There is only one rule after any of my therapy sessions: I was to be left alone. No questions asked. Tina and Beth were very patient, and though it riled their curiosity to be so left completely out of my loop, they had always shown me a surprising amount of respect, letting me have my teenage angst moments to myself.

When we arrived back at the house, I got out of the car first and slammed the door pretty hard. Beth shot a quick stern eye before turning her back to help Tina grab some groceries out the back of the car.

I ignored them, hurrying to unlock the squeaky screen to get upstairs to my safety hole. More than anything, I merely wanted to be up in my room, melting face down into my bed. I didn't need a couch to become a potato. And getting to know Dr. Louis had exhausted me more than I expected.

I almost made it to the stairs before I heard Beth call for me.

"Remy! Sweetheart, can you open the door for us? These groceries are pretty heavy dear."

As much as I was upset, I didn't want to be a complete dick. I rushed back to the door and held it open for my moms, taking a couple of bags from Beth to relieve some of the load for her.

"Aww! Thank you, sweetie!" Beth patted my cheek. "I do appreciate that. My hands were starting to cramp." She set down her bags on the kitchen counter and started kneading and stretching her palms. "I definitely went overboard today. I just see those damn BOGO stickers and I can't help myself!"

I nodded. Tina chuckled a little as she removed her coat and returned to the granite island to help Beth unpack the groceries. I wasn't going to do that‒‒the niceties were over for me, and if I didn't get up to my room now, I could easily see this turning into another interrogation at the nook.

I resumed operation Netflix binge and rummaged through the cupboard, finding my black knock-off hydro flask. I patiently waited until Tina and Beth were done with the refrigerated items before filling the water bottle with chilled water from the fridge. I felt my stomach grumble slightly so I began searching for a quick snack before vacating to my room.

"Oh, hun," Tina said, clearing her throat.

I thought she might be addressing me, but it seemed she was talking to Beth as they shuffled around the kitchen putting away groceries.

"Do you remember that nature trail...?" She paused for emphasis on that last part, and I noticed she was sneaking glances across at me inside the pantry.

"Oh yes," Beth replied after some apparent confusion and light nudge from Tina, "I thought that trail was sooo relaxing."

"And calming, my love?"

"Oh my gosh, yes. Especially calming. Sooo calming. Possibly the most calming thing I've ever experienced. It would be especially nice after some kind of rough day or something." Beth had clearly never been on the fucking trail, but her fake descriptions were killing me!

Whenever Beth and Tina were up to something, they had to be funny about it, like this. Their powers of suggestion knew no means of subtlety. But I wasn't so easily tricked. I wanted to finish binging Tokyo Ghoul so that Kash wouldn't spoil it all for me the next time we hung out.

I settled on a snack pack of oreos, and just as I began climbing the stairs I heard something from the kitchen that made my heart sink. "Oh my gosh! Would ya look at that, the WiFi's out!"

These two evil witches! I swear they're unplugging the router to spite me.

"Now Beth," Tina prompted, clearly still trying to talk at me through the walls of the kitchen and the living room, "Where was the entrance to that trail again?" Real smooth Tina... Real smooth.

"Huh...Oh yes... I believe it was... Was it towards the right? I can't remember‒‒hey, ow!" Tina must have nudged Beth a little harder than the first time, and the two had a brief spat over their failing act to get me outside instead of glued to a screen in my room.

I sighed and gave up climbing the stairs in my room. I decided to quickly grab my backpack out of the front room. I shoved my water in the side holder and slipped back into the kitchen to get some more snacks, because I guess I had no option now but to go for a walk.

My moms anxiously awaited some sort of response from me, closely watching my every move. "It's to the left, Beth," I said walking across the kitchen to the screen door, "To the left just past the neighbor's mailboxes."

Her jaw was slightly agape as I pulled the proverbial rug out from under her.

"But I guess if you're gonna turn off the internet like some kind of dictator," I tried to shoot the angriest death glare I knew how, but it must not have come out right because Beth only smiled and Tina grinned, "Then I'll just go on your little nature walk."

I began rushing out the house, anxious to just be by myself for a bit. Beth was left hanging on a high-five at the open screen door, and I could hear Tina speaking a little quieter now, "Beth, you can't just rip the router plug out the wall. Now I'm gonna have to reset the Nest cams again!" I chuckled. What a bunch of goofballs.

‒‒‒‒‒‒

I followed the tree line until I found a cleared-cut dirt path into the woods by two ancient tin mailboxes. The path was wide enough to fit a truck. It seemed that some park rangers had created a path here for the residents of this neighborhood to use.

I had a few of my playlists downloaded to my phone because the cell service in Rosewood was shit. Clicking on my go-to, Spanish Sahara by the Foals began to play. The cadence of the song's melody guided my running thoughts as I ventured on.

The crunching of soft, brittle autumn leaves seemed to echo through the dense tree line. Ombre colors of fall carpeted the surrounding area creating a river of gold all around me. The speckles of orange and red signaled the end of the summer and the calm before winter.

