Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Her heart began racing the moment the car pulled into the parking lot. She could see an airplane landing and dropping off passengers. Maybe that was her plane, she thought, hurrying inside the building and gripping onto her suitcase.

“Slow down, Alice. I haven’t even hugged you goodbye.” Linda hurriedly went after her. Alice could swear she had forgotten her parents came with her.

She halts and turned around to look at them. She was too jumpy and paranoid to even focus on the things around her. This was her first time traveling, her first time being on a plane, her first time interacting with outcasts alone and her first time staying far away from home. She felt overwhelmed by just staring at them for the last time.

“I’m really going to miss you guys,” She mutters and engulfed them both in a nice hug. They both squeezed her, making her to giggle at the pressure.

“Don’t you dare get pregnant, Alice,” Linda proclaimed, sniffing away the tears that were already gushing out.  Alice laughed heartily and nodded. Her mother cupped her face and kissed both her cheeks and forehead.

“And no human boyfriends,” she remarked, pointing at Fredrick. He chuckled softly and kissed her head.

She turned around and gripped on her suitcase. She doesn’t need to turn back to know that her parents were still standing behind her until she enters the building.

“Okay…” she mutters, heading to the desk. She had spoken to Max earlier and he had told her exactly what to do. “One ticket to New York please,” she said and the airline ticket agent could clearly sense the uneasiness on Alice’s face and voice.

“First time?” She asked, checking in on her computer. Alice smiled nervously as she nodded. The woman looks up at her and offered a smile. “You’ll be okay. The first times are always like that.” She handed her the ticket. “Your flight would board in an hour.”

Alice thanked her and found a sit to wait. She glanced around the room. Many people were like her, holding their suitcase close to their side while talking about opportunity to travel. Their faces were brimmed with happiness but Alice felt otherwise. She was travel thousand miles away from her parents without even knowing when she’d see them again.

It took her two months to convince her father to actually let her join Max in New York. Though she was skeptical about it too, it was the only thing she needed—to be far away from all the chaos around her.

She rechecked her purse to make sure she had everything she needed. She was clearly still uneasy even after spending half an hour waiting to board. Her phone chimed, indicating a new call. She fetched it from her jacket and looked at the screen. She slightly grimaced as she envisaged—It was Aaron calling. He calls her every single day after he found out that she had split up with Dominic. She appreciates the effort he was putting in making things work between them—she still loves him for that but her brain was finally overriding her heart. She had boundaries and taught herself to value her time. Whenever she wasn’t free, she’d never respond to him. She only gives him time whenever she wasn’t doing anything and right now, she was about to catch a six-hour flight.

Her phone vibrated and she looked at the screen. It was a text from Max.

‘You’d feel lightheaded as the plane takes off, it’s normal. You’ll be back to normal after a couple of minutes.’

She chuckled softly and shook her head. He had already told her about the dizziness last night.

‘Do you eat pasta? I’m thinking of cooking pasta for you tonight. I’m cooking pasta with meatballs.’

His text came through again. She smiled and unlocked her phone to text back. She clicked send and shoved her phone back in her pocket.

She sat there for couple of minutes, patiently waiting and fighting the urge to get up and exit the place. She didn’t even had time to get up and run away when she heard a pleasant voice making an announcement on the public address system.

The flight 994 was now boarding at gate 3. She felt her heart flipped as the people around her scrambled up and joined a line at the gate. Her attention was caught by a small child who had a bad attitude. He stomped and yelled, asking for everything in the nearby store. Alice prayed that he wouldn’t be on her flight. Even worse, was if he sat behind her and kicked the seat. Out of anything that could ruin the little excitement left in her.

She remembered a movie she had watched on Max laptop few months back before she moved to Umbris Pack. A guy board in a plane and there was a nagging kid sitting behind him and kicking his chair. He had to endure that for hours. Alice doesn’t know whether she’d have that same patience as the man in the movie.

The kid’s infuriating barks brought her out of her reverie. She swallowed an excruciating lump and rose to her feet. She should’ve let her parents stay until she boards but no, she stubbornly asked them not to stay because seeing them around as she leaves might make her change her mind. She felt worse not having them here with her.

As they stood in the endless line, she could sense the excitement all around her. People had been here since forever, waiting to be flown to their destination. Sadly, her emotions weren’t the same. She was about to board a flight to another side of the country which she had pressed her parents to let her leave.

As they approached the check in agent, she could feel her stomach sink. She had been bravely holding the tears back. She had said goodbye to what she has known all her life—her parents—and soon she was caught up with many strangers who were boarding the plane. She was thinking of turning back, but she didn’t. She needed to be strong, to move on and be dauntless.

