagining it. "So, Mikey, you looking forward to a new school?"

Well, considering that I was attending a new school because my mom died, no. "Sure."

And why was he calling me "Mikey" as if I were nine instead of seventeen?

"Still not talkative, eh?" he chuckled.

"Mm-hmm." Kyle was almost non-existent in my life now, so how would he know that I didn't have a talkative personality? I rolled my eyes and tried to focus my attention on the road ahead as he pulled into the small neighborhood. After a couple twists and turns, I saw his house come into view.

He pulled the truck up in the driveway and we all hopped out. Immediately, the salty air from the nearby ocean assaulted my nostrils, making me grimace the smallest bit as tinges of seaweed stench was mingled in there. Still though, I could clearly see the blue ocean from Kyle's front yard, so I suppose that was a positive note.

I clutched Dylan's hand and practically slowly slumped into the small home, managing to only carry in one suitcase. Kyle will probably get the other one, I hope. He looks strong.

I tried my best to shake off that awkward ride here and went to getting my bedroom set up. Due to there only being two bedrooms, Dylan and I would probably be forced to share one, which didn't bother me at all. He was actually a quiet sleeper and if he left his toys lying around on the floor, I could just boss him around. He actually seemed to always listen to me. The bedroom was just like it had been back when I'd last used it five years ago. The walls were painted royal blue and there were several Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z posters and toys scattered everywhere. There was still my old bed too, clad in familiar Power Rangers bedsheets.

"We have to share?" Dylan whined when we walked into the bedroom.

"Yep," I said at first, but paused when I saw that there was just the one twin-sized bed. In no way, shape, or form am I going to share a bed with a five year old. So I guess my poor brother will be camping it out on the floor until we buy another bed.

He nodded, rushing over to the bookshelf that had a Goku action figure on it. "Whatevs," he mumbled, already lost in his childhood imagination as he played. While he was distracted, I went ahead and stuffed our clothes into the dresser.

"Here's the other one," Kyle said from the doorway, placing the larger of the two suitcases into the bedroom with ease.

"Thanks," I mumbled, grabbing it and unzipping it to put my crap away.

The dude stood awkwardly in the doorway for some time, looking like he wanted to say something. His yellow eyes wouldn't leave my form as I shuffled to and fro, tidying up the room, and he just bit down on his lower lip. "Well, I'll go make us some dinner," Kyle finally said. "I'll let you boys know when it's done."

"'Kay."

He paused again. "Michael..." he started, but I kept my back to him as I yanked my sweaters out of my suitcase. "I'm really happy that you're back."

I'm not. "'Kay," I repeated.

There was a brief moment of silence and then I finally heard his thudding footsteps retreat to the kitchen. Oh God, was he going to be this weird for the entire time that I live here?

I went about trying to get the bedroom situated to my liking, having to shove several of the old, useless trinkets of my childhood into the suitcases which I stuffed into the closet. Shaking my head, I couldn't believe that Kyle had held onto all of this junk. The entire time I worked, Dylan played with some of my old action figures, making his own sound effects for them when they fought.

After a little bit, Dylan stopped and looked up at me, cocking his eyebrow. "Mike," he called, "how come you don't like Dumbass?"

Oh God... "Dylan, you shouldn't call him that," I said, fighting to hide my snicker. "Call him 'Kyle' or 'Dad', 'kay?"

He nodded. "But why don't you like him?"

Sure I haven't snapped at Kyle or given him excessive attitude yet, but I was giving him the cold shoulder. And it was enough for a five year old to pick up on. "It's nothing," I assured him, sitting criss-crossed on the floor beside him, picking up a Jigglypuff figurine. I didn't have the patience to explain to Dylan that Kyle and I had had a major falling out when I was growing up, hence it was awkward having to live with him and depend on him now. It definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone because I felt almost as if we were shipped off to live with a total stranger. "C'mon, I betcha Jigglypuff can kick Goku's ass."

"Nuh-uh!" Dylan scoffed, making blasting noises with his mouth as he shook the action figure within his grasp.

After a few more minutes, Kyle came back to the entryway. "Food's ready," he announced.

Dylan bolted from his spot on the floor, scampering behind the large man to the kitchen. I slowly shuffled my feet towards the kitchenette where there was a small wooden table with two wooden chairs at it. There was a plastic stool for Dylan to help him reach better.

I took a seat at the table, looking down at what Kyle had made for dinner. There was rotisserie chicken (his favorite food), some mashed potatoes (meh, I preferred French fries), and zucchini that looked like it was supposed to sautéed yet it wound up looking more like mush. I mean, it is food and it's not like I can do any better since I hate cooking, so I decided to keep my mouth shut as I took my seat.

At first, the three of us ate in uncomfortable silence, unsure of how to navigate this brand new situation. I suppose that I should be mature and try to give my old man some credit, seeing as how overnight he was the sole legal guardian of two boys. But the bratty teenager in me wanted to give him a hard time no matter what, and clearly that side was going to win.

"So," I mumbled after swallowing down some chicken, "next time you get paid, can we go to one of the furniture stores and buy a bed?"

Kyle's eyebrows knitted together for a brief moment. "A bed?" he repeated, before the blood appeared to drain from his face, rendering him pale. "Of course, you need a bed to yourself. Yeah, that's right."

Huh? "Yeah, why wouldn't I?" I asked him, confused as to why he was confused. Did this man seriously expect me to share a bed with Dylan? What a jerk!

"N-no, you do," Kyle stuttered and then guzzled some of his beer. "Uh, that might be a bit of a wait since I have to wait for pay day, and we'll be a bit busy with you going to a new school and whatnot."

Oh God, please kill me now. The last thing that I want to think about after all of this commotion in my life is having to go to a brand new high school during my junior year. The school in the area is very small, so it will be hard to blend into the background. I also just really do not like school. I'm a C-average student and really do not have that big of aspirations. I figure that once I graduate, I can just get some sort of certification and work and then get an apartment. I really only need that modest living. There's no way I want to go thousands of dollars into debt for a piece of paper for some office job that I'll probably hate. To be honest, I really don't see myself not hating a job though.

Kyle cleared his throat and rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. "Um, in the meantime," he coughed, "you can just sleep in my bed."

I cringed so hard that I tweaked my back. "Wh-what—"

"I'll sleep on the couch, and you will sleep in my bed," Kyle clarified, yet a deep frown formed on his face.

"Um, I don't mind sleeping on the couch..." I tried to say, but Kyle held his hand up, effectively ending the discussion. Hell no, I didn't want to sleep on the old ass couch. However, I also wasn't keen on sleeping in Kyle's bed. I vaguely remember that he would only wear boxers while he slept, and plus, I don't know what he's been up to recently. Therefore, I don't know what the hell he's done in that bed, and since he made up his mind on the spot at this very dinner table, I highly doubt that he's washed the sheets since his last excursion (if there was one). Lastly, his pine forest musk is very powerful, so if I sleep in his bed, there's no doubt that it'll cling to me all the next day, resulting in me smelling just like him wherever I go.

Damn it all.

I attempted to ignore all of my bubbling up irritation. I'm sure that I was getting mad over nothing, but still, I was pissed off that I had to even be here in the first place. I wasn't interested in spending time with Kyle or trying to fix anything, if I'm being honest. The dude had really hurt me, and I really don't know how we're supposed to move past that. Really all I could seem to focus on was a game plan on how to get out of here as soon as possible.

And sadly, I knew that going to school and getting my diploma was at the top of said plan. Damn!

The rest of dinner was spent in an extremely uncomfortable silence. Normally, I'm a massive fan of the quiet and abhor unnecessary smalltalk, but this was on another level. Obviously, my disdain for Kyle resulted in me keeping my lips pursed as I tried with all my might keep my gaze directed downwards at my plate. Meanwhile, the heat from Kyle's odd stare had me glancing up every so often; and on each and every glance, my eyes would meet Kyle's. A slight pinkish hue would form on his face and he'd divert his stare... for a few seconds, only for us to repeat this song and dance several times over the course of our meal. It really felt like he wanted to say something... that, or there was something on my face. Dylan, blissfully in his own world, happily cleaned his whole plate, including the slimy zucchini.

Once dinner was over, I excused Dylan and myself from the table so that we could get ready for bed. I tried to keep my mind focused on the menial tasks at hand so that I wouldn't lose my cool over Kyle's weird attitude and the fact that I have to start a new school tomorrow. I can only handle so much... and it's not a lot.

I made sure that Dylan brushed his teeth and then tucked him in for night. He was out soon, probably thanks to a combination of excitement for the day and jet lag. Come to think of it, I was also pretty tired as well, and figured that it was about time for me to lie down too. I grabbed a plain t-shirt and some basketball shorts to sleep in, and entered Kyle's room.

"Goin' to bed?" Kyle asked as I entered. I'd accidentally interrupted him changing out of his work uniform. Just as he'd always slept in, he was clad in his navy blue boxers. He grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and lifted it off over his head, exposing his muscled torso that was thick with masculine power. There was a faint outline of abs, but since Kyle wasn't annoyingly meticulous about his diet and stuff, they weren't too prominent resulting in more of a muscle football player bod. However, his pecs popped off his torso with power, and they were covered with that classic manly body hair.

I quickly looked away from his nearly naked body, feeling my face grow a little hot. "Y-yeah," I muttered. "I'm a little tired from the flight."

For about the frickin' millionth time today, Kyle awkwardly paused and gave a good, long look. "W-well," he finally stuttered, "let me get out of your hair." He lumbered by me and stopped. "Goodnight."

