My Silver Mate

Roommate

[Dylan]

Heather may not have been looking for a roommate, but I had officially moved in. It was weird being a part of civilization once again. On top of all of that, I had gotten to know just about everything there was to know about my mate and everyone that she considered important. Heather Stein was her best friend and I had spent the most time with her. Heather was not only beautiful but extremely passionate about animals. She was studying to be a veterinarian. She loved animals and while that should have made me feel at ease, it didn’t. She currently worked at the Fur Real – Exotic Pets, which was a pet shop. However, she hoped to be working at Oakville Vet sooner rather than later. Her long-time boyfriend, Wesley Hall, was studying to be a chef and he was currently working as a part-time cook at The Hot Oven Pizzeria. Apparently, he made a mean pasta dish, but I hadn’t had the privilege to try it yet.

“What are you watching?” Heather asked as she sat down next to me. Over the past few days, they – being everyone in Oakville – had decided that I had nothing to do with the disappearance of Samara. Technically, I had nothing to do with it, but they didn’t know the whole truth. Since they all believed in my innocence, Heather had no problem with me crashing on her couch. Wesley would still stay over but I was allowed to roam free – so to speak.

“I’m not even sure,” I admitted as I handed her the remote. I tried to pay attention as she channel-hopped, but I soon got bored. The search for Samara was still going on and her parents were staying at some fancy hotel in the next town, Lakeson. I didn’t care much for her parents, although they seemed like very nice people, they were a bit dramatic. Then again, I knew exactly where Samara was, they didn’t. Ben Jones, Samara’s boyfriend, was studying law while he worked as a cashier at the pizzeria. I didn’t like him. He was far too fake for my liking and while I hadn’t spoken to him all that much, he was playing the role of the grieving boyfriend almost perfectly. Meanwhile, he continued to go to college and to work while he enjoyed his evenings out with friends. He had stopped by the apartment a few times, but it wasn’t for anything other than to grab something he had left behind.

“We should go out,” Heather suddenly suggested, and I raised a brow as I glanced over at her. “What? I mean…Ben is…acting normal,”

“Define normal,” I remarked. “That man is so…” I stopped myself but Heather smirked.

“He is so what?” she asked curiously, but I shrugged and turned back to the TV. Heather sighed softly but she didn’t say anything on the topic, so I left it alone. I started to wonder what was happening at the pack and how Samara was doing. If I had infected her then she should be fully healed by now, which made me wonder if she was still at the pack. I was tempted to sneak into their territory to see if she was, but I couldn’t risk it. They may not know what I look like, but I was pretty sure they would recognize my scent. With that being said, the police here in Oakville were waiting on the town’s Mayor to get them permission to search the pack’s territory.

“Maybe we should go out,” I then said as I broke the silence between us. “Wesley is working tonight, isn’t he?”

“He is…what do you have in mind?” she asked as she switched off the TV.

“Well, maybe instead of ordering something, why don’t we go to that diner and get something to eat?” I suggested.

“We could do that,” she said, and I nodded as I stood up.

“Afterward, we can head to the pizzeria and hang out there until Wesley is finished working,”

“Sounds like a solid plan,” she said as she, too, stood up. “I’ll just go and change,” I watched as she hurried off and I sat back down. I already knew that she would take her sweet time to get ready. It didn’t bother me and a part of me enjoyed this lifestyle. I had spent most of my life searching and now things had finally slowed down. By the time Heather had changed, I had almost finished watching some documentaries on lions.

“Took you long enough,” I remarked as I switched off the TV and got up. “Are you ready?”

“Hmm,” she hummed as she headed for the door. The drive to the diner was comfortable and I enjoyed listening to her talk about her classes and her work. I parked my car outside of the diner and hurried to get out so that I could open her door. I was, apparently, too slow, but it didn’t matter.

“I see you got your car…” Ben pointed out as he got out of his car. Heather froze as she glanced at him.

“Yeah, Wesley helped me to get it back,” I said as I shrugged.

“Right…so what’s this?” he asked as he looked between Heather and me.

“Just out for a bite to eat,” I said as I blocked his view of Heather. I could tell that she felt uncomfortable, and I made a mental note to ask her about it.

“Oh yeah? Like a date or what?” he asked as he stared at me. What did Samara see in this guy?

“No, as friends,” I said. “We’ve been ordering in, and we thought it would be nice to get out of the apartment,”

“Huh…I don’t like you,” Ben suddenly declared, and I chuckled.

“Trust me, the feeling is mutual,” I said as I turned away.

“I just…you show up here and now you are living in my girlfriend’s place…almost as though you are taking over her life or something,” Ben was clearly grasping at straws and all I wanted to do was punch him in the face.