Monster: A Werewolf Romance

59. GO?

KAEA

"I don't want to go!" I wail as Lee tried to pull me from the bed.

"You have worked hard for this fair. And I don't care what shitstorm happened between you two, you will not abandon your project like this." She said sternly, hands on her waist.

"It's his day today. Yesterday was mine."

"And tomorrow?" She asked, eyes narrow.

"Both of us. It's the school dance." I murmured.

"And how are you planning to avoid him the whole day?"

Honestly, I didn't know. I just knew I would need to accomplish it somehow. "I will figure it out."

"Then, figure it out for today too. What the hell is wrong with you both? What happened?"

I take a deep breath. When I had come home, three rejection letters and two acceptance letters awaited me. I opened them, hesitant, curious and dreadful. And an acceptance letter from the second university on my priority list fell. One of the best schools for Economics in the state, and it could be mine.

And then I spent hours and hours weighing it. It was near my home. A couple hours drive. But far enough that I could go away. Going rogue was not something I had to decide now, but going away from Kyle was.

And then it made sense.

I could go. No. I should go.

I am not super ambitious, but the job of a Beta (or the Luna) suited me. I felt at hime, driven, like I was doing something. If I could not find that here, I was ready to find it elsewhere.

I could study Economics here, too. I wasn't crazy about parties or college life, and I usually hated change, and I wish everything could have worked out but it didn't.

I needed to move on.

And a split second after making my decision, I fell asleep, which is how Lee found me.

"Andrew won't be coming today." She said and sat on my bed. "Is that why you are not talking?"

I sat up, and held her hand. "Lee...I will be leaving day after tomorrow to finalise my admission in BayView College."

She shot up like a rocket. "What?" She whispered.

"Yeah, it's a couple hours drive and I wanted to check out the premises before finalising my decision."

"Kaea- what- what the fuck happened?"

"Hey," I tried to smile. "I am not leaving forever, but I need to- I need to move on. This life is not for me."

"So you'll just leave?"

"No, no. This is not me leaving. I just- need to go. I will be back every weekend, and every holiday. But my life would be somewhere else."

She was still looking down, her face crestfallen.

"I would never leave you, Lee. Never. I need to figure out some stuff, that's all. College is a good place to do that."

She nodded slowly, then. "Day after tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I haven't told my parents, yet. I will as soon as the return."

Lee looked at me incredulously. "Haven't told them?! What the fuck?"

I held out my hands. "Hey! This happened so fast, I barely had time to tell myself."

She frowned. "Are you sure you are taking the right decision?"

I hesitated, but nodded. "It's college. I know it's a big deal for us werewolves, but what's the worse that could happen?"

She paused. "I guess you are right." She muttered. Her eyes dropped though, so I went to her and hugged her tightly. "You are irreplaceable, Lee. Not the even the goddess herself could replace you."

She hugged me tighter. "Such big words. You are so melodramatic."

I took a step back. "I guess I am."

That night, Lee and I played cards, watched Mean Girls and fangirled over it. Watched Mean Girls 2 and complained about how trash it is. Then we watched Annabelle but had to close it because it was way too scary for us. Then, we talked a little about life. Danced a little.

Nothing more than your average sleepover. But it meant everything to me.

The next morning, we woke up tired and dazed, and my heart beating fast. Lee left, and I could smell the bacon and here the coffee machine. Coffee barely does anything for us but my father likes the taste.

With trembling hands, I went down, still in my pyjamas. My mom smiled but looked at me concerned- she obviously would have noticed my absence yesterday.

"Ah, Kaea." My father said. "I wanted to tell you that the Alpha and I will be coming tonight. We are so excited to see what you both have done."

I tried to smile at him, and took my seat at the table, concerned. My mother was still glancing at me from beneath her lashes. I better get this out, it's not like I had all the time in this world.

"Mom, Dad." They both looked up at me, my mother's concern etching deeper onto her face. "I-uh-" I shifted on my chair, and then took out the letter from my pocket. "I got accepted into BayView colllege. I am going to go."

My father stopped smiling, and my mother froze. This was equivalent to a human announcing that they now have an unheard-of job in China and will be shifting there. At least, I knew that was was what it felt like to them.

I gulped.

"What?" My father asked, his voice unusually loud in the silent house. MY mother was still just frozen.

"I-I..." Why was this so hard? "I sent some applications a few months ago. Five, to be precise. Three accepted me. I want to go to BayView."

"Why didn't you tell us?" My father asked, confused and upset. "Why wouldn't you tell us?"

I let out a breath. "I don't know. It's not exactly common here. You want me to become Beta- I-I just thought that you wouldn't want me to do this."

"Are you not happy here?" He asked again.

Don't lie. Don't lie. I could be happy here, but it seems like that wasn't going to stick at all. Goddesses make mistakes. It's alright. They will understand. I know they will.

"I am." Yeah, I totally heed to my own advice. "I just want to study-"

"Did Kyle say something to you?" My mother asked, finally finding her voice.

"No." Was that a truth, a half-truth, or a lie? "No, mom."

She didn't look very convinced.

"If you want to-" My dad picked it up, and glanced at me. I nodded frantically. "Of course, I support you. And your mother-" She glanced at him, and her expression became a little softer. "She supports you, too."

They didn't ask me about what it meant for my career as a Beta, maybe they thought I would come back. I didn't know. I was glad they didn't ask me.

"Can we go tomorrow? It is just a couple of hours from here."

"Tomorrow?!" My mother was freaking out now. "So soon?"

"Just to finalise the admission. Their dates are till next month but I want to be as early as possible, you know. Plus, I really wanna scout the place." They didn't know much about college admissions, so they just nodded. I just wanted to do it before I had too much time to think.

But first things first. Tonight was the school dance as well. And, I had to make sure it was a good one.

____________________________________________
In the media box, you'll find, "Happier by Marshmello".

K R Y S T L E