City Alpha

Chapter Five - Panic

∎Justin∎

He knew that he wouldn’t be able to do it. Zoey was taking her sweet time to get out of the truck, and he just knew that he wouldn’t be able to show her around and propose the idea of moving in with them. This was a massive step and he quickly pulled out his phone and texted Marvin. Justin had seen that out of the three of them, Zoey seemed more relaxed around Marvin. He didn’t like it but right now it could help him out.

Justin – Help! Can you come to the cabin and talk to Zoey?

Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long for Marvin to reply and Justin sighed in relief. Zoey was hesitant to come toward the cabin and he frowned. Was she that scared of him? Or did she simply not like him? The panic feeling inside his chest tightened and he felt like he couldn’t breathe as he thought about her rejecting him. He glanced down at his phone and nodded as Marvin had let him know that he was on his way. Zoey was awkwardly standing against his truck and he knew that he had to do something quickly.

“Marvin is on his way,” he said. Zoey looked startled but he nodded and he couldn’t help but notice how she visibly relaxed. Justin went up the steps and unlocked the cabin, leaving the door open for her as he went inside. The cabin really was worth it, and he couldn’t wait for them to move in, that is of course if she agreed.

“Whose place is this?” Zoey questioned and Justin turned around to see her standing in the doorway looking around. He had no words, and he knew that he should answer but the words wouldn’t come out of his mouth. Suddenly Justin sensed that Marvin was close, and he smiled at her before turning back to the fridge he had opened. It was empty and he felt stupid for even thinking there was something in there, but he needed to distract himself. Why was he acting this way? He wasn’t that shy guy that couldn’t talk to girls, so why was he having such a problem with his mate? “O-ok, don’t answer me then,” he heard her whisper and he cringed as he closed the fridge door.

“I’m going to go for a walk, Marvin should be here soon,” he quickly said to her before he hurried out the cabin through the large sliding door just opposite of the sitting room. Justin knew that Zoey had wanted to say something, but he had rushed out as quickly as he could. Breathing in the fresh forest air, Justin forced himself to calm down.

“What the hell man?” Marvin hissed out and Justin glanced over to his left to see his friend standing there. He ran over to him and growled out to show his frustration. “Just talk to her!” Justin threw up his hands in aggravation and shifted into his wolf before charging into the woods.

∎Zoey∎

She looked around the open plan sitting room and kitchen and smiled. It was really nice and while she was waiting for Marvin, surely there wouldn’t be any harm in taking a look around. Zoey walked in and nodded in appreciation. It was nice and it looked amazingly comfortable.

“Hey, Zoey!” Marvin greeted suddenly, causing Zoey to squeal out in surprise. “Sorry, sorry,”

“That’s fine,” she said as she held her hand over her heart. “What is going on, Marvin?” she questioned as she took a seat on the sofa. She had been right; it was quite comfortable.

“So, here’s the thing…Justin just bought this cabin,” he started to explain. Zoey wanted to desperately roll her eyes at what he had just said but she forced herself not to. It was hard, considering that she wanted to comment on it too. “He knew you were struggling to find an affordable place and we’ve been checking out this cabin for a while now,” Marvin came over and sat down on the coffee table. “The thing is, with the three of us, this place is just too big. We didn’t need the extra room and space but now, it works out perfectly,”

“I don’t understand, why does it work out perfectly now?” she asked. Zoey already knew where this was going and although she felt the bubbles of excitement, she still wanted to hear everything,

“Well, there are four of us now, which means that the extra room and space could be yours,” he said. “Look, I know Justin brought you out here and he intended to discuss this with you…but…” his voice trailed off and Zoey knew that he was trying to find the right words to describe the reasons there had been a change in plans. Zoey wasn’t sure why Justin couldn’t just talk to her, but she was ultimately glad that it had been Marvin. “Well, let’s just say that he is somewhat awkward around girls,” his explanation was pathetic, but Zoey nodded anyway.

“I thought he was bringing me out here to kill me,” she confessed in a small voice. Marvin looked at her surprised and then he burst out laughing.

“Seriously?! When you look at Justin, you see a guy that would kill you?” Zoey realized just how silly it sounded and she blushed. “Look, Justin is cool, just give him a chance,” Marvin stood up. “I mean, put aside the fact that we’ve been wanting this place for a while, Justin bought this place for you so that you could have a home without worrying about things,” Zoey nodded thoughtfully as she considered her options.

“What about p*****t?” she questioned.

“Well, the place is already paid for so between the three of us, that’s me, you, and Cane, we would make sure the electric and water bill got paid,” he said.

“And the food?”

