Night
Delinquent

"Cars?"

Everyone was knocked out except for us. Alex's loud snore made sure of that. Earlier, my brain had these killer scenarios regarding past events of my life. Imagining my 'what-ifs' and other alternate endings.

"Yeah?"

"I still don't get it you know."

"About what?" His frosty blue irises gave me a quick glance from the rearview mirror.

"This banquet or whatever fancy shit you wanna call it."

"It's simple. We go, we eat, we go home," he shrugged and stepped on the pedal, increasing our speed. "You don't have to socialize if you're not interested. I'll make sure of that."

"No- it's not that," I turned my head to scan over the blurred trees outside. "I know this isn't some family gathering. It's not a wedding either. Isn't this just dinner with strangers? Like a LOT of them?"

"I wouldn't exactly put it that way."

His answer came out rushed. Carson was always bad when it comes to lying.

"You're hiding something from me," I finally smirked. "Come on. Spill it."

"They're not exactly strangers, Bee. You'll see familiar faces. I know for a fact that my sister will be there."

"Corrine's coming? So you're saying that we're having dinner with family friends??" The thought of seeing everyone in a small reunion sparked up my interest.

"Yeah pretty much."

"Then why didn't you say so?!" I replied him with a 'duh' look on my face.

"Don't worry, Bee. We'll be sitting at the kids table," Theo's voice joined our short conversation.

"Ooh will there be spiked caprisuns?" I teased as the car stopped in the middle of nowhere.

Outside, it was pitch black. The car's headlights were the only thing that was bright enough to emit a faint light against the surrounding darkness. Goosebumps were forming on the back of my neck as Carson lowered his window down.

"W-why are we stopping?" Uneasiness surged over me as I nudged Alex, trying to wake him up from his slumber.

"What?" He blinked, trying to adjust to his surroundings. Alex took a deep breath and suddenly, his face was alerted. "Beta- no, I mean Cars, they're here."

"Brooke," Carson used my full name as he turned around to face me. "Stay in the car. Whatever you see, just stay in the car."

"Wait- wait! Where are you going? I-" he stepped out of the vehicle and jogged towards the tree line.

"Everything's gonna be fine. Alex will keep you company," Theo gave me a reassuring smile before following Carson through the thick tree line.

In seconds, both of them disappeared.

"What's going on?" I turned to Alex who just sat there chewing a pack of gummy bears.

However, his eyes remained vigilant as chocolate brown irises scanned the surrounding woods thoroughly.

"Nothing too serious."

"There are grizzlies roaming around and not to mention packs of feral wolves and-"

"Nah that won't happen," he popped another gummy inside his mouth.

His idiocy was getting on my nerves. I was about to say something when a knock erupted from my left.

It was dad.

"Carson and Theo disappeared through the woods. Probably mauled to death by bears as we speak," I lowered my window to see both of my parents snickering over what I just said.

"They're alive," dad rolled his eyes. "Look, we need you to stay in the car with Alex. Everything's fine. Don't panic."

Once again, we were left alone as I watched them vanished into the woods.

For the next couple of minutes, Alex cracked up stupid jokes to lighten the atmosphere while I laughed like a disney villain. It was three in the morning. Everything was still engulfed in complete darkness- until a howl interrupted our little jokes.

"Do you hear that?" I paused before jolting towards the driver's seat to close the window.

"Whoa whoa calm down," Alex looked at me amused. "It's just wolves."

"That's not the point. They're close. Too close for my liking," I might be living a city life for several years, but watching wildlife documentaries was one of my odd hobbies.

Wolves are shy creatures. They usually avoid human contact, so why would they approach a roaring vehicle?

"Too bad, Bee. We're in their territory now."

Feeling eerily uncomfortable, my fingers clutched the gray wool blanket on my lap and pulled it higher until it covered my shoulders.

Up front, trees were gracefully swaying with the wind as if they were luring me. Inviting me to explore within. Suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck bristled when a massive gray wolf emerged from the shadows. At first, it didn't show us any interest, seeing it continued to walk around sixteen yards from our car. The headlights illuminated its thick grayish fur and emphasized its abnormally large size.

"Do wolves get that big?" I tugged Alex's red flannel shirt in a panicked state.

And right after I did that, the creature directed its focus on us as it barred its canines.

"There's always an exception," he quickly removed my trembling fingers from his shirt.

"T-that thing is easily bigger than me. The fuck was that?!" I whisper-shouted and realized Alex was looking down on his lap with beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead.

Silence.

"Are you okay?" My friend was acting out of character when the driver's door opened.

Startled, I looked up to check whether its still there, but it was gone.

"Look who's-" Carson's voice broke our silence with his cheery tone until he realized Alex's odd behavior. "Dude, you good?"

