Gill
I didn't stop running until I reached my father's new mechanic shop. I entered the shop, trying my best to ignore the scent of motor oil and gasoline.
"Hey, Mijo! How was your first day?" My dad looked up from his desk as I entered his office.
"It was good, actually. I made a few friends." He smiled brightly, standing from his chair.
"That's great! You should invite them over for dinner! I can cook something up. Or we can order pizza." I rolled my eyes.
"I can cook, Dad. We both know you get nothing done in the kitchen. Plus we ate out too much this week with the move and everything. A home cooked meal would be good for us." He nodded ad stepped around his desk to wrap me in a tight bear hug.
"Alright, I'll give you some cash so you can get some groceries. I'll be home around five," he kissed the top of my head.
"Oh, Dad?"
"Yes, Mijo?"
"Two of my friends, Ajax and Tobias, they said they were gonna start working here with you. I just don't have their numbers yet. Could you invite them over? And ask them to invite Holly too!" He smiled brightly and nodded.
"Of course. I'm glad you're making friends already, Gill."
"Me too," I finally pulled away from my father, accepting the was of bills he handed me, stuffing them in my pocket.
"Now go make me something good," he teased, giving me a light shove toward the door.
"I'm going, I'm going. Love you, Papa,"
"Love you more, Mijo."
***
The walk to the supermarket wasn't a long one; it was a couple blocks at most. I entered the store, grabbing a small shopping cart, and headed toward the back. I decided on making spaghetti, as it was simple, and relatively inexpensive. I just hoped everyone else would enjoy it... Especially Tobias... Even just the thought of him brought pleasant chills down my spine, and I couldn't help but blush.
"Oof-" I was suddenly sprawled across the cold tile floor, my butt a bit sore.
"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry! I didn't see you there!" I looked up and saw a kind looking woman, probably in her thirties, holding a toddler in her arms.
"It's alright, I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going anyway," I chuckled, pushing myself off the ground. I dusted off the butt of my jeans, wincing. Yeah there was definitely going to be a bruise.
"Still, I ran right into you! I was too busy trying to calm my son down." She gave me a shy smile and as if he knew she was talking about him, the small boy in her arms giggled and looked at her face.
"Down! Mama, I want down!" He was adorable. His eyes were a bright blue, much like his mother's and his hair was a messy bunch of jet black curls on the top of his head.
"Only if you promise to behave and not run off again," the woman said. The boy nodded in response before wiggling his way out of her grip, instantly running right into my legs.
"I big boy! I three!" He gripped on to my legs and gave me a toothy grin. Gosh he was adorable.
"I'm sorry, he's always just a big ball of energy. My name is Maya by the way, and this is my son, James." Maya held out her hand and I kindly shook it, giving the two a shy smile.
"I'm Gill, I just moved here from New Mexico with my dad,"
"It's lovely to meet you, Gill. We better get going though, I have to get him to the babysitter's. I work nights at the hospital." James suddenly darted behind my legs, peaking out at his mother.
"No, Mama! Shelly scary! She mean to me!" Maya gave him a sad smile.
"She takes care of you while Mommy is working, James. Come on, we have to go." James shook his head, gripping me tighter.
"I stay with Gilly!" He stomped his little foot, making his Buzz Lightyear sneaker light up. I smiled and knelt down.
"Hey, James! Maybe if you're good and go with your Mommy, she will let me come see you another time, yeah?" He stuck out his lip, as if he was thinking hard at he response.
"Will you Mommy? Can I see Gilly?"
"Sure, honey. You have to come with me now though." James hesitantly let go of me and made his way over to Maya. She fished around in her purse for a moment before pulling out a small pad of paper and a pen.
"Here, why don't you give me your number and we can set something up?" I smiled and nodded, taking the pad and pen from her. I couldn't help but think it was a bit odd, giving a random lady in the store my phone number because her toddler liked me, but for some reason, I felt safe around her.
"Here. I'm still in school, so during the day I'm busy, unless it's a weekend. But other than that, call me anytime!" She stuffed the paper and pen back in her purse and surprised me by pulling me into a warm hug.
"Say bye to Gill, James," the toddler looked up at me and waved with his chubby little fingers.
"Bye bye, Gilly!" He giggled and started to climb up his mother's leg.
"Bye, James!" The two eventually walked away, the toddler waving until they were out of sight.
"Okay. Right, spaghetti. That's what I was getting." I finished my shopping quickly, also adding a few bottles of soda and my favorite disgusting cheese puffs. It was then that I realized I had severely overestimated my ability to carry six heavy grocery bags. I sighed, pulling my phone from my pocket, quickly calling my dad.
"What's up, Mijo? Get lost?" He teased and I rolled my eyes.
"No, I bought more than I can carry so I need a ride home." He laughed and snorted in his own annoying dad way before replying.
"Alright, well your friends just got here so I'll send one of them to fetch you." He mumbled a quick 'I love you're before hanging up. I waited nervously, hoping he would send Tobias. Sure enough, I spotted him pulling in the small parking lot in a gigantic pickup truck.