“Well, look, if there is something specific you want, ah who am I kidding? Justin will take care of it,” Marvin went over to the kitchen and pulled open the fridge. “Ah! It's empty,” she heard him remark as she continued to sit on the sofa. She didn’t like the idea of sponging off Justin and his parents but right now she didn’t have much of a choice. The money she had left would be enough to cover her portion of the bills for a few months, but she would have to get a job. Zoey smiled as she stood up. She would get a job and then save up enough money to move out on her own. This was perfect.

“Alright, where do I sign?”

“Sign what?” Marvin asked as he came back into the sitting room. “There’s nothing to sign, we can move in tomorrow,”

“Oh, cool,” she said. “So, there is no roommate agreement?” Marvin was staring at her, confused and she knew that there was no such thing for them.

“Would you feel better if there was?” the question didn’t come from Marvin and Zoey turned to see that Justin had returned and she slowly nodded. “Then I’ll see to it that one is put into place,” and just like that, everything was suddenly put into motion. Zoey was shown which room would be hers and she couldn’t believe how nice the place was. She was genuinely excited to move in and she couldn’t wait.

∎Justin∎

Moving into the cabin had been rather fun and although it had been tense and awkward at first, Justin was quite enjoying himself. Marvin and Justin had done all the heavy lifting and they were almost done with the final few boxes. He didn’t need to look around for Zoey as he could already smell that she was cooking something delicious. Apparently, it was important for her to cook on their first night in their new home. Cane had invited Miranda over to see the cabin, but she had refused and so therefore he was hiding out in his room, depressed at being turned down once again. Justin went over to the kitchen and smiled as he looked around.

“You’ve gone all out,” he said as he looked at all the plates on the island. Zoey gave him a quick nod before taking something out of the oven.

“One thing I’ve learned…” her voice trailed off and Justin couldn’t help but smile at her. “You guys are always hungry,” she finished as she gently placed a large dish on the counter.

“Oh, nice!” he said. “You made lasagna too,”

“What’s that about lasagna?” Marvin questioned as he came rushing into the kitchen. Zoey threw him a soft smile and Justin felt as if his whole world was crashing down on him.

“Why don’t you guys go wash up while I finish off here?” Zoey suggested. Marvin nodded before he ran off and Justin stood there awkwardly watching her. “Is something wrong?” she asked him.

“No…well, I mean…” the fact of the matter was, Justin felt extremely hurt as he continued to glance around at all the dishes she had prepared. It wasn’t until she had taken out the lasagna that he realized one especially important fact. “You’ve made all of Marvin’s favorite dishes,” he quietly pointed out. Zoey looked around and he didn’t miss the way she blushed. “Excuse me,” he said before he slowly backed away and headed to his room. This was a complete and utter disaster, and he had no idea what to do. Of course, he knew his relationship with Zoey was tense and uncomfortable and he knew that it was his own fault, but he had thought that his kind gestures had meant something. Apparently, Zoey had started leaning toward Marvin. He couldn’t blame her, Marvin was funny, talkative and he wasn’t awkward at all. Justin got onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

“Man, what is going on with you?” Marvin questioned as he came barging into his bedroom. “Zoey feels like she has done something wrong…”

“Hmm,” Justin hummed out, he wasn’t sure how to broach the subject with Marvin.

“Come on, let’s go eat,” he said excitedly but Justin was no longer feeling hungry.

“You guys go ahead, I’m going to sleep,” and with that, Justin turned away from Marvin and closed his eyes. He was already thinking about what his next step should be. Marvin silently slipped out while Justin forced his stomach to stop grumbling.

∎Zoey∎

“Thank you for helping me clean up,” she said to Cane as he pushed the door closed on the dishwasher.

“You’re welcome but really, thank you for that meal!” he said as he rubbed his tummy. Zoey nodded politely before excusing herself and going to her room. Dinner had been awkward, and she knew it was because Justin hadn’t joined them. It was clear now that he was the leader of the group, although she didn’t understand why Cane nor Marvin followed his rules. Zoey found herself looking over at Justin’s door and she stopped. This had gotten ridiculous. With determination, Zoey went over to his door and knocked loudly.

“It’s Zoey,” she called out before knocking again.

“Come in,” she heard his response and she pushed open the door. Justin was sitting up in his bed and she noticed that he had already packed everything away.

“Ok, what is your problem?” she demanded to know.

“Look, Zoey…” he started. Zoey waited for him to finish and when he didn’t, she sighed rather loudly and closed the door behind her as she entered his room.

“I like Marvin and yes, I cooked all his favorite dishes but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate everything you’ve done for me,” she explained. “I do realize that I’d probably be out on the street, but you missed dessert and that is your favorite,” she tried to make him feel better but she knew the damage had already been done.