His Soft Fur
● XXV ●

There was another snow storm. It wasn’t as bad as the other ones this season, but the power still went out and there was a weather alert.

And like usual, my parents weren’t going to make it home safely in the weather.

Of course, Ty came over.

He was on edge, which wasn’t unusual. We had the house to ourselves to do what we wanted, and we definitely did that.

I mean...

We were on the couch today. Ty didn’t have the patience to make it up to my room.

I like being close with him.

He likes me so much that he doesn’t want to stay away from me. I love that. I love him, I love all of him.

And he loves me.

I thought we were going to spend the night together.

Just us.

But we got an unexpected surprise.

I opened the front door, and didn’t have the chance to ask any questions when his brothers just walked in the house like they live here. And they don’t.

“What is going on?” I asked as Cina was the last one to walk inside. “How are you guys here?”

“We... drove.” Brendan almost didn’t know why I asked that question.

“Why?” I asked. “Why come here? Go home.”

“Were you doing something?” Cina asked, and he was about to sit down on the couch but he was quick to move somewhere else. “Yikes, you need to control that.” He looked at Ty.

He’s telling Ty to control himself. He’s the one saying that. I can’t believe that. Ty almost said something but he didn’t.

“Please go home.” I told them but they made themselves comfortable.

Channing sat down at the dinning room table and he just let his brothers roam the house. One was going through the fridge, another was going to a different room. Cina went up stairs.

“Ty.” I turned to him.

“I’m not getting involved.” He said quickly as he put his shirt on. “I already told Channing I wasn’t doing his expedition tonight. If he wants to get back at me, then I don’t care.” He laid down on the couch and turned over so he could sleep.

They still aren’t getting along.

I can’t do this.

“Channing, please. Can’t you go home?” I asked him.

“The weather’s bad.” He said.

Not bad enough for him and his brothers to come over. This is torture. I wanted this to be a quiet night but because Channing isn’t happy, no one’s happy. Ty especially wasn’t going to deal with it. He fell asleep immediately as his brothers roamed the house, talking loudly to each other.

I went over to Channing instead.

“Why can’t you just get along with Ty?” I asked him seriously. “He’s trying his best.”

“To break away from us.” He finished. “I can’t let that happen even if I know why.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’m not leaving, so he won’t leave.” I said quietly.

“He wants to be on his own.”

“Why can’t you let him?”

Channing didn’t answer that question, and by the look in his dark eyes, he wasn’t going to. The candles made him look much more threatening. He will do everything he can to keep his brothers together, not because he wants to but because that other half of him won’t let them break away.

“What about Brendan?” I asked after a bit of silence.

That’s when Channing cracked a smile. He thought it was funny, too.

“What Brendan is going through is a harmless form of what Ty is dealing with.” He tried to not laugh. “But he will be outside more often.”

“Hey!” Brendan said behind me. “Let’s not talk about my life.” He wanted the conversation to stop there.

Channing started to laugh, and it was the first time I’ve seen him do it. This was the only thing I saw him enjoy.

It reminded me that we’re still just teenagers. Channing’s having fun making jokes about his younger brother.

“You can’t break up my parents, Brendan.” I told him in hopes to make Channing laugh harder and it worked.

“Alright.” Brendan said loudly. “I said someone has to shoot me if this happens, who’s doing it?” he was asking his brothers to take him out. I remembered hearing him say that he didn't want this to happen to him.

"You're so dramatic." I told him as I sat down at the table. "You're going to be fine." I didn't think that was such a big deal.

I mean, I don't know what's going to happen over the next couple days.

"You just can't hump my dad's leg." I started laughing again and so did Channing.

Brendan left angrily. I don't mean to frustrate him but he's said some things to me that has made me angry, too. It's nice to get back at him.

"You know, Ty told me Conrod tried to buy you."

"It almost worked, too." Channing admitted without shame. "College isn't cheap."

It seemed like he believed he was going to leave.

"I said no, but I realized that I was stressing him out, so we're working on it."