I didn't respond, and instead started to kick off my shoes so that I could change into my makeshift pajamas. I really don't know what he expects me to say.

Kyle sighed. "Look, Micheal," he muttered, rubbing at his stubble, "I know that things between us... haven't been great. B-but this is a chance to put that behind us. So, let's try. Sound good?" He looked over at me with a pleading twinkle in his yellow eyes.

I couldn't help but see the parallel in the situation: He was trying to mend things now, whereas in the past I was trying to prevent things from breaking. Therefore, I found myself only able to mumble a simple, "Goodnight, Kyle."

There was an odd rumbling noise that emanated from my father's direction, and he crossed his arms in front of his muscled chest. "What's with this 'Kyle' thing?" he scoffed. "I'm your dad, you should call me 'Dad'." A smirk formed on his face. "Or 'Daddy'."

I'm seventeen years old, there's no damn way I'm going to call that guy "Daddy". Instead of responding, I fought with all of my inner strength to not roll my eyes (I failed), and continued to get ready for bed.

Kyle sighed again and turned to leave, stopping at the doorway again. "Goodnight, Micheal," he repeated. "And I mean it. I really am happy that you're back. Things will be better, I promise."

What did he mean by that?

Before I could ask, he closed the door and his footsteps could be heard lumbering to the living room so that he could sleep on that old looking, puke green couch that seemed like it pulled straight out of the 1970s.

I shook it away and finished changing before crawling into Kyle's bed. His room still looked exactly the same. The bed was queen-sized, and it had on some red and black flannel sheets and a matching comforter that was surprisingly pretty warm. Against the wall, under the window, was a long dresser that had a ton of random clothes and papers scattered about. The dim light in the room was from the small table lamp from Walmart that was on the nightstand... the only other item on the nightstand being a framed picture of Kyle and me from one of my past visits. It was so weird seeing my youthful face that was alight with zeal as I stood right next to Kyle as we were somewhere on the beach. My smile stretched out my face in the photo, and it looked as if I was having the time of my life. Kyle looked like he was enjoying my company, much to my shock, especially since his eyes (which were blue in the photo, not yellow) are glued to me.

Snorting, I flipped the frame downward so that I couldn't see the picture and then reached over to turn off the lamp.

As I lied down in Kyle's bed, I had to admit that it was probably the most comfortable bed that I've ever lied in. Sure, I've slept in it tons of times before as a child, but that was so long ago that I couldn't exactly recreate the sensation in my mind. Now, though, I basked in the warmth of the comforters and was not as cold as I usually was. Sure, I still wasn't one-hundred percent comfy, but I was leaps and bounds closer than I had been while in my bed back in Nashville.

And I would never ever EVER admit it to Kyle (or anyone else for that matter), but the pine forest musk that permeated every stitch of fabric in the bed was a little calming. I must be delirious from jet lag, that's the only explanation.

Yet, there I was: relaxing in Kyle's bed and quickly falling asleep. In fact, it was happening so rapidly, that I was in that realm that borders reality and the dreamscape in a matter of seconds. It was so vivid that I was already delusional, nearly asleep and already hallucinating.

"Goodnight, Pup," I'd heard aloud in my dreams as I drifted closer and closer to REM, even dreaming up a pleasant prickling sensation on my forehead. "Daddy loves you so, so much."

Zzzz...

Chapter Text

“Tek It” - Cafuné

I watch the moon / Let it run my mood / Can’t stop thinking of you / I watch you (now I let it go) / And I watch as things play out like / So long nice to know you I’ll be moving on

♡ ✧ 。 ( ⋈ ◍ ＞ ◡ ＜ ◍ ) 。 ✧ ♡

It was amazing.

I’d had the best sleep of my life as I slept in Kyle’s bed, feeling so incredibly comfortable. It might’ve been due to jet lag or just the sheer exhaustion of the past few weeks all weighing down on me. However, I swear that Kyle’s bed was made just for me. Not once did I wake up in the middle of the night, and I felt so cradled and just in pure serenity as I slept. The mattress was so warm, almost hot, and it had this unique way of utilizing its softness to allow me to curve into it. And his pillows! Damn, I need to ask Kyle where he bought his pillows because they were perhaps my favorite part. They shared the same heat as the mattress and I couldn’t help but nuzzle my face into them; and whenever I did, the heavy blankets tightened around me.

With all of these relaxing sensations combined, I imagine that this is how it would feel like to cuddle up next to a large teddy bear. It was heavenly, and already I was looking forward to tonight when I’d get to enjoy it all over again.

“Michael, c’mon. Time to get up.”

I groaned as I was being lightly shaken awake by Kyle who was crouched by the bed. I cracked open my eyes to glare at him, my sight a little blurry but I could still barely make out the pain in the ass as he smiled my way, already decked out in his ranger uniform. He had on olive green slacks with a short sleeve, button-up shirt that was same shade. He even left the top two buttons undone, once again, putting the top of his chest muscles on display… I really needed to stop staring at my dad’s muscly bod— right after one more peek. His biceps seemed to curl out of the short sleeves, causing the fabric to bunch up a bit near his armpits.

“Why don’t you get ready so we can go?” he smiled down at me, an excited look on his face that reminded me of a kid at a candy store. He was unshaven, allowing his stubble to dominate his lower face, giving him a tough-guy look. However, his wide-brimmed ranger hat kind of blew that characterization, making him look like some Boy Scouts dweeb.

I groaned louder this time, shoving my face into my pillow which didn’t seem nearly as comfy as it had last night for some odd reason. “I don’t wanna go to school,” I muttered, wanting nothing more than to fall back asleep.

Kyle yanked the pillow out from under my head, making me hit the hard mattress. “I want you up and ready in thirty minutes,” he said, turning on the bedroom light as he left the room… that dick.

Whatever, I didn’t really have a say in the matter, did I? Despite wanting to spend my entire day in bed ignoring the rest of the world, I slid out from under the covers to shower and get ready for my first day at a brand new high school… shit. Once I was all showered and clean, I got dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt and some tight blue jeans that made my butt look good— seriously, it really popped in these pants and it tended to help me get lots of dates. I then put on my red Converse and sighed so deeply that my throat hurt. I seriously hate school. I mean, really, who the hell wants to sit around and stare at a whiteboard for eight hours straight, while asking old people if I can take a piss? Stupid…

When I was all dressed and, unfortunately, ready for the day, I woke up Dylan who was more of a morning person than I was. I only had to tell him once to get dressed so that he could go to the local elementary school. He loved school, and I had to make several mental notes to keep on encouraging that positive attitude as best a possible.

When I was all done with my morning routine, Dylan and I met up with Kyle in the living room. He glanced up from his coffee cup as he took a sip, his yellow eyes widening as soon as he saw my jeans. The grown man sputtered, some of his coffee falling onto his work shirt as his face flushed bright red.

“Those, *cough, are some t-tight jeans,” he coughed, trying to clean up the mess from his spilt drink. 

Dylan, being the bright morning star he is, eagerly blurted, “Those are his hoe pants! They get him dates.”

I knew I really should’ve made sure that he hadn’t been in the room when I’d made that joke a while back. I just shot daggers at him, mentally telling my brother to shut his damn mouth.

He pursed his lips and went to grab his backpack.

Kyle’s eyes didn’t leave my form, and I swear that I saw his Adam’s apple quiver. “Um,” he stuttered, “maybe you should wear less-revealing jeans?”

“Less-revealing… what?” I muttered, looking down at my pants. Sure they were a little snug, but they weren’t classified as skinny jeans. They were a little loose at my calves and thighs, but as advertised in the store, they made sure to hug my glutes perfectly. It wasn’t like I was wearing jeggings or something like that. “No way.”

His blush seemed to deepen and he squared his jaw. Someone must’ve been mowing their lawn, because I could a faint rumble. “They’re a little tight,” he said again.

“Well, your shirt’s a little tight,” I clapped. “Are you going to change that?” Seriously, this man was acting like I was breaking all the rules of common decency by wearing jeans that showed off my butt. And my butt was still completely covered (I’d doubled checked in the mirror while checking myself out), unlike his freakin’ chesticles which were practically on display through his tight, nearly unbuttoned uniform. And he was wearing a government job uniform, so he should be subjected to the rules of decency more than me, just sayin’. 

“I will if you tell me to,” Kyle blankly stated, almost matter-of-factly.

Huh?

I stared back in wonder at my father, trying to find some sort of hint that he was joking. However, his poker face was concrete, and I couldn’t see any clue. He just stared back at me, his face finally starting to soften and regain some of its normal color.

“Um, nevermind,” I huffed, walking back down the hallway to grab my school stuff. “I’m wearing the jeans!”

I couldn’t hear Kyle’s response, but I caught a little snippet of it. “…idiots lookin’ at what’s mine…”

I have no idea what he’s talking about or what kind of drugs he’s on. Steroids, maybe. I hear they fry the brain. 

Still, I kept my mouth shut as I finished getting Dylan and myself ready for stupid school, and then followed behind Kyle as we left the house and went up to his work truck. I set Dylan in the back and hopped into the passenger side, noting that the morning weather was really foggy. It rolled in from the ocean in such a thick blanket that I could barely make out anything across the street. The grayish mist filled in every space of the small town, adding an eerie, horror movie feeling to it.

“Um, are you sure I can’t just stay home today?” I asked, a little fearful that we’d crash into the ocean with such low visibility.

