Chapter 5
Louis's POV
"Did you have a good time the other night?" Mom inquired as she yanked me away from my book.
"Yeah," I admitted with a smile, something I'd gotten pretty good at. "However, I wish I had had another funnel cake." That was correct; I adore such things, and you can only get them during the fair.
"Good!" Mom exclaimed cheerfully.
"You should go out of the house more; hanging around here isn't good for you."
I returned to my book, or at least attempted to do so.
Her question reminded me of the hours I'd sat on the side of the road waiting for Melvin and Tomy to arrive with two females. I needed to return to the fair and get a ride home with my father. Who kept frowning and staring my way for the entire twenty-minute ride? I understand that I'm a disappointment. He must have told mom, which is why she's interrogating me.
"You're aware that Mrs. Kelly is hiring at the bakery." Mom sprayed something that smelled like lemons and chemicals and then wiped it away with an old rag. "Getting a part-time job wouldn't hurt. While you decide out what you want to do after high school, you can start saving."
This was the conversation I despised the most. I was terrified of grownup responsibilities. They became more real as I grew older, and I became more afraid of them. It was made worse by the fact that I still didn't know what I was meant to do. Everyone else seemed to have goals and objectives, but all I wanted to do was get out of that brainwashing camp. School is another name for it.
It's strange since there were so many things I wanted to be when I was a puppy. For a long time, I had my heart set on being a princess. Everyone thought it was cute or thought my parents were crazy for letting their son wander about in a pink princess dress back then. I was constantly assured by my parents that I could be anything I wanted to be. I decided to be a lawyer when my princess dress vanished—I'm pretty sure mom threw it away after finally getting it off of me.
Even if I couldn't look somebody in the eyes without being agitated and blushing, it didn't matter. Or the fact that I couldn't hold a conversation or dispute without breaking down in tears. I promise those are angry tears. My parents continued to tell me that I could be anything.
After all those years of being taught that I could be anything, it's become painfully obvious that I had no idea what I wanted to be. My grades were insufficient to pursue a career as a lawyer or a doctor. When I found out I'd be a prince, my dreams of being a princess vanished. I didn't have much of a passion for it. It didn't help that after I turned thirteen, everyone began telling me what I couldn't do.
"What the heck, I'm going to call her right now. That position will be ideal for you." Mom stated, her dark green eyes gleaming with purpose.
"Mom!" I grumbled as I rose to follow her into the kitchen.
"No, I'm well aware that you enjoy baking; admit it." She said this while pointing a finger at me.
My face flushed, but I remained silent.
"See!" Mom took the house phone and began looking through the numbers scribbled haphazardly on the pad hung on the refrigerator.
"But...But Mom, that's only when there aren't any other people around." I muttered under my breath, twiddling my fingers.
"And this employment will assist you in breaking free from your shell." With that matter-of-fact tone, she said. I sat on a bar stool, depressed, watching her converse on the phone.
She'd just gotten off the phone when the front door opened and Melvin strolled in, dressed in the same rumpled clothing he'd worn the day before.
"Melvin Carter Fredrick!" . Mom screamed at him, preventing him from going upstairs. He's in trouble, complete name. It was a guilty joy for me to watch my older brother get into trouble. "Remember what I said about acting like one of those human man whores?"
Mom stood with her fists on her hips and a stern, narrowed expression on her face. Melvin's aroma hit me a little later, my nose being a little weaker than Mom's. There was no way to hide what he'd been up to. Why didn't he take a shower before entering the house? Was he completely devoid of decency? Is he respectful of his elders? Who brought him up?!
When Melvin didn't react, Mom appeared to be on her way to retrieve her father's leather belt. The one that hangs on the back of their bedroom door, ready to chastise us regardless of our age.
"What are your plans once you've found your Mate?"
"I'm an adult enjoying consensual sex with other adults, and I'm sure my Mate is doing the same." Melvin shrugged his shoulders.
That was one of the things Wolves picked up after spending so much time with humans. Being with anyone other than your Mate used to be considered one of the greatest offenses against the moon Goddess. If a wolf shared relations with another, it was permissible, if not expected, for their Mate to reject them. Although some wolves were still rejected as a result of it, it was no longer a widespread occurrence. Mom, on the other hand, is old school, and she constantly reminds Melvin that what he's doing is bad.
Before sending Melvin to the shower, Mom muttered a quick prayer to the Goddess, apologizing for her dumb son. "I don't want to come into my house smelling like that. As if I hadn't raised him." Mom sighed and muttered to herself.
"Oh, Sweetie, you got the job," Mom kissed my cheek as she walked out of the kitchen. I let out a small sigh.
"You're going to start tomorrow!"
As I raked up the fallen leaves, my little frame shivered and my hands ached. Dad claimed that I had been spending too much time indoors and that I needed some fresh air. He seemed to forget that even though my body temperature wasn't as high as his, I was still affected by the cold. In many ways, it resembles a person.
We were actually outside because mom was bugging dad about not doing the yard work and everything else that was wrong around the house. I could hear him swearing to himself in the shed as he looked for a tool to repair the lock on the back door. It worked, but it unlocked if you shook the door handle. A new lock would solve the problem, but Dad preferred to do things himself first.
"Take a look at these." Melvin mumbled something in passing as he tossed me a pair of enormous work gloves. I took a break from raking long enough to put them on, oblivious to their size. I'm relieved that I didn't have any blisters. They were filthy from his construction work, and I pondered how it felt to create dwellings for his pack. Perhaps I might assist in the construction of my own home for my Mate and me. That may be entertaining.
Melvin went into the shed to assist dad, while I focused on raking all of the leaves in the backyard into one large pile. I used to shift and leap through them when I was younger, till the leaves were dispersed and I had to rake them up again. That was something I couldn't do right now since I was too lazy. My goal was to finish this quickly so that I could return to my warm bed.
Dad's cursing came to a halt, and I could hear him and Melvin muttering under their breath. It seemed serious, and I was curious as to what it was all about.
I dropped the rake and dashed over to the shed, standing on my toes to peer through the small window.
"I know it's not cool or whatever to have your younger brother hanging around while you're with friends, but if I hear that you've left him behind like you did last night we're going to have a problem." Dad snarled, gazing at Melvin, who appeared to be as astonished as I was.
I'd never heard my father speak up for me before, not even against Melvin, and it made my eyes well up with tears as I grinned foolishly.
I slipped and fell into my mound of leaves as I ran back to avoid being caught. Giggling, I stared up at the sky with the scent of dead leaves around me and thanked the moon goddess for letting me hear that snippet of conversation.