ADULT WOLF (ON HOLD)

Samuel

Tonight was the night, and I was pretty excited to collect Gabriella and go on a ride through town with her. Unfortunately, it was only in my car.

I'd managed to get out of work half an hour early because Herman had decided to be unusually quiet today. Maybe the Samuel thing had absorbed him deep into thought and down a rabbit hole, like it had been doing to me. Pecking away at the core of my being, silently sending me to the brink of insanity.

It was absorbing us all in a way. We all wanted to know what had happened to the guy that night. Everything was so vague, and the only way to get anything close to the truth was to speak to him ourselves.

Slipping my notepad and pen into my ripped denim short pocket, and a portable tape recorder into my backpack, along with a bottle of water. Smiling, I checked my watch once again and walked out into the hallway. Mimi saw me and raised an eyebrow:

"Am I seeing things? Is my Hermanito actually leaving the house after work?"

I laughed. "You can pinch me. I am definitely not a hologram."

"Thanks."

Mimi pinched me, and I glared back. "Not that hard. Do you believe me now?"

"Yes, I do." She said, watching as Isaac walked out into the hallway too. They were both dressed to kill. Isaac in an expensive shirt and jeans, and Mimi in a tightly fitted black dress and minimalistic makeup. She actually looked presentable, for once. "Can you be back at nine? I need someone to watch Steve."

I let out a slight sigh. "I dunno if I'll be back. I have to leave very soon." Steve walked out to see me. He looked smart in his shorts and a chequered shirt. "Unless I can take him with me."

"Where are we going?" He asked me, smiling.

"To see my friend, and go to the cafe."

"And where else?"

"Lockwood."

Mimi looked at me and scowled. "He's not going to Lockwood. He's too young."

Steve frowned. "So where am I going then?"

"I'll leave you off with your cousins--"

"--I'm coming back at about nine," I said. "Maybe Steve can come to the cafe with us?"

Steve looked at Mimi with puppy eyes. "Can I, please?"

Mimi sighed back. "Okay, ONLY after Lockwood, ok? I'll know if you brought Steve."

Steve got excited and smiled at me. "Also, can Uncle Rod bring me to see Christian and Gabe? I like his car."

She rolled her eyes and looked at Isaac who nodded back. Steve got excited and smiled. "Also, is your friend cute?"

"Almost as cute as me." I joked back.

Steve frowned jokingly. "That's not very cute."

I glared back at him. "Okay, no double brownie milkshake for Mr. Quiñones."

"Ok, I'm sorry," Steve said back, walking out the front door and into my car. "Bye, Mom."

I waved Mimi goodbye, and we sped off down the road. Steve insisted that I play my rap/rock mix on the way over. Checking my phone, Gabriella told me to meet her outside Otto's Bar in... Convoy Park? Of all places.

She'd literally lived down the street from me, and I never knew this whole time?

Pulling the car over, she smiled as she slipped in beside me. I made sure Steve was in the back seat and on his best behavior. We gave each other a hug.

"Hi." She said, looking at Steve in the back and smiling. "Who's this cutie?"

"Steve." He replied back. "I'm Rod's nephew."

"Nice. So are you coming with us?"

He shook his head. "I'm going to my cousins and Uncle Rod's going to drop me off, but I'm getting a brownie milkshake when he collects me later."