“Michael, you have to go to school,” Kyle sighed as he started up the truck and turned the heater on. “And keep in mind that I’m the parent, so whatever I say, goes.”  He shot me a stern look as he pulled out of the driveway, probably a little fed up still from the weird conversation we’d had regarding my pants.

“Aye-aye, Sir,” I sarcastically grunted.

“Good,” Kyle smiled, not acknowledging my ‘tude. “Real quick, we’ll stop by the corner store to get you some doughnuts, sound good?” He flashed a grin my way, his arm making a comeback to my seat, relaxing behind my headrest.

“Yeah!” Dylan ecstatically cheered in the backseat, kicking his legs excitedly.

“‘Kay,” I said, actually happy about that situation. The corner store down the street sold some really good doughnuts, the ones that had fruit-flavored jelly inside. At least my dad remembered that I liked sweets. But then again, who doesn’t like doughnuts?

We sped down the street, and because Bodega Bay is such a small town, we reached the corner store in under two minutes. The store was a tiny shack-looking building, painted a bright yellow that stood out from the gray foggy background. Kyle pulled up in front of it, not bothering to shut off the truck. After digging in his pocket, he fished out a ten dollar bill.

“Here,” he said, handing me the money. “Just get me a plain glazed.”

“I wants sprinkles!” Dylan eagerly shouted his order.

“Mm-hm,” I hummed, snatching the bill from Kyle and jumping out of the truck. I hurried inside the store, eager to get inside away from the cool, moist air that reeked of salt.

As soon as I was indoors, I was greeted with the aroma of baked sweets, consisting of a blend of chocolate, raspberry, and lemon. My mouth began to salivate as I took in all the smells and sights of the doughnuts, my stomach even gurgling a bit.

“Hi and welcome!” a voice from behind the counter greeted me.

I looked up from the glass doughnut case to see a tall boy around my age wearing a white apron. He had his spiky blonde hair styled up and his pale face was smooth without an ounce of stubble on it. I was awed by his deep, brown eyes that matched the chocolate drizzles on the treats in front of him. And when the guy smiled, the left side of his face pulled up more than the right, looking more like a smirk. He towered over me, like most guys, but he had a thin build so as not to look huge, just tall. On his apron was a name tag that read out: Jaymes.

“Hi,” I said, trying to lean all seductively against the counter where he was. I propped myself up on my elbows, but accidentally bumped into the napkin dispenser, making it crash onto the store floor with a BANG! It popped open and the paper napkins flew in all directions, like I had burst open a piñata. My face burned red and I looked up sheepishly, biting on my lip in humiliation.

Luckily, Jaymes began to laugh, holding onto his sides as I awkwardly stood there across the counter among my mess.

“I’m so sorry,” I blurted, frantically trying to pick up all the napkins from the ground.

“Don’t sweat it,” Jaymes giggled, stepping out from behind the counter to help me out. “I’m Jaymes by the way.”  He pointed to his name tag with a fist that had a lot of bunched up napkins in it.

“I’m Michael,” I smiled, my face starting to cool off the smallest bit. “Once again, I’m so sorry about the mess.”

He laughed again. “It’s cool,” he said, looking up at me to give me a wink. “You’re lucky you’re cute, ‘cause if it was anyone else, then I would’ve gotten mad.”

“Do you say that to all your customers?” I smirked, picking up the last napkin from the floor. I stood up and threw the paper into the trash can by the door, wiping my hands off on my hoe pants, making sure that this cute guy got a nice look.

“Only the ones I wanna ask out.”  Once again, he flashed me that smile and I could feel my heart beat speed up at the interaction. James was cute and I liked that he was straightforward and didn’t beat around the bush. I totally knew that wearing my sexy jeans would nail me a guy. And I haven’t even been back in California for more than twenty-four hours, so go me!

I could feel myself gushing in the presence of the handsome guy before me. I could totally dig Jaymes's vibe: the smile, the way he wasn’t pissed at me for making a mess in his shop, and his cute face. Plus, he works at a doughnut place, so I could potentially get free food.

“And what would we do?” I playfully asked, leaning up against the glass case after double checking to make sure I wouldn’t knock anything else over.

“Well,” Jaymes said, crossing his arms in front of his thinnish chest, “I’d take you to a restaurant and then a movie. Kinda cliché, but I’ve been told it’s quite a classic for a reason.”

“That is very cliché,” I teased, laughing a little bit at his silliness.

He mock-frowned, putting his hands on his hips. “Yes, it may be. So then I guess I’d have to really stretch my imagination to impress you, huh?”

I shrugged. “I might let you pass with dinner and movie,” I smirked. “But if the movie sucks, then no second date.”

“Okay, it’s a deal,” he agreed. 

We quickly exchanged phone numbers, and I felt myself getting giddy over the thought of going on a date with this guy. Since it was Thursday, it was safe to assume that we’d go out on our date tomorrow, which gave me something to look forward to and help me out throughout this already horrific day.

“So are you going to Sonoma State? I haven’t seen you around.”

He was referring to the university that was in the town next over. In my head, I figured that Jaymes didn’t really check off all my boxes that I looked for in a perfect guy. However, clearly he was older and possibly went to Sonoma State; and it would be kinda hot to go out on a date with a college dude while I’m still a junior in high school. If anything, it’ll give me something to brag about.

“Y-yeah,” I lied. “I’m a freshman. Just moved here from Nashville.”

Jaymes’s eyes widened. “Whoa, that’s far,” he mused. “Must be a culture shock, right?”

“Not really,” I admitted. “I just moved in with my dad who’s been living here for most of his life.”

“Who’s your dad?”

I didn’t have time to answer before the shop door swung open, a little hard. The door slammed into the wall behind it with a loud clatter, making me jump a little bit. I looked over to see Kyle stalk into the tiny store, crossing his large arms in front of his massive chest. He towered over the both of us, having a few inches on Jaymes, and twice the bulk too. As he saw the two of us talking to each other, me leaning against the doughnut case and Jaymes not even five inches away from me, a grimace took over his features. He narrowed his eyes at the employee who took a step away from me under the glare of my dad. He puffed out his chest, trying to make his muscles look even larger as if to intimidate the other guy. His jaw tightened as his cheeks reddened. And I swear I heard the dude growl like a damn dog.

I have no clue as to why, but Kyle looked pissed the fuck off.

“Um, w-welcome, Ranger,” Jaymes stammered, rushing back behind the counter. “How may I help you?” The blood drained from his face, making his already-pale skin look like a corpse.

Kyle took a deep breath, inhaling loudly through his nostrils, closing his eyes. After a couple seconds, he exhaled and titled his head until his neck popped. When he opened his eyes back up, his demeanor did a one-eighty and he had his goofy smile on his face and he dropped his heavy arm over my thin shoulders, roughly yanking me into him.

“I just came to see what was taking my boy so long,” he said, his voice weirdly rough and gravely. He glanced down at me, his tongue playing with the inside of his bottom lip. “Did you pick out your doughnut yet?”

What the hell was going on?

“Uh, no?” I wondered, confused beyond belief. I turned my attention back to the uncomfortable Jaymes. “Uh, could I please get a plain glazed, one with sprinkles, and a raspberry-filled one?”

Jaymes nodded, remaining silent as he grabbed my order and put them into a white paper bag before setting them on the counter.

I held out the ten for him to take, but he shook his head and waved his hand at me.

“It’s on the house,” he said, trying to regain his past confidence, but it was nowhere near as high as it had been before Kyle had barged in.

“Oh, thank you,” I smiled, out of awe, apology, and hope that he wouldn’t ghost me. “See you tomorrow?”

He nodded, but nervously glanced over at Kyle, who inched a little closer to me. What was his damage?

After mouthing “Sorry” to Jaymes, I left the shop with Kyle in tow. I hopped into the truck and slammed the door shut behind me, peeved at my dad’s weird behavior inside the store.

Once Kyle was in the truck, he cleared his throat like he’d wanted to say something, but decided against it and began to drive off. 

“So,” I trailed, “are you okay?” I handed him and Dylan their doughnuts and took a large bite of mine, enjoying the sweet deliciousness that filled my mouth.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice cracking a little bit. He cleared his throat again. “Why d’you ask?”

Now I’ve never been in a relationship that had lasted more than two weeks, so I couldn’t exactly tell too well, but it seemed almost as if Kyle had been jealous when he’d seen me talking to Jaymes in the corner store. The way he’d looked all pissed and the way he’d came to my side and had established contact reminded me of some possessive boyfriend that I’ve seen in after-school specials. But then again, the more I thought about it, the more I felt like an idiot. Kyle’s my father. There’s no way he would get jealous of me flirting with some dude. Perhaps he just didn’t like the idea of his son flirting with a male. That was it.

“It’s nothing,” I said, feeling foolish for overthinking things. “So I was talking to Jaymes—he’s the guy working in the shop— and he mentioned something about taking me out to dinner and a movie.”  I glanced over at Kyle through my peripherals, taking another bite of my doughnut.

“Oh?” he asked. “And what did you say?” His face was like a stone, showing absolutely no emotion at all. However, his knuckles turned bleach white as his grip tightened on the poor steering wheel.

“I said it’d be fun,” I said slowly so that he could digest every syllable I dropped.

“Hoe,” Dylan coughed, but I ignored him.

Kyle just nodded, keeping his attention on the road ahead. Okay, so maybe he didn’t really care. Maybe I was just imaging things.

“Well, that’s too bad,” he finally said, that growly quality returning to his deep voice. He must be getting a cold. “‘Cause there’s no way I’d let you go.”

