Chapter Five

* * *Back to present * * *

"Nixy, earth to Nixy" someone whisper yelled at me.

"Oh Caleb, didn't see you there" I replied subtly shaking my head to clear my thoughts.

"Phoenix, I told you I employed you to work the kitchen and maybe the tables sometimes when we have rush hour but not to clean. I could easily handle this you know" Caleb said glaring at me.

"oh come on Caleb, I can handle it. Besides you have helped me more times than I can count. I owe it to you to help" I said trying to quickly finish up before he decided to grab the sponge off my hands.

"okay then, do what you want. You can be stubborn when you want to be. I am heading out. Why don't we quickly grab dinner. It's my treat" he said.

"Sure Caleb. Let me just finish with this"

It was past nine when I arrived at home. I got my keys from my backpack, opened the door and headed straight to my bedroom. I quickly headed to the washroom, undressed and hopped into the shower.

I let the events of the day wash through my mind as I wash my body of all the dirt. I fought to keep my tears in but I just couldn't. Seeing Mom like that was always too much for me. I always leave early and return late so I wouldn't have to deal with the memories in this house but who am I kidding. The memories are not just in this house but every where I turn.

I turned off the shower and got out when I was turning wrinkly. I put on my sweatpants and a baggy shirt. I made sure to comb out my wet hair leaving it out to dry. I stared at my reflection in the mirror thinking deeply. Unlike my Mom and Dad who both had brown hair, I had fiery red hair, the color of fire. My wolf's fur was also fiery red. I guess that doubled as another reason why I was seen as unfortunate and cursed. It wasn't common to see a wolf whose fur was red. My hair was two inches away from my waist. It always got in the way due to its length but I couldn't bring myself to cut it. Mom always helped me comb it and I could tell she loved playing with my hair.

I had eyes, the color of the forest and pink lips, a shade darker than nude. One couldn't exactly call my features pretty, I thought. Alisha was my definition of beautiful with her blonde hair and blue eyes or Caramel with her brown hair and honey brown eyes.

I shook my head to stop myself from having negative thoughts about myself and jumped into bed. I was tired but I looked forward to the next day. I would see Mom again. That thought alone brought a smile to my face and with that I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up the next day, groaning and desperately trying to rub sleep out of my eyes. The rays of the sun were seeping through my blinds, teasing my eyes. Weird, my alarm didn't wake me up. I wondered if I forgot to set it or if i was too tired that I slept through it's loud ringing.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I scrambled to check the time. Oh gosh, it is nine in the morning, I am so late for work. I was going to quickly hop into shower before rushing off for work. I guess I will see mom on my way back. There is no time to see her now. A thought rushed into my head, ceasing my movement. No missed calls from Caleb. He would have called like a million times if I hadn't showed up for work. Okay, that was an exaggeration but he would have called anyways.

I checked my Calendar and saw it was a Saturday. I don't have a shift today. I collapsed back into bed thinking of what to do with the day.

I decided to clean the house. It was in dire need of cleaning anyways. Mom and I would always do so every Saturday. I started the vacuum cleaner, moving around the house.

I started from the beautifully set living room chiefly designed in black and white. Two sofas faced each other, black in colour with white throw pillows on them while two white cushion chairs faced each other with black throw pillows on them. The chairs were arranged in a small semi circle with a white glass centre table with flowers on a vase. There was also a small mahogany indoor swing and a rocking chair. A huge black flat screen TV was hooked on the wall, giving the home, a well furnished feel. The tiles, my favorite part, were black and white similar to a chess board. The kitchen was decorated in similar colours with state of the art kitchen appliances. Even the pantry was well furnished. Upstairs, there were four master bedrooms and a guest room. Overall, the entire house was designed and furnished in Mom's favorite colours( black and white) and taste by Dad to please her. Why he would just suddenly up and leave was completely beyond me. I dusted all the rooms thoroughly before heading to the attic. There was a lot of junk and I was positive I would spend an awfully long time here. I heaved a sigh and plugged in my headphones, making a mental note to go grocery shopping to fill up the pantry later on since I was almost out of food stuffs.

I started arranging the family's old junk, putting all of Mom's old dresses, shoes and bags in a box. I also packed all the family photos out of the boxes I had kept them and went down to hang them in the living room and in the hallways. I had taken the photographs off the walls to help Mom cope with Dad's disappearance but since she wasn't here, well let me put them back up.

I headed back in the attic to sort out Dad's junk, putting them all in one box. I was almost done when I came across a small ancient looking box. It looked small and I wondered what could be in it. It had a lot of carvings and etchings on it but I didn't understand what they meant. I was about to open the intricately designed box when my phone rang.

"Nixy" yelled an anxious sounding Caleb.

"hi Caleb"

"what are you doing Nixy" he sounded nervous or was he stressed.

"I was cleaning the house up until you called. I even came across a funny looking box. I have absolutely no idea what could be.... " I ranted.

"Nixy, we could talk about that box later. I need your help. Nixy do you remember that Alpha from the Blood red Pack. He is here in our pack"

"okay. So what does that have to do with anything " I replied completely confused. I just couldn't understand why he sounded so tensed.

"He is in our pack to negotiate some business with Alpha Rain. Alpha Rain would be taking the Alpha and his crew to see around the pack. Once they are done, they would stop in my restaurant to get a late lunch or an early dinner Nixy" he half yelled.

"OK so...."

"look Nixy, I need you here. please come help me organize the menu. You have a magical touch. Please come help wow them. This is not just about my restaurant but also about the pack. Please Nixy. Alisha and caramel, those other waitresses of mine, do not even know what to do. I know it's not your shift today but please Nixy. I.... "

"OK, fine. Give me fifteen minutes to freshen up. It's noon already. I will soon be there. Guess this cleaning can wait. Meanwhile before I get there, quickly look in the fridge and get all the ingredients you can find. Try to think of what we can make with them. I am on my way" I replied, already making my way to my bedroom to quickly shower.

"Thanks Nixy, you're a life saver"

"yeah yeah, see ya".