Chapter 7: The Meeting (April's POV)
1604 Words
After dropping off Amy’s dad at the hospital and talking with Nick and his mother, I noticed I had a dozen missed calls from my Nana.
‘What the heck?’ I thought to myself. And then it hit me, the meeting!
Oh god, I’d totally forgotten about it.
I said my goodbyes and rushed outside to my car. I drove as fast as I could to get home in time.
When I arrived and opened the door, my Nana was waiting for me with a furious and disappointed look on her face, her arms crossed in front of her.
“You’re late!” She yelled before continuing, “I need you to start taking this job more seriously.”
“Yeah, well I didn’t choose this job!” I snapped back at her.
I immediately covered my mouth with my hands. Her eyes were throwing daggers at me after hearing those words. f**k, I was going to get it now…
“Nana, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it li--” I tried to apologize, but she interrupted me holding her hand up, telling me to leave it.
“Get in the car, NOW!” She ordered me, her voice filled with authority.
I followed her outside and got in the vehicle in complete silence. I was too afraid to look at her. Man, I hated it when she was mad at me.
“You are right, April, you didn’t choose this job.” She said after she’d calmed down a bit, “But it chose you and it is time that you accept that. You have no idea what you are capable of if you do so.”
I didn’t answer, because she had told me this numerous times before. I just wasn’t ready for it I guess.
“Where were you even?” She then asked me.
“I went to talk to Amy’s dad and took him to the hospital to go see her.” I confessed, knowing she wasn’t going to like it.
“April, how many times do I have to tell you? Don’t get too involved, remember your training.”
“But Nana, she’s my best friend!” I said desperately, but I knew there was no reasoning with her.
“No, you’re only friends with her because of the mission.” She spoke without any emotion. She was one of the most cold blooded persons I knew.
“Ugh, I can’t believe you!” I screamed frustrated, “Didn’t you ever have a best friend?”
“I did and it made me let down my guard, making me responsible for various deaths.”
I rolled my eyes in response.
She always said the same things, but she never really told us what exactly had happened. She just kept so many things a secret, even from her own family.
“We’re here.” She pointed out after a moment of silence.
From the outside it looked like a hair salon, but there was a secret entrance in the alley. It was my Nana’s idea to buy the building and have the meetings in the back. Like she always said, “Hiding in plain sight is what people least expect.”
We entered without anyone noticing and the rest of us were already waiting for us inside.
“I’m sorry we’re late, I had to teach my granddaughter a lesson.” She excused herself.
We sat down and gathered around the table. There were 8 of us, me and my Nana included.
“So, what’s the news? Is the Luna safe?” A man named Phil questioned.
“She is, for now. But we have bigger problems. The Alpha escaped.” My Nana informed, making everyone gasp.
“Lewis and Jane, I need you two to go check out the warehouse for any clues. We need to find him, soon.” She then ordered.
“April, I need you to continue keeping a close eye on Amy and Nick.” She looked at me with a stern look.
I nodded in response.
“The rest of you, keep your eyes out for anything suspicious. Our first responsibility is finding Jeremy.” She spoke before continuing, “And finishing him once and for all.”
That evening I got a phone call from Nick.
“Hey, April. Good news, Amy’s awake!” He sounded happier than ever before.
“Oh, that’s great news! How is she?”
“She’s okay, she can go home tomorrow.”
“Amazing! Thank you for letting me know!”
“Actually I also wanted to ask you something…” He began before taking a breath, “Amy’s dad wants to throw her a ‘Welcome Home Party’ and he was wondering if the three of us might be interested in going. He asked me to help him prepare tomorrow morning at 10 and then stay with her since he has to work and he doesn’t want her to be alone…”
“Yeah, sure, I’d love to! I do have to ask my mom to skip school though.” I’m not sure she was gonna let me, to be honest.
“If she gives you a hard time, I’ll let my mom give her a call. She can be very persuasive.” I could hear him chuckling.
“Okay sounds perfect!”
I hung up and went downstairs to go and talk to my mom.
“Hey mom, so Amy’s awake and can go home tomorrow. And her dad wants us to throw her a ‘Welcome Home Party’. Do you mind if I go?”
“Don’t you have school tomorrow?” I knew this was gonna be difficult.
“Yes, but it’s only one day…”
“No way, I’m happy she’s awake and she can go home, but that doesn’t allow you to skip school.” Just like I thought…
“Ugh, you never let me do anything!” I screamed dramatically and ran upstairs.
Nick, I’m sorry, but my mom won’t let me… I texted him.
Okay, leave it to me. He responded in no time.
I was preparing to go to bed when I heard a knock on the door.
“Hey April, I thought about what you asked earlier and you know what, you can go.” Yes, I guess Nick’s plan worked.
“Really?”
“Yes. But if you get behind on any of your classes, you’ll be grounded for a month!” Who cared, I was just happy I was allowed to go!
I thanked her, gave her a hug and went to bed.
The next morning I found myself outside Amy’s house, waiting for Nick and Dylan to arrive.
“Hey guys, what’s up?” I asked them while they got out of the car.
“You know, stuff.” Dylan was acting weird, at least weirder than usual.
“Okay… Well, let’s get inside and start preparing.” I tried to ignore it.
As we were waiting for Mr. Adams to open the door, I started sharing some ideas, “So I thought we could make a banner and decorate the place a bit, maybe make some pancakes.”
“Sounds great.” Nick replied with a smile.
“Right on time, come on in!” Amy’s dad motioned us to enter.
“Why don’t you and Dylan make the pancakes and Mr. Adams and I will decorate.” Nick suggested and we all agreed.
I told Dylan what I needed and what he had to do since he never made pancakes before. He seemed a bit uncomfortable and was acting all clumsy, but I had no idea why. Until I remembered our kiss.
“Hey Dylan,” I began carefully, “Are you okay? You seem a bit absent...”
“No, I mean yes, I mean... I’m fine.” He not only attempted to convince me but himself as well.
“Is this about our kiss?” I decided to just ask him.
He looked up, his eyes filled with anxiety.
“Look, I’m sorry if I came on too strong. I shouldn’t have done it, it was a long night and I think we just got carried away.” I felt bad about saying this, especially because I really liked him and it felt so good, but Nana would be furious if she’d find out about me dating.
“Oh, yeah, totally, carried away...” He sounded disappointed.
“So, we’re good?”
“Sure, we’re totally fine.” He said with an annoying tone.
Suddenly Mr. Adams came into the kitchen telling us he was gonna go pick up Amy.
I told Dylan to go help Nick with the decorations while I finished the pancakes alone, because he wasn’t really helpful.
A small hour later, we heard the car and prepared ourselves to surprise Amy.
I was very glad she was finally home again.
- Writer
