“Where have you been, Adrie?” Adrienne leaned against the door frame, watching her husband wash the dishes. She hadn’t made him dinner before she’d left, so Adrienne could only imagine that he’d cooked for himself. Her backpack and hiking gear were set just behind her, in the entryway of the home that she’d shared with Tsubaki for four years. Tsubaki knew where she’d been. It was where she always went: hiking once a month, conveniently during the full moon. Without answering his query just yet, Adrienne moved to stand next to him, taking a towel to dry the dishes, and kissing him on the cheek. She could tell that he wanted her to answer the question, but she couldn’t decide what he wanted to know.
“I went hiking, Tsu. You know that.” Her husband didn’t look convinced, and he grunted softly as he handed her a dish that needed to be dried. Adrienne took it silently, unused to the silent disapproval radiating from her husband. Adrienne and Tsubaki had known each other since the fourth grade, when they’d competed head-to-head in science fairs. Always, they ran first and second, alternating who won. From that friendly rivalry, true friendship had sprung. The two had attended birthday parties, and school dances as they grew up. Their Junior year of high school, they had determined to go to the same University, so that they would be able to see one another. Their bond had run fast and deep. At University, both found that dorm living was not to their liking, and eventually agreed to room together in a small apartment. They could only afford one room and one bed, but with the innocent trust left from the age of nine, they shared the bed.
The innocent friendliness didn’t last long.
It had been a late night, finals and exams were over, a summer of fun had been planned….and the celebratory mood had gone to bed with them. The next morning, the two were horrified to realize what had occurred, not because they regretted their feelings, but because they had not intended to use each other in such a way. The next week had been the first and only awkward time in their relationship, and after much thought, both concluded that they loved one another. Within four months, they were engaged to the smiled and bemused happiness of their families. Indeed, their life had been blissfully happy. Until five weeks until their wedding. That had been at the bachelorette party her sister had insisted on throwing. That had been when Adrienne had been bitten by a young man. When she had become a werewolf; of course Vivi had figured it out. Her ‘boyfriend’ had promised that he wouldn’t bite anyone. She promptly dumped him of course, but by then the damage had been done. She had helped her beloved older sister get back on her feet, and hide the secret; the secret that Tsubaki came dangerously close to uncovering once a month.
Adrienne took another plate from him numbly, awaiting his response. When it came, it was not the response that she had been looking for. He turned his head to her, dark eyes taking her in, almost painfully. “Who is he?”
This blew Adrienne away. She had always loved Tsubaki, always loved him, and no one else. Never had the idea of cheating occurred to Adrienne. Never had she even felt the desire to be with another man, the way that she was with Tsubaki. Very slowly she dropped the towel she’d been using to dry the dishes with, reaching out to touch his shoulder, and caressing his skin. The way that he didn’t move away gave her courage, and she leaned her weight against him, her arms sliding around him and her head coming to rest on his shoulder. “No one. He doesn’t exist, Tsubaki. There is only you, there has only ever been you, darling.”
“Then why do you leave me so much? Why wouldn’t you want to be around me?” Adrienne moved away from her husband, as the weight of four years of lies came crashing down upon her. She didn’t want to lie anymore, didn’t want the shame or the guilt that filled her every full moon, every new moon. Her arms went around herself, as Tsubaki spoke with increasing volume, begging her to tell him. This time, Adrienne recognized that what she had felt to be anger or disapproval had really been fear- the fear of rejection. “Adrie, why can’t I ever come with you?!”
That was the breaking point, and she began to cry. Tsubaki took her into his arms, holding her and offering strength and support, whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Adrienne pulled away. “I just don’t want to kill you, Tsu.”
The man blinked, filled with shock. “What? Why would you kill me?”
“Because I am a werewolf.”
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
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