I jerked back in my seat, coughing a little bit as I spit up a chunk of my doughnut. “Why not?” I whined.

“You’re grounded,” he snarled, giving me a stern look, narrowing his yellow eyes.

“What?!” I cried, even throwing my hands up dramatically. “What for?” This was crazy! Kyle was never strict with me. Shoot, he’d let me get away with everything as a kid, so I really don’t know what his damage is right now.

He bit down on his lower lip, his eyes darting around for a second. “You’ve, uh, you’ve been giving me a lot of attitude lately,” he finally explained. 

Well, I can’t really deny that. But still! This is so fucking stupid, and unfair. Groaning loudly, slammed my head back against the headrest in agitation, knowing that arguing with this dunce was futile.

“For how long?” I whined.

“Until I say so.”

“So… is that like a week, or two weeks?”

Kyle sighed, rolling his eyes. “Michael,” he huffed, turning down the radio so that I could hear only him, “like I said, I’m your father, so just do as I say. No dating, got it?”

“Dating guys?” I just wanted some clarification.

“Anyone,” Kyle sneered, “ever.”

I scoffed and twisted my body to face him head on in the truck. “Why not?” I cried, my irritation growing in intensity. “I’m a teenager! Teens date and, get this, have sex!” I was still a virgin, but I added that last part to show Kyle that, despite me living under his roof and having to abide by his household rules, he wasn’t going to have a say in my sex life… which was nonexistent, but still! It’s the principle!

“Keep up the attitude and you’ll be grounded until you’re thirty,” he added flatly.

“Kyle!” I exasperatedly cried out. “What is the—”

“What did I say about you calling me ‘Kyle’?” he interrupted.

Ugh! This man was so infuriating! “Dad, why can’t I date?” I asked, trying to control the volume of my voice so that he wouldn’t prolong me being grounded.

“Because I said,” he smirked, turning his focus back to the winding road. “Besides, Alan is coming over tonight and I need the two of you to meet.”

Son of a bitch! Shaking my head, I silently ate the rest of my doughnut, trying with all my might to not lash out. Kyle was being ridiculous. He hadn’t been involved in my life for the past seven years, and now all of a sudden, he thinks he can control it? Well, I’ve got a simple phrase for him: Teenage Rebellion. Whether he likes it or not, I will go out on date with Jaymes sometime in the near future. That, and I don’t give a fuck about meeting his annoying, mysterious buddy Alan!

“You got something on your face,” Kyle cooed, snapping me out of my pouting. His warm finger brushed the corner of my mouth, wiping off a drop of raspberry jelly before sticking it into his own mouth. “Mmmm, that’s good.”

Frickin’ weirdo.

I turned the radio back up and tried to pretend that he didn’t just do that for the rest of the awkward drive to the high school.

Chapter Text

“Teenage Dream” - Katy Perry

I’ma get your heart racing in my skin-tight jeans / Be your teenage dream tonight / Let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans / Be your teenage dream tonight

♡ ✧ 。 ( ⋈ ◍ ＞ ◡ ＜ ◍ ) 。 ✧ ♡

The entire drive to the high school, Kyle went out of his way to not look at me. Whenever we’d stop at an intersection, he’d check his left, but wouldn’t turn his head to look at the right side, only glancing out of his peripherals. And he kept his window rolled down, despite the freezing weather. And to top it off, I could’ve sworn that he was leaning towards the opened window to breathe, almost as if he were afraid to inhale the air inside the truck. As soon as we pulled up in front of the drop-off zone in front of the school, I was all too eager to hop out, happy that I’d be free from Kyle’s strange behavior for eight hours.

“Have a nice day, Dylan!” I called, smirking at my childishness.

“Later, Nerd!” he shouted from the backseat.

Kyle made that throaty growling noise again. “Meet me here after school, got it?” he asked.

I waved him off as I closed the door, not really caring. I’d instantly made it my life’s mission to irritate him as much as possible after he’d grounded me for practically nothing at all. What I couldn’t seem to get over the most is that it seemed to spark all after Jaymes had asked me out at the doughnut shop! Sure, he’d been annoyed about my sexy jeans, but he’d seemed to be willing to let that slide up until I’d let him know that I’d planned on going out with some random dude! Kyle didn’t strike me as homophobic, and he’d actually made comments here and there when I was growing up and we’d be watching some action movie with a buff dude on the screen, saying that the guy was, quote, “Kinda Hot”. 

And yeah, I’d given him attitude. Not only did he deserve every ounce of it, but I’m frickin’ seventeen! There’s nothing else for me to do except be sassy and give tons of attitude in the guise of being fierce!

My frazzled mind tried to explain away Kyle’s annoying actions, all I could come up with was that he’s jealous. I mean, he’s in his mid to late thirties, so he probably can’t get a cute guy like Jaymes, hence, he’s lime green jelly. It’s sad, really.

I went to the attendance office as soon as I entered the school to pick up my class schedule. There was really nothing too exciting about being a new student. The school as rather tiny, so after the second period, I pretty much recognized everyone in my junior class by face. And the curriculum was pretty standard, and totally boring. Already on my first day, I got a write-up for falling asleep in Pre-Cal, and I lost my notebook that I was doodling in instead of taking notes. Yeah, I was a C-average student, not really giving two shits about school. I figured that once I graduated, I’d just get some minimum wage job and try to tie down a guy who has some funds so that I could live modestly. Yeah, I don’t really dream big or anything.

And the worst part was that I had trouble focusing in class. Whenever the teacher would start to read from the textbook or write something up on the white board, my mind would wander. My irritation over Kyle grounding me would creep into my mind frequently, and I’d feel my fists clench and my teeth grind against each other. It was annoying, and all Kyle could do was smirk and ground me as he berated me for wearing my tight jeans while he wore a tight shirt that showcased his massive, manly pecs like he was dressed up to impress someone he had a major hard on for. For real, Dylan kept making fun of my hoe pants, but what about Kyle’s hoe shirt? Yeah, that’s the real question.

Eventually, lunch started and I wandered into the cafeteria. After standing in an insanely long line just for a frickin’ slice of cheese pizza, I searched for a table to sit at. I wasn’t one of those people concerned with having lots of buddies and being popular, but I didn’t want to be an outcast who ate all by himself. Luckily, during my search, a familiar face waved at me from over in the corner of the cafeteria.

“Michael! Over here!” called my cousin, Brady, from one of the tables that was near the exit of the cafeteria. He eagerly waved at me, a large smile on his happy-looking face. Even I had to admit that I was a little relieved to see him here. My cousin and I had used to be close, spending some time together in the past whenever I’d flown down to visit Kyle. However, after the whole fiasco with Kyle and me falling out and the whole me getting attacked by a damn wolf, I hadn’t really maintained contact with Brady as much as I really should have. Sure we’d texted or called every now and then, but he absolutely made much more of an attempt than I did, making me feel a little guilty.

Still, I couldn’t help but smile back at how giddy my cousin looked as I sat down at the lunch table across from him. He really had grown, filling out and going from being a lanky preteen to a young man who had a pretty sizable build. Seriously, he looked as if he could be the star athlete on the wrestling team with how large his chest muscles looked, especially as they appeared to pop against his t-shirt. His blond hair was kept concealed beneath a baseball hat. However, what I noticed the most was that his eyes were covered by really dark sunglasses that totally contrasted with the fact that we were indoors. Weird, but okay.

“I heard that you were going to be moving here,” Brady excitedly said. “So I made sure to keep an eye out for you.” He paused as his nostrils flared. His smile faded the slightest bit, but it quickly reappeared just as fast as it had disappeared. “So, how’s it getting close to… *cough, Kyle?”

I suck at hiding my true feelings. It really blows, especially when I’m trying to be all nice and cordial to someone who I truly cannot stand. No matter how hard I focus on looking like I’m enjoying them, my face looks as if I’ve just tasted something horrible.

My face must’ve totally given away my irritation, because Brady’s smile grew even larger. “That bad?” he chuckled. “Yeah, I bet he’s still an ass.”

I just politely nodded as he thankfully changed the subject and animatedly talked about this and that, promising that he’d make sure to help me out in anyway I needed while at school. For real, the guy acted like it was Christmas, the way he practically bounced in his seat and the way his face was alight with glee. I couldn’t help but smile back, which only seemed to make Brady’s smile grow even wider if that were possible. 

A low sigh echoed from behind me, and Max walked up and placed his tray down onto the table next to Brady. My other cousin really had grown too, but he was still much shorter and thinner than both myself and Brady, looking like a twig. He’d let his brown hair grow out, putting it into a ponytail. As he took a seat, Max’s usual scowl of disgust was painted over his face, his aquamarine eyes narrowed in my direction.

Brady gave his brother a little nudge, speaking aloud as he signed, “Max, you remember our cousin, Michael, right?”

Max looked away from Brady’s hands and then up to me, his frown deepening, looking just like the opposite of Brady. His thin lips pursed into a straight line before he forced a plastic smile onto his porcelain white face. “No,” he hummed, shrugging his narrow shoulders innocently. “Can’t say I do.”

I don’t know why, but I’ve always had a sneaking suspicion that my cousin, Max, never liked me. It could be from the way he not-so-subtly leaned in closer to Brady while sneering in my direction, or it could be the way his swinging feet kept colliding with my shins.

Brady, oblivious to all of this, happily chatted away about how he’d show me around school and whatnot. It kind of sucked that he was a senior and that I wouldn’t have any classes with him… he could totally help me cheat on the tests. He seems smart and actually acts like he’s happy to see me. 

