Chapter 18

Colleen stood up from her bed and opened the door. It was Melissa who knocked on the door. They both looked at each other with longing as they both missed each other so much. They both are good friends, being separated for so long made them want to be with each other today as much as possible to catch things up. With teary eyes, Melissa dashed towards her and embraced her in a tight warm hug. "Hey! I miss you so much," Mellisa said as she clung to her. "I miss you too," Colleen replied quietly. With a smile on both of their faces, they went inside the room and sat beside each other on her bed. "Well, everything went well. I'm here to invite you to come with me. Let me show you something."Melissa exclaimed with excitement as she held Coleen s hand to pull her somewhere. "Alright," Colleen said as she subtly laughed at Mellisa s excitement. "Let s go," Mellisa said as she pulled Colleen to stand up from her bed and towards the outside of her room. Before leaving the house though, they went to the master bedroom to knock and see her parents sitting on their bed. They want to inform them first about them leaving to prevent them from being worried. "Mom, Dad, I will just go with Melissa." She yelled excitedly and did not even wait for a reply as the both of them ran. "Go ahead, pup." Her father replied in a loud voice so they were able to hear. Colleen knew her parents had nothing to worry about because she was well-trained to defend herself. Her years of training surely did not go to waste as she became stronger. Strong enough to support and protect herself and her pack and she was aware that her parents knew about it. It s almost six in the evening. The sun was already covered with clouds and the sky was already a mixture of yellow, red, and orange. Soon it would dim as the sun would set and daylight would end. The surrounding would be covered with darkness upon the night while they were still in the middle of the forest. "How long does it take? And where is that place? Can't we just run to the location?" She asked in succession as she was starting to get worried. Though she has more strength now than before, it would still be better to be cautious and safe. "Hmmm... the truth is that I found this shortcut going to the city." Melissa smiled sheepishly. "What? We're going to the city by walking?" Colleen replied in surprise as she couldn't believe what her best friend had just said. It's not because she doesn't want to, but the thing was that the city was a little bit far. Walking takes two hours and by car it may take fifteen to twenty minutes. "You've got to be kidding; it's a two-hour walk." She complained. "Didn't I say it's a shortcut?" Melissa sarcastically exclaimed which made her shake her head as they continued walling. After a few minutes of walking, they smiled as they were able to take a glance at the various lights reflecting from the city. The sounds of the busy street and engine noise from the vehicles on the road. "See, I told you. We didn't even have a half-hour walk. "Melissa proudly uttered it. "Alright, I believe you now. So where was the thing you wanted to show me?" She replied. "Haven't I already shown you?" Melissa asked innocently while tilting her head as she looked at Colleen who had a disbelief in her eyes. "Oh... you mean shortcuts? That's it, that's the one you wanted to show. " She mumbled. After she held Melissa's hand. "Alright, let's go back," she suggested. She heard Melissa giggling. "Alright, sorry, dear. The truth is that I want you to come with me. Since we're already at the right age, let's go and have dinner at a simple restaurant. Not like the place where you and my brother always go." Melissa pulled her instead and they started to cross the street. She had no choice, but to follow her best friend. Melissa was correct; she and Brandon were always dining at a fine establishment.They never went to a simple restaurant and she always needed to make sure that she was properly dressed, not like she is now. She's wearing black ripped jeans with a crimson top that's tied up in front above her tummy. with high-heeled shoes They entered a restaurant with a few customers inside of it. The space wasn't particularly large; there were about ten sets of tables, each with four chairs. And three of the tables were already taken. A couple and two families are having dinner. The truth is, it's too early to have dinner as she checks her wrist watch. It's a quarter to seven in the evening. They took the table next to the glass wall, where you could see the people passing by. The waiter arrived with two menus on hand. He handed the menu to Melissa and to her. "What do you want to have?" Melissa muttered. After seeing the menu and the photos of the meal, which looked mouthwatering, she finally felt hungry. She used to have dinner from eight to nine in the evening. It was Brandon who usually cooked dinner for them. Or they will order delivery food instead. "I will go for the seafood paella. How about you?" She asked Melissa. "I will go with beef steak with mashed potatoes." Melissa answered. "Hey, why don't you try their steak? It's one of their specialties here. " Melissa suggested. Colleen looks at the waiter and says, "OK, I'll order the same as she." She said to the waiter. After the waiter left, she roamed around with her gaze. She couldn't help but frown when she saw a familiar face passing by on the street. She couldn't believe that she would see this person with someone else. Her gaze never leaves the couple as she wonders if they're just friends or siblings, until she notices that they're kissing passionately, which makes her almost vomit.