Shifter Vengeance (Appleton Wolves Book 1), page 11
But then again, the thoughts of how sweet and kind he was to me came back. He saved me from the shifter; he trained me to shoot guns and arrows and taught me self-defense, and he nursed me back to health at his cabin. I forgot all about that. This guy lied through his teeth and hurt me in such a bad, disgusting way. Yet, he did so much for me at the same time.
What was I supposed to do??
It was then that I heard a knock on the door.
“Ericka? You awake?” MacKayla asked. “I thought I heard you go into the bathroom. If you’re still asleep, sorry, hun. I’ll make it up to you today.”
I wiped the majority of my tears off as hard as I could. I used my shirt, my blanket, anything I could use in my room to wipe those tears away. I gathered myself and looked like I had just woken up, even roughing up my hair a little bit.
“No, it’s alright. Come in.”
MacKayla cheerfully opened my bedroom door and had a big smile on her face when she walked into my bedroom. But the smile on her face was extinguished in favor of a more serious look.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry for waking you up. I’ll make it up to you, Ericka. I promise! There’s this arcade that just opened up near downtown, so I’ll take you to it. It’ll be my treat.”
“I don’t know. I have to apply for jobs today and I feel bad that you would have to pay for us. Can we go another time?”
MacKayla’s face shifted from serious to downright concerned. I was scared she might have figured from my groggy and weakened voice that I cried. She also grabbed my cheeks and studied my eyes to see if anything was wrong with me.
“Why are your eyes red, Ericka? And why do you sound like you’ve just been crying?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit. I know when you’re lying to me. I can sense when something is up with you. I’m one of your best friends, remember? The reason why you don’t want me to take you to the arcade has nothing to do with jobs or feeling bad about me paying. So, tell me what’s going on.”
“You’re way too dramatic.”
“I’m not leaving this room until you tell me what’s going on.”
MacKayla crossed her arms and widened her deep brown eyes. All the tears that I tried so hard to conceal from my best friend came back. I grabbed my blanket and buried my face in it so MacKayla wouldn’t see me.
“Oh my gosh! I knew it! Ericka!”
I could feel MacKayla hugging me in her arms as I let go of my blanket. She held me up to her left shoulder as she lowered her head towards the top of mine. I could feel her soft face on my scalp as she comforted me and rubbed my arms with her right hand.
“Honey, why are you crying? What’s wrong? I knew something was wrong!”
“I’m just feeling so bad and miserable right now.”
“You should’ve talked to me about it. Come on, spill it, Ericka. Don’t make me beg you to tell me what’s going on.”
I had to lie to her. I didn’t want anyone I knew to know about monsters. More importantly, I didn’t want my sister-figure best friend to know that Derek was a werewolf who broke my heart into a million pieces by lying to me and making me look stupid. I couldn’t tell MacKayla he was a werewolf, to begin with. I had to come up with a lie on the spot.
I let go of MacKayla’s arms, which forced her to let go of me. I wiped a few tears away as I tried to maintain my composure long enough so I could talk to her.
“It happened six days ago when I went bowling with Derek. Let’s just say we’re not friends anymore.”
“Oh my gosh. Did he do or say anything to you?”
“No, he didn’t do anything. He didn’t hurt me physically, as you can tell.”
“Good, because I’ll break his neck if he does. What happened, honey? Tell me what Derek did.”
“It’s not what he did. It’s what he said.”
I looked at MacKayla and gaged the suspense in her face. She was waiting so bad for me to reveal what Derek said. She wanted to find him and try to beat the living daylight out of him. But I didn’t want her anywhere near him. He’s a werewolf and might transform and kill MacKayla in self-defense if he’s threatened.
This dark thought and many others occupied a corner of my brain. She might see him somewhere in public and do something crazy to embarrass him in front of everyone, which would cause her to look like a pariah and Derek look like a punk. Either way, it wasn’t a good outcome if these two met after today.
“OMG, Ericka! Just tell me what this douchebag said!”
“You have to promise me not to do anything stupid against him if I tell you. I know how you are. I need you to promise me you won’t confront him, accost him, or even approach Derek to talk to him. Please. I don’t want you to get in trouble or anything. Promise me, or I won’t say a word.”
“Ugh, okay!”
MacKayla sarcastically placed a hand on her chest and raised the other hand in the air.
“I solemnly swear not to do anything stupid to land me in trouble.”
“I’m serious, MacKayla!”
“Okay! I promise you I won’t do anything stupid to Derek or even interact with him! Happy? Now please, tell me what’s going on!”
I wiped whatever tears were left on my cheeks before I turned to MacKayla and told her a fabricated story about Derek.
“It all happened six days ago when I went bowling with Derek. He and I had just completed a game of bowling and I won. But he was angry at me because I won, and he accused me of cheating. I told him there was no way I cheated because he saw me play fair the entire time.”
“How did he say you were cheating?”
“He said I used a ball lighter than his and that my game gloves gave me such an advantage over him. I was like, ‘What the hell? You wore gloves, too!’ and yeah, I did use a lighter ball because I’m smaller than him. If I used the same size ball he used, it would’ve given him the advantage and I would’ve felt like he was cheating.”
