The Hybrid Demon-Wolf

3. Roman- edited

CHAPTER THREE

“Stop beating yourself about it Faith,” Peggy said standing in the door way of my bedroom with her arms folded across her chest. She had changed out of her pleated skirt and was now dressed in jeans shorts with a pair of white sneakers to match.

“Stop beating myself about it? You should have seen Alec’s eyes. He could have spit venom enough to kill millions with just that look,” I countered. I shook my head slightly at the memory of his venomous gaze.

“Neither Alexander nor Lucian really like anybody. Stop making it to be about you cousin,” she said but I was not convinced. The attitude of those two boys towards me was very disturbing.  I wanted real bad to believe that it was the new girl jitters but the more I thought of my day in school, the less convinced I was growing.

“Well, if that is the case then I would make sure not to cross paths with them again,” I freed my fiery red hair strands from the high tight pony tail, reveling in the sense of relief.

“You should let your hair down more often. It suits you,” she complimented.

“I really doubt that. Anyway what is for dinner? I’m starving,” I stepped off my bed, pushing my legs into the red flip flops before lazily stumbling towards the door.

“I think we are having grandma’s famous chicken curry again and rice,” she announced as we got downstairs. She groaned immediately after that, her shoulders slumping forward. I really never understood why anyone would hate chicken curry and rice but then again, I was the who ate anything that was considered edible by humanity.

Grandma, Uncle James and Aunty Dianah who were Peggy’s parents, my mother and step father had already graced the dining room. They were speaking in hushed tones when we walked in but quickly switched the topic to tangerines when they sensed us we getting into the dining room. Shrugging, I slid into the empty chair beside mum as Peggy sat beside me.

“I never got to ask you earlier but how was your first day of school?” Mum questioned in her usual cheery voice, a smile dancing on her face.

“It was as normal as any first day in a new school would be,” I dug a spoon into my plate, trying to avoid the conversation at all costs. Lucian’s dangerous vibe and Alexander’s venomous eyes were still stuck in my head for some reason. I never wanted to be here in Woodcave and maybe those two were signs that I was right and mum wasn’t.

“I told you that you would like it here,” she nudged my shoulder playfully.

“Mum, I’m only here because you insisted I should be here.  I never even for once wanted to be here. You are the one who dragged me all the way to some town in the middle of nowhere that I’d never heard of in my entire life.  So please just drop the subject,” I urged, trying to keep any sort of bitterness out of my voice.

The entire table grew quiet much to my pleasure. I did not like Woodcave and I don’t think I ever could. Being here meant I was detached from Roman and moving to Woodcave had been mum’s so-called brilliant idea of moving on. The move had been abrupt and despite my many protests, she still made me come to this god forsaken town. Once dinner was done Peggy and I stayed behind to cleaning up the dishes.

“So you still don’t like this town, huh?” she broached the subject in a soft tone.

“No at all. It’s just so different from Brooklyn,” I admitted. My reasons for hating here were deeper than just not liking this place. I wanted to be back in New York where I had so many memories of my twin brother Roman. At least in Brooklyn, I could grieve him in peace and visit all his favorite places when I felt low or when I felt like life was being too hard on me. Roman was admittedly sometimes my safe space but other times, the memories of him would get too overwhelming to the point I’d crawl back to bed and cry till I fell asleep. I had tried to let him go but I just could not. He was not just my twin brother but my best friend too and losing him had been the worst blow life had ever dealt me with.

“I’m pretty sure if I go to Brooklyn I would say the same. You know why? It's because I have gotten used to the familiarity of this town that I would not be able to cope with a strange place. However a wise someone once told me that unless we open our minds to making new memories we will always be stuck with the old memories,” she said.

“Does this wise someone happen to have the name, Peggy?” A smiled beamed on my face.

“Maybe,”

“Fine. Maybe you are right. I could just try and make it sink in my head that I’ll be stuck here for the next almost two years of my life,”

“Great. So are you up for a tour of the town tomorrow after school? I never got to show you around when you came in yesterday,” Just like that the hyped up Peggy was back, a wide smile on her face. It was without a doubt that Peggy and I were different from each other on many levels. She would easily be the hype best-friend while I’d be the introverted, probably boring friend that preferred books and movies to actual people.

“That would be awesome,” I was not even half thrilled with the idea of the tour.

Once we were done, we retreated upstairs to our rooms. As much as I tried I could not bring myself to sleep. Instead I chose to prop my body against the window, staring at the quiet town sprawled before my eyes. Unconsciously I kept fiddling with the bracelet on my arm, courtesy of my late brother. I had worn that since forever but I loved it. There were few stars decorating the sky but with the help of the street lights one could tell this was indeed a breathtaking, quiet, small town. I might not like living here but I could not deny taking a few pictures for memories if I ever summoned the courage to use the camera Roman gifted me.  I retired to bed pretty late that night but fell asleep almost immediately.