Brady perked up and I could see his eyebrows raise with anticipation. “Hey!” he excitedly exclaimed. “You have to come with us to Homecoming next weekend.”

My smile fell at the mention of going to some lame-o school dance. I mean, why on earth would I want to pay money just to go to school where I didn’t even want to be in the first place? I’ve never gone to any of the school dances (or any kind of function, really) back in Nashville, so I really hadn’t planned on starting here. Still, I couldn’t deny that the jubilant way my cousin spoke about it wasn’t the tiniest bit infectious.

“The dance is mainly just an excuse to get drunk at school. There’s a good spot under the bleachers where a lot of the teachers can’t see us. Last year, I got so wasted that I don’t even remember gettin' home.”

Okay, I was sold.

“Sure, that sounds fun,” I said, eliciting a wide smile from Brady… and an even deeper scowl from Max. Regardless, it would be nice to get out of the house as much as possible, given Kyle’s weird demeanor. This up-coming weekend could potentially be saved by a date with hunky Jaymes, and then next weekend will be spent blitzed off my ass with my cousins. Now, I just need to fill approximately fifty-two more weekends before I turn eighteen and can move out. All I have to do is bide my time.

“Great!” Brady practically cheered, wrapping a large arm over his brother’s shoulders. “It’ll be the three of us!”

Max’s pale face flushed red, but he quickly cleared his throat and placed a trademark fake smile back on. “Brady,” he softly said, giving me the side eye, “I don’t think there’ll be enough room in your car.”

D-did he just—? Really?

Brady laughed and patted Max’s shoulder reassuringly. “There’s plenty of room,” he said. “Me and Michael can sit up front, and you can sit in the back.”

The resulting glare I received from Max made me think that he was trying to shoot lasers from his eyes and burn me up. My face actually grew a little hot…

He eventually tried to smile, but it looked really pained, like he really had to go to the bathroom. “That’s fine,” he finally said, “because I am bringing a date.” He blushed a little bit and tried to focus on his food.

Brady scoffed and gave him a little nudge to sign and ask aloud, “Who?”

Max rolled his eyes, his blush deepening. “You don’t know him,” he hurriedly said as he got up from the table to throw his tray away. He paused for a moment, and deadpanned looked at me. “I’m so glad you’re here.” Then he turned on his heels and virtually ran out of the cafeteria.

“See? He remembers you,” Brady said before turning his attention back to his food.

Yeah, I didn’t really doubt that too much. 

The rest of lunch went on rather nicely. Just like in the past, hanging out with Brady was a much needed distraction from all of the irritation that Kyle caused me. Brady was good guy, and he knew just how to make me laugh. He seemed to always look after his family, as opposed to ditching them and then trying to reconnect with them by being a domineering dick; unlike some people who shall not be named.

The bell eventually rang and I couldn’t help but groan at the thought of having to go back to class.

Brady chuckled. “What class do you have next?” he asked.

I snatched my written schedule out of my pocket and looked it again. “Home Ec,” I whined, wondering why on earth there was a stupid class where I’d taught how to iron clothes. What the hell? I started to get a headache at the sheer thought of having to pretend to be interested in that subject.

My cousin only continued to laugh at my dramatics, standing up with me so that we could throw our trays away. However, before I made a move towards the trash cans, he stepped around the edge of the lunch table and wrapped both of his steel arms around me as he yanked me into a hug. Brady had always been really touchy-feely growing up, so I’ve gotten tons of hugs from him in the past when we were kids, but I was still a little taken aback that he was so brazen as to give me one in the middle of the damn cafeteria where all of the other students could watch— which, they totally did. They gave us sideways glances as Brady, who still towered over me, practically shoved my face into his chest, making me smell his cheap-o cologne. Similar to Kyle’s, there was a hint of pine trees, but I could also smell Funyuns and teenage boy funk. 

“I’m so happy you’re back,” Brady muttered, his chest vibrating from his words as he actually nuzzled me a little— what the hell? His smooth face grazed my cheek as he rubbed against it before pulling away and giving me a small wave as he headed off towards the halls. “See ya later!”

I was left standing near the table, red in the face from such a bold display of affection in front of everyone else. Some of the students lingered and whispered among one another, all eyes on me as they most likely thought that the new guy was already dating Brady. Eww.

“He’s my cousin,” I blurted, hoping to save face.

Instead, everyone else just grimaced and shuddered. One girl looked like she’d puke.

I practically bolted out of the cafeteria and hurried towards my next class, trying my hardest to avoid the awkward glances of my fellow classmates. The second I sat down at my desk in Home Ec, I couldn’t help but scrunch up my nose as the faint smell of pine and Funyuns and teenage boy funk wafted off of me, making me smell like a carbon copy of Brady. Damn it! Damn it all!

My headache only grew worse, and I rubbed my temples in a poor attempt at trying to soothe it. However, the mere second the teacher opened her mouth, it just got worse.

The rest of the school day dragged on at snail’s pace. What started out as a boring day where I was known at the new kid, morphed into a horrendous day where everyone saw my older cousin nuzzling me in the middle of the damn cafeteria room. Whatever. I’m fairly positive that Brady didn’t mean anything bad from it. It was an innocent hug that was a bit too grabby for me… and everyone else with a brain. I’ll just ignore it and pretend that it didn’t happen, and just bottle up all of my emotions until I have a mental breakdown at the age of twenty-nine. It’s perfect.

After what felt like a frickin’ century, the final bell rang and I was finally free to leave this prison called school… all just to go home with Kyle. Damn it all, again!

Speaking of, as I walked out of school and headed towards the parking lot, my headache grew to obscene levels as soon as I saw that irritating Ranger truck parked near the front. Sure enough, right there in the driver’s seat was that pain in the ass of a father of mine, smiling widely as he waved at me, looking all happy for some reason. I mean, he’d said that he take me to see his weird, secretive friend, Alan, after school, so maybe he was just looking forward to hanging with his weird friend. Whatever. Despite that, though, I just wanted to point out that he was still wearing his hoe shirt— with one of the buttons undone to show off more of his chest muscles. Yeah, he was hypocrite. 

*GASP, maybe he was trying to show off for this Alan douche, all the while he was jealous that I looked so amazing in my skinny jeans. What a dick!

I really should’ve asked Brady for a ride home. I’m more than willing to bet that he would’ve been down. I’ll have to text him later and see if I can coordinate rides with him or something (Max can walk).

Still, the second I hopped into the passenger seat, I tried my best to turn my attention towards my brother… but he was fast asleep and sprawled across the entire backseat. 

With a roar of the engine, Kyle stomped on the gas and sped out of the parking lot and down the road, away from the direction of town. “So, how was your first—” his words vanished and he deeply inhaled through his nose. His goofy smile that he seemed to always wear actually vanished, and he looked like he was sneering, his upper lip curling over his teeth. The engine made some weird noise that sounded like growling. 

“Uh, Ky— Dad? You okay?” I asked him, cocking my eyebrow. What was his damage now?

Kyle forced a smile onto his face, but his yellow eyes remained narrowed. He puffed out his chest and braced his arms, making his muscles look bigger. “So, *grr, you ran into your cousin?” he asked. D-did he also growl? Like a dog?

And was it that obvious that Brady had hugged me in the cafeteria?! Did the whole damn town of Bodega Bay know?

I cautiously sniffed at myself, gagging at the fact that, yes, I did still reek of Brady. Yeah, the whole town knew. Damn it all, times three!

“Yeah,” I slowly said, trying my best to gauge Kyle’s reaction. I knew that Brady thought that my father was weird (he was right), and that there was some ill will on that front, but why in the world was Kyle getting his panties in a wad over the fact that I’d run into my cousin at school? 

Kyle cleared his throat and his cheeks started to turn a little red. Still, he attempted to look all cheery. “Oh g-good,” he coughed, maneuvering his right arm back to its regular position around my headrest. “You two sure were close when you were kids. It’s nice that Brady is such a good friend.” 

His emphasis on “friend” coincided with his heavy arm falling from the headrest and landing hard onto my shoulders. The dude’s arm was so thick and muscled that it weighed me down and I felt as if it was actually trying to pull me in closer to him. This was so weird, and totally not like the Kyle who had pushed me away several years ago. I have no idea what is going on inside this old man’s senile mind, but he’s seriously starting to give me a migraine.

Instead of trying to argue, I wriggled my shoulders to let him know to let go of me.

Kyle let out a huff, but retracted his arm and held onto the steering wheel with both of his hands. He squeezed it so tightly that I heard it groan under his strength. His smile was one-hundred percent gone now as he looked like he was pouting as he drove us towards some lone road that cut right through the forest.

I have no idea what the hell is going on, but I’m already over it. I forced myself to look away from my weirdo father. He made some odd squeak, similar to a dog’s whimper like when it was begging for pets or food, but he was probably just clearing his throat again. He really needs to go to a throat doctor with all the awkward noises he makes.

There’s something seriously wrong with him—

He positioned his arm back around my headrest.

Chapter Text

“16 Years” - The Griswolds

16 years, without even a place to call my home / But I’ll dry my tears / Looking for a place to rest my bones / All these years, but never changed the one that I have known

♡ ✧ 。 ( ⋈ ◍ ＞ ◡ ＜ ◍ ) 。 ✧ ♡

Kyle is something else.

I don’t know how to explain it correctly, to be honest. I mean, growing up, the man had been my best friend and I’d always wanted to do everything with him. We had been inseparable! However, after that one horrendous summer, we’d mutually cut off contact, and I’d done everything in my power to mourn the loss of the relationship that I’d had with him.

