Destiny looked up when she heard a ringtone and she saw that it was Noah’s phone as he picked it up. She watched him speak softly. He looked up just as he hung up and she looked away quickly.
“I have to leave now. So, I’ll see you later? Perhaps by five?”
“Let’s make it tomorrow. I’ll still be here by then, still very busy actually.”
Noah scratched his head and he smiled sheepishly as he said, “I’m sorry. I really won’t be able to come over that late. I have some stuff to do.”
Destiny shook her head and raised a hand to silence him. “Whoa, whoa, what are you talking about, Noah? You are not my chauffeur.”
“True, but I am your friend. Now, I may not know much about working in a café but I can do my little to make things easy for you like ensuring that you don’t stress yourself going home after a very long day.”
“You talk like you know everything about my life,” Destiny said thoughtfully.
“No, not at all. Trust me, there is so much about you that I want to know. But hey, we are getting to know each other so, in time.”
Destiny rolled her eyes. “You say that like you are sure about what goes through my head. What makes you think that I want to get to know you and be friends with you?”
“Don’t you?” Noah tilted his head and he placed his elbow on the counter as he waited for her reply.
“Uh, you should get going, don’t you think?”
Noah nodded as he got down from the stool. He made to turn around but then, he stopped and looked at her. “You always avoid my questions whenever I try to get to know you. Why is that?”
“You should go Noah. You are running late, right?”
“Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Noah nodded and he left.
Destiny sighed as she watched his receding back. I really did not mean to be so mean to him. She flicked her tongue over her lip and winced as she felt the band-aid. She sighed as she looked around the café. As soon as the customer traffic reduced, she would head to the nook at the far end of the café on the upper floor and get to studying as she had been doing every day. She really did not want to think about Noah. He was very nice to her and the truth was that it scared her.
A few minutes after five pm, the chimes resonated as the doors opened and Destiny looked up. Her lips turned up in a smile as a woman in a maroon colored pantsuit stepped in. The woman’s eyes flitted around as she walked farther into the café. She looked towards the counter and as soon as she saw Destiny, she grinned and hurried forward.
“Good evening Miss Cathy. It’s so good seeing you. When did you get back?”
“A couple of hours ago. How are you my dear? It’s so good seeing you and the café looks great,” Cathy smiled as she held Destiny’s hand. Her smile slipped suddenly and her hand dropped Destiny’s hand and it moved up to her face where the band-aid was. “What happened to you Destiny?”
“Nothing ma, really. I just slipped and fell,” Destiny said as she jumped out of Cathy’s touch. The warm, motherly caress was very foreign to her.
“Really? You slipped and fell? You don’t say,” Cathy said, her large, brown eyes watching Destiny closely.
Destiny cleared her throat and turned to the screens behind her and she waved her hands as she said, “What will you be having? Would you like to try today’s special? It’s the apple rhubarb and it’s absolutely amazing. You just have to take one bite and you are hooked.”
“Destiny, where exactly did you fall?” Cathy asked, emphasizing every single word.
“The bathroom. I mean, down the steps in school. It’s really nothing big. You know what? I’ll get you a milkshake. I’ll suggest the Mango-Yoghurt. You’ve been on a long trip, so it’s just what you need, very refreshing and cool. You can settle down with it while you decide on what you want.” Cathy opened her mouth to say something but Destiny quickly set the milkshake down in front of her and hurried to the other side of the counter.
Around six pm, Destiny settled down in her little nook. The night shifters had arrived, so she was free. She sipped her shake as she turned the pages of the History textbook before her.
“Eleventh grade huh? I thought you’re fifteen. Shouldn’t you be in tenth?” Cathy asked as she took the seat in the booth across from hers. She was cradling a huge mug of hot chocolate and her eyes roved over the books on the table.
“I skipped a year. Actually, the school recommended it to my mother and she really didn’t care what I did…” Destiny trailed off and she turned back to her book.
“I see. So you live with just your mom? How about your dad?”
Destiny shrugged, her eyes still on her book. “I don’t know. Fighting in the Appalachians?”
Cathy snorted and Destiny looked up at the woman and she sighed as she tossed her pencil on the table.
“I’m sorry Miss Cathy. I’m probably being bitchy and you’re just being nice. I apologize.”
“It’s fine my dear. Growing up without a complete family is not easy. I know all too well from experience.”
“Your dad?” Destiny asked sympathetically.
“Nope, my mom. She died of cancer when I was ten. Dad brought me up, but I guess I can say that my situation is not so similar to yours, right? I mean, I know she is not in the Appalachians.”
Destiny chuckled. “True that but I think I wouldn’t mind a few years even if they are cut short. It will still be a bit of parental love. Then I would know what it is to feel it.”
“Destiny,” Cathy smiled ruefully as she placed a hand over one of hers and patted it lightly. Destiny shook her head and blinked back the threatening tears. I will not cry, she chanted in her head. “You’re not close to your mom, huh?”
“I guess you can say that,” Destiny fumbled with the emerald which hung off the gold chain around her neck. It was hidden under her sweater.
“No siblings? It’s just you and her?”
