Then the Wolf Step In

Chapter 7

Joy's POV

The next morning.

When I was going downstairs, I was stopped by mom. She asked in confusion, "Why are you up so early today? It's only six o'clock."

To avoid Ryan, of course. I needed to make sure I woke up early every day and came back late at night to minimize the chances of running into Ryan.

I replied, "I want to go to school early and read more books."

My stepbrother took a sip of coffee and nodded approvingly, saying, "It's a good habit. Ryan always goes to school just in time. He looks like a troublemaker and he can never learn how to keep a low profile."

"Honey, Ryan is a smart kid. A student. We don't need to worry about him," my mom said cautiously.

"Ryan is just doing okay in terms of grades," my stepfather said.

"He also has good appearance," my mom continued to praise.

"Not as handsome as me," my stepfather shrugged in disdain.

My mom was stunned and speechless. Surly she didn’t expect that answer. I lowered my head, endeavoring to muffle my laughter.

Deep in my heart I know I should have resented my stepfather to secure my loyalty to my father. But I found it difficult to hate Uncle Henry since this man possessed a werid sense of humor. Although he tried to conceal his true feeling , it could be told from the corner of his mouth that he was proud of Ryan.

Mom coughed and said,"Oh, by the way, we'll be away on a business trip for a few days. You have to listen to your brother. Ryan will help you with your studies. And be grateful to him."

My stepfatheradded sincerely, "If that kid bullies you, call me. I'll beat him up for you."

I smiled and nodded. In the end I failed to mention my desire to move to live at school and I just stood by the door, watching them leave. My stepfather opended the door for my mom when they got into the car and my mom smiled brightly.

Maybe they are truly a good couple. Maybe I should stop denying that Uncle Henry is mom’s soulmate.

Hold on a second.

SOULMATE.

The association made me frown. Could this be the reason why I dreamed about Ryan’s calling me his mate?

Dream is a reflection of subconsicousness. I should stop thinking about Ryan or he would appear in my dream more frequently. I reminded myself and shook my head.

I sighed and walked out. In the early morning, the air was fresh, and the streets were already bustling with traffic. I glanced at myt watch and realized there was much time before school. I went to the mall, bought bread and milk and found a roadside bench.

The sun slowly rise on the distant horizon. The flow of people gradually increased, but the surroundings remained quiet, as if everyone in the city was only busy with their own affairs.

Everything here was so unfarmiliar that the nostalgia hit me. I remembered the mornings I’ve spent in Twilight Town. My dad used to wake me up early and we’d go out toegther. When we reached the intersection, we would part ways. Before that dad would give me a piece of bread and a carton of milk, kissing me goodbye and hurried to his workplace. I would had my breakfast while walking to school. Narrowed and underdeveloped as it was. I had lived in Twilight Town for more than ten years and had walked through every street and alley. It was a carrier of my memory.

I missed my dad.

I wanted to go home.

I sighed and stood up, heading to the bus station. Around the corner I bumped into someone. My face collided with his chest and I cried instinctively, “Ouch!” My nose was in pain, and I suspected that I was about to have a nosebleed.

The boy held me steady and blushed. He sent me a concerned look, "I'm sorry, are you okay?"

“I am fine.” I said as I glanced at him. He was tall and wore the same uniform as me. Could be one of my schoolmates. I was not in the mood to chat so I nodded at him and walked past him. I didn’t want to miss the bus and got late again. Mr. Martin could be mad at me.

Then I heard the voice from behind.

"Hey, wait—"

I turned around and saw him running towards me with a student card in his hand. He stopped in front of me and handed the card to me, "You dropped this."

“Thank you.”I said.

“The pleasure was all mine.”He smiled as he walked away. After several steps he turned to face me and started to walk backwards. Then he waved at me with a grin, "I'm Tyler Morris."

I wasn’t willing to introduce myself so I nodded and ran.

***

For the whole morning I didn't see Ryan, and my mind was gradually calming down.

