Taming the Beast
Chapter 34 (Keegan)

(Keegan's POV)

Well the council finally agreed to try out Caroline as Luna. They wanted to run tests on her without her knowing first though; terms I was more than willing to accept. But when Friday rolled around and things got out of hand. I froze. I couldn't do anything. I was about as helpful as a goldfish and I hated it. I felt even worse after she stormed out of the house hurt and upset. What really got me was the silence. Caroline didn't talk to me for a week straight. It was torture and my wolf was depressed. I didn't want to go out for runs or anything. It was like I was lost without her. My mom was right: I needed her. I just might've realized it too late. Even in school, Caroline was like a fortress. She managed to not talk to me in Forensics too even though she was always my partner and sat right next to me. Her silence was killing me. After school ended on Friday, I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. I sighed when I sat on the couch with my water bottle. The guys were playing C.O.D. but I could tell that their hearts weren't in it. They'd been pouting all week long. In fact, everyone in the house had been pouting all week long, including my dad and Karma. The guys were silent as they slowly trudged through their game. I couldn't take it anymore.

"What?!" I snapped at them. They all turned to look at me. "You all have something to say, so just say it!" I yelled at them. I was cranky. I'd barely gotten any sleep at night thinking about Caroline. Gregg paused the game and hesitated. I felt a whack on the back of my head. I looked up to see me mom walking into the living room connected to Karma by the hand. I scowled and rubbed the back of my head. I was two seconds away from saying something to her, but then I saw her face. Her eyes were red and puffy. She looked stressed out and older than before. She was also very, very angry.

"Caroline was like a daughter to me and I want her back!" my mom yelled/whined. "And you love her so it's not like it would be any loss to you. This house feels empty without her. You're putting more stress on your dad because he wants to see her. She makes him laugh, Keegan. Your father laughs when he's talking to Caroline. She's like the soul of this house and YOU SUCKED THE SOUL OUT!!" my mom talked/yelled at me. Her talking patterns were so all over the place, I didn't know how to respond. I stood and tossed my hands up in defeat.

"What do you want me to do?!" I yelled at her. She flinched before she only got angrier.

"I miss her laugh. She would have a tea party with me sometimes," Karma added timidly. I sighed and ran my hands over my face.

"Go apologize to her... right now," my mom ordered. I uncovered my face and looked at all the sullen faces in the living room. I wanted her back too... so bad. "Alright, I'll go to her house," I said.

"You can't. One, no doubt her brother knows about what happened and is out for your blood. Two, there's a volleyball game tonight," Trevor said. And that is how we ended up back at high school on a Friday night.

We sat in the bleachers and watched the game quietly. I noticed that Caroline wasn't playing and that worried me to no end. With Caroline sitting on the bench and Natasha being kicked off a while ago, the Bulls lost badly. And with every point they got, Caroline got angrier. I knew that she could feel me looking at her. She always could. My heart did a little back flip at seeing her. When the game ended, I realized that I had no idea what I was going to say to her. I walked up to her anyway. Right before I could say anything to her, my favorite little toddler came running up.

"Keys!" Preston squealed. I smiled and knelt as he jumped into my arms. I hugged his gently as his small arms went around my neck. I stood with him. I couldn't help the huge smile that made its way onto my face. Caroline sighed and kept her eyes down.

"Preston. No Keys. It's time to go," she said sternly.

"No!" Preston said defiantly, clinging to me tighter.

"Preston! No. More. Keys," Caroline seethed, venom lacing her voice. She also sounded hurt. I knew why. I hurt her.

"Caroline," I pleaded as she peeled a screaming Preston off of me. Preston kicked and screamed until Caroline finally put him down. Preston ran to Danny. Caroline turned on her heels but I pulled her back to me. Her breathing became erratic as she froze; her hands against my chest. My body sparks in that familiar way that only Caroline could cause. I missed our spark. "Why didn't you play today?" I asked softly. That seemed to snap her back to attention. She pushed away from me and glared.

"Because I have a concussion," she snapped at me before she hurried off. My heart felt like something was squeezing it. My chest hurt. I hurt her... in more ways than one. I wanted to cry. I just wanted to curl up in a ball and die. I felt terrible. And more than anything, I wanted her back. I wanted my Caroline. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I jumped slightly before I turned to see Danny. My eyes widened. Danny was holding Preston on his hip.

"Hey look, I know that you and my sister aren't on the best terms right now. And she told me her side of the story, but I just want to know what happened. I sighed and sat on the bleacher. I thought for a moment before I ran my hand over my face.

"I don't want to hurt her, ever. It's just... we were wrestling and I wasn't careful at the end. I-I... there was so much blood. I got scared. I got angry at myself for hurting her. I couldn't even take care of her because I was so scared and nervous. Afterwards, I was talking to my mom. I-I was panicking. I told my mom that Caroline would be better without me if I could hurt her so easily without realizing it. She overheard everything and left. She hasn't talked to me since," I explained in a careful rush. Danny sighed and thought for a moment.

"I know it much have been hard for you to see her like that, and I get it. You were freaking out and said some things you could've probably worded better. Just... give her a little time, and tell her the truth. She hates it when people lie to her," he said before he stood up. "Hang in there. You and my sister are meant for each other. Even I can see that," he said before he started walking away. Preston waved at me. I gave a small smile before I waved back. Danny was right; I had to tell her the truth...

But how?☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐☐

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