Pretty Predator

Chapter 19: Michael

I arrived at the restaurant before Melissa, and she came five minutes later.

“Dude, you are late,” I told her when she sat down.

“Sorry not sorry,” she said, how childish. “Are those for me?” She asked, pointing at the sunflowers, which made me think about Meadow, and I smiled.

“No, they are for my best friend, Melissa.” She rolled her eyes and smelled the flowers.

“Thank you, but that doesn’t mean you are forgiven.” She said with a glint in her eyes. I already knew she had forgiven me because it was not easy to remain angry with me, and that was all thanks to my adorable looks.

“Well, at least I tried.” I shrugged, and we ordered.

“How have you been?” she asked me while we were waiting for our food.

“I’ve been okay, just stressed about the exams, and I was also hurt because of my breakup with Mae.” I didn’t tell her the supernatural part because she would think I was insane, and it was honestly better if she didn’t know about that side of me.

“It’s been a while, though,” she said, surprised.

“Some wounds take time to heal, and because of the way we broke up I’m doing an introspection on myself to see if I’m the problem.” She shook her head and mumbled some cuss words.

“I hate her for making you question yourself like this. You are a wonderful person, and every girl would be lucky to be loved by you.” She said.

“Including you?” I smirked, and she acted like she was buffing.

“I almost threw up. Except for me, as you know, I have a beautiful man who loves me and would do anything for me.” I smiled.

“I’m glad you are happy with Emmanuelle. How have you been, by the way?” I asked her.

“I’ve been good, just busy with school and dating.” Our food arrived, and Melissa continued telling me about her and Emmanuelle.

“I am so happy to have met Emmanuelle. I have never felt so loved before, and I love him more each day because he cares about me, he supports me, and he-“

“Michael?” I froze. The voice sounded way too familiar. I turned, and yep, Meadow was there in the flesh. Her beauty never ceased to amaze me. She was wearing a yellow and white summer dress with sandals. I tried not to look at her like that, but I couldn’t stop my gaze from wandering all over her body. When I heard her clear her throat, I looked at her and saw the amusement on her face.

“I know I look good, but please stop staring.” I blinked as if coming out of a daze.

“Oo yes, I’m sorry for being rude.” I apologised.

“How can I help you today?” She changed the topic. She looked so professional and, in her element, a side I had never seen before, and I liked it.

“I want to buy flowers for my friend.” She became still for a second with her hands balled into fists.

“Which flowers would you like?” She asked in a serious tone, looking everywhere except at me, which was weird, because people liked looking at me to admire my good looks and I was not being narcissistic, I was told this by a couple of girls who were confident enough to approach me.

“I don’t know anything about flowers. I did something I want to apologise for so can you please make a recommendation for me.” I requested. Coming here I was going to ask the owner to give me flowers that most girls liked, little did I know that the owner was Meadow and her friend who was still standing by the stairs and spying on us.

“It depends on the kind of friend she is. Do you guys have a platonic relationship? Or is it a relationship between a man and a woman in love?” She asked, and I almost laughed. How does her trying to pry into my private life have anything to do with flowers? Was she trying to find out if I had a girlfriend? I decided to be honest with her.

“She is my best friend. We’ve known each other since we were kids, she is like a sister to me, so you don’t have to worry about a thing.” She gave me a look.

“Who said I was worried? Do not be absurd. Why would I be worried about that?” Well, that just confirmed my suspicions that the girl liked me.

“Chrysanthemum symbolises friendship, happiness, and well-being, while sunflowers are also a good option because they symbolise positivity, happiness, cheerfulness, and good health, nothing about being in love.” I smiled. She was a breath of fresh air. I had never met someone who spoke her mind like this.

“I will take the sunflowers then because I don’t want to give my best friend the impression that I’m in love with her.” I winked at her.

“Then you should not have dressed so well.” I couldn’t stop myself this time and laughed. She sounded like a jealous girlfriend, which was insane because we were not close like that. She went to the counter, and I followed her.

“I apologise. That was out of place.” She said.

“That’s okay.” I paid, and when I was leaving, I couldn’t help but look back and say,

“See you later, beautiful.” With a smile.

“Michael?” Melissa whisper yelled, and that was when I realised where I was.

“Ooh sorry, what were you saying?” I asked her.

“Nothing. I stopped talking a while ago when I realised you were not listening. You had this stupid smile on your face, which is suspicious. Do you have a girlfriend?” She asked seriously, pointing at me.

“Wait! What? Of course not,” I said exasperated. “I don’t want to be hurt like that again. First, it was Fatima, then Mae, so if I fell in love again, I would be the biggest i***t to ever exist in this world.” I said, and she rolled her eyes.

“One day, I will remind you of your words when you introduce your girlfriend to me.” She said teasingly.

“That day will never come. I’ve given up on love. It’s all fake anyway.” I said, and she looked hurt, which was not my intention.

“The love I have for Emmanuelle is real, and I would like to believe that he loves me too.” She said.

“I’m sure he does. Just because I’ve lost hope in love, it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I just don’t believe in it anymore.” I told her honestly.

“Why do I have this weird feeling that you will be singing a different tune soon?” she teased.

“Don’t trust that feeling. It's misleading you.” I joked, and we continued eating. When we were done, I walked her home before going back home to study. I spent the rest of the day studying, even though at some point I had the urge to call Meadow, but I resisted the temptation and focused on my books.

The next day, I woke up early and went to church since it had been a while, and I missed going. I sat at the front and focused on the sermon. When the service ended, Fatima came to say hi.