“Well, she does have a boyfriend.” As soon as she said that, Destiny felt a pounding in her chest as she thought of what happened just that morning. She had been stepping out of the bathroom after her shower, wrapped in her towel and she had seen him standing at the end of the hall watching her, running his tongue over his lip. She had quickly backed away to her room and locked the door behind her, fighting the urge to scream.
“Really? Is he nice??”
“Uh huh.” Destiny’s hold around her pendant tightened and she looked around as she said, “I’m sorry ma’am but I have a test this week and…”
“Sure dear, I understand. I’ll be around for a while, so we still have a lot of time to talk and get to know each other.”
Destiny watched her walk away and found herself wondering, why does everyone I meet these days want to get to know me? What’s there to know about me? I’m just plain, old me, right? She swallowed hard when Cathy turned around and smiled at her before she disappeared from view at the stairs. Miss Cathy is very nice but I can’t let her know that mum and Ronnie are junkies and are only concerned with their next fix. If she finds out that mom is negligent in her care of me, she will definitely feel obligated to report to the authorities. I can’t end up in the system. I know what happens to most kids in the system. I just can’t. What’s going to happen to me? What’s going to happen to mom if that happens?
She felt her heart pound faster in her chest and she rubbed the emerald pendant gently as she tried to calm down. The soothing motion did the trick sometimes. When she felt better, she tried to banish every thought and return to her studying.
Though Miss Cathy had insisted greatly, Destiny had turned down the offer of a ride home. She had quickly gone through the possible outcomes of the action in her head. If Miss Cathy takes me home, she will have an idea of where I stay. Two scenarios can take place. First, if Miss Cathy discovers my living conditions, she will report to the authority and I will end up in the system and possibly in a worse situation than now. Secondly, if Ronnie or mom sees me, on the rare occasion that mom actually decide
s to leave the apartment, I will have some explaining to do. If they don’t squeeze out from me that I have a job, they will try to think of ways to rip Miss Cathy off because that is the kind of people that they are.
And so, she let Miss Cathy pay her cab fare, although grudgingly. If it was up to her, she would walk home as she usually did. As soon as she uttered those words, Miss Cathy had sat her down and given her a lecture about keeping herself safe and not moving around when it was late.
“For goodness sake Destiny, it’s already nine pm!” When she shut her eyes, Destiny could see the incredulous look in Miss Cathy’s eyes. She had probably been trying to understand why a parent would let a child stay out so late. Destiny had been able to ward off the question by saying she didn’t have a phone (which was true) and letting her know that her mother knew she was busy and so always expected her home late.
As she laid her head back on the headrest, Destiny shut her eyes tight as she tried to fight the tears. The love and concern that she had seen on Miss Cathy’s face, someone she had not known for up to two weeks, that was what she craved when she looked at her mother’s face and searched her cold and dead eyes. All her mother cared about was satisfying her addiction. Did she ever even love me? Even when I was a baby? She asked herself as the cab cruised down the streets, heading to the unfriendly neighborhood where she lived and she felt her heart sink as it always did whenever the transition was made.
CHAPTER TEN
NOAH
Noah sat at the table, quietly chewing on a juicy piece of steak. He was lost in thought. He raised his glass of water to his lips and took a long sip as his mind went over the same images over and over again. He set his water glass down and pierced his steak again. He set the fork down and reached for his water once more. Destiny falling against the floor; Destiny wincing as he nursed her bruise; Destiny wincing behind the counter as she mistakenly touched her tongue to her lips when he was leaving the café earlier. All the images rushed towards him and he felt rage bubble through him. His hands clenched around the glass in his hold and the glass cracked. Water spilled over the table and the solid glass which he had held in his hands was replaced with glass shards.
Three pairs of eyes turned to him and his mother ran to him while his father and sister stood up and approached more slowly. She grabbed his hand and looked closely at him. The blood was already seeping back in as the cut on his palm healed itself up. He pulled his hand out of her reach and dumped his napkin on the dining table as he jumped to his feet. Noah stalked out of the living room and his mother was fast behind him.
“What’s wrong with you Noah?”
“I’m fine mother. I’ll be down when it’s time to head out for the hunt,” he told her, his back to her. Noah could feel the blazing fury bubbling within him. His eyes were glowing and he felt more than mad. He needed to vent and there was just one target for his anger; just one person that he could see at the end of his fists. He felt an overwhelming anger and he did not want to rein it in. Not now. He was calm and coolheaded but that was always thrown out the window whenever it came to the welfare of those he cared about. It had always been the members of his clan as well as his family but now, the radius had widened and he would not let anyone harm Destiny, not anymore.
“Noah, you are not alright. Turn around and look at me. Why can’t you do that?”
His hands still clenched in fists, Noah turned around and his mother looked at him intently. She walked up to him and placed her hands on both sides of his face.
“You are burning up and your eyes… what’s going on, Noah. What are you not telling me?”
“Nothing mother. I’ll be upstairs,” he pulled out of her reach and left, taking the steps two at a time.