To make things worse, I’d succeeded.

I really had written Kyle out of my life and was doing just fine without him. However, after everything had happened and I was forced to move back in with him, it was really hard. I’d spent years learning how to be without him, and it’d eventually become the norm. Therefore, being forced to be here in California with him, and with him being a complete dick and trying to act like everything was all peachy, pissed me off all the more.

Hell no, I didn’t want to live with him. I didn’t want to call him “Dad”. I didn’t want to be all buddy-buddy with him. And I sure as shit didn’t want him to put his arm around my headrest like we were all close.

Dylan lightly snored in the backseat of the ranger truck, completely oblivious in his own little world where everything was all sunshine.

However, up front, Kyle wore a scowl and he still made those odd throat clearing noises that resembled a dog’s growl (I think he’s getting sick). I kept my arms crossed in front of myself as I tried to force myself to stare out the front window. However, in my peripherals, I could see Kyle look over at me every so often. He’d clear his throat like he’d wanted to say something, but would remain silent, thank God.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and when I looked at the screen, an unknown number had texted me. 

Hey it’s Jaymes from the donut shop, the text read.

My usual scowl turned into a small smile, and I wasn’t oblivious to the way Kyle perked up slightly and “casually” leaned a little bit closer to sneak a peek at my phone.

I just turned it away from his prying eyes and he let out one of those awkward growling noises again. Forcing myself to ignore him, I texted back, Glad to hear from you. To be perfectly honest, I’d thought that Kyle’s creepy demeanor had scared Jaymes away; but I guess it just goes to show that I have it goin’ on.

It didn’t take long for Jaymes to reply, What are you doing tomorrow?

I couldn’t help but feel a little giddy at the thought of a college boy being interested in me… I mean, he thought I was also in college, but whatever. All I needed to do was act mature and older so that I could keep up this charade and just go on a nice date with an older guy.

You? I not so innocently texted, biting down on my tongue in anticipation.

It didn’t take long for Jaymes to send back a winking emoji, along with, Pick you up at 8?

“We’re almost there,” Kyle grunted in a hard voice, indicating that he was annoyed. Whatever.

I quickly sent Jaymes my address and pocketed my phone, not oblivious to the way Kyle seemed to be frowning to himself.

The drive to Alan’s wasn’t too long, luckily/unluckily. I didn’t want to go, but I also didn’t want to be trapped in the truck with my weird dad. Alan lived deep in the forest, and when we reached a clearing, I saw a lot of homes that were built almost into the trees, looking like some kind of eco-commune. The homes weren’t too big, looking almost like mobile homes, but they were paneled to make them look nicer. Given that this part of California was really expensive and that Alan could afford to live in a secluded section of town out here, I’d guess that he was loaded. Shit, I guess I should be nice to him. Maybe he has a son? 

There was a small path beyond the small cluster of homes that led towards one of the estuaries that fed into the ocean. It looked like a really wide river that had a dock built on it. 

“Please make sure to be nice, and let me do a majority of the talking,” Kyle said as he pulled up to the house that was situated in the middle of the houses, which appeared to be the largest one. 

That was a weird thing to say. “Huh?” I asked, jerking back to look at him in wonder. “Why are we meeting this guy?”

Kyle turned off the truck and bit down on his lower lip. “He’s…” he stalled, avoiding eye contact with me, “… a really close friend who said that he wants to meet you. It’s really important, Michael.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

“Okay, because why?”

“Michael, just do as I say,” Kyle muttered, pinching the skin above his nose. “Again, I’m the dad, so you need to do as I say.”

“Oh, so now you want to be a dad,” I muttered under my breath, getting out the truck and slamming the door shut before Kyle could say anything else. He needs to oil up the door hinges on the truck because they made a really squeaky sound like a puppy’s yelp.

I opened up the backdoor and gently shook Dylan awake.

“Huh?” he yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Where are we?”

I shrugged. “I think we’re at some forest cult’s commune, so get up so we can be first in line for Kool-Aid,” I told him, earning an eye roll from Kyle.

“What’s a cult?” Dylan asked as he climbed out of the backseat. Damn it, I probably shouldn’t have said that.

“It’s not a cult,” Kyle sighed as he led the way up the small pathway to the front door. He didn’t even knock before it swung open.

Standing in the doorway was a large, lumberjack-like man who looked like the cartoon dude on the paper towels. He was super tall, having to bend down a little in order to walk out of the house, and he completely dwarfed Kyle (which was a feat since he’s pretty tall, too). Seriously, this guy was full of such burly muscle that was concealed by a tight flannel shirt, that he looked like he was the hulk’s hipster cousin! The man looked down at the three of us with his yellow eyes, and he smiled widely from behind his beard, his canine teeth eerily large.

So this was the infamous Alan, the mysterious man who Kyle would always namedrop that one crappy summer that I’d spent here as a kid. I couldn’t help but feel like this random man had driven some sort of wedge between my former best friend and me, and I couldn’t stop the frown that formed on my face once our eyes met. That was odd.

“Ranger Bentley,” he warmly grinned, clapping Kyle on the shoulder with a massive hand. “It’s nice to see you. How’s work been?”

“It’s been well, the territory line is secured,” he stated, sounding like he was reporting information to his boss. 

I looked around, but Kyle’s truck was the only ranger one, so maybe Alan wasn’t his boss. I’m even more confused now than I was earlier.

Kyle nodded towards me and Dylan, who stood awkwardly behind him. “These are my boys,” he said, reached back and placing a hand on the small of my back, gently pulling us forward. Once we were standing in line with him, his hand irritatingly stayed put on me. “That’s little Dylan.”

Dylan happily waved up at the large man. “Hi!” he beamed. “Is this a cult?”

Damn it, Dylan!

Luckily, Alan let out a booming laugh and even wiped a little tear away from his eye. “No,” he chuckled. “This isn’t a cult. It’s just a pack of really close people. Like a big family.”

“Whoa,” Dylan said, his eyes wide as he looked around the group of houses. “Your family’s huge!”

Kyle then nodded towards me, his Adam’s apple starting to quiver. “And,” he stammered, swallowing loudly, “th-this is my ma—, um, this is Michael. My oldest.”

I couldn’t help but cringe at how weird Kyle was being. Damn, learn how to speak, Old Man!

Alan nodded solemnly as he narrowed his yellow eyes knowingly at me before humming. “Yes,” he said, holding out a large hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Michael. Your father’s told me a lot about you.”

“Good things, I hope,” I half-heartedly joked, taking Alan’s large hand and giving it a shake.

Alan perked up slightly as he stood to the side to let us into the house. “Of course!” he hurriedly added. “Your old man thinks the world of you. Wouldn’t shut up about you. I’m just hoping that now you’re finally here, he won’t keep moping around like some heartbroken teen.”

“Thanks, Alan,” Kyle grunted as he lumbered inside the house.

What? Kyle acting heartbroken over me? Yeah right! This whole visit must just be some kind of ploy in order to get me to stop acting like a brat around the guy. Well, nice try! I’ve only had my attitude set on forty percent so far; he hasn’t seen all that I can throw his way!

I just kept my mouth shut as I brushed past Alan to walk inside. As I moved by, Alan deeply inhaled through his nose, as if he was sniffing at the air. The burly man gave Kyle a look, his yellow eyes narrowed in a scolding manner.

Kyle blushed.

And for the millionth time since moving to this Godforsaken state, I was lost. I just shook my head as we all headed towards the living area. Inside the home was rather small, but it had a very cozy look to it. The walls were covered with pictures of Alan and his family. There were a lot of him and a petite woman, both of them looking completely smitten with one another. It was pretty cute, to be honest. I also saw a few pictures of a young girl who must’ve been Alan’s daughter, since they both seemed to share the same big smile.

There were also a few photos of a young man who had Alan’s facial features, like the high cheek bones and the bushy brow, but he looked like he was scowling in almost every picture. This must’ve been Alan’s son who had a serious case of teen angst.

Alan caught me looking and his smile made a reappearance. “That’s my wife, Marisa, and our daughter, Summer,” he beamed, slight blush forming on his face at the mere mention of his wife. “They’re over in Santa Rosa right now, since Summer loves to go to the mall and keeps pestering us to take her there.” He then gestured at one of the photos of the boy. “That’s our son, Markus. He’s out hunting, but should get here soon.”

The way Alan spoke about his family let me know that they were number one on his list of priorities. He puffed his chest out with pride and was all smiles as he rambled on and on about them, gleefully recounting loving stories.

Damn, it must be nice to have such a loving father. I mean, on Kyle’s list of priorities, I’m pretty sure that I didn’t even make the top ten; unless he counted getting on my nerves. I’m sure that’s on there.

As the adults chattered away about nonsense, I spotted Dylan standing off to the side, eyeing one of the pictures of the young man who was pissed off in every photo that was taken of him. Markus, I think his name was? I’m not sure, I’d barely paid too much attention to the lumberjack.

Dylan’s wide eyes seemed to stare intently onto the yellow eyes of the guy in the framed picture. “He looks…” he mumbled under his breath in a hushed tone, “… a little creepy.”

I snickered at his childishness, but a tiny part of me was also a little wary of the yellow-eyed, scowling man. “Yeah,” I teased my little brother, even giving him a playful nudge towards the photo, “he’s the boogeyman.”

Dylan gasped loudly and took a step away from the picture and turned his head to the right, refusing to direct his gaze towards the man in the photo for even one millisecond. Oops, I guess I shouldn’t made that boogeyman joke. The last thing I need is for Alan’s son to walk in through the front door, and for Dylan to scream and run away.

