Chapter 2
1310 Words
I laid back on the bed, closing my eyes, and waiting to hear Nana's footsteps leaving my room. The door creaked softly as she exited, and I heard the gentle click of the door shutting behind her.
As soon as I was alone, I started sobbing, my body shaking with uncontrollable tears. Eventually, exhaustion took over, and I fell asleep.
Later that morning, I woke up early, made breakfast . so Nana didn’t have to stress over it. As we ate, which was more like a silent meal. I broke the silence. "Nana, I'm going to Shelby's house today," I said, looking at her.
Nana's expression didn't change, but I sensed a flicker of concern. "Since no visitors are allowed at our house, I'll go to hers instead," I added, trying to sound casual.
Nana nodded, her eyes clouded with thoughts she didn't share. I knew she understood the reason behind my decision. Our house was off-limits to outsiders, a rule I'd grown accustomed to but never fully understood.
With breakfast over, I quickly freshened up and I left the house, strolling down the hill. My mind began to wander, and I found myself missing my childhood friend, Eldred .We'd grown up together in the pack, although he was way other than me and he was the alpha's son. When I got dragged away from him and was sent away with Nana he had promised to find me.
As I walked, I couldn't help but wonder how he planned to keep that promise. It had been years since we'd last seen each other. What did he look like now? Was he already an alpha?
Lost in thought, I didn't notice I'd reached the main road. A car honked, snapping me back to reality. I almost got hit!
Shaken, I hailed a cab and headed to Shelby's place. When I arrived, I was greeted by Shelby's mom.
"Hey, beautiful! How are you?" she asked, smiling.
"I'm good, thank you. I'm actually here to see Shelby," I replied.
Shelby's mom nodded. "Well, go up to her room. She's probably on her system, as usual."
I chuckled and headed upstairs. As I walked into the house, I passed Shelby's dad in the sitting room, watching TV.
"Good morning, sir," I greeted him.
"Hey, Wendy! Right?" he replied, looking up from the screen.
"Yeah, that's right," I said, smiling.
"How are you?" he asked.
"I'm good, sir."
He nodded. "Guess you're here to see Shelby, huh?"
"Yeah, sir."
He smiled. "Okay, upstairs then."
I nodded and continued up the stairs, eager to see Shelby.
I got to her room and knocked on her door. "Come in!" I heard her say from the other side.
I opened the door to find Shelby sitting at her desk, surrounded by screens and gaming equipment. She was an avid gamer and streamer. She took off her headset and sat up, hooking her long brown hair behind her ear.
"Hey, girl! How have you been?" I asked, dropping onto her bed.
"I've been good," Shelby replied, smiling. "Sorry I haven't visited you in a while."
"No worries, I know it's not allowed," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm so tired of that rule."
Shelby nodded sympathetically. "So, what's new with you? Now that we're done with college, what are your plans?"
I shrugged. "Honestly, I haven't thought about it much. I've been helping Nana with stuff, and she's getting older...I just have a lot on my plate right now."
Shelby nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I get it."
Then, a mischievous glint appeared in her eye. "Hey, guess what? My brother, the one who's been living in Paris...he saw your picture and said he likes you!"
I raised an eyebrow. "Shut up, you're kidding me!"
Shelby grinned. "Nope, I'm serious! He asked if I could give him your contact info."
I shook my head firmly. "No way, I'm not interested in any boy drama right now. I have too much going on."
Shelby chuckled. "Yeah, you always say that. 'I have too much going on'...like, a million times!"
"Seriously, Shelby, just stop," I said, laughing.
Shelby grinned mischievously. "Now that you're here, I wanted to go shopping for some gadgets and few cosmetics. Why don't you come with me?"
I shrugged. "Yeah, sure, why not? Might see something I like."
Shelby changed into something comfortable, and we soon left her house. As we walked downstairs, Shelby called out to her mom, "Mum, I'm stepping out! I'm going shopping with Wendy. We'll be back soon."
Her mom echoed from the kitchen, "Okay, you two be careful."
As we walked out, I thought to myself, Shelby is the only friend I've ever had. She's always protected me, even when some girls bullied would me in high school. Shelby and her family are human by the way, and they have no idea about my...secret.
We took a cab, and about fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the shopping mall. As we entered, we were still searching for what we wanted when Shelby tapped me and whispered, "Is that not Beatrice and Yvonne, the girls who often bully you in high school?"
I rolled my eyes. "Seriously, I don't have time for those girls. Let's just mind our business."
Shelby frowned. "No difference from when we were in high school. They didn't even change."
I smirked. "That's not my problem. They shouldn't even dare try me. I'm not that same girl I was in high school."
Just then, Beatrice and Yvonne walked towards me, sneering. "Hey, Clepto, how have you been?" they said in unison, bursting into laughter.
I rolled my eyes. "Hey, Bitches ."
Beatrice raised an eyebrow. "Looks like she's gotten some liver to talk back at us."
Yvonne snickered. "Yeah, girl, but we're going to teach her that whoever gave her the audacity failed her. She shouldn't use it to talk to us."
As Beatrice reached out to pull my hair, I swiftly hit her hand away. Beatrice screamed, her voice echoing through the mall.
"Ahh! My hand!" Beatrice wailed, clutching it with the other hand.
Yvonne rushed to her side. "What's wrong? Does it hurt that bad?"
Yvonne's expression darkened as she turned to me. "How dare you!" she spat, raising her hand to slap me.
Just as Yvonne's hand was about to hit me, a guy appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Yvonne's wrist, holding it in place.
That was when I snapped out of my guilt trance of hitting Beatrice. I kept staring at the guy wondering why he looked familiar.
It wasn't until Shelby tapped my arm that I snapped out of my daze. "Hey, don't you remember him?" she whispered.
I shook my head, still trying to gather my thoughts. "Ah...ah..."
Shelby whispered again, "He's our senior from high school."
And that was when it hit me – I remembered him.
The guy turned to Beatrice and Yvonne, his expression firm. "Now, you two can leave, or do you want me to handle you girls?"
Beatrice and Yvonne exchanged a nervous glance, then quickly gathered their shopping carts and rushed off.
The guy turned back to Shelby and me, a charming smile spreading across his face. "Hey, ladies."
Shelby's eyes lit up. "I remember you from our high school! You're a senior, right? Rasmus, wasn't it?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, that's me. You have a nice memory."
Shelby playfully rolled her eyes. "Who would forget such a cute face?"
I felt my face heat up, and I quickly looked away, embarrassed. "Shut up, Shelby."
Rasmus laughed. "Guess your friend is now pissed at me, huh?” he said to Shelby.
I turned to him, feeling a bit sheepish. "I'm not pissed at you, okay? Sorry, I was just...guess I'm just surprised."
Rasmus's smile softened. "No problem."
He chuckled. "Your Wendy, right?"
I nodded, curious. "How do you know?"
- Writer