MacKayla shook her head, and I could see her face getting red. I could tell she started to get angry and contemplated breaking the promise she made me earlier not to confront Derek.
“MacKayla?”
“I’m listening. Just go on.”
“You promised me not to do anything. Don’t get in trouble because of this jerk. He’s not worth it.”
“I know, Ericka. I’m listening. Just continue.”
MacKayla grabbed my hands and placed them into hers. She cracked a small smile at me to reassure me everything was alright, which gave me the confidence to keep telling her my story…or my lie.
“Anyways, I told him that it was just a game and not to take it too seriously. He said that if it was just a game, then I shouldn’t have cheated. I raised my voice at him and cursed at him. I told him I didn’t cheat and that I won fair and square. He yelled back at me and cursed at me.”
“Oh my gosh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
I could feel MacKayla’s hands gripping mine tight. It was like she squeezed my hands to release her anger, treating my fingers like some kind of stress balls. I let go of her hands and she immediately realized the error of her actions.
“I’m sorry. I’m just so angry at this prick right now.”
“I know, but you made me a promise. Besides, I didn’t get to the worst part.”
“Oh my gosh, there’s the worst part?”
“Yes. The argument ended when he told me that my parents would be proud of raising a cheater.”
MacKayla gasped and covered her gaping mouth. I nodded in response to her reaction. I felt awful bringing my deceased parents into my lie. But I had to make the story convincing to my best friend. MacKayla knew bullshit when she smelled it. She was the type of person whose eyes were invulnerable from wool being pulled over them. That’s why I was surprised when she believed me.
“Are you serious?” she asked.
“Mhm.”
“Oh my gosh, that mother-”
“Hey! Don’t even.”
“He disrespected your dead parents! How can I not?”
“I told him we were no longer friends and that I never wanted to see his face again.”
“If I were you, I would knee that son of a bitch right in his man parts! Oh my gosh, Ericka! I’m sorry he disrespected you and your parents like that.”
“You don’t have to apologize for something that assclown said.”
MacKayla nodded and we hugged for a minute before she let me go, and a look of confusion formed on her face.
“What?” I asked.
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? This happened six days ago. You held onto this incident for six days, bottled up inside you without telling me about it?”
I knew I couldn’t get anything past MacKayla. She was like a detective who left nothing unturned. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she worked in law enforcement one day. But since I created the whole story about the argument between Derek and me out of the air with ease, I had no problem making one more lie now.
“I don’t know. I just wanted to keep my problems to myself and not bother you or your family. Besides, I was successful until last night when I saw Derek at the movies with another friend. I just ran out of the theater and to my car as fast as I could.”
I told MacKayla and her mom that I was going to the movies by myself as a ploy to go to the forest and confront the shapeshifter. They told me to have a good time. MacKayla shook her head in disappointment.
“I can’t believe you would keep something like this from me. We’re practically sisters. You’re not a burden when you tell me your problems. And as far as my family’s concerned, they’re as cool as me. We adopted you because we love you and care about you. You shouldn’t have tortured yourself by keeping this inside you for almost a week.”
“I know. I’m sorry, okay? Next time I’ll be more honest. How’s that?”
“Thank you. You should. Come here.”
MacKayla took me in her arms, and she held me in the warmest way a sister would. She stroked my hair and comforted me while I kept feeling horrible for lying to her and kept thinking about how much of a scumbag Derek was. I gripped MacKayla’s arms as she stopped rubbing the strands of my hair.
“Tell you what. You don’t need that sorry excuse of a human being in your life. And you certainly don’t need to cry because of him. He’s not worth it. I’m glad you’re done with him. I have a great idea of what we can do to get you out of this misery.”
MacKayla and I ended our hug and I looked at her with my crusty eyes. She wiped any remaining tears underneath my eyes.
“What’s that?”
“I’m taking you to the arcade I mentioned earlier.”
“Oh my gosh, MacKayla. I already told you I have to look for jobs today. I meant it when I said it.”
“I’m taking you no matter what. No ifs, and, or buts about it.”
“You’re going to make me do something I don’t want to do?”
“Yes, because I love you and I don’t want you wallowing in this funk anymore. I’m taking you to the arcade and that’s final.”
I managed to crack a smile on my face and MacKayla had one, too. She grabbed me into her arms again, and I felt peace and bliss when MacKayla held me.
14
Yesterday was a fun day with MacKayla after she convinced me to go to the new arcade. We played games like Dance Revolution, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Centipede, Street Fighter, and Space Invaders. I forgot the other games that we played, but we had the most fun in a long time. I forgot all my worries and problems with MacKayla and Derek were nonexistent in my mind.
But it was a time to be serious today. One of the jobs that I applied for called me back requesting an interview. It was for a FOH position at a local eatery called Riley Jr.’s. It took me a few seconds to figure out what that stood for before I searched it up on Google and saw ‘Front of House.’
I walked into the restaurant and saw it was lively. Nearly every table and booth was filled with folks of all ages eating their lunch. The restaurant was about 15-17 square feet in size and could seat about thirty guests at once. I could smell what I thought was a potato odor, the smell of freshly grilled steak and hand-tossed lettuce.