Alan eventually cleared his throat, capturing mine and Dylan’s attention away from the wall of photos. He stood in the middle of the room, with Kyle standing a little bit to his left in the background, his hands shoved in his pockets as he tried not to make direct eye contact with me. For real, he directed his gaze at anything besides where I stood: the floor, the photos on the wall, the dead cactus plant on the window sill. God, what is his problem? Why does he always act so weird?

I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from saying something that would only cause me to be grounded for even longer.

“The reason why I wanted to meet the two of you is very important,” Alan said, his deep voice taking on an authoritative tone that reminded me of the officers in those police cam videos I’d watch online.

Dylan looked forward with his full attention, going so far as to even ball his fists in excitement over whatever the hell Alan wanted to tell us.

Still, Kyle looked a little uncomfortable in the background. He started to pace the small living room, flexing his fingers as a nervous tick. His square jaw was clenched and his ragged breathing sounded out, his muscled chest heaving with every deep breath he took.

For a brief second (but it felt like much longer), Kyle’s yellow eyes met mine head on. His deep breathing ceased in an instant, and the right side of his mouth pulled up into a goofy smile as a pink hue formed on his cheeks. He shyly scratched behind his ear before rapidly diverting his gaze again.

“Do you two know what next week is?” Alan asked Dylan and me, crossing his large arms in front of his beefy chest.

Dylan shook his head, his red hair getting all ruffled in the process.

I mean, Homecoming was next week; but what were the odds of some middle aged man wanting to talk to me about some lame school dance? I simply shrugged.

“It’s the full moon,” Alan explained, hardening his gaze specifically on me. What did I do? 

Kyle froze in his spot, his head hung low with his focus directed towards his feet. Still, from his position, I could clearly see the reddish tones of his face, letting me know that something was definitely up.

Unfortunately, I was lost though. I had no idea what on earth the mountain man dubbed Alan was alluding to by bringing up the full moon. Shit, maybe he was in a cult— some sort of full moon-worshiping cult that Alan ruled over. And dumbass Kyle was trying to get me and my innocent little brother to join! What a bitch! Hell no, I was not into being in a cult! I’ve seen them on TV, and some of them force their members to shave their heads bald! My hair may not be L’Oréal luscious, but damn it, it’s all I’ve got!

“Why’s that important?” I wondered aloud, already snatching a fistful of the back of Dylan’s t-shirt in case we had to bolt out of this crazy town.

“Fuck,” Kyle groaned to himself as he rubbed at his face with both of his hands, further strengthening my confusion.

Alan flinched and then shot him a stern look, making Kyle immediately freeze up and stand at perfect attention. His lips were pursed into a thin line.

“As I was saying,” Alan huffed, “the full moon is next week, which needs to be noted because of certain effects that it has on some of the… ahem, residents of my community.”

Whoa, and to think that I’d been joking when I’d referred to this place as a “Cult”. Who would’ve thought that I’d actually be right? I guess I really am a genius, holy shit!

“Um,” Kyle interrupted, rubbing at the back of his neck nervously, the action causing his tight shirt to become untucked and give everyone a sneak peek of his abs, “m-maybe we can wait? I don’t know how they’ll take it.”

That did absolutely nothing to help my confusion. If anything, it just allowed my anxiety to creep inside my brain too. 

My memories kept playing back to when I was ten years old. The entire summer had sucked major ass, but there’d been one particular day where Kyle had been extra annoying and cryptic; and that day just so happened to have fallen on a full moon too. Come to think of it, it was around that time when Kyle had begun to first mention Alan in conversation, so it didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that there was some sort of connection between the two. That, and there was a clearly evident power dynamic between Kyle and Alan. Alan carried this sort of boss man demeanor about himself while his head was held up high and his burly shoulders were perfectly squared. On the other hand, Kyle seemed to be a little less domineering. Sure, he still exuded his usual bitchass aura that made me clench my teeth in frustration, but it was hard to ignore the crystal clear respect that Kyle had for Alan.

Kyle stood off to Alan’s side, allowing him to take center ring as he briefed Dylan and me on the ins and outs of the full moon in Bodega Bay. His mouth was sealed and he would stare at his feet in what looked like shame, yet he’d still steal little glances here and there of me, only allowing his yellow eyes to dart towards me for a split second.

The air inside the home was growing thick was tension, and my heart began to speed up the slightest bit as the two grown men tiptoed around whatever they wanted to tell us.

“What is it?” I pressed, growing impatient.

Even Dylan held his breath in anticipation, keeping his mouth shut for once in his short life.

“Well,” Alan heavily sighed, “in the spirit of keeping things short and sweet, boys, your dad over here is a—”

“W-wait!” Kyle quickly interjected, taking a step forward and even holding his hands out in front of him like someone does when they stop traffic. His chest was heaving from his labored breathing, and his blush had all but disappeared, leaving him with an extremely clammy complexion. The entire time, his yellow eyes kept darting between Alan and me.

Alan bit down on his lower lip for a moment before his shoulders fell. “Michael, why don’t you and Dylan go outside for a little bit while I speak to your dad. Alright?”

Go figure, Kyle would keep the tradition alive and remain all secretive with his best buddy, Alan. That was even stranger to me, especially since I didn’t give two shits about Kyle; therefore, why the hell was I bothered by him and Alan keeping secrets from me? It made zero sense, even to me.

“Meh,” I grunted as I led Dylan out the front door. I could barely make out what Alan and Kyle were blabbing about before I shut the door behind us.

“…the full moon’s coming,” Alan warned. “It’s going to be hard to maintain control with your mate here.”

“I know,” Kyle huffed, exasperated. “I just… he hates me, I need some time to court…”

No clue what they’re talking about. 

I shook my head at all of the clownery that was going on here. Kyle was only perpetuating the idea that he’s annoying and a poor excuse for a human being. Hence, all his odd behavior and shadiness only illuminated on the fact that I couldn’t trust him. Alan was alright, I supposed. Sure there was definitely something more to him than meets the eye, I have a gut feeling about that, but he’d clearly just attempted to let me in on just what it was right before Kyle had to go and fuck everything up… which is just so like him.

Once we were outside and away from Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Bitch (Kyle’s the second one), Dylan perked up and automatically began to scamper off towards the water that was at the end of the downhill path. 

“Look, Michael!” he beamed as he ran as fast as his tiny legs would take him. “It’s the beach!”

“That’s just a river that feeds into the ocean,” I clarified for him as I slowly walked behind, easily able to keep up since my brother ran painfully slow. “We can go to the real beach later.”

Dylan, in all of his excitement, completely ignored me as he reached the end of the tiny pathway. There was dock situated at the bottom of the dirt path that stretched out about halfway across the estuary. Its water-soaked wooden boards bobbing up and down from the little waves that rippled across the dark, almost-black water. 

My brother took a tentative step forward onto the dock, seemingly testing it, before he scampered all the way to the end of it. He slammed himself down onto all fours and peeked into the murky, wavy water. “Are there fish in here?” he asked.

I shrugged, wrapping my arms around myself. Northern California beaches were typically cold and foggy, and today was no exception. Wind whipped itself around the hills, adding to the chill factor, and my teeth began to chatter with how cold I was. My skinny jeans sure made my butt look good, but they did absolutely nothing to keep me warm.

“I dunno,” I answered, “and be careful. If you fall in, I don’t know how to swim so you’re gonna have to figure it out yourself.”

“You don’t know how to swim,” Dylan snickered.

“The water’s cold,” I tried to explain, taking a step onto the rickety dock. My foot slipped a little, but I managed to keep my balance. 

The way the waves rocked the floating wooden dock that apparently floated upon barges instead of being staked to the ground, reminded me of one of those fair funhouses. There was one that Kyle had taken me to once as a kid, and I’d been so enthralled with the neon colors and flashing lights, so I’d dragged him through the whole thing with me. Inside the contraption had been glass-walled mazes; silly mirrors that had warped our reflections; various paintings that had glowed underneath the black light; and of course, at the very end of the funhouse had been this sort of hallway that had been situated upon this pivoting mechanism. This had caused the floor to sway back and forth, totally having disrupted my equilibrium. I’d found it totally impossible to walk across the moving hallway, so Kyle had been forced to pick me up and carry me across the floor. At the time, I’d been in utter awe over his strength, and as soon as we’d exited, I had practically begged him to go through it again except with him carrying me the entire time. He’d agreed. Several times.

Again, my shoes had almost no grip, and I felt them slip a little bit before I regained my balance. Maybe we shouldn’t be out on the dock?

Dylan gasped loudly and pointed to something off in the distance. “Look!” he cried out. “A seal!”

I looked over towards where he was pointing, and sure enough, there was a small black mass breaking through the dark water’s surface. It looked charcoal gray, yet I could clearly see its beady eyes as it stared over at us.

“Can we keep it?” Dylan begged, turning to look over at me for a split second before directing his attention back to the sea lion. “Pretty please?” Poor Dylan had always wanted a pet and would always beg to keep whatever random animal we’d happen to come across. He’d frequently ask Mom for a dog, but Mom had been highly allergic, hence, he’d remained pet-less. His large eyes were filled with yearning as he looked back at me one last time before staring back at the sea lion who disappeared back underneath the water.

“Um,” I mumbled, scratching at the back of my neck, “I don’t think we can keep a seal. They need a lot of water, and we don’t even have a pool.”

Dylan stuck out his lower lip as he pouted. “Then, can you ask Daddy if he’ll get us a dog?”