“I haven’t seen you in a while.” She said, hugging me, and I returned it.

“I’ve been busy. How have you been?” I asked her.

“I’ve been good actually and you?”

“I’ve been good as well, except for stressing about exams.” I didn’t want to tell people about my problems, so I pretended to be good so that they would not ask many questions.

“Yeah, school can be stressful,” She sighed and then looked behind me. “The pastor is calling you.” She relayed the message.

“Thank you. Have a nice day.” I told her, and she smiled. I walked to the pastor, who was still speaking to a couple, so I had to wait for a few minutes. When he finished, he called me over.

“How have you been, son?” He asked, patting my shoulder. He had this beautiful smile on his face like he was happy to see me, and that made me smile.

“I’ve been good, father. I’m sorry I haven’t been attending church these past few weeks.” I apologised, and he just smiled.

“It’s okay, son. Did you manage to heal from what you were going through the last time you were here?” He asked me, and I wanted to lie, but I couldn’t as I shook my head.

“No, father. Things will never be normal again, so I must adjust to my new situation.” I told him.

“Whatever it is, I hope you make peace with it and become happy. It was nice seeing you today.” He said.

“Thank you, Father. I was happy to be here as well. This is my safe place, and there is no place I would rather be than here. I don’t know if my situation will allow me to come here again, but I will try my best to attend church when I can.” I was honest with him. My family didn’t attend church, so there must be a reason for that.

“That’s okay, son, but know that you are always welcome here, and nobody will judge you because they don’t have the right to do that. Would you like to pray with me?” The priest asked while kneeling on the ground, and I joined him.

“Our Father in Heaven, God I’m with your son, Michael, on this beautiful day that you have blessed us with. Your son is going through something, and it is only you, Almighty God, who can help him. Please guide him through the right path, show him the light, and help him when things become tough. Please restore peace, light, and love into his life. Help him father to never lose faith in you, to always believe and trust that you are always there for him. Please give him strength just like you did for Shedrick, Mishack, and Abednigo to fight and never give up. Your son needs you, God please show him the right door that he is meant to open and walkthrough. In the mighty name of Jesus. You are the alpha and the omega, you have no rival, and you have no equal, thank you, God, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the whole spirit, in the name of Jesus, Amen.” I could not stop the tears from falling down my cheeks.

“Amen,” I said. “Thank you, Father,” he smiled.

“May God bless you and always be happy.” He said.

“You too, father.” I left it at that and went home. I didn’t know when I would go back to church again, but I knew I would, one day. When I arrived home, everyone was there doing they’re own things, so I went to take a shower and wore my pyjamas. After I was done freshening up, I made myself lunch. When I was about to study, I changed my mind and called Meadow first. I resisted yesterday but I couldn’t anymore. I just wanted to see her and hear her voice. It was Sunday today, so she was probably at home. When she picked up my call, she was wearing a gown and had her hair covered in a towel.

“Hello.” She greeted.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” I asked, and she touched the towel on her head as if she had forgotten it was there.

“Uh no, I just finished taking a shower.”

“I can call back later if you like,” She smiled. She was smiling a lot these days but I wasn’t complaining.

“I would appreciate that, and I will call you.” I nodded.

“Bye,” I said, and instead of hanging up straight away, she also said goodbye, which was nice compared to how she ended our first video call. I put my phone away and started studying. When I covered everything I had to study, I went downstairs to eat dinner with my family. We usually ate dinner late, and today was not an exception.

“Where had you gone today?” Cassie asked.

“I went to church,” I told her, and they all looked at each other “Why? Is it not allowed?” I asked no one in particular.

“It is allowed, but I don’t recommend it,” Father said.

“Why?” I asked him.

“When you fully transform, it will be best not to be around many humans because you won’t be able to resist some urges.” He said, and I could understand what he was saying because I always thought werewolves were beastly animals and very dangerous, and now I was one, how ironic.

“I understand,” I said, and we continued eating. My phone rang, and when I saw the caller ID, I couldn’t wait to go back to my bedroom.

“Please excuse me,” I said and ran to my room. I didn’t care what my family thought at that point. I lay on the bed and made myself comfortable before I answered the call.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Did I catch you at a bad time?” she asked.

“Why?” I furrowed my brows.

“You took time to pick up the call, so I thought maybe you were busy with something.”

“Oh no, I was just eating dinner, but I’m done now,”

“Are you going to school tomorrow?” she asked me while playing with her beautiful hair.

“Yes, but I’m coming back early since I have an exam in the morning.” She nodded.

“Mm okay, so why did you call me in the afternoon?” I was hoping she wouldn’t ask me that, but oh well.

“I forgot.” I lied, and she smiled as if she knew something I didn’t know.

“You are lying.” She said, and I shook my head.

“I’m too handsome to be called a liar,” I said, and she laughed.

“Your ego is too big, my guy.” That surprised me.

“Who is teaching you our lingo, and when did I become your guy?” I asked teasingly.

“I’ve been on t****k a lot lately, and I’ve learned a lot of things. I won’t comment on the last thing you said.” She said, and I shrugged.

“Okay. Can we meet up on Tuesday or whenever you are free, I want to talk to you about my situation.” I asked her, and she nodded.

“That is cool. You can come to the flower shop on Tuesday, and we will talk.”

“Thank you. Good night.” I was already feeling sleepy.

“Good night.” She hung up. I went to bed and fell asleep immediately when my head hit the pillow.