As soon as he was in his room, Noah shut his room door and headed straight into his closet. He knew exactly what he had to do. I will take advantage of the hunt and do what I need to do. Noah pulled out what he needed and wrapped them up in a little bundle. He headed to the window and climbed out onto the balcony. He stole one last look into the room to ensure that no one was at the door. Sure about the situation, he turned and jumped down from the balcony. Noah landed on his two feet and he straightened up. He looked back at the house. It was silent, just as he wanted. Very carefully, he moved towards the periphery of the house and started running through the woods that lay close to the house, Noah found what he was searching for. It was a hollowed tree that he had discovered on their last hunt.
Noah kept the bundle out of sight and when he was done, he headed back to the house as quickly as he could.
Time for the hunt was upon them and the four of them headed out of the house. They headed to the edge of the woods which were behind their house and then, they morphed. Four large wolves emerged into the woods. Andrew Powers was the largest of the four, his large dark mane was ruffled and his eyes were green with a grayish glint. He was the largest wolf in the pack and the most feared. Noah stood next to him, almost at his height. His hair was a silvery gray and there were patches of black behind his ears. He was almost as tall as him and was definitely going to be very much larger than his father when he became full-grown. His eyes were bluish-grey and were very bright. His sister and his mother were the same sizes and both of them were white wolves.
His father stepped forward and howled loudly. Immediately, there were loud howls in reply. And the hunt began as they all bounded into the woods. The hunt occurred once in every two weeks. They had the opportunity to eat flesh from the butcher of course but the hunt was a pleasurable sport that they always enjoyed. It was one thing to eat the flesh that was placed on their table at a restaurant or that they bought at the butcher’s but it was another to go hunting for the meal. Like Noah’s father had told him and his sister, the sport was one of the ways they were taken back and reminded of their ancestors and be closer to those that had come before them and ploughed the paths and the woods.
The hunt began and as they bounded into the woods, moving as a pack, the animals in the woods went wild, desperate for cover. Their howls rented the sky as they feasted and fed. Hours into the hunt, Noah took a turn and deviated from the others. He found the tree where he had hidden his clothes and morphed back into human.
Noah wiped his mouth with the back of his hands and slipped on the clothes hurriedly. From where he stood at the edge of the woods, he was able to see the back of a gas station. He had ensured to plot this path perfectly. He tugged his cap down on his face and tied a bandana over the lower part of his face and started through the shrubbery and out into the open. Noah walked briskly, his head lowered, trying not to draw attention to himself.
He moved in the shadows, avoiding streetlights and traffic cameras. Mostly, he moved between the shrubbery and avoided all the cars that were driving by. It was not long before he found the gate to the estate. Noah looked around swiftly. Seeing no one, he ran back and then ran forward, jumping over the fence in one giant leap. Landing solid on his feet, he straightened up and clenched his fist as he headed forward.
“M01, M03…” As he moved forward, he counted the houses. The estate was one with large houses which had a vintage look to them. He found the house quickly and he stood in front of it, looking around once more. He knew that Damian was alone. According to what he had seen on the city’s website, there was a charity exhibition taking place at the gallery in the center of town. The Durans, Damian’s parents were great supporters of the cause and they were actually the guests of honor. He had heard Damian going on about it and saying that he was going to be alone at home. Damian had invited the guys and some girls over for a party starting at nine pm. He and Natalie had been invited but they had turned the invitation down because of the hunt.
He shut his eyes and he heard the ticking of the clock at the center of town. And then, the loud gong as the clock struck eight pm. It was time. He walked up the long driveway, his head lowered. He knew, due to Damian’s talking too much, that their security systems were currently offline because they were u
ndergoing maintenance. The situation was perfect. Noah hurried up the steps onto the porch and knocked on the door. He heard approaching footsteps and he stepped aside and back into the shadows.
“Hey, who’s out there?” Damian asked as he stepped out. Noah watched him through narrowed eyes. He took in Damian’s gait. It was obvious that he had started the party early. He reeked of alcohol. Damian spat on the ground and then his voice, “Probably those little rug rats next door.”
Damian turned around to head back inside but Noah jumped over the porch and kicked him in his face. He fell over and sputtered as he tried to regain his balance.
“Hey, what are…” Damian started saying but a blow followed the kick and then another kick.
Damian cowered over as he fell to the marble floor. He curled into a ball as he tried to shield his face. Four more punches and two solid kicks later, Noah straightened up. Head still lowered, he hurried down the driveway and down the street. Jumping over the gate once more, he found his way out of the estate. Noah ran the rest of the way to the woods and into the house. He climbed up the house and slipped into his room through the window he had left open earlier. He deposited his clothes in the back of his closet. He climbed back out and returned to join the hunt, satisfied and with a smirk on his face.
Later that night, Noah stood in front of the mirror in his bathroom, studying his fists. He felt the rage slowly dissipate and the demons rest their heads down in his belly. He held onto the edge of his sink and groaned loudly. The young boy looked up and watched his eyes. The powerful grey had blended into a bluish-grey glint and slowly, it was diminishing. He breathed deeply and splashed water on his face. He turned around and headed out. The moment his head hit the bed, he slipped off. The last thought that went through his head was that he had no regrets. None at all. But the feeling did not last long.
Destiny: BWWM High School Romance Page 8