Promise Me Anthology by Tara Fox Hall Page A

normal wilderness surrounding
him took on a whole new depth. His ears could pick out a number of
forest animals roaming the field to his right. A female weasel was
in the treeline, her fear overpowering. Belatedly, Theo realized
she was afraid of him. Then he noticed his mouth was watering at
the thought of warm flesh. Afraid, he packed up his things and
jogged back to the lake house.
    The rustic setting with its lavish
furnishings was surreal. Nothing would be the same from this moment
on ever again. Theo’s whole world was changing. Yet his mother’s
sweater was still draped over a chair, her half-finished letter to
her best friend on the table. It would never be finished now.
    You can’t afford to collapse now. You have a
lot to do and not much time. Now get busy
    The first item on the list of Urgent Things
To Handle was food.
    Hurrying to the refrigerator, Theo opened the
door, the immediate scent of meat irresistible. The steak was raw,
yet he couldn’t stop himself from gobbling it in great chunks,
blood oozing down his chin. When he finished that, he ate a package
of hamburgers, then two hot dogs. Sated, he wiped his face, then
sat on the couch, his face in his hands.
    Second item on the list of Urgent Things to
Handle was how to get to Casey.
    Theo would inherit all of his parent’s money
and property, according to their will. Yet with how things were, he
would likely be suspected of killing them. He couldn’t go back to
school. He couldn’t go back to his life. That was over, just like
Ed had said. He had killed that kid just by getting angry. The
cougar within had come out in an instant. He would have to do what
Ed had done and stay away from everyone.
    But he couldn’t lose Casey, not when he’d
lost everything else. Besides, he couldn’t stay here, even if he
wanted to. His parents would be missed, and the police would find
the bodies if they looked hard enough. He had to leave. Canada?
He’d never been there though. He needed some place he knew well
that was remote enough to hide until he figured out a way to get
normal again.
    Resolute, Theo decided to go back to Heart’s
Bells. There was enough uninhabited space to hide there. And if
there was anyone who could help him now, it was Casey.
    * * * *
    Theo drove through the next day and night,
worried with every cop car he passed that he would see the lights
go on as it came after him. His father had carried little cash,
only a credit card. Theo had used it at several banks to get cash
advances until he reached the card’s limit, then left it behind in
a truck stop bathroom close to the Canadian border. Someone would
either report it or take it to use. Either way, the police wouldn’t
be on his trail.
    He’d had to take his parent’s brand new BMW
SUV. But he had switched the plates with another totaled SUV at a
car repair shop late the next night. It was the best he could do.
With all that he had already given up, Theo couldn’t risk losing
his means of a quick getaway, too.
    Luck was with him. He made it to Colorado
without mishap or even a close call. He drove up to Heart’s Bells
and stashed the vehicle in the hidden spot that he and Casey had
used so many times before. Taking his pack and remaining money, he
got out and looked around.
    Now what was he going to do? Wait for Casey
to come and find him? He dared not go into the college grounds to
find her. Even if he could contact her, he couldn’t risk her being
around him. But how would he tell her in a phone call what had
happened and make her believe it?
    Some plan, jerk.
    His thoughts black, Theo walked into the
hills, the setting sun illuminating the red mountains and setting
them ablaze with color.
    * * * *
    The last weeks of August passed quickly for
the rest of the world, as students entered dorms for the first
time, teachers readied lesson plans, and families had one last
party or trip before fall descended. For Theo, the days stretched
long and lonely. Worst of all, he was