"Uhm we saw this big ass wolf just less than a minute ago," I answered for him.

Upon hearing this, Carson quickly stepped into the car and turned his body to face us. "Black or . . . Gray?"

"What? You mean the fur?"

He nodded.

"Gray. It looked like a regular gray wolf, but I know for a fact that wolves don't get that big."

"How big are we talking here?" His face displayed a concerned expression over my answer.

"It was standing right over there," I pointed towards the shadowy area where the headlights didn't cover entirely. "Around sixteen yards, but I could tell it was big. Bigger than you."

Weird enough, Carson looked instantly relieved. Shouldn't he be more concerned if the wolf was colossal?

"Did I miss anything?" Theo entered the car followed by a soft bang.

"Princess here, saw a big bad wolf and freaked out," Carson joked as we drove away.

"And Alex almost pissed his pants!" I added with a triumphant smile on my lips.

With that, our remaining trip were filled with jokes and silly banters. I tried to ask them what was going on out there, but none of them answered.

One thing stood out to me most.

A small red stain located on the back of Carson's left shoulder. It was visible due to the white T-shirt he wore.

And it wasn't there before their little trip outside.

———

The sound of doors slamming shut from various directions, woke me up real good. Couldn't they be a little more considerate to a sleeping person here? I fluttered my eyes open to see that it was still dark outside.

"Guys?"

My gaze followed several figures that were walking towards what seemed like a luxurious lodge. The gigantic building seemed so lively and bright. There were lights shining all over the property, illuminating the dark woods around it.

"Sweetie?" Mom's index finger tapped on my window side. "You should get down. We're here."

"Right," grabbing my small cream handbag, I stepped out of the jeep slowly. Making sure my left black heeled ankle boot touched the ground before I let my other foot down.

"You look beautiful," Mom chuckled whilst I smoothed down my knee-length black sweater dress. A thin milk-chocolate brown leather belt was buckled around my waist, emphasizing my curves whilst giving a good pop of color.

"Not if I look like this," I turned towards the side mirror and gave my hair a quick fix. Letting the soft ebony waves cascaded down my back.

Last, I reapplied a bold red lipstick onto my lips. It enhanced my icy blue irises since I prefer a simple makeup look consisting of brows, mascara, and lipstick.

"The boys have taken your stuff," she stated. "You're perfect, sweetie. Don't worry. Nobody's going to judge you."

"You're mistaken. People always judge," my lips curled into a small smile as she grabbed my hand and we walked side by side towards the lodge.

Observing my surroundings, I could see more than a dozen cars parked on my left and right.

"Take deep breaths," mom whispered once we stood outside the double glass entryway. "And smile."

"Do I have to? It's like what now? Six in the morning?"

"We just have to greet the hosts and then you can continue your sleep," without any warning, she pushed the doors open and I was greeted by the sight of people who were laughing and chatting with each other.

There were at least thirty individuals ahead of me and my social anxiety was slowly creeping in.

"Astrid!" Dad called out mom's name.

Mom spotted his tall figure easily. Dragging me along as she made a beeline towards him.

"ASTRID! It's been a long time!" A small lady with platinum blonde hair squealed and hugged mom. She sported a pixie cut which suited her round face perfectly.

"Madeline!" Mom returned her hug with the same enthusiasm.

They were speaking in hushed tones for a moment when Madeline's eyes met mine- and then, her hazel irises widen in realization.

"By the love of God," she released mom from her thin arms before taking a few steps closer to me. "Is this Brooke?"

"Ah yes. It's nice meeting you, Mrs . . . ?" I didn't know what to call her since we were practically strangers.

"I apologize. Oh where are my manners," she giggled. "I'm Madeline Fraser. You can call me Mads. Your mom and I go wayyy back!"

"Mads," me calling her nickname just made her smile wider.

"See! I told you she's gonna break a LOT of hearts when she's older!" Mads circled me whilst shaking her head in disbelief. "My, Brooke, you're so goddamn beautiful."

I parted my lips to say my gratitude when a buff man around dad's age joined our small little gathering.

"Oliver! Oh my God!" Madeline squealed even louder when the man finally stopped between her and mom.

"What's wrong? Is everything-"

He paused when Mads placed both of her hands on my shoulders. She was standing on her tippy toes considering that I stood more than a head taller with these heeled boots.

"I'll be damned," this Oliver guy eyed me and mom back and forth. "My have you grown. I can't believe you're bringing her back," then he quickly turned to dad, "she's Astrid's carbon copy except for the height and eyes — those came from you alright."

It was true though. Everyone commented about how I looked exactly like mom except for my icy blue eyes and tall height. I have dad to thank for that.

