The door bell rang. It was Monday morning, so Kiralee’s mom was off to work as well as Seth. She figured Leah had gone shopping.
Kiralee’s eyes fluttered open as she glanced exhaustedly at her alarm clock, which read eleven-thirty. Her warm sheets covered her like a personal cocoon, she was very comfortable. But, shocked that she had slept so late, she jumped up from her bed and ran to get the door. Noticing on her inner right forearm that she had a small blue bruise, she looked at it for a second curiously, but then ignored it.
From the top of the stairs, she could see out the window to the front door. Standing there was Embry Call, one of her friends from the pack. She skipped down the carpeted steps and opened the door. He was only wearing the norm around her—a pair of cut-off shorts and no shirt. She, however, was in her pajamas—a light pink camisole and rainbow striped sleep Capri’s.
“Hey, Embry,” she said, smiling. “What’s up?”
He didn’t bother smiling back. “Is Leah here?”
Confused by his sudden hostility, she bit her lip. “Er…I, I don’t think so. Why? Do you guys need her?”
“Yeah. Sam called a pack meeting an hour ago and she still hasn’t shown up. Is she out with
Gregg?” he sneered the name. It was quite obvious that none of the pack boys liked Gregg. Many of them thought that Leah could do much better—which was strange, considering she was not the most likely person to receive the “All-Around-Best-Attitude” award for the pack. That would probably be Seth.
Kiralee frowned. “No. They broke up.”
“Whatever. You have her cell, right?”
“Yeah. I believe she’s at the mall, actually. I’ll call her for you.”
She ran to get the handheld phone across the room. Feeling suddenly dizzy, she stopped and steadied herself, gripping the kitchen counter. Embry stared at her worriedly.
“You okay?” he asked, a concerned look on his face. He still stood at the front door frame.
“Ye—yeah,” Kiralee said, blinking. “Whoa. I, I have no clue as to what just happened.” Her mind raced.
He crossed the hallway, entering the kitchen next to Kiralee. He put his warm hand on the shoulder, in an attempt to help steady her. His eyebrows furrowed. She swayed a little.
“You sure?” he asked again, gripping her elbow.
The room spun again. She started to get nervous, which made her heart rate speed up, which made it more confusing. She couldn’t see anymore. It felt like her head was a fuzzy TV with no reception. Her mind was disconnected from the rest of her body.
“Kiralee, what’s going on?” Embry asked nervously.
A small, innocent, frightened cry escaped her pale, lifeless lips.“Kiralee!” she could hear Embry say sternly, now with a hint of terror in his voice. She couldn’t feel his hand anymore—she felt numb.
“I—I,” she tried to stutter, but her voice failed her.
She blacked out.
