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1276 Words
I was back on the basement floor. My old blanket was underneath me. Now that I had known what it was like to be in a bed, this was the worst thing in the world. My back hurts again. I was freezing. There were small bits of ice forming on the basement windows. I took my leggings off so that they could air out for tomorrow morning. At least the cold would leave them fresh. I wanted them to smell like clean soap for as long as possible. I didn't have many options for my shirt. This was my only one. I wonder if it was put in a washing machine. I always thought if I put it in the washing machine it would fall apart, and I'd be left picking up the scraps. There was one big blood stain that connected all the pieces together. I guess that's from when I fell down. A small bit of warmth started creeping up my body. At first, I thought something was crawling up my body, like a bug or a spider, but no matter how much I dusted myself, there wasn't anything there. It wasn't one of those nights when it was so cold that I felt warm, so I don't know what it is.
That was when I felt it. My wolf was curled up beside me and sharing her body heat. There wasn't much because we both didn't get enough to eat, but her fur left her feeling a bit warmer than I was. I wonder if it was different for everyone else. I didn't really see anyone in jackets except for kids and babies. Sometimes, when the older people went outside in the cold, they wore sweaters or puffy jackets that were shiny. But no one that looked around my age wore a puffy jacket or a sweater. Sometimes, their shirt had long sleeves, but that was it. I still couldn't fall asleep. I had a busy day tomorrow because tomorrow night members of the Black Eclipse pack will be arriving for a visit. I don't know what they're coming for but the rooms need to be fresh, food needs to be cooked and we don't really know what time they get here. I've heard everyone whisper about how they're one of the most powerful packs around. They were saying that the alpha of Black Eclipse is best friends with the Black Lunar pack. They're basically Alpha and Beta for all the packs in the world.
I wonder what they're like. Do they look like us? Are they bigger? Scary? What if they're in some type of half form where they have wolf legs but human bodies and claws instead of fingers. I curled more into myself as I scared myself with my thoughts. Now I really can't sleep. I should be thankful I'm being given these hours to sleep anyway. I thought they were going to put me straight to work but instead, Beta Micheal and Rebecca dragged me to the basement and threw me down the stairs. Maybe I'm not sleeping because I already slept a lot. Maybe people can only sleep for so long before their body doesn't want to go back to sleep. At least now I have my wolf, so I'm not alone anymore. She was sharing what little warmth she had with me and, for the first time down here, I wasn't freezing even though it was winter.
It wasn't long before the alarm with blinking red lights started beeping. I got up and slipped up my pants and made sure to dust off my blanket and hang it up so that it could air itself out. I climbed up the steps and was met with darkness. No one was up yet. I thought at least Rebecca would be awake so that we could get started. I opened the fridge and started pulling out eggs. These were easy enough to make. Eggs, toast, and breakfast sausage, that's what I'll make. I started cracking the eggs into a bowl and made sure to pick out the shell pieces that fell in. I dumped the sausage onto a pan to start warming and took out an even bigger pan for the eggs. While it warmed up, I turned on the light in the dining room and took a quick look at what was missing. I poured some of the eggs in the pan and mixed them around until they turned into chunks. I dumped those into a serving pan and poured the rest of the eggs in. The sausage was done, so I took it to the dining room to keep warm. I turned on the warmers and set the food up. I grabbed a long pan in the kitchen and lined it with slices of bread before sliding it into the oven.
I heard the clamor of people walking down the stairs as I carried the butter and jam into the room.
What time is it? I hurried back into the kitchen and finally looked at the clock. It was breakfast time already! I hurried up with the ketchup and plates and almost sprinted into the room when I found the spoon, fork, and knife case. I slid the bread onto a long tray and walked it out. I put more slices to toast just as everyone started walking into the room. There was less noise today. I brought the salt and pepper shakers and saw that everyone looked sleepy. That's weird? I wonder what happened? I snuck back out without anyone seeing me and grabbed the rest of the bread from the oven. I found another tray and lined them up. I walked in the dining room to swap bread trays when someone saw me.
"Hey! There she is! This is all your fault!'' The loud voice rang out over the groans and yawns of everyone waking up. I froze with the empty bread pan in my hand. Are they talking about me?
"Yeah, if it hadn't been for you, none of us would be this tired," the last words were echoed out with a yawn by whoever spoke. Did they clean everything up instead and that's why they're tired like this? Did they actually help?
''I know, I know. It was a great party.'' A party, that voice. I relaxed my shoulders a bit. They weren't mad at me. I turned around to leave and that's when I saw her. The girl from the doctor that bought me the soup. So she had a party? I guess that's why everyone's slow today.
''Did you see me and Damian last night?'' Her whisper was loud enough for everyone to hear.
''You can't call him that! He's the alpha!'' The other girl was giggling as she covered her hand with her mouth. The girl that brought me the soup shrugged her shoulders while smiling.
''Hey, we're out of sausages!'' A boy called out from the serving table. I snapped myself out of it and ran back to the kitchen. Did I turn the pan off? I smelled the sausages cooking on the pan and pulled them off. The pan was hot in my hands as I dumped the sausages onto a tray and ran them out. My hand burned as I carried the pan into the room and switched them. I could feel the tears in the corner of my eyes. It's been so long since I've had pain like this.
I walked out the room and ran to the kitchen to run cool water over my hand. I was crouched over the sink when I heard his voice.
- Writer