I eventually reached a picturesque riverbank, the backdrop of the evergreens against the pine trees was complemented by the calming crystal-clear waters of the river. The tiny peaks of the mountain range behind the forest almost made me feel lost in some kind of fairytale landscape.

Woah, this is actually beautiful.

I took my phone out, snapping a few quick pics to show Beth. She had just gotten a smartphone polaroid printer from Wish! in the mail, and I knew she was dying to use it. Maybe she could hang some of these pictures in her office.

The walk made me relax a little, and I could feel the stress falling off me like a weight on my shoulders. I continued to walk along the shoreline, the path weaving to a fallen tree at a narrow part of the river. There were two small boulders on the other side: their placement seemed almost strategic like someone had put them there in an attempt to form a bridge across this narrower part of the river.

Should I cross it? ...Why not?

Balancing on the uneven sandy banks, I placed my right foot on the tree, gaging the sturdiness of its structure. It was pretty solid to me so I took a chance, jumping up with my vans, which were clearly not cut out for this, and crossed the fallen bridge, hopping on the small boulders to arrive at the other side of the rocky shoreline.

It felt good to be adventurous. An opportunity like this made me realize that I could never be this free when I was younger. I could never just wander around outdoors like this. Prior to Rosewood, I was always trapped in the city in some group home or other.

No, we're not thinking about the city today... Hrmm, I wonder what Theo's up to. . .

I shook my head, trying to clear my head of as many thoughts as I could! My thoughts, still drifting, started floating around Nate, the untimely incident of when he held me under his chiseled body, the soft touch of his lips---

Definitely not that! What the hell is wrong with me?

I peered to the right and saw another trail parted in the brush and I was adequately distracted enough by the promise of adventure to laugh and break into a skip down the unexplored pathway. The smells of the cold, crisp forest wrapped around me, the howling wind passing weightless and quietly around me.

Did it always smell this clean and fresh?

Closing my eyes, I started spinning in a silly stupid circle to the rising beat of the song in my earbuds. This felt like freedom. This felt like peace and the surrounding nature almost melted my problems away. I'm glad I listened to my parents.

I spun a bit too much for my own good, and caught myself on a pine tree in a mild dizzy haze, trying to focus on the rough bark until I regained my equilibrium. When I opened my eyes, I found myself no longer alone, my eyes locked with another's. A large black wolf.

The towering beast was mid stroll before I must have stumbled through its path. I stood still, petrified.

The wolf was massive, seemingly larger than a normal wolf, like the size of a towering grizzly bear. Its coat was a cascade of thick, long jet black fur to match its intense presence. The wolf bore its teeth at me, showing a row of sharp canines that could tear me apart in seconds.

It began to growl, advancing at a slow but menacing pace, and I could only think to try and back up further into the tree I was already fully clinging to for dear life. Not the best way for me to stand my ground, I suppose.

The creature halted its movements, sniffing the air before retracting its teeth; changing its stance to a seated position. Its eyes somehow changed color from an ember red to a dark, almost-charcoal shade of brown.

I was suddenly in a staring contest with this thing, but then I could no longer hear any growling. There was even some preternatural feeling of familiarity with this creature, as if I'd seen it before‒‒known it in a past life, perhaps.

The wolf remained still, eerily watching me. All I needed to do now was step back nice and slow, but taking my time was becoming more nerve-wracking by the second.

Ah yeah...FUCK THIS SHIT!

Throwing my water bottle in the air, I hightailed outta dodge and ran for my life! The stacked adrenaline in my veins started taking over as I ran as fast as I could, weaving on and off the path and through the tree in disarray back down to the rocky shoreline of the river. Hopping onto the boulders and fallen tree like I was on an American ninja course. My arms were flailing and I screamed in pure chaotic terror.

"Oh my God! I'm going to die!" I yelled from the top of my lungs.

The song, still playing, drove my legs to run faster than I ever had in my life. I wasn't an athlete, but life or death situations have a way of making your body stretch beyond its natural limit. When I finally broke through the tree line, I risked a quick glimpse behind me and saw nothing was following but that didn't stop me. I kept running until I made it safely back to my house.

The rush of energy as I entered the house frightened Beth, who was cooking in the kitchen.

"What's wrong?!" Beth yelled at me, bouncing off of my panicked energy.

Tina popped her head into the kitchen from the living room to find two frantic people flailing and miscommunicating.

After Beth calmed down and successfully peeled herself off of me after a full fifteen-minute mom-death-constriction, I was able to catch my breath from my sprint through the woods and start calming down.

"See, I told you the trail was a bad idea," Beth yelled at Tina.

"Well, how the hell would I know there would be a wolf," Tina replied, shaking her head.

A/N How did you guys like this chapter? Who do you think the wolf could be? Don't worry, Nate and Theo will make an appearance soon! Please make sure to subscribe and leave comments! I can't believe I have 200+ subscribers! Wow, thanks for the continued support!