Chapter 49

Chapter 49

-Pax-

I didn't have anywhere to go, so I just kept walking until I couldn't walk any more. I sat on a bench in the middle of nowhere, weighing up my options. I could ask someone where I am and let them point me in the direction of Farley's house, or I could keep wandering. The sensible decision would be to stay where I am and let them find me, but that would also go for the wolves who were chasing me.

There was a chill in the air, reminding me that I wasn't suitably dressed to spend the night outside. I didn't mind much, it would just make me uncomfortable, but the thought of not having the safety of walls was something which sounded appealing.

I stood up with a sigh and moved towards noise. The more noise I heard, the more promise there was that I'd find someone who could help. I could potential try to hide myself in the crowd as well.

The music hurt my ears and rattled my bones. I must be nearing something that Rowan called a club. We talked about different places where people go to have fun, and Rowan kept teasing Farley about not going to a club, even though none of us were old enough.

Then again, I hadn't gotten called over for an ID of any sort, so I entered the building and followed the sound of chatter to a room with a lot of people. Nobody paid me any mind as I entered, and if they did, I would just tell them that I had lost my way around the building.

I found a seat close to the door, and thought about my options again. Places like this end up closing pretty late, I should be fine for a little while.

I wondered how Rowan was doing, and hoped that he had gotten home safely. I hoped that everyone was safe. I didn't recognise anyone on the opposing side, and that worried me immensely. I wasn't able to predict anything or use logic.

"Oh my God!" a familiar voice exclaimed. "Pax, what are you doing here?"

My shoulders tensed at the mention of my name. I opened my mouth to answer, but I was cut off as arms wrapped themselves around me. I froze in my seat, unable to move away from the sudden hug.

"I haven't seen you in days, not since that thing at the gym," Kelsey continued. "How's Farley? And the rest of your family? What happened? People don't believe a word that I've told them, honestly though. There were wolves in the gym, and you saved us."

The smell of alcohol had been strong since I entered the building, it was even stronger now that Kelsey was so close.

"I'm okay," I told her and tried to pry her fingers from my arm. "I'm not here for any particular reason, went for a wander and got lost. The others are alright too." I tried to avoid talking about her last statement, in hopes that she'd forget she'd said them.

"Good to hear you're doing well," she said louder. The music which already made me flinch with every beat increased in volume. "Do you want a drink? It's on me."

I didn't know what she meant by it was on her, she didn't feel sticky or anything. I was just happy to recognise someone here.

I nodded my head and let her pull me to my feet, going around people and tables. Well, attempting to go around tables, most of the time it resulted in me knocking them and throwing me off balance. Some people were dancing, I guessed due to the amount of arms which swung by my head.

It was both cooler and warmer in here, the energy and the body heat created a suffocating heat, whilst cool air came from above.

"Can we have some Sambuca please?" Kelsey asked and let go of my hand.

I wanted to whine and grab her hand again, in fear of being pushed away from her. That was a stupid thought, I was aware, but she was the only piece of familiarity I had in this building, which I didn't even know the name of.

"Here," Kelsey said and handed me something small. The object was slightly sticky. I'm assuming it was a drink, given that's what she offered to get me. "You ever had a shot before?"

I shook my head and sniffed the cup. It smelled like some of the sweets that Clementine or Mary had.

"You just gotta knock it back, take it all in one gulp."

I did as she said and winced when the fire hit the back of my throat. I coughed a few times, but the taste was rather nice. It felt like ti was the only thing sitting in my stomach at the moment, which made me feel a little sick, but it wasn't bad.

"Oh my gosh, your face," Kelsey said with a laugh. "Have another, I need to film it."

I didn't know what was so interesting about my face, but I did it just to please her. The light over here was disorientating. I couldn't make anything out, but the lights caused different colours to flash in the darkness.

"I'll get you an actual drink," she said and a few minutes later, a large glass was in my hand. "So, what brings you to the bar?"

I shrugged. "Like I say, I went for a wander and ended up here." I took a sip of the drink which had been handed to me. It was fruity and fizzy, like drinking an ice lolly. "This is nice. What is it?"

She nudged my shoulder. "You can't tell me you haven't had cider before." I felt like she was scolding me. "It's a classic drink. When you've finished that, you're getting the other flavours."

"What have I gotten myself in for?" I asked with a sigh.

"You'll just have to find out," she said and took my free hand again. "Let's go get some seats. You can tell me why Farley's not here with you."

I opened my mouth to argue with her, but no sound came out. I was dragged again to another corner of the room and sat down. My drink was put on the table and Kelsey's arm rested on the back of the chair.

"So, why isn't Farley here?"

I slumped in my seat and shook my head. "There's no real reason for it," I said after some hesitation. "I just came here myself because i wanted a walk."

"Yeah, and I'm Beyonce," she said with a snort. "Tell me all about your relationship issues."

