Once in a Full Moon

Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber Page B

Book: Once in a Full Moon by Ellen Schreiber Read Free Book Online
Authors: Ellen Schreiber
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layers of clothing, puffy gloves, earmuffs, a knit hat, and a down-filled coat.
    But this time I was caught in the snow by accident and wasn’t prepared for it.
    “I’ve been worried sick,” my mom said as I unzipped my now-white hoodie. Flakes fell on our tiled foyer. I shook the snow off my boots on an inside mat, but I couldn’t feel a thing—my legs and toes were numb. Our dog, Champ, bounded up to me and sniffed my pant legs.
    “I called several times,” my mom continued, “but you didn’t answer. I was just getting my keys to come and look for you.”
    I was so happy to be home, I was speechless. So much had just happened to me since I left Ivy and Abby, I couldn’t process everything. All I knew was I was finally home.
    My mom pulled off my gloves. “Your fingers are frozen.” She warmed them in her hands.
    “I got caught in that snowstorm.”
    “I can see that. Are Ivy and Abby okay?”
    I nodded. “I think they missed the storm.”
    “They weren’t with you?” she asked, surprised.
    I leaned against the staircase railings and my mom pulled off my boots. I was too tired to hike the stairs to my room. Instead, I sat on them and peeled off my jeans. My mom handed me warm sweatpants and fuzzy slipper socks from the laundry room. Champ licked my cold fingers.
    I’d never been so happy to be home in all my life. The smell of pasta wafting in from the kitchen was the most pleasant scent I could have imagined. It normally bothered me when my mom fussed over me, but I was so fatigued and cold, I welcomed her care.
    I followed her into the family room. I plopped down on a sofa and she covered me with a fleece blanket, and Champ curled up at my feet.
    My mom turned on our gas fireplace and I gladly gazed at our family pictures displayed on the mantel.
    “Dinner’s almost ready,” she said.
    I could hear her fiddling in the kitchen behind me, but I couldn’t focus on what she was doing. I would have pinched myself to see if I was dreaming—being in the safety of my house with a fluffy family pet instead of staring at a pack of salivating wolves—only I still couldn’t feel my skin.
    “She just got home,” I heard my mom tell my dad when he entered the house.
    “That blizzard came out of nowhere,” he said.
    I was glad to see my dad and gave him puppy-dog eyes. He touched my face. Even though he’d been outside, his warm hand heated my chilled cheek.
    “I think that caught us all off guard,” he said.
    “Dinner’s ready,” my mom called.
    Still wrapped in my fleece blanket, I sat down at the dining table and immediately scarfed down an Italian roll.
    “I didn’t realize I’d been gone so long,” I announced, glancing at the clock.
    “Take your time,” my mom said. “You don’t want to choke.”
    “So why weren’t you with Ivy?” my dad asked.
    “I wanted to go straight home. But obviously that didn’t happen.”
    “You walked home?” my dad asked.
    “Yes. Then it started snowing and I ended up in the woods. I saw a wolf. And just at the last moment—”
    “What?” my dad asked. “Slow down. Why were you in the woods?”
    “I got lost.”
    “Which woods?” my mom asked, just as concerned.
    “The ones along Riverside.”
    “Riverside?” she asked, horrified. “What were you doing there ? Where were Abby and Ivy?” my mom wondered.
    “Ivy was driving Abby to her practice before tonight’s game.”
    “This still doesn’t make sense,” my dad said. “What were you doing walking in Riverside alone?”
    “Abby, Ivy, and I were getting our fortunes told.”
    “Didn’t the psychic tell you you shouldn’t go into the woods?” my dad asked, joking. “Seems obvious enough to me.”
    As a matter of fact, Dr. Meadows had warned me. Beware of the woods . . . of the sounds of howling , she had said. My stomach turned, and it wasn’t from eating too fast. It was strange—her prediction. But it just had to be a coincidence, I assured myself.
    “You didn’t answer

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