My Gift

First Day

"Dammit Scarlett, stop scaring the shit out of us. I was just about to go to the gas station. You almost missed your shift at the gas station." was all I heard as I woke up. I quickly jumped up realizing I had indeed passed out.

“Sorry I can’t control when I pass out.” I said filling my voice with sarcasm; though on the inside I was actually rather worried with how often I have been passing out and the pain that came with the most recent one.

“You know what I meant.” Jase replied snappy and with a hint of guilt.

“Well I feel fine, just some sore muscles is all.” I said massaging my sides and my shoulders. “I am going to go to work now.” I said while I started running away as Ana yelled a good luck.

“If you want you can get the building ready today, I will help when I come back later!” I yelled as I exited the clearing as walked through the path I did yesterday. I started running as I realized that I didn’t actually know the time so I didn’t know how close it was to the beginning of my shift.

The tree line kept creeping closer and closer as puffs of dirt consumed the stagnant air I ran through. I bustled through the doors of the gas station and with my luck there were no customers inside.

A man I expected to be in his late 20’s earlier 30’s exited a room that from the glimpse I saw looked like an office. He looked up at me through his glasses once he closed the door.

“Scarlet, right?” He looked over my features as if he was hoping to recognize me somehow.

“Yes.” I said to him slightly winded from my running so it came out as more of a pant. He instantly seemed more relaxed but scrunched his nose up a little in disgust.

“I see. How about we get you cleaned up a little then you can get to work?” He said sort of cold  and disconnected. I nodded feeling sort of embarrassed. I had gotten used to Jase and Ana’s dirtiness. We had been in the wild for about three days with no showers or baths. The closest thing I got to that what when I would walk through the dirty water that flowed through the streams.

“Follow me then. We have a sink in the back room with hot water, so with a washcloth and some soap. After that you will be good as new.” He said making his frown loosen up as he looked down at me while taking off, what I expected to be his reading glasses.

He led me down a short but narrow hallway leading to a door that had a yellow sign on it that said ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’. “Just go on in and you should see everything you need in there. There is a change of clothes in there for you to keep.” He said with a ghost of a smile on his face. I was about to turn away to open the door when he grabbed my upper arm. My eyebrows furrowed as I turned back in his direction to see him with a thoughtful look on his face.

He sighed deeply and let his grip turn to a hoover above my skin to show he still wanted to talk to me, “Scarlett, I don’t know if you know this, but Aaron was becoming depressed before you came along. He and his wolf had lost faith in finding his mate, and you gave him that back. You should have seen him before he left.” He said with a chuckle. “He was telling me how amazing it was for you to come along. He even told me that his wolf for the first time since he shifted stopped pestering him about not finding his mate. Apparently, with just one look in the eyes, he could tell that you were a good honest person. It was hard to believe at first, but I just couldn’t take him out his high. I hadn’t seen his smile like that for 5 years. It was nice to see a change in him after so long.”

“Scarlet, I know what he is talking about. When you ran in earlier, I was almost taken aback by how wolf was perfectly fine with you. I have to admit, I do have a rather hostile wolf and usually doesn’t trust people easily, but you were different. If you would like, I could help you look into your gift more and find out it is exactly what it is you are. I am not saying it will be easy, but I would really like to help you in your journey. Would you let me?” He said pleadingly to me.