I stuttered. I had no clue what to say. The heat of the drinks made my face warm, at least that's what I assumed it was. "We don't have relationship issues." I shook my head. "Nothing's wrong there."

"So, there's a relationship to have issues with," she exclaimed and snapped her fingers. "I knew that you two would go perfect together."

I didn't know what would give her that impression, but I didn't want to argue with her. "See? There's nothing to discuss."

"Nuh-uh. There's got to be some reasons why you're in a club, not just wondering. Something more than going for a walk." Even though I had put my cup down, she pressed it into my hand. "And you don't have your cane with you. Did you storm out?"

Shes' observant even when she's drunk. I tapped my fingers against the glass and tried to think of a way out.

"We did have a bit of a fight," I lied. "It was because I wanted to visit my old house and he was against it, so I tried to go there myself." That was a stupid thing to say.

"Awe ,bless. I suppose he just doesn't want you getting hurt," she squeezed my shoulder. "I know Farley, and Farley wants what's best for everyone. It's creepy sometimes. Maybe he thinks that you'll get homesick, or he's scared of losing you."

I didn't know what art of her tone was causing it, but my eyes were tearing up. "Yeah, I know that he's got good intentions. It's just a bit frustrating and hurts when I think about my life being thrown behind me." That wasn't a complete lie. I still missed Alder and the thought we'd never see each other again hurt. We were technically enemies now. "I've been living with them for a few months, and it's great, but I miss the nature which came with my old house."

"You know, going from the country to a city is a big change," she said sympathetically. "It takes some getting used to. And it's alright to miss where you come from."

I didn't respond with anything more then a nod.

"How about this? You and I get completely mortal and end up in a field somewhere for the rest of the night?"

"A field?" I repeated. "Why?"

Kelsey gasped dramatically. "You haven't gotten drunk and slept in a field before? That's outrageous. You need something stronger then cider."

"I'm not-" I was in the middle of arguing and then I stopped myself. What would be the harm? I would still be able to fight if I'd had a few too many drinks. "Sure."

"Really?" Kelsey squealed in my ear. "Right, if we're doing this, we're doing it properly. Chug."

I didn't know what she was talking about, so I didn't do anything.

"This will take a while..."she trailed off.

At the moment, that was one of the best decisions that I had ever made. I had tried so many different flavours of drink over the last few hours and I was feeling very light. It was as though the pressure had lifted from my shoulders and I could forget about everything which happened over the past few months. Almost.

"Have another," Kelsey suggested as we lay on a blanket in the middle of a field. I really was expecting her to be joking, but I went along with it as I didn't see any downsides. "You're still not drunk. I don't understand." Her words were slurring and she had to lean heavily on me to keep her upright.

"I guess I have a high tolerance?" I suggested and did as she suggested, downing the jell-o shot which she had in her fridge. That was something I could be honest about. Wolves had a very high alcohol tolerance, but I wouldn't say I was exactly sober right now. "Unlike you," I teased.

"Hey, I have a perfectly normal alcohol tolerance," she argued and put more pressure on my arm. "I thought that we were here to relax?" she huffed. "You're not relaxed." She poked my arm.

I tried to relax my shoulders and massaged my face to get rid of the creasing. "Yeah, I'm not good at that." A drop of rain hit me on the forehead.

"Relaxing? Or something else?" Kelsey returned to hugging my arm. "You should practice, it's not that hard to relax."

I wanted to huff and tell her everything that's been stressing me out. Maybe that way, she would understand why I'm unable to relax and she could give me something else to use in order to distract me.

"What do you want me to do? Down the bottle?" I asked whilst lifting the bottle in my hand to my lips.

"Yes," she said and held the bottle so I couldn't put it down.

I was stronger than her, so it was easy enough to escape. I coughed a few times. "Nope, don't do that." The burning in my throat increased as I tried to clear my throat. "That could be dangerous."

"You suggested it," she pointed out. "You should've waited for my answer." She was no longer leaning on me, my coughing would have probably made her more unsteady.

"Yes, but you don't pour a whole bottle into someone's mouth." I put the bottle down and tried to stand up, but Kelsey's arms held me down, I didn't want to force her to stand. "We should get you home, come on."

"I don't want to though," she complained, swinging her arms.

"Kelsey, it's raining." I tried to pry her hands away from my arms. "I don't want you to get sick."

"I'm going to be sick anyway." Instead of getting up when I removed her arms, she flopped backwards, her back thumping against the ground, making me slightly worried about the condition of her head."Tonight's been a failure." She groaned, sounding muffled.

"How has it been a failure?" I frowned. "You had fun, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but you didn't. I wanted to show you how to have fun and get drunk and fall asleep on a field, which is potentially dangerous but totally okay around here."

"Okay, I don't think falling asleep in a field is safe anywhere," I interrupted and sat myself back down. "And I had a good time. I just express it differently. It really has let me get my mind off things."

