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Fake Dating Alpha Hockey Captain Riley Above Chapter 45

Chapter 45

“I swear, this lil s hit-”

“Wait up!”

“Can’t. Either you catch up or you go to class or something!”

Despite how sudden the running is, I manage to not pull a muscle as I follow after Rita. I don’t exactly know why we’re rushing, but I have an inkling of an idea.

As we approach the front doors to the school, I see security perk up, quickly getting themselves together. I recognize them dimly. Maybe from around the pool months back?

“Sss-orry! Family Emerrrgency!”

They pause long enough for Rita to get through the doors, with me following closely after.

We do a quick right turn, running around to the side of the school. I’m almost certain of what she’s looking for now.

And indeed, we see it. A mysteriously open window on the side of the building, the clouds overcast above us. I can tell from the tile that it’s the boy’s bathroom, but the window seems too small for him to have slipped out of it.

How did he…

When I look down a bit, I realize that she’s holding Alex’s shoes.

“I’m going to skin him alive,” she growls, moving closer to the area as she starts sniffling. “He can’t have gone far yet.”

“Uhm…what are those?”

I point down to the ground, still slightly muddy from the recent storms. There, a large, scuffed paw print. The mud splatters around it and into the nearby grass before disappearing into the trees close by.

“Alex, I swearrrr…”

Then, I start hearing cra ckling, but I quickly take a hold of her shoulders.

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“Wait!!”

“What?”she snaps, her teeth having already started to change. Her eyes have also taken on a more silvery appearance.

I swallow thickly before pointing over to one of the new cameras the school got installed.

“Not rrright here?”

“…Ugh. Follow me.”

She speed walks over toward the parking lot with me trailing behind.

“Can you drive?”

“Uhm, yeah.”

“Good. Drive, then. Because unlike some other lila sshole,I’m not trying to get caught on camera.”

“Ah, o-okay!”

I dig into my purse and pull out my keys. My car lights blink, and Rita falters.

..That thing’s your car?”

“It still works,” I grumble.

I’m driving down the road at speeds that are at least two steps away from the line separating legal and illegal. With one of the windows down, it makes it incredibly hard for me to hear. But we have to have it that way, Rita smelling the outdoor air deeply.

With her sense of smell, she’d be able to replace him. But we’re at a disadvantage, unable to start from Alex’s starting point. Moreover, his smell’s intermixing with the scents of the trees.

That, and Rita’s not the best at telling me directions early enough.

“Turn right!”

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“When?”

“Right now!”

“Ah-wait-”

We pass the road she wanted me to go down, and I turn on my signal, preparing to turn at the next one.

“You said you could drive.”

“And I can! But I’m much more sss-squishy if we get in an accssident!”

The light’s green, thankfully, so there’s only a bit of a jerk as my car leans around

the next corner.

From there, it’s forest road, and there isn’t as much of a worry of encountering other cars. I speed up a bit more as the car steadily becomes surrounded on both sides by trees.

“Is this clossse enough?”

She breathes in deeply again. “Yeah, this is alright, keep going.”

I stay quiet, waiting for her next directions, watching the road for anything, like deer or other animals.

And of course, despite not saying it out loud, I jinx it.

A deer walks up onto the road further ahead, leaning its head down. Rita still has her head sticking out of the window as she smells for Alex.

“Rrrita!”

I reach over and yank her shoulder in, slamming on the breaks. The tires immediately start screeching, and the deer looks up, staring without moving.

With one hand on the wheel and the other on Rita, the car’s hard to control. I feel it start to tilt, like it’s gonna roll over.

I let Rita go and grip the steering wheel, easing it back in place. But I can’t move it too quickly. That’ll make the car flip, too.

With a last screech, the car finally stops.

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My hands tremble and clench the wheel hard. I try to get my breathing under control, fighting off the darkness creeping in at the corners of my eyes.

The deer’s ears flick. Then, seeming to realize it’s still alive, it jumps away, darting through the trees.

We’re silent for a moment, simply breathing. My heart’s beating in my ears.

I quickly shut off my car and turn on the emergency blinkers, screwing my eyes closed tightly.

Η

“…Hey, you okay?”

I can’t respond yet, breathing deeply as I try not to fall into a panic. My chest hurts, both from the way the seatbelt dug into it and from my lungs seemingly failing to inflate.

Thankfully, I start to calm down without going too deep in. Eventually, my eyes ease open to the sight of the logo on my steering wheel.

“…Mmh…fine.”

“…How about I go on foot from here? His scent hasn’t gone as far out, so I’m sure I can catch him.”

I shake my head.

“Mm comin’, too.”

Her expression scrunches with distaste at the idea, but seeing my condition, she eventually huffs.

“Fine, but don’t slow me down too much.”

“Hiking gearrr…in my trunk. Keep up. Fine.”

“Hiking gear?”

Once I get myself together enough, I turn my car on and drive it off the road. Then, we exit and I pop the trunk, pulling out some equipment I used. Rita

watches as I take off my sneakers, replacing them with hiking boots, and put on my hiking pack.

“Hmm. Quite the hiker.”

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Chapter 45

“M’not.”

“Then what’s all this?”

“Thought Alex was hurt. Disssappeared. Wolf attacks. Search parrrty.”

Rita doesn’t say anything else until I close the trunk, directing me to follow her into the forest. Unlike earlier when I struggled to follow along, she walks at a quick but manageable pace I can keep up with.

The woods look more ominous with the sky as overcast as it is. I have a flashlight if I need to use it, but I don’t anticipate I will.

Rita’s breathing quieter now, but occasionally, she breathes in deeply and slightly shifts her course. I feel like we’re headed in the right direction, too, though there’s nothing to back my thoughts up.

“Uhm,” I begin, not wanting to keep walking in silence, “Why isss he trying to

rrrun off?”

“Probably to replace the culprit. Or something. Since you said a wolf attacked you, maybe he’s after that guy. But I can’t leave him out of my sight for too long.” Her fists clench. “He could try heading back home before things settle down.”

“Doesn’t he jussst want to…replace out who hurrrt his brother?”

“No. Not just that. If he has a chance, he’ll try to end it.”

For a brief moment, shock strikes through me. But then I realize she’s not talking about ending himself.

She’s talking about ending whoever hurt Michael. Alex wants revenge. And since we’re just teenagers…I suppose he’s not old enough to get as involved in his brother’s case as he’d like.

“Age rrr-restriction?”

Rita glances at me, then nods.

“Something like that. It’s too close to home. His judgement will be too clouded to address things properly.”

“I see… Isss that why you’re herrre, too?”

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Chapter 45

“No. Unlike him, I know how to cool my head.”

I severely doubt that somehow, my lips pulling tightly closed. She gives me a sharp look after a moment, as if challenging me to say otherwise.

But I get distracted, pausing as the wind’s direction shifts.

There’s an unpleasant smell that makes my nose itch, enough that I almost sneeze because of it. I cover my nose as I try to block it out, but as Rita takes a few more steps forward, I realize something.

The sound of her footsteps is the only thing I hear in the forest. No birds, no small critters scurrying about, nothing.

Only silence and a smell like old blood.

“…Rita?”

She’d already stopped, waiting for me to catch up. But now she turns toward me. I see the instant she notices the smell, her eyes widening.

I hear a slight rustle in the bushes closest to me.

I wait, stock still.

When I hear a c rackle, I immediately jump forward. And something…no.

Someone just misses me with sharp, gnarly claws.