The last class on morning was dodgeball course and we were dismissed before the end of the class. Daisy suggested that we take the opportunity to grab our lunch at cafeteria in the northern disctrict and I agreed happily.

“We’re afar from the cafeteria. That is to say even though we can get a head start, other students could come from behind if we let down our guard.”Daisy mused as she looked at her watch worriedly.

“Shall we walk faster then?”I suggest.

Daisy smirked and winked at me, “ We should run like we’re having a war.”

I had thought she was joking but the next second Diasy shouted, "Dash!" and dashed out like a cheetah. She ran as fast as she could while shouting at me,“Hurry up, solider!”

I laughed and took to my heels to catch up with her. The sun was scorching above our head and our clothes got wet with sweat. It was fun but f*****g unbelievable. What on earth was Groton School that we have to run our heads off only to take a seat at cafeteria?

Daisy ran and ran till she was quickly blocked by a group of boys ahead. She squeezed through them while muttering, "Excuse us, sorry, let us through." She pulled me through the crowd, during which someone tapped my shoulder. I glanced back and saw Ryan. He casually listened to his companions while looking in my direction from time to time.

Hell, no.

My legs went weak and I couldn’t bear his gaze, fearing that he would notice the uncanny blush on my face. I inhaled sharply and used Daisy as a shield to keep me from Ryan.

“Why are you acting so strangely?”Daisy frowned. Ryan must have heard her as he raised his eyebrows at me and his smile went wider.

“Let’s get out of here.”I grabbed Daisy by her arm, dragging her to the cafeteria.

“Wait, what?”Daisy pursed her lips and followed me unwillingly, “But I saw some handsome out there. You know we could stop by and strike a conversation…” I shot her a disapproving glance and she immeditatly changed her words,“Never mind”.

As I pushed Daisy to the cafeteria, I heard Ryan called out behind me,“Hey!”

I froze for a second and ignored him. I put on a poker face and kept walking without looking back.

“Do you think he could be possibly calling us?”Daisy asked excitedly as she glanced over her shoulder.

“Forget him. I am starving. I want to try spaghetti. What do you fancy for lunch?”I said and pointed to the today’s special.

The distraction worked well. Speaking about food, Daisy could totally forget the previous topic. After a contemplation on the menu, she eventually decided,“I’d like to try sea bass.”

After we grabbed our food, the hall was full of students. We looked for seats with our trays and ran into Ryan and his friends again. They were lining up waiting for their food. Ryan spotted me and he opened his mouth.

Fearing that something dirty would come out of his mouth, I walked past him quickly. From the corner of my eyes, I saw him pressed his mouth into a line.

This wasn’t a good sign.

“Are these seats taken?”Daisy asked.

“No.”The student shook her head, but her facial expressions showed that she didn’t want us to sit next to her.

“Oh, that’s great!”Daisy exclaimed happily and sat down. The girl rolled her eyes and left.

“Come, sit with me. What are you waiting for? Aren’t you starving?”Daisy waved her hand in front of me.

I was hesitating about if I should tell her what I had observed and decided I’d better keep it to myself. I sit opposite Daisy and started to eat my food. The flavor tasted better than the food I’ve eaten in other cafeterias, but I wasn’t in the mood to enjoy it. I doubted Ryan was staring at me and it made me uncomfortable.

“What are you looking at?”Daisy threw a curious look at me.

"Nothing.”

“Are you searching for Ryan?” She grinned.

“No.”

“Did you see Ryan?”

“Eat your food."

“That means yes.”Daisy gave me a sleazy smile, “Can I ask you a question? The last one.”

I sighed and said, “Sure. Go ahead. What’s your question?”

"How could you take your eyes off Ryan’s gorgeous face after you saw him!" she said incredulously.

I almost choked on my food. I took a sip of water and replied,"Everything will be fine as long as you don't look at him."

"But he has an impeccable face!”Daisy insisted, “You must have experienced detoxing."

This time I choked.