Collision-Chapter 1- Part 4

“Before I tell you, I need to show you something.” He grabbed my hands which were on my knees and led me into the woods behind my house. He stopped at a certain tree, I stared at it, it was just like all the other trees but something about it made it special. 1

It felt like déjŕ vu, like I‘d known this tree forever. “Do you believe in love at first sight, Meredith?” he asked. He stared into my eyes. “Maybe,” I looked down at the leaf covered grass. I tried to remember when I’d seen this tree, or what made it so special. I began to shake a little bit a habit I had whenever I got nervous.2

Caleb grimaced, “Do you know what imprinting means, Meredith?” he asked as he paced. “As in werewolf imprinting?” He nodded as he searched the ground for something, “yes.” He dug into the ground near the special tree and took out a box. From the box he removed a polaroid picture. The picture was a picture of him and a little girl that looked exactly like me as a baby. “I’ve been waiting for a while Meredith, watching you grow, wanting to say something. I’ve had to wait until now to talk to you. Don’t you ever wonder why you haven’t fallen in love with anyone else?” I stared at the picture in disbelief. This couldn’t be happening. This only happened in movies and books, not in real life. “You-you-you imprinted me,” I collapsed, everything went black. 3

It was only matter of time until I opened my eyes, the feeling of a warm palm against my cheek bringing me back to reality. Jennifer and Tyler were now watching, worry all over their faces. I struggled to get up onto my feet, only to fall back into the large, awaiting arms. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have just sprung this on you,” Caleb winced. I moved away from his arms while trying to maintain balance. “You’ve got to understand from the moment I saw you-- you’re mother,” I stopped him there. “My mother?”4

He nodded. “yes, Addison and I were.. are rather good friends.” I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of this guys mouth, my mother knew something about this. I shook my head “no,” I whispered. “I’m, so sorry Mere-,” he moved forward, I just stood shaking my head trying to process his words. “Meredith, I would never do anything to hurt you.” From the corner of my eye I saw Jennifer frown, Tyler placed a hand on her shoulder.5

“No,” I whispered again, this time I made my way back to my house. It started to rain, a tear slowly rolled down my cheek. As if I weren’t enough of a freak, I really need this too? “Meredith..,” Caleb called, I kept walking. “Let her go,” I heard Jen’s soft voice. Then, there was a sudden shake in the forest behind me like a tree had been knocked over. I heard a low growl, and there was another shake. I ran the remaining feet back to my house. My clothes and hair were soaking wet, at that exact moment I could care less. I sprinted to my bedroom, running up the steps two by two.