"Your mind's not off them now," she pointed out. "How the heck did you drink that much and still think right? Are you one of those wolves or something?" She laughed after she asked. I was sure that she was just teasing me, or trying to figure out more about what happened at the gym.

"Yes," I told her simply. "Though I wasn't one of those wolves. I used to know them."

She was quiet for a moment, suspiciously quiet. "Well then," the sound of liquid moving caught my attention. "You know, I knew about wolves for a while."

"You have?" I couldn't help myself question. "How?"

She laughed bitterly. "My grandparents taught me about them. I know Mrs.Hubert knew about them too. Though, that's because her husband used to be one."

I was shocked, but it felt somewhat obvious. Mary knew far more about wolves than any other human.

"Yeah, though I only know that because my grandparents were friends with her when they were younger," Kelsey continued. "It was something I didn't believe until that day at the gym. I didn't even know why Farley was the first one that I called. I suppose I knew that he'd make it there the quickest."

"You had faith in him," I said without thinking. "Or you could sense it about him."

"I suppose, I think I'm descended from a wolf." Now I didn't know if what she was saying was actually going through her head before it came out of her mouth. "I know that could happen, you know like, wolves who haven't turned for a while."

I nodded my head and fidgeted with my fingers. The rain was becoming heavy, we really had to go. I wasn't about to leave Kelsey here.

"How would I know though? There's really no way, is there? I asked Mrs.Hubert, but she doesn't like to talk about them all too much."

"No?" I asked with furrowed brows. "She talks about the wolves with me."

"That's because you're in a serious situation, silly." She punched my arm. "She's really not going to let something such as bad memories and preferences cloud her from talking to you about them. Especially if she knew your parents. Or if she could help. That woman's too good for her own good."

I could agree with that. I could see her giving the most evil of man a glare and a plate of cookies when he wasn't feeling well. She would scold them and ask them to reflect over what they did and why it was wrong.

I snorted at the image and tried to stand again. This time, Kelsey followed me, but she was leaning heavily on my arms.

"Where are we going?" she asked with a giggle. "We were talking about wolves."

"Taking you home," I answered. I bent down and grabbed the blankets on the floor, following the sound of falling bottles to pick up the ones we'd left. "You've got to lead me there though."

"Alrighty," she agreed. "Pax, why is it raining? I can't see my house when it's raining."

I bit my lip and wrapped the blanket around her. "That's because we're in the middle of a field."

"But it's still raining."

Oh boy, this is going to be difficult.

Turns out, my alcohol tolerance didn't exist, it just took a lot longer for it to kick in.

I got to Kelsey's street when I started to feel disorientated. II couldn't form a coherent thought and my legs felt like they were made of jelly.

"That's the spirit," Kelsey said with a giggle. I could do nothing but join in.

"Shhh, they'll hear you," I hushed her and my hand trailed down to hers. I was now in need of some support to help me continue walking. "They'll bite."

"Pfft, you'll bite harder." She wrapped her arm around my shoulders and turned. "We have steps."

I hopped down the steps two at a time until I reached the bottom. I raised my fists in the air and cheered. "Beat that." I pointed to where i thought the stairs where.

"I have more practice," she declared and soon joined me, moving me to the right. "Gotta take it one at a time."

"But that's not fun," I argued and waited for the click of the lock. "Did the door open by itself?"

"Yup," Kelsey replied and grasped my hand again. "It always does that."

I giggled at the thought of a magic door. "Does it have a face? Usually things which can do things have faces."

"Kinda." She dragged me into the living room and sat me down on a settee. "This is a blanket, this is a glass of water, and this is a bucket in case you're sick." I hadn't even noticed that she had left and came back.

"Why would I be sick?" I questioned. Being sick was something I didn't enjoy in the slightest. In fact, I was rather paranoid when it came to the situation. "Kelsey," I whined.

"You won't, you won't. Just in case." She patted my head. "I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Your room?" I stuttered ins surprise. I realised what position I had put myself in. I was in a stranger's house without knowing where anything was. It reminded me of the first time I was at Farley's house. I didn't know where anything was and I was afraid to move.

"I only have one settee, Pax," Kelsey explained. "Unless you'd rather take the floor."

Before she had stopped talking, I had rolled off the settee and onto the floor. The heel of my shoe hit something, but I wasn't too concerned. "I'm here," I announced.

"So you are," she said with a giggle. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. I probably would've ended up here anyway if I didn't see you."

I didn't know what she meant by that, but her presence was comforting. I curled up where I was and listened to the white noise which filled Kelsey's house. The blanket which I had previously abandoned fell onto me, and I was drifting to sleep.

Hello lovelies! I hope you're all doing well :D

The question of the chapter is, is is it summer, or winter, or something in between for you guys right now?

It's really sunny here, we had about a week of the record low temp for this time of year, but it's warmed up a lot as of yesterday! I think I caught a little bit of sun on the back of my neck, not too much though!