Eww, I really hope he doesn’t keep referring to Kyle as “Daddy”. I shuddered but then silently nodded.

His face lit up with excitement, but before I could say anything further on the matter, several large waves rocked the dock. I had to stagger my feet in a sad attempt to remain standing. Still, the swaying movements of the dock made my knees buckle a little bit and my brain shouted at me to head back to the solid ground.

“Hey, let’s head back up to the house,” I told Dylan, not wanting him to fall into the water. I hadn’t lied when I’d told him that I couldn’t swim. Hence, if my little brother fell into the estuary, then he’d be screwed.

As if on cue, I heard the harsh slamming of the front door to Alan’s house. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Alan stroll outside of the paneled trailer home, Kyle in tow. Kyle seemed to hang his head low, yet once he looked down the hill and spotted me and Dylan, I swear his shoulders rose the smallest bit and I could see the gleaming of his pearly whites as he smiled.

The man even gave a tiny wave, but when he realized that I only scowled in response, his hand fell back to his side and his head hung down again.

Regardless, I suppose that meant that Alan and Kyle were finished with their alone time… ugh, I do not want to even begin to think about whatever they’d been doing. “C’mon,” I said, holding my hand out for Dylan to grab, “let’s go back.”

“B-but the seal!” Dylan whined, his finger still pointed towards where the sea lion had disappeared.

Huffing, I stomped my way over towards my little brother to drag him back to dry land. “Dylan,” I hissed, “we need to go back because I’m cold and I don’t want you falling in this damn water—”

Because my life sucks ass, as soon as I reached Dylan, my shoes finally lost their grip on the dock beneath them. My feet basically flung out in front of me as I slipped. For a brief moment, I felt weightless as I was suspended in the air, but that all came crashing down when—

SMACK!

My body had spun and twisted in the air as I fell, creating the perfect angle so that my forehead hit the edge of the dock as I fell. The outlines of my vision blurred crimson and stars flickered in my peripherals. That weightless sensation I’d felt was quickly interrupted the mere second my beautiful body collided with the water’s surface.

Dylan’s cries were instantly muffled as soon as I was submerged into the murky, freezing water. The first thing I registered was that the water was ice cold, shocking me down to my very core. My opened mouth was assaulted with the sour taste of salt water; luckily, my eyes were closed so they weren’t burned. However, I’d stupidly gasped from surprise as I fell, swallowing a mouthful of the disgusting water, burning my throat and making my chest ache for oxygen.

My arms frantically waving around, I managed to surface for a moment in order to sputter in a panicked breath. Unfortunately, I was so dazed from hitting my head on the dock that I struggled to remain afloat. A faint reddish border encompassed my vision, the terrified face of my little brother looking uncomfortably blurry. I coughed and attempted to greedily gasp in a desperate breath of air, but all I’d managed to do was suck in more salty water. My fading eyesight, my burning lungs, my splitting headache— all of it combined into one overwhelming force that prevented me from staying afloat for very long. 

It wasn’t long until I was underwater again, my limbs uselessly waving around like crazy.

Behind the sloshing of the water, I vaguely overheard Dylan bawl in a cracked voice, “Dad! Michael’s dead!”

I don’t know how much time had passed, it’s actually difficult to keep track of time while drowning, go figure. However, from the time I’d heard Dylan’s cries for Kyle (I’d still managed to roll my eyes despite my impending doom) there was a loud crashing sound that reverberated even through the water as its surface broke.

Afterwards, I felt my body being yanked upwards as if it were weightless (I have been watching my carb intake, so it’s not unlikely). Whatever the hell held onto me, snatched me right up and tightened its kung fu grip on me, preventing any amount of space to exist between us. My useless limbs felt as if I’d just completed a high intensity workout, burning with lactic acid as they ached from my chaotic flailing. Luckily, whatever had grabbed me knew how to swim (please don’t let it be the sea lion…), so my body was allowed to go completely limp as it carried me back up towards the surface.

The second my head broke through the water, I started to cough up salty water, grimacing as it burnt my throat. Still, as soon as my lungs were cleared, I hungrily sucked in oxygen, gasping for breath. I tightened my arms around whatever had rescued me from drowning, noticing that my savior tightened its hold on me in response.

And damn, it felt really good to be held by whatever had saved me. Its body was hot to the touch, and it cradled me into it. I could tell by the firmness of its body that it had to have been built, and yet, it was so soft and very, very cuddly. Seriously, it held me so close to it that it seemed as if its life depended on me, and not vice versa. Its arms were all-encompassing and I couldn’t help but huddle up as close its muscled chest as best as I could. Plus, and it’s a really big plus, I could feel some hair on its chest which is something I really enjoy (oh God, please don’t let this be the stupid sea lion). I’d also be lying if I said that I didn’t get a little stiff from being held by such a strong, brave manly force.

“Daddy’s got you,” my savior breathed, and I could feel the vibrations its deep voice created in its chest.

Wait…

My eyes shot open in an instant, and I nearly screamed out in abject horror as I stared into the yellow eyes of none other than Kyle. His wet hair was matted to his forehead and once he saw that I was still alive, I saw his smile grow to hyperbolic proportions, completely dominating his lower face. His canines poked out of his mouth, as was his odd signature. I saw that he was shirtless, and that it was unfortunately his impressive and manly muscles that I’d been holding onto… and that I’d inadvertently gotten hard from.

Oh God! What is wrong with me?! And worst of all was that, even though I saw that it was Kyle who had been holding me, I didn’t go flaccid. Maybe I really hit my head a little too hard.

Kyle somehow managed to keep one muscled arm secured around me, keeping to trapped to him, while simultaneously using his free arm to swim us towards the land. I was lost in a total state of shock. Not only did my head hurt like a bitch from smacking the dock as I’d fallen, but I’d just been saved by my father… and I’d accidentally enjoyed the feeling of his muscles way too much! I cringed so hard that my back ached.

Kyle practically held me as he walked onto shore, and I could vaguely hear Dylan’s panicked cries in the background. However, all I was able to focus on was— damn it, how good it felt to be held by Kyle. I’ll only admit this under the threat of murder, but holy shit! Kyle’s arms were so large and comfy, that they felt as if they were the world’s most expensive weighted blanket. Even though I was completely drenched in cold water in foggy Bodega Bay, I felt so warm against Kyle’s chest. And the dude was so damn tall that my head was virtually resting on his pec, my cheek pressed tightly against the fuzzy mound of muscle.

Dylan snatched a fistful of my waterlogged shirt. “Michael!” he sobbed. “I thought you died! But then Daddy came running! And— and he ran on all fours! It was like a dog! Really, Michael! It was so cool!”

Kyle blushed a little bit. “Um, that’s some imagination you got there, Dylan,” he coughed, his arms tightening around me slightly, and my body unconsciously melted even further into his hold.

This was wrong! 

I hate Kyle with every fiber of my being. I cannot be enjoying his embrace. I mean, maybe I was delirious. I had just almost drowned, so maybe this was some sort of mental side effect from my near death experience? I don’t know. What I did know, though, was that I was still hard, and that Kyle’s muscly body pressing tightly against me was not helping my situation whatsoever. My face blushed beet red and I felt as if I’d catch on fire with how hot I was getting. Shoot, at this point, I’d welcome it. It would save me from he embarrassment of being hard while hugging my father— wow, that’s something I never thought I’d say.

“Um,” I mumbled, squirming in Kyle’s hold, “you can let go now."

Kyle looked down at me for a moment, our eyes connecting. He stared down at me with his deep yellow eyes, and for some strange reason, as our gazes met, my heart raced. But I could also feel his heartbeat speed up too. The heavy thuds beat against his sizable chest, almost on par with mine. Actually, the more I thought about it, I swear that my heart’s beating was in perfect sync with Kyle’s. Each thud of mine was met with his at the exact millisecond.

He must’ve noticed it too. However, he appeared to be entranced with my face for some reason, unable to look away from it. His face slowly drew closer to mine, closing the gap as his eyes began to close.

“Kyle!” I panicked, squirming all the more. I didn’t need mouth-to-mouth right now! What is his damage?!

He flinched and pulled back. “Oh, r-right,” Kyle stuttered, yet his grip on me didn’t loosen in the slightest. “And what did I tell you about calling me ‘Kyle’? You’re grounded.”

“He’s already grounded,” Dylan piped up. Shut up, Dylan! 

Alan stomped down the path to us, shaking his head to himself. His frown was easily visible even from behind his beard, and his narrowed yellow eyes honed in directly onto Kyle’s big forehead. “Ranger Bentley,” he bellowed in his deep voice, “I’m glad you rescued your boy, but maybe you should get him warmed up? As in, dressed in dry clothes?”

Kyle’s blush deepened and he took a small step back, but he still kept one arm secured around my waist. I couldn’t help but notice that as soon as he wasn’t totally holding me, I could really feel the freezing cold of my wet clothes seeping into my skin. And still, I was hard. Especially since I got a full view of Kyle’s body. He looked like a straight up fitness model, with his large and hard-earned muscles, which were manly and didn’t look too toned, kind of like he gained his body through the gym and his job. He had a total man’s body that was muscle and manly hair… which was definitely my type (unfortunately).

He caught me staring… or I caught him staring at me, his yellow eyes running up and down my soaked form. His reddened face deepened its color and he took a small step away from me, rubbing at the back of his neck nervously. “Um, let’s get you home so that I can— um, so that you can warm up,” he muttered.

What the hell is going on around here?