Alice exhales gently as she gave her ticket to the attendant and found a perfect seat. Once on-board, she felt relaxed and sunk into her chair. But then, she glanced around the plane, left and right, front to back. “Yes,” she thought, no sign of the bratty kid.

Instead, there were people dressed in business-type clothes and a lot of well-off people... she’s talking upper class. She rechecked her ticket. She must have gotten on the wrong plane. There was no way people would dress like that when going to the New York. She doesn’t think too much about it. She figured maybe there were attending a meeting.

When everyone was on board, the smell of plane fuel combined with automobile exhaust burdened her nostrils. Images of the worst-case scenarios couldn't help but enter her mind. She passed out... no lie.

The next thing she knew, was they were high in the air. The plane's vibration during flight had crept under her thick skin. She regained my composure—eventually—and she re-rechecked her ticket.

"Wait," she shouted, jumping from her seat. "What plane is this?"

The crowd looked at her weird and chorused, "994."

She huffed out a rush of air as she slumped back in her seat. It was better she made sure she was on the right plane than the people rustling blathers and taunting her.

She relaxed back in her chair as she watched the plane’s TV. The news reporters guaranteed rain in New York—her supposed destination. She smiled for the first time ever since she parted with her parents. She couldn’t wait to see Max.

**

New York City.

She looks around as she dragged her suitcase with her. They have just landed and Max was already at the airport to pick her up.

She might have left the anxiety back home because the amount of eagerness she feels right now, she might pass out.

Her eyes lit up like the fireworks of the 4th of July when she spot Max standing by his car. He waved at her and she returned the gesture with a grin. “Max,” she called out running toward him, letting go of her suitcase and dropping purse. He extends his arms and she immediately fell into them.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” he said, pulling away to look at her. She chuckled softly as her tears blurred her vision. Why was she suddenly emotional?

Perhaps she thought she’d never make it here.

“I can’t believe I’m here either.” They both laughed. He wiped her tears with his thumbs.

“You’ll be alright,” he said. She nods her head and accepts his reassurance with a quick flash of a smile.

“Let’s go home.” He grabbed her suitcase and purse. “And about the pasta,” he said, loading her suitcase in the trunk. “I almost burnt down my apartment.” He smiled sheepishly as he opened the car door for her. She shakes her head and climbed in.

“What happened?” She asked him when he entered the car. She watched as he started the ignition and put it on drive. “I was occupied with trying to make my home look homey,” he said and it sounded like he was too ashamed to say it.

Alice only smiled and turned head to the window.

Her eyes gaped as her jaw dropped at the view. Now she gets why those men were dressed up in the plane. She never thought New York city was actually this vast and enthralling.

“You live here? With all these people? How do you cope?” The sidewalk was jam-packed with people walking back and forth, going on with their night activities. They really seemed happy and carefree.

“It actually isn’t as bad as you think. It’s basically the same with our home, except the fact that we can shift. You just have to be confident, trust me. That’s all it takes to fit in here.”

She nods her head, taking each and every word he says and memorizing it. If she wants to survive here, then she has to learn to be one of them.

“You don’t need to extra. Just be you… well, except for the part where you’re a werewolf.”

She chuckled softly. “Noted.”

Forty-five minutes later, they pulled over in front of a complex building. They climbed out of the car and entered the building after Max claimed her suitcase from the trunk of his car.

“Already back, Mr. Conner,” an old man said to Max as he smiled. He has to be around 60 or 65. He looked over to Alice with an astonishing expression. “My God, this girl is so beautiful. Is that your real hair?”

Alice smiled uneasily, not exactly knowing how to react. She was already used to outcasts asking if her hair was real. She never answers it because the moment they notice her right eyebrow and lash were same colour as her hair, they get their answer.

Same with this man, his mouth formed into an ‘O’ shape when he saw her right eyebrow and lash.

“Ben, this is… Alice. This is her first time being in New York. She came here from Alaska and she’ll be staying with us for a while,” Max said, placing his hand on her back.

Ben had so many things to say but shrugs it off. There’s something about Alice that’s just so unique. And he could feel the positive energy around her. “Welcome to New York City,” he says, offering her a grin.

“Thank you,” she mouths, smiling back.

Ben has been in the complex building since the day it opened for rent. Max has known him for two years now and they really got along. He’s one of Ben’s favourite tenants because of how he minds his business and living peacefully with everyone in the building.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Ben.” They bid him goodnight and Max guided her to the elevator while Ben continued with his work.

They walked in and Max pressed six and patiently waited for the elevator to start moving.

“Oh,” she mumbled, dazed when the elevator started moving. She gripped on the rails as it moved up.

“Sorry, should’ve warned you,” he said, sending an apologetic smile her way.

She breathes out and composed herself. “Being a human being is really hard,” she said, unimpressed.