“Hi. Welcome to Riley Jr.’s! How may I help you?”
I saw a woman standing behind a terminal at the front counter. She was a few feet taller than me, with her blonde hair in a ponytail and wearing the company’s cap. I saw her name imprinted on a tag that was hooked to the cap – Suzanne. Suzanne looked to be in her mid or late-thirties.
“Hi, I’m here for an interview.”
“Wonderful! You can sit anywhere you want, and the manager will be with you shortly. Would you like a drink while you wait?”
I studied Suzanne’s dark gray eyes and laugh lines around her eyes. Suzanne made me feel good and happy to be around her and she made me feel welcomed in this place. When Riley Jr. hired me, she was the person I looked forward to working with the most.
“No, thanks. I’m just going to sit somewhere and wait.”
“Alright, hun. Hey, don’t be nervous. You’ll do just fine!”
“Thanks. I hope.”
“Alright, see you later!”
“Thanks.”
Suzanne and I nodded to each other and I left the counter. I walked through the restaurant and saw some diners eating a white-yellow cheddar cheesy soup, sandwiches with chicken and some white sauce that I thought was ranch, and what looked like a garden salad that contained the lettuce I felt I got a whiff of. I even saw a family of four, parents with their two sons, share two trays of pepperoni pizza.
What kind of place is this? I need to look at a menu.
I ate a light breakfast this morning. It was only a bowl of oatmeal with a banana. Stepping inside a restaurant didn’t help to quell my craving for some food right now. But I kept my focus on this job interview. I needed a job badly. MacKayla spent every penny of our hangout yesterday, and I felt so bad about it.
It wasn’t until this morning that I gained some gratification because I took a proactive step forward in my life. I was trying to become a hard-working citizen like most Americans. More importantly, I was trying to become a hard-working citizen for the Devereauxs to pay them for the hospitality they provided me when I was going to be homeless after my aunt’s death.
My aunt’s death…
I didn’t know what to do with my mission to avenge my aunt’s death after I got a job. It was going to be a balance of two priorities that I didn’t know how to handle. Maybe I would go hunt for the shapeshifter during the night if I had all shifts for this job during the day? But what if I had night shifts? Will I even have the energy to go hunting this monster down after working a night shift?
Ugh, I don’t know!
These thoughts were a distraction in my mind. I tried to wipe them out by thinking of nothing but white space. I thought about the white space I stare at all the time when I stare at my ceiling. That helped…a little.
I sat at a table near the drink station. I saw three pots of tea, ranging from unsweet and sweet to even a low-calorie sweetened tea. I saw multiple machines with dispensers for the Coke products. In the distance near the front counter, I saw a red stand filled with copies of to-go menus. I got the idea of looking at a menu to familiarize myself with this place.
I got up from the table and walked up to the front counter to the red stand. I wanted to skim through one before I went through this interview. I grabbed a copy and looked at Suzanne still standing at the counter. She flashed a bright smile at me, and I smiled back at her. It was one more ‘You got this!’ type of smile from her.
I walked back to my table and sat down to look at the menu. I saw it was separated into multiple categories: soups, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, sides, kid’s menu, roundtable items, and drinks. I studied the soup section of the menu first.
“Lobster bisque, shredded chicken tortilla, chicken noodle, chili, loaded cheddar cheese potato….”
Ahh, so that was the soup I smelled.
My eyes gazed towards the sandwich category, and I immediately saw the sandwich's name with the white sauce in it – Riley’s Favorite. A Riley’s Favorite sandwich contained chicken, bacon, any choice of cheese customers wanted, and white BBQ sauce.
“White BBQ sauce?”
I thought it was a ranch. There was white BBQ sauce?
A man in his fifties walked up to my table from the back of the restaurant five minutes after I finished looking at the menu. He was a tall, rather chubby man with salt and pepper hair and a white goatee. The man flashed a smile at me as he walked up to my table, although it paled in comparison to the one Suzanne gave me earlier.
“Hello! Are you Ericka?”
“Yes, sir, I am.”
I got up from my seat and shook the man’s hand. His hand almost enveloped mine as he held it and shook it.
“I’m Riley Banks, Jr. It’s very nice to meet you.”
Wait…what?
“This place is named after you?”
“Yes,” he said as he made a slight chuckle. “My father and I started this chain back in 1995. We’ve since expanded to multiple locations in the Midwest.”
“That’s amazing. It’s a pleasure, sir, and I’m happy to be here!”
“Glad to have you. Please, sit.”
We both sat down at the table and I observed that Riley Jr. was big to the point where the small wooden chair wouldn’t suit him entirely.
“So, Ericka. What can you tell me about yourself?”
“Well, my name is Ericka Jones. I’m a senior in high school….”
I lied on my application, saying I was still in school. If anybody here knew I didn’t even have a GED, my chances of getting it would’ve been zero.
“I’m a hard worker with a passion for learning, train, and excel at any job I get. I have more strengths than weaknesses and I’m ready to contribute to the success of this franchise. Oh, and I’m originally from New York City.”
“Fantastic! Tell me about those strengths and weaknesses.”
