The Werewolf Lottery

CHAPTER 6: Unfinished business

GARFIELD'S POV:

Peeling my eyes open, the sunlight was almost blinding. I quickly shut my eyes again. Lying there and mentally preparing myself to brave the morning sun, I decided that I just had to shock the system and throw myself out of bed. Counting down in my head, THREE, TWO, ONE, I quickly opened my eyes and threw myself to my feet. Just then, the dizziness and nausea hit at the same time and I suddenly recalled the amount of alcohol I had consumed at the party last night.

Surging forwards at lightening speed, I bolted for the bathroom. I made it to the toilet just in time, before the vomit forced its way out. Great! Just what I needed on my last morning, a hangover.

Picking myself up off the floor, I quickly turned on the shower, and after a moment, I stripped off my underwear and stepped under the stream of water. Letting the water cascade over my body and disappear down the drain, I hoped and prayed that it would wash my troubles away with it. Non-surprisingly, this was not the case.

After scrubbing my body and celebrating my own little pity party, I stepped out of the shower to towel myself dry. Once dry, I made my way over to my suitcase and pulled out the first outfit I could find. Blue jeans and a black t-shirt were the outfit of the day. This was fine with me since I didn't want to wear anything too memorable, lest I remember this day every time I wore the outfit.

Looking over at the alarm clock on my bedside table, I saw the time was 9AM. With the knowledge that I had to start this day sooner or later, I decided to start off with the easier stuff and work my way towards the hard.

Grabbing my luggage from by my bedroom door, I glanced back at my childhood room one last time. Never again would I see the notches on the wall where my mother had measured my height since I was a young pup. Never again would I sleep in my comfortable bed that I had built with my dad. Never again would I see these four walls that have been my own personal sanctuary all these years. But after all, it was just a room. Saying goodbye to my family was sure to be much harder.

Heading downstairs, the smell of pancakes and bacon drifted my way. Salivating just at the scent of it, I made my way towards the dining room where my mother was just plating up breakfast. Sensing my presence, she turned to me with a look of sorrow in her eyes. As quickly as I had seen the expression, then she quickly composed herself and plastered a clearly false smile on her face. I am not sure whether the smile was meant to convince me or if she was trying to convince herself that she was happy at that moment, but I suppose either way, I would rather remember my mother smiling and happy than crying in despair. I suppose that is a very selfish thing for me to appreciate, since it was likely very hard for her to maintain this facade.

"Garfield sweetie! Good morning to you, my beautiful boy. I can't believe you're moving out today. Such a grown man now." She chirped. Clearly, she had decided to treat this situation as me simply moving out rather than being exiled, but if that helped her deal with this situation better, then who am I to judge? People cope in different ways, I suppose.

Before I could respond, my father walked in and greeted me likewise.

"Garfield! Today is the big day, my boy! Grab yourself some grub, you're going to need the energy." He spoke almost animatedly.

Great! They had clearly agreed that they would both act oblivious to what this day actually was.

"Thank you both, the food looks and smells amazing." I responded whilst taking a seat at the table. This would be the last time I ever sit at this table, the last time I would sample my mother's mouth-watering food. With that in mind, I piled my plate high with pancakes and bacon rashers. To top it off, I smothered the lot in maple syrup.

I looked over at both my parents' plates, which were modestly plated with two pancakes each and a little syrup, and suddenly felt very self-conscious. My cheeks had turned a bright shade of red, and I could feel them almost burning.

"I just love your pancake momma." I spoke shyly.

With a little giggle, she dug into her own food. Taking this as a sign of approval, I started to devour my own plate of food. Once we had all finished eating, I made sure to thank my mother for breakfast before explaining I must go and find Mick to say my goodbyes.

Throwing on my jacket that had been hanging by the front door, I headed out of the house to find Mick. Mick lived on the opposite side of the town green, so I really didn't have too far to walk before I reached his house. Before I even had a chance to knock, Mick's mother flung the door open and pulled me into a massive hug, and started gushing with tears. Clearly, they had been expecting me.

"Garfield, we are all so sorry this is happening to you! We all love you, and we will miss you so very much. Make sure to stay in contact with us and let us know how you are getting on frequently." She sobbed whilst chattering at lightning speed.

I had been friends with Mick for a long time, so I had spent an awful lot of time at this home over the years. His family was also my family in that sense. However, my family was very outwardly cool and composed, whereas Mick's family wore their every thought, feeling, and emotion on their sleeve, so I really had the best of both worlds.

Hugging her back, I realized just how much she really needed to be held and assured that everything would be okay. I loved her even more for this, if that were even possible.

Before his mother could even utter another word, Mick jumped out of his house whilst simultaneously pulling on his jacket. The whole display was quite comical as he grabbed my arm, pulling me away from his mother whilst shouting his goodbyes to her as we left his garden.

"Gosh man, I'm so sorry for that. She just loves you, I suppose, but I know how overbearing she can be." Mick apologized for his mother's behavior.

"Mick, she did nothing that you need to apologize for. I love and appreciate your family so much also." I replied whilst laughing slightly as I played back that comical moment in my head.

"Listen Mick, I'm sorry to spring this on you, but I need you to come with me to Beta Chandler's house. I don't know what happened last night with Ember, but if there is any chance that her wolf thinks I am her mate, then I need her to reject me before I leave for the human town. I cannot have her living with the pain of having a mate she can never be with. It just wouldn't be fair to her." I said nervously as I waited for his response. Though realistically, I knew this was the right thing to do.

Mick let out a loud oof as he ran his hand through his messy hair. "Dude, you're a stronger man than I could ever be in your situation. Come on man, I'm here for you." He replied supportively as he rested his hand on my back, guiding me in the direction of Beta Chandler's house.