Page 36 of Jacob Michaels is Not Crazy

“I believe you,” I said, shivering again at the thought of the younger me I had dragged out of the lake.

Remembering the maniacal look on the younger me’s face and the matching laughter made my blood run colder than the icy lake could have ever managed. Why had there been someone who looked like me dancing on the overlook who then decided to plunge into the icy water of Lake Erie? Most importantly, why the hell was there anybody who looked like me roaming around on the property around Oma’s house?

Something was going on at Oma’s house. Something was going on with me. Something was going on in Point Worth. There were a lot of things going on with a lot of people and places all around. Within the span of two weeks, I’d started acting like a hormonal teenager, I’d found out werewolves were a real thing, Lucas had claimed Oma was a witch, and I’d run into an early teens version of myself. To my credit, though I wasn’t feeling completely stable, I was handling everything admirably. At least, in my opinion.

As Lucas pulled me into a hug, to hold me close against his body, I turned my head to look at the fire. I wanted to know how my life had gotten from point A to point B. Sure, my life had never been normal. Being raised by Oma, running away at sixteen-years-old to be a movie and rock star, none of that was exactly normal. But, how did it all devolve into finding out that there was some world hidden just out of view for my entire life? Lucas’ mouth was on my neck, kissing and nibbling at me gently.

“Okay, you two lovebirds!” Oma announced as she stomped in from the kitchen with her mug of tea. “Either cut it the hell out or go up to bed. I ain’t lookin’ at you two actin’ like two teenagers any longer.”

I did my best to smile as Lucas pulled back with a chuckle.

“Let’s make sure everything is locked up first,” I whispered to him.

He nodded.

“Okay, Oma.” I sighed. “We’re going to lock up for you and head up to bed.”

She scoffed.

“I ain’t had to keep my doors locked until you showed up.” She waggled her head as she flopped down on the couch and kicked her feet up. “You’ve been living out in California too damn long.”

“Just humor me, then,” I said.

She waggled her head but didn’t argue as she brought her tea to her lips.

Lucas and I made sure all the doors and windows were locked, then we said “goodnight” to Oma before we headed upstairs. It was nearly midnight when the two of us actually went to sleep, naked and content in each other’s arms. As I drifted off, I felt something curl up in bed with us—but it wasn’t by my feet, it was next to my legs. Obviously, whatever it was didn’t know Lucas well enough to sleep by his feet. But it was perfectly fine sleeping in the crook behind my knees as I laid on my side and held Lucas.