PriMate

Chapter 2

As I pull up and lock the handbrake, something hits my gut.

A bad feeling waiting for me.

I brush it off as anxiety, the morning I've had has been testing and I need to relax.

I let myself in and walk through to the kitchen, a familiar scent hits me and that feeling creeps up from my stomach to my throat.. I search the room and find 2 cups placed near the sink.. the brown leather wallet I purchased 2 years ago as a Christmas present for Brad is set lazily on the counter and I don't like the thoughts hitting me.

Surely not?

He's here to set up a surprise for me or to get advice, I repeat myself.

They wouldn't do that to me.

I hear Jayden giggle upstairs and I follow the clean grey carpet up the stairs of the townhouse, leading to the living room.

I hold back angst as I go for the handle, pausing for a second to collect myself before opening the door and walking in.

To my horror, there is Kate and Brad, cuddled up on the sofa like an earthly couple watching Jayden play the xbox.

At the notice of the door opening, and me walking through, they both jump away from each other and give each other a glance that only guilty people would.

I don't speak, it's like the words I'm used to having free reign on are just deleted from my vocabulary, the breath needed to get them out no longer resides in my lungs.

My stomach ready to leave my a***hole like a dodgy kebab.

It's Kate that speaks first.

"What are you doing here?" and her tone is sickenly sweet, she stands to hug me like nothing is wrong and before I know it I'm swinging faster than Connor Mcgreggor and the back of my hand has left a swelling pink mark across her caramel cheek.

She holds it looking at me, and I realise what I've done.

I turn to Jayden and I apologise, "Aunt Ammi shouldn't have done that infront of you baby, that was silly of me" and my heart breaks as he looks at me, terrified and then at his mum with protective tears welling in his eyes.

The overwhelming guilt, betrayal and heartbreak hits me and my own tears roll down my cheek.

My little family, my support system all here under one roof getting closer together just without me.

I can't even look at Brad, I turn on my heel without acknowledging either adults out out anger and my little buddy due to shame, and run to my car with niagra falls streaming from my cheeks.

I don't know what to do once I'm locked in my car safe from the weak excuses, I should have seen this all along.

The way they were when together, conversation flowing perfectly and consistent eye contact.

Him texting her all the time for advice and then not even replying to me when I need him.

Her always mentioning him in conversation.

Her telling me clear as day that Brad had been brought up in her arguments with Jay's father, that he advised her to leave him because she was worth more.

Worth more than me.

I'm so stupid, too trusting.

How can anybody not see their best friend falling slowly in love with their boyfriend.

I see Brad's still shock stricken face come through the front door, its clear he's trying to think of the explanation that would never be enough.

I briefly hear him calling out that it never meant to happen and I start my engine, luckily a bracket is loose on my mid pipe and the blow in the exhaust drowns out the sounds I have no interest in hearing.

Where do I go? My place is filled with reminders of my failed relationship, filled with pictures of the girl I spent my entire childhood with and trusted with my life but clearly was not to be trusted with my man.

I hit the motorway and find myself heading north, instinctive drive taking over me and I pick a radio station to sing my pain away.

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After around an hour I start to feel tired from crying and I'm hungry, so I agree with the thoughts in my head that I need go stop, eat, fill up my car and decide where I'm even heading.

I pull into Derby Town centre and find a space along its old cobbled roads.

I lock the car and make my way down the highstreet in search of a McDonald's.

After a few minutes, there is one in sight and before I know it I'm sat with a coffee and a box of 20 nuggets, double cheeseburger and fries trying to figure out where I go from here.

Money isn't an issue as although I abandoned my family, I still inherited a lot of money from my grandmother, enough to live on for the rest of my life really, but I enjoyed working on cars too much to live that life of leasure.

And then it hit me, Grandma used to take us out to her little cottage in the woods.. it was the most peaceful place on this earth and the last time I remember it being mentioned was my mother asking my eldest brother, Aaron, to regenerate it a little as moss was causing issues with the roofing and it had been abandoned for years.

That would be PERFECT.

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DEREKS POV:

Today was the day, I had to go into the village to try and source some food, warmth and possibly alcohol to drown out the pain and help disinfect the wound that seemed to be growing to smell.

It was starting to cause dilusions and bad dreams, so the sooner this thing healed fully, the better.

Last night's dreams were of my human friends that I hadn't seen for more than 5 years.

Georgina, who had she been a werewolf would have for sure been my mate.

Preppy and funny, always knowing how to make me laugh and revert my mood swings into positivity.

Then there was Theresa, her sister.

Who was a lot younger then and would tag along hoping she could have a snide sip of one of our drinks at a party or a drag of a cigarette.

I hoped she wasn't smoking as soon as she turned 18.

God that was maybe 4 years ago now.

My best friend Luke, who had grown up with me, winding each other up and being typical lads.. wolf whistling and playing pranks through secondary school.

He'd have made a great wolf, and I had planned on this until the TB ruined that for us.

Now we had to find our mates and create heirs to our legacies, the natural way.

And saving the best til last, Ashley.

The first gay friend we had growing up in the early 2000's and being so open and proud not caring what anyone thought.

He gave us all a higher social status because he rubbed off on us so much that we all adopted his care free attitude.

I needed some of that right now, I had no residency to use a food bank.

No money to pay for food, or new clothes or detergent to wash my current garments.

I decided I'd have to risk posing as a homeless man.. which wasn't exactly posing considering I was one but it would be the only way.

The TB were in the city a few miles out, but had ears and eyes in places so I wouldn't be out here for too long.

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After a few hours I had raised £13.58 which bought me some detergent, cheap vodka and a lighter to last me for a few more days with the campfire.

I'd also used the last £1 to buy some chocolate, a small treat since dried foods would last longer but I had the option to hunt and cook.

I made my way back to the wooden shelter I called home and tried to enjoy the scenery on the slow limp there.

I had to call it my home since I had none, it was the closest thing to a safe space that I had now, until I could make up my mind on what would be the next best move.

I took in the luminous green fields that rose up and then back down, and imagined how my friends and I would have loved to have rolled down them as kids, or had small BBQ's and bevvies in the UK heatwaves as we laughed trying to to fall up or down them on the way home.

When I had reached the first cloth marker toward home, I started to get tired and slow down my pace.

I sat staring out at the view enjoying my chocolate before it was all engulfed by trees and bushes again.

I wish I'd have been more careful in the past.