I was going to ask but he shook his head so I wouldn't.

"That's not fair." I said. "I want to know, too."

"You're not one..." he stopped and took a breath. He was trying to calm himself down.

I realized that Channing doesn't want to act the same way with me the way that he does with his brothers.

"If something happens to you, I'm responsible." he said.

He's said that before and he meant it, too. After that one time he told me he killed a person, the way I see him changed.

He'd do anything to protect his brother and everyone else.

"Me hitting my head wasn't your fault, Channing." I had to let him know. "I was in a place I shouldn't have been. That's on me." I said.

I didn't want him to think that all the bad things that happened was his fault because it's not like that. He can't control everything and everyone. He can lead as best as he can but not everything will go the way that he's expecting it to.

"You can't control everything." I told him.

He should know that by now with everything that has happened. He seemed to understand what I was saying but he didn't add to it. He was deep in thought after that.

All I could focus on was Ty's brothers playing around in the house.

I am in so much trouble.

"There must be something you guys have to do." I was desperate to get them out.

"No, we did everything we needed to today." Channing said.

Great. It just seemed like they weren't going anywhere. And tonight Ty and I were supposed to have the house to ourselves. His brothers effectively made him uninterested in me, and that barely ever happens.

The power came back on, the lights turning on in the kitchen. Now that I realize it, it had stopped raining, too. This is their cue to go home.

And what's even better was that my mom called to say that she was coming home in an hour or two since the weather alert cleared. So not only did Ty's brother waste some of our time, my parents will be coming home in a matter of hours.

I kicked his brothers out of the house. They had taken some of my snacks with them. There was something that I would've missed if I hadn't turned back.

Channing had nodded towards Ty before walking out behind his brothers.

I had no idea what that meant, and I was going to ask when it was finally silent.

His brothers were gone and it was just us.

Ty immediately wanted to get close again. Considering that he had to keep his urges to himself -though he's pretty good at it- I wasn't surprised when he had me on the couch again.

"Wait." I stopped him. "Are you getting along with Channing again?-"

"Let's not talk about that." He wasn't interested in the subject.

"Ty, my parents are coming home." I wanted to push him away but he was kissing my neck and I liked how it felt.

He thought we had a few hours. It was definitely enough time for us. Though Ty really enjoys doing a lot more than I can handle.

I had to kick him out because my dad came home first.

So now it was just me.

I had to pretend like nothing happened.

And as far as my parents were concerned, nothing did happen.

There was school today.

It's the last week of school before break. Honestly, this semester has been the roughest semester I've ever experienced. It might be because I got shot, and also had a concussion. This was my first time getting injured. I was a little behind on my work and I was doing my best to catch up. As long as I pass my exams, everything should be okay until spring. I still have a year left, but apparently, this year is supposed to count the most.

There was another protest that was happening on the last day of school.

I didn't care to listen about it. I tuned it out. I don't want to say I don't care about the cause, but now I get headaches whenever someone mentions Conrod's name or his project sites, or the new wave of tourists that came just for the mall.

I would rather sleep.

"Where are you going later?" I asked Ty since he told me he couldn't come over.

"I have to help Channing with something." he said plainly.

I stared at him, mostly because I wanted to know what it was. Ty stared back. He wasn't going to tell me. I bet Channing threatened him, I mean really threatened him. That's how he gets Ty sometimes so I wasn't surprised.

Also, Channing hates when I know things so I guess Ty is trying to keep him out of our business by keeping me out of his.

"I want to know." I tried to be cute, but Ty still had that plain expression on his face.

I gave it my best shot, batting my eye lashes, leaning on him, moving my hair to the side to expose my neck. I saw his nose flare but he turned away.

"Come on." I groaned because it didn't work.

"Look, I just want to do what I'm told so everyone leaves me alone." He explained to me. "My brothers are coming this week, and the last thing I need is them getting involved because Channing's upset."

"I just want to make sure you're safe."

"I will be." he said, and he didn't doubt that.

"Are you sure you can't come over? I don't like being lonely." I said.