"She's a beautiful lass, Gerard," Oliver gave dad a brotherly hug before averting his attention back on me. "You've grown into a lovely woman, Brooke. I'm Oliver. Madeline's husband. Call me Ollie."

"It's nice meeting you both," I shook his hand in which he gladly accepted.

"So, Brooke," Mads linked her arm with mine. "Are you up for breakfast? I heard it was a long trip."

"Yes please," the thought of food instantly brighten up my mood.

"Smart move, Mads. Judging from her expression, you've won her over the moment you mentioned breakfast," mom snickered.

The three of us made our way towards a spacious hall filled with five long tables and a separate table for buffet options.

"I've spent hours making these," Mads handed me a porcelain plate and started to fill it up with piles of food.

Eggs, bacon, sausages, mushrooms, ham, baked beans, hash browns. Everything was there.

"Wait, you're the host of this par- banquet?" I looked at her amazed.

"Yep! Surprise!" She finished piling food onto my plate. "Don't worry, I've arranged everything. Hope you'll enjoy your stay here."

"Thank you."

She gave me a curt nod and went back conversing with mom whilst piling food on their plates.

"BEE!" Alex's voice echoed throughout the room which earned him a few disapproving looks from strangers and a slap on the back of his head from Theo.

Typical.

Carson's hand motioned for me to come over, so I did.

"Morning, boys," I set down my food and took a seat between Carson and Theo.

The once crowded hall turned dead silent the moment I did that. It was so quiet, that you could hear a pin drop.

"Okay, why do I have a feeling that these people," I pointed towards other tables, "are avoiding us?"

Theo shrugged with a mouthful of bacon like it was nothing new.

To prove my point, I looked around to see several pairs of eyes watching me like a hawk. These people didn't even try to hide their stares, but a particular ginger stood out to me the most. His pale green eyes were quite unusual. I could see freckles dusting the bridge of his nose. He seemed to notice me staring, because he flashed me a boyish grin, making his face look even cuter up close.

"That's Max," Carson whispered to my ear. "And don't look at him like that."

"Huh? Look at him like what?" I broke off our eye contact and dug in to my breakfast.

As I was scooping some baked beans with a toast, the silence morphed into hushed tones. The dining hall was filled with dreadful gasps and panicked whispers. These people were acting as if they were gonna die soon.

"Yep, he's here," Alex pursed his lips.

"Who?" I ignored the commotion and continued savoring my breakfast.

Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the hall. It was coming from the entrance door. Curiosity won over me, so I turned around to see what was going on.

Sure enough, everyone was looking down at their feet. A few people were shaking in fear. I kept on looking until I saw a man who was around 6.4 ft tall walking towards our table. This brunet was sporting a messy slicked back look on his hair. Our eyes locked for a few seconds. The steely shade was glistening as they reminded me of molten pools of silver. Light stubble and chiselled complexion were complimenting his top-tier rugged appearance.

Apparently, he noticed my staring and seemed to be daring me to keep looking, seeing he had this knowing smile plastered on his angular face.

Taking it as an unspoken permission, my eyes slowly roamed down as he stopped on his tracks. The black long sleeved turtleneck was quite tight-fitting on his muscular built. It was hugging each of his muscles — defining even the softest lines. To top it all off, a pair of black washed jeans and combat boots complimented his long legs perfectly.

If the ginger from earlier looked boyish, this guy was the definition of a manly man.

"Who is that?" I asked Carson who in turn, looked at the guy dumbfounded.

"The fuck? He rarely smiled at us!" Instead of answering my question, he grumbled.

"Is there something wrong with my face?" Even though the hot stranger looked like a Magic Mike crew, his piercing gaze bore right into my eyes for quite a while now.

"Uh, guys?" I looked away and turned my back on him.

But right before I did that, I could see hurt flashing in his eyes. His whole expression changed from happiness to . . . Nothing.

"Wait!" Theo shot up from his seat and followed the stranger who stormed off the room with a loud bang.

"Shit," Carson immediately followed Theo who was busy running after the stranger.

"What's going on? Am I missing something?" I began to stood up when Alex's voice stopped me from doing so.

"Nope don't you dare," judging by the look on his eyes, he knew I'd run after them. "He'll come around. Eventually."

"I-"

"Brooke, is everything okay?" Mads set her plates down on where Carson was a few seconds ago. I tried to search for mom's petite figure, but she was nowhere to be found. "I'd like to apologize for his behavior. Callahan can be . . . Difficult at times."

Callahan?

"You know him?" Her answer caught my full attention. It made me forget about mom's whereabouts.

"Why yes," she grinned. "What kind of an aunt I'd be if I can't recognize my own dear nephew?"

———

Well, I hope you enjoy this chap and make sure to leave any sort of silly comments and maybe a vote for me ⭐️🤭