Max laughed softly. “You’ll adjust in no time, I assure you.”

The doors slide open at their floor just as her phone chimed. She sighs, fetching it from her pocket. Aaron had called and texted her just after she had landed but she still didn’t reply him.

She looked at her screen, it was her father calling. She smiled and answered the call immediately. “Dad, I’m fine,” she says and she could hear the relief in his voice.

“You should’ve called the moment you landed. Where are you now?” Maybe he’s not convinced yet.

“With Max, about to enter his apartment.”

“Hey, Fredrick,” Max said loud enough for her father to here. He chuckles softly. “I’m glad you’re fine. I’ll let you rest now. And your mother says hi.”

Alice pouts, swallowing back the emotions that were threatening to spew out. “I love you guys. I’ll call tomorrow morning, I promise.” She ended the call just as she stepped foot into his apartment.

She looked around the moderate living room while he disappeared into the hallway.

Alice focuses first on the wall—he had a lot of paintings. It suits him and the two long couches that were facing each other. Between the two chairs was a round coffee table with white carpet beneath it. The carpet is so beautiful and fluffy. She couldn’t imagine it getting stained.

She raised her head from the carpet and caught sight of two layers of front window curtains, both blue, one sheer and one silky, a matching sofa and a fluffy white carpet.

She slowly walked further in, surveying everything. A half-wall was separating the living room from the kitchen. She smiled, already loving the kitchen because everything feels symbolic in here. Knives were especially foreboding, even they’re not used to murder anyone in the end. She hates that she just thought of murdering someone—that someone was Dominic. She’s so angry with him because he hasn’t called ever since she left. He didn’t even text to hear whether she had arrived home safely. So injudicious of him.

She walks into the kitchen to get a better view. On the kitchen counters, there were all sorts of contrivances and appliances—coffeemakers, food processor, knife sharpener, and some things she doesn’t know the names or seen before. It all looked new and expensive, as if they had just been out of their wrappings, or were polished daily.

“I’ve never used any of them.” He appeared behind her. She looks at him and smiled before turning back to admire the coffeemaker. Dominic had the exact kind in his kitchen.

He proceeds to drop the food he claimed from his car while Alice was surveying his house on the counter. “My mom and her boyfriend bought all of those for me this Christmas,” he said. He was now standing beside her. “I don’t even know how to use them, except the coffeemaker. I don’t cook.”

Alice drops the glass jog back to its position. “Your mom has a boyfriend?”

Max leaned over the counter and fold his arms over his chest. “Yeah… his name’s Jim. He seems like a nice guy. I don’t like him,” he said casually and moved to the kitchen island.

He opened the paper bags and brought out the take aways. He bought chicken nuggets, fries, burgers and sprite.

He slides each pack to her as she settled down on the bar stool. She opened the burger pack and took it out.

“He’s too good to be true. I mean too good,” he narrows his eyes as if he knows Jim was planning world domination. Alice laughed heartily—her laughter was light, and laced with a hum of amusement at the matter.

“Sounds like someone is jealous,” she mutters before sipping her sprite.

Max furrows his brows and shrugs.

They finished eating and he takes her to her room. She could feel a smile wanting to spread across her face, she let it. “I love it,” she said. She dropped her purse on the bed and moved to the glass door.

“You even have a balcony. You can see the city from up here.” He follows her outside the balcony. She was standing by the ledge, grinning from ear to ear. She knew she was going to love it here. She knew she was going to fit just okay here—she was going to find peace here in New York.

“I love everything already,” she said fortunately. “I understand why you prefer to stay here. It’s so free and peaceful.”

Max nods in agreement. He stood beside her and watch as she stared out the view. The smile spread across her face was contagious—he smiled also, enjoying the view of her striking appearance. He could swear her hair glowed in the dimness of the night. It flowed over her shoulders. It just fitted her so perfectly and he understands why Ben couldn’t resist telling her how beautiful she was at the first sight.

He used his fingers and brushed her straight hair behind her ears, making her to look at him. That’s what he wanted. He smiled at her and she smiled back. “I’m glad you’re here,” he confesses. He doesn’t know whether she’d understand what he just said but he wasn’t only glad she was here—he had other reasons to be excited about her being here.

She smiled at him and nodded—it was the most thoughtful thing that a girl has ever said to him without even speaking.

He shrugs off the thoughts when she yawned. “It’s getting late,” he said, straightening up his shoulders. She nods her head again and squinted.

He guides her back into her room and bid her goodnight before closing the door behind him.

Alice couldn’t even find the umph to change out of her uncomfortable jeans. She hopped on her new bed and immediately passed out when her head hit the soft pillows.

She faintly felt her phone vibrating groans and ignored it.

It was a text. From Dominic.