He was about to say something but he stopped abruptly. I don't know what I did to him, but something definitely happened. He started to blush a bit, a faint red to his cheeks. Then he turned away again, and closed his locker before walking away from me.

I probably made him nervous.

Or horny.

I shouldn't be so cruel to him.

I went to class and sat next to the twins like I usually do. Today, they were wearing completely different outfits. Should I try to figure out who is who? No. I needed to pay attention in class.

But I had one important question to ask.

"So what's Channing making you do?" I asked them.

"Conrod has been biting it lately. The more we trash his stuff, the worse it gets for him." One twin said as the other put his head down on the desk. "So, we get to play around today." he seemed a bit excited.

"That's great. You get to make a mess." I wasn't that interested but whatever gets the job done.

"We'll try to not kill anyone this time." he said.

"I think it's too soon for that comment." I told him.

His brother picked his head up from his desk. "I agree. You went for it too fast."

"We have to start making jokes at some point."

"I guess."

"And it's not like we did it on purpose. No-" he stopped himself. "We didn't do anything." he corrected his last comment.

"They do shoot each other."

They effectively cut me out of the conversation like they usually do. I wasn't going to let them get away with that.

"You know Animal Control is going to be out today." I warned them.

"Who do you think tipped them off?" they both asked me.

Did they really say something to Animal Control just to get their presence out there? I don't know what Channing is thinking but it must be pretty wild if he wants an opposing force. With what they did last time, I would think that Channing would want to stay away from them.

I bet they'll bring more tranquilizers with them and try to take them out. Channing won't be very happy with that.

"Animal Control is part of the piece. We're going to rough them up, too." One twin said.

"They're on your side." I wasn't sure if they knew that. It didn't seem like they did.

I mean, everyone else knows that.

"The hunters are backing off."

"Yeah, apparently they unionized and complained about unsafe working conditions."

"So, Animal Control being there and getting torn up in front of the remaining workers will pretty much make everything crumble."

I had a feeling that they weren't supposed to tell me any of this. Ty didn't even tell me. But the twins were blabbing about their secret plan that wasn't so secret anymore. I know what's going on. They can't keep that from me.

"Don't let Channing get angry. I'm worried about him." I said truthfully. I know he hasn't been sleeping lately, and his temper isn't the greatest.

"He's working on it." The twins said.

I would hope so.

"And he said he was going to stay out of it unless we need help." One twin said before turning around in his seat.

"Yeah, like we're going to need help." The other snorted.

"I mean, if we get tranquilized, its done. Brendan couldn't stand for days when they got him."

"That was terrifying."

They both started laughing.

I don't know how they continue to just cut people out of their conversations but it works every time. I stared ahead plainly and tried to think of something so I could join the conversation again, but it wasn't worth it.

I just wanted to get through the rest of the day.

I was standing outside in the parking lot with Ty. He couldn't come home with me, and I couldn't hang out with him. That's what happens when the weather isn't so bad and my parents are home.

"Be careful today." I don't want him to get hurt...or collared. I feel like Animal Control would hoard them.

"Nothing's going to happen." he wasn't that concerned. "Shouldn't you..." he looked off to the side at somewhere else. "Your dad is waiting for you."

"He can wait." That's something I wasn't concerned about.

"I'm pretty sure he can tell that...this is going on."

I wasn't sure if that was also something to be concerned about. In fact, I wasn't.

"Especially with you leaning on your car like that." I pointed out. "That's a flirting stance. My dad isn't stupid."

Ty adjusted himself and stood up straight because of what I said. I was enjoying our moment, he didn't have to move.

"I don't want him to hate me."

"He thinks you're on steroids."

"I can't help what I look like." That seemed to stress him out.

"I like the way you look." I smiled at him. He didn't say anything as he stared right at me. I made him flustered. "If my dad wasn't parked back there, would you kiss me?"

He didn't answer, but I saw that look in his eyes, the one he's had since the beginning. He really would risk it all. I know I asked that question to tease him, but if I'm not careful, he really might risk it all.

