Dragon Girl by Melissa Nichols (best interesting books to read TXT) 📖

Somebody's scream pierced the dark night, the sound loud enough to make Ryan’s ears ring. The wind blew harsh on his face as leaves crunched underfoot. A car door was opened, the ignition was turned, and the town passed by him in a blur that he didn't remember. He sensed nothing; he heard only the screams that followed him. He couldn't feel the leather steering wheel he was holding, he couldn't smell the aromas of the restaurants he passed. His throat burned, and that's when he realized that the person screaming was himself. He closed his mouth, cutting off the horrific noise, and he felt his heart beating in his chest. His pulse was wild and he couldn't catch his breath; he could barely think. All he knew was that he had to get away. He had to get somewhere safe, away from the green monster. He was sure that if he didn't, he'd be the nightmare's dinner.

He drove through town in a dazed hurry until he reached a place of absolute safety. He parked and made his way up the driveway, through the door and - ignoring the questions he faced from the other occupants of the house - to his room. He locked the door, then the window and the door to the bathroom. He turned off the lights, not wanting to give any signs that the bedroom was occupied in case that giant lizard came for him. He tucked himself under the bedcovers as panic truly began to set in. He felt the bed shake underneath him, his breaths came out ragged and harsh. Tears burned his eyes and all he wanted to do was curl up and cry. Surrounded by darkness and the safety of his home, Ryan let himself fall apart. He let the tears slide down his face and the terrified sobs rip from his chest as the comforting darkness loomed closer.

Heavy pounding tore him from his sleep, scaring him so badly that he bolted out of bed and ran for his bathroom out of pure instinct, only to painfully collide with the locked door. The sudden shock of landing on his butt helped his brain to engage, and Ryan felt his thoughts began to clear.

"Ryan, get out of bed! You're going to be late." His father yelled, pounding on his son's door once more before he left. Ryan rubbed his forehead as he stood. What in the world had happened? He didn't remember much. He had fallen asleep in his bed last night, and now its morning. Nothing unusual there. Why did his dad wake him up? Usually his alarm - Oh, crap!

He dashed to his bed, ripping off the covers in his frantic search. A heavy thud resounded and he turned towards the sound. He picked up his phone and touched the button to wake it up. No reaction; it had lost power during the night. He cursed and tossed it on his desk. There was no time to worry about a dead phone right now. He had to get dressed and get to school.

Thirty minutes later, he left the house in a clean outfit with his backpack slung across his back. Tucked into a pocket, his phone was plugged into his backup charger. He adjusted the keys in his hand as he slid into his car, quickly turning the ignition and backing out of the driveway. The motions were automated; his thoughts lay on the previous night.

He had been enjoying the date so much. He had missed Josie during their summer apart, missed her so much that his stomach began to hurt in an oddly pleasant way with the thought of seeing her again. And the date had been as wonderful as always. They had talked about everything and nothing, enjoyed a lovely meal that they both loved, and spending time together. The drive to the theater had been quiet in a peaceful way with music playing softly in the background. Then they arrived at the drive-in theater too early and had found a quiet alley to park in and wait. Cuddling with Josie was always great, and conversation was absent as he soaked in her presence after a long summer of being away from her.

He hadn't meant to say 'I love you', it had simply slipped out when he wasn't thinking. But he would never regret it, and he'd never take back those words. He had said it, and he'd meant it. But that's when things changed. Josie had locked up, shutting herself off from him in a way that he didn't understand. She became inscrutable to him, her every thought locked in her skull. He had wanted so badly to tear down her shield, to wrap her in his arms and reassure her that she was safe with him.

And then she had led him into the alley with the lure of a secret. He hadn't been sure what to make of it - he still wasn't. Even though he had only seen it for an instant before his truest instincts had taken over, he would never forget what he saw.

His girlfriend had transformed. She had stopped being her usual, human self and had become a vicious, man-eating, fire-breathing dragon.

She was easily twice his height from paws to shoulders, with a body twice as long. Her tail dragged against the ground, long and thick enough to make one flick deadly. Her paws were easily three feet wide, big enough so she could stomp all her weight on his chest and crush him like a bug. Her talons, curved and sharp, were easily six inches long and fully capable of ripping open his stomach.

Her neck made up the other half of her height, long and thickly corded with muscle. It was attached to a slender head with a reptilian snout, with two long horns protruding from the back of her skull in a nearly straight line. Her teeth were bright white and razor sharp, sending panic through his heart before he even had time to process their deadliness.

But she was beautiful. Her scales were the deepest and clearest green he'd ever seen, just a hair lighter than her eyes. He could see now why she preferred green as the focal point in her outfits - the color fit her to a tee - and why she chose black as the accent color. She was a creature of the night.