"H-hey Tobias," I blushed as he parked in front of me, effortlessly stepping out of the truck, despite the huge distance from the ground.
"You can call me Toby if you'd like. Here, let me help you." He smiled and took the bags from me, setting them in the back seat. "Thank you for inviting us to dinner, by the way. I know Jax is thrilled." He chuckled.
"O-oh, it's nothing. I love cooking," my cheeks grew warmer.
"Well, let's go then! Do you need help getting in?" I stared at the beast of a vehicle and gulped.
"N-no I think I can do it," I said, though I wasn't confident. He opened the passenger door for me and I grabbed onto the edge of the door to pull myself up, except I immediately lost my grip and fell back down, landing on my feet.
"Come on, short stuff. Let me help," he chuckled, an amused look in his eyes.
Toby came up behind me and effortlessly lifted my small body in the air, holding me close to his chest. I could smell his cologne on his shirt and might I just say, he smelled delicious. Before I could embarrass myself, however, he was setting me on the soft leather seat.
"T-thank you, T-toby," I stammered, pulling the seat belt around me.
"It's no problem, Squirt," he shut the door and quickly jogged to the other side and pulled himself into the driver's seat while I attempted to calm my racing heart. Key word: attempted.
Tobias
My grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly as I watched Gill from the corner on my eye. He was biting his bottom lip anxiously and picking at a loose string on his shirt.
"Um, turn left here I think," he suddenly instructed, looking up from his lap. Soon enough, we pulled into the driveway of a decent looking home. It was in our pack's territory, which I was pleased about. I could protect him easier, and was only a few minute run in wolf form.
"I'll help you get out so you don't fall and hurt yourself," I said to him, making his blush darken. He was too beautiful, I was going insane.
I climbed out of my truck and made my way to his side, opening his door. This time, he held out his arms and grinned, making my heart skip. I picked him up easily, and Griffin purred at the feeling of our mate's body in my arms. It was over quickly, as I had to set him on the ground. I took the groceries from the backseat and followed him up to the door.
"You can set those on the counter. Thank you for the ride, Toby," my eyes nearly bulged out of my skull when he stood on his tip toes and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek. When he pulled back, it looked as if he was just as shocked as I was.
"Why did I do that, I'm so stupid," he whispered to himself. I knew I wasn't supposed to hear, but I couldn't help it with the enhanced hearing.
"So you probably don't need to start cooking for a bit, right?" He nodded and looked up at me through his thick, feathery lashes.
"Would you like to see my room?" I smiled and nodded. He led me up the stairs and down the hall. "I finished unpacking, but I'm still unsure of where everything is gonna go, so please excuse the mess," he said as he pushed the door open. It was fairly large, but not as big as mine. The walls were a faded lavender and he had a queen sized bed shoved in the corner. There was a large desk, as well as a bookshelf on the opposite side, and two doors on the far wall, which I assumed we're for his bathroom and closet. There were a few empty boxes in the corner and some picture frames stacked neatly beside them.
"You call this messy?" I snorted. "You should see my brother's room. Honestly, he could be hiding a pet turtle in there and nobody would know." Gill wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"I don't really like messes. My dad always told me that just because we were poor, we didn't have to look poor." He sat on his bed and pat the spot beside him. I wandered over to the stack of picture frames and picked them up before making my way to his bed, sitting next to him.
"Show me these?" I handed them to him. He blushed and nodded, handing me the first one. I could see a smaller version of Gill with a missing tooth, smiling at the camera. He was sitting on his father's lap, who was also sporting a wide grin.
"That was when I was about seven. I lost my first tooth," he chuckled and handed me another, "and that is the only picture I have of me and my mom, because she left us when I was little." It was a young woman dressed in a pair of torn jeans and a simple yellow tank top holding a young boy, around eleven or twelve I'd say, with wild red curls. She had dark skin and jet black hair, with dark eyes.
"Do you know why she left?" I asked, looking up from the photo. He shrugged.
"She was cheating on my dad with her boss. She left to be with him. I haven't seen or heard from here since." He froze looking at the last frame. I peaked over his shoulder and felt my hands forming into fists. It was Gill, wrapped up in an embrace with another guy around the same age, their lips locked in a passionate kiss.
"Your boyfriend?" I asked, trying to hide the disappointment in my voice. He sniffled and rubbed at his eyes before opening the back of the frame, pulling out the photo, and ripping it to shreds.
"Not anymore," he answered, fear laced in his voice. Why was he afraid? Did the guy hurt him?
"Why did you break up?" I watched him curiously as he chewed on his lip.
"He um...he didn't like me... It was a bet between him and his friends." My body instantly filled with rage. What kind of a person would do that to anyone? Especially someone as sweet and perfect as Gill.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He shrugged, letting out a deep sigh, and began to talk.
"His name was Travis..."