"I'm coming over tonight." He made that decision on his own.

"With my parents home?"

"We can figure it out." he said.

I...liked that. I almost wanted to beg my dad to let me hang out with Ty for an hour or two. But Ty says he's coming over, so I'll get ready for him.

I left to go to my dad's car. He's going to pick me up from school for the rest of the week so I better get used to this. I didn't say anything as I got in the car and set my bag on my lap.

He didn't say anything either.

I don't know what he saw or what he's thinking.

"Can Ty come over later?" I asked. Maybe we wouldn't have to sneak around tonight. "We have a project together." I hoped that would make it better.

"Can't...you two do it during the weekend?"

"It's due Friday."

He thought about it for a moment. Then he said, "ask me in two hours."

I don't know if it was actually okay to ask him in two hours but I was going to so he can't back down.

When we got home, we got a surprise. Well, my dad got a surprise, I knew this was happening.

A pale pink wolf was laying in the yard, and he perked up immediately the second we pulled in the driveway.

"Oh dear God." My dad sighed. "Can you move that thing?" he asked me.

"Dad, he's friendly, okay. He's just a big dog." I crossed my arms and sat back in the seat, not wanting to get out of the car. This is all him, my dad is the only one that can move him. "Trust me, he won't bite."

"Stop taking care of the wolves, Gabriel." he was upset that there were wolves in the yard, but I can't do anything about it.

He got out of the car and I waited for a second because he actually went over to the pale wolf that was sitting up, excitedly waiting for attention. I began laughing.

I can't believe this is happening, but it's so cute.

His tail was wagging, too.

"You can pet him, Dad." I said loudly when I opened the door.

"I don't want to get bitten." he was staring but he wouldn't move.

The wolf did, and my dad took a step back immediately when the animal was up on all fours. He bowed his head and waited for my dad to pet him. My dad was more hesitant than I thought he would be.

But he did pet the wolf.

He wasn't particularly...loving, but it still counts.

I finally got out of the car and walked over to them.

"I don't want a pet." Dad said abruptly and turned away to go inside.

I mean, that was enough for the first day.

The wolf was still excited even though my dad went in the house. I was smiling as shook my head. He seemed to be enjoying himself now.

"Come back tomorrow morning. He'll be in a better mood." I told him as I pet behind his ears. "Aren't you supposed to be doing something today?"

He whined quietly as he moved around me. I think he remembered because he started to walk away from me. I should've told him to be careful and for his brothers to be careful. We don't know what's going to happen, and I want them to be safe.

Ty and I were sitting outside on my front steps around two in the morning. He told me how things went hectic earlier today. I mean, it's kind of hard to not know when it was all over the evening news.

Eight large wolves completely destroyed everything on Conrod's project site. And I know they would do it again if they need to. Conrod might have a lot of money, but he sure is wasting a lot to get things done.

If what I was told is true, Conrod won't waste anymore time. He might cave and stop what he's doing.

"How are you doing?" I asked him.

I don't forget about him. I want to make sure he's okay, too.

"I'm..." he didn't answer at first. I wanted to know why, but I gave him a minute to figure out what he wanted to say to me. "I don't have a fever."

"That's a good thing." I said. It's a start for something good. "I'm glad you're okay." I held his hand.

I wanted him to open up more.

He was quiet.

I know he's stressed that his brothers are coming home. Channing hasn't been so nice to him either, so I know he's dealing with some stuff.

I was here for him if he needed me.

"You're not cold?" he asked me.

I was freezing. I had two sweaters on but it was really cold tonight and it was supposed to rain. I moved a bit closer to him, and he wrapped his arm around me.

Now I wasn't so cold.

"You can come inside, you know." I said to him.

We don't have to sit out here.

I guess Ty wasn't in the mood to go in. He didn't say anything as he held on to me. He had a lot to think about, and I didn't want to bother him. I was glad that he was here to keep me warm. I can stay outside as long as he stays next to me.

Whatever he was thinking about, I wanted him to know that I would be here.

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