But, most importantly, his girlfriend had transformed into a dragon! As his cousin Bonnie would say: What the actual hell?!

Needless to say, his mind was quite tired and confused as he pulled into his newly-decorated parking spot and killed the engine. With well-practiced motions, he pulled his backpack over his shoulder and trudged into the school to join his friends.

He found them in the stairwell, everyone gathered and whispering together, hunched in a circle.

"Morning, guys."

"Ryan! Can you explain this to us?" Bella rushed to him, panic clear on her features.

"What is it?"

"We all got this text from Josie and it made no sense. What do you know about this?" She flipped the phone around to show Josie's message - sent about two hours after he'd left her. I’m leaving. Don't look, you won't find me. I'm sorry. I love you, and goodbye.

Ryan felt his heart stop beating - shock took over his thinking process. Josie was gone? Where? Why? Okay, he knew why. She must have left town when he abandoned her.

Oh god, that's exactly what he'd done, isn't it? She needed him to be calm and accepting, trusting him with her darkest secret and deepest insecurity, and he'd run without a thought and with a scream ripping from his chest.

After a rejection like that, he'd want to leave town, too.

But he couldn't tell their friends that. He'd promised to keep her secret, and he didn't know how to tell them why she'd left without revealing she was a dragon.

"Wait," Bella spoke quietly this time, appraising Ryan's face. "You didn't know?"

"My phone died." As if spurred by the reminder, he reached for his phone and powered it on. It was a tense fifteen seconds waiting for the device to power up but, like all things, it passed. He unlocked it and opened his conversation with Josie.

The text wasn't there.

He refreshed it, checked to make sure all other notifications were coming in the way they should, and then went back to the thread.

Still nothing.

She hadn't sent it to him.

"What does it mean?" Jazz asked quietly.

"I don't understand. She didn't tell me she was leaving. Not on our date, and not with the text. Did she not want to tell me?"

"That's just crazy!" Lavendar shouted, shoving her way between Jazz and Bella. "She tells you everything. Sometimes she'll even tell you something before she tells us. There's no way she wouldn't tell you anything - let alone something as major as running away."

"Not this time." He muttered, voice quiet. "We had a fight."

"Okay, that sucks. But it doesn't explain-"

"It was a pretty big fight actually. Like, life-changing."

"Oh no!" Cedric cried. "That's awful. What was it about? What happened?"

"I really can't explain. I promised not to tell anyone."

A chorus of 'what do you mean you can't explain' resounded from the group, each voice climbing over others, fighting to be heard.

"Wait, was she planning to leave?" Lavendar spoke again.

"I don't think so, but the fight certainly didn't help matters. But maybe she's still around town and cooling off. I'm sure we'll see her tomorrow."

"Yeah, maybe." Cedric nodded, the only one to speak while the others stayed quiet.

What am I going to do? I can't tell them, and I can't not tell them. They won't stop at my half-hearted answers; they'll investigate. I can't let them find out Josie's a dragon.

Mercifully, that's when the bell rang. With muttered goodbyes, everyone split up for their first class.

Throughout the day, all Ryan could think about was Josie. He couldn't pay attention to his classes, his mind always wandered back to Josie - both his girlfriend and the dragon. How could she, the young woman he'd known for two years, hide such a dark secret? How was it possible for a human to become a dragon, and why did his Josie have to be involved? Why couldn't she have been a normal human - they could have lived their lives together?

No, that's not the way he wanted to think. It sounded like she was afflicted by this disease and he was rejecting her for it, when in all likelihood the transforming was a gift, a special power. There was no doubt in his mind, she had some deep insecurities created by this gift, and that was also probably the root of her problems with her family. No one adopted a child only to reject and hate them on a soulful level.

Why had he run away?! Why didn't he pull over, think about things, and go back for her? Why couldn't he have stayed calm, looked into her eyes and seen his Josie in the dragon's body? Why couldn't he have smiled and hugged her, accepted her for her true nature? He knew he could. He loved her so deeply and all he wanted to do was spend his life with her. They may be just high school kids, but Ryan knew his soul. He wanted Josie forever and always.

What have I done?

That afternoon, Ryan called off from work - an extreme rarity, he had a strong work ethic - to try to find Josie. He started with her parents. He was only half surprised to learn that they didn't see her last night, but they had found her phone crushed to pieces on the driveway. So she had made it home, but never went inside the house, not even to pack. None of the family's cars were missing, so she didn't take one and drive off. She must have either walked, or flown. In which case, it's going to be difficult to find her. She could be anywhere in