Alone

Alone
The week has passed by so fast and it's time for Arabelle's day off. She's excited to go home to see her mom and sister. They might also miss her already even if they do video calls daily. Being really close to each other made them want to always be together. Although one of them needs to work to provide for the family. They need to eat and pay the bills. As the eldest daughter, she needs to work especially when their mom got sick before. 

Good thing she's a lot better now and looks healthier. It has been just a month since the curse was broken. She no longer has to deal with it anymore. Arabelle's job now as Ralph's assistant pays more. He told her the reason for that is that it's more complicated. She just agreed with him since she's the breadwinner. Nobody in their right mind will not accept Ralph's offer. It will help her family more especially Amie will go back to school soon.

“Ready to go home go home for your day off?” Justin asked when he saw her going out with her bag.

“Yeah, I missed my mom and sister already.” Arabele responded with a smile.

“Great! Be careful on your way and see you tomorrow.” Justin said and suddenly misses his pack.

“Thanks! Just tell Ralph I went home already.” she replied and finally went on her way before she changed her mind.

As much as she wanted to see Ralph before going home, he left before her. It might be urgent since he wasn't able to say goodbye anymore. She just assumed that he will be back later today. Although she can't stay in the castle until he returns. She only got one day off from work so she has to go. Their place is near the castle so she can go back if needed. She went on her way feeling excited to see her family. That's when she thought of something. 

Arabelle decided to go to the marketplace first before going home. She wants to buy roasted chicken for her mom and sister first. That's their favorite food and they haven't eaten it since she started working. From what she can recall is that she bought one after signing the contract. Cassie was nice back then even if she didn't smile before. She dismissed the thought and bought roasted chicken. Then she hurried home to her family.

~~

Ralph went out earlier without telling anyone the reason. He doesn't want to see Arabelle leave for her day off. Also, he's out there to look for Armand. He can't let him live alone if he can be with them. Cassie is also another reason why he left the castle. She stalked him and Arabelle from the steak house. He doesn't want to talk to her about that. At least not for now since he's not ready for her response. He just needs to stay away from her.

Using his special ability, Ralph tries to sense where Armand might have gone. He suddenly regretted not having Justin with him to do the tracking. Although it will ruin his surprise for the werewolf. It's better for Justin to stay in the castle to deal with Cassie. He knows what she wants to happen but just ignores her. She's basically her daughter since he raised her. He will not let her ruin his relationship with Arabelle if that's what she's after.

“It looks like Armand went here before,” he told himself.

He's now on a bus station with different routes on them. If Armand really went there, it means that he went on one of the places these buses go. The problem is, the buses have three routes. The closest is four hours away from that station. While the furthest place will take eight hours to reach. Just thinking about traveling for hours makes him want to go home already. But the urge to know the truth about Armand is stronger than traveling for hours.

Ralph decided to start with the furthest location first and boarded the bus. He will just pretend that he's a tourist and wants to visit that place. The bus is almost filled with passengers. He went all the way to the back and took his seat. It's better to stay low so that nobody will notice that a vampire is traveling by bus. He almost laughs out loud while thinking about it. Instead, he was able to just smile to himself. A vampire on the bus is really funny.

“The bus will leave in 5 minutes!” the bus conductor announces while checking the seats inside.

~~

“Where's everyone?” Cassie asked herself as she descended from the stairs of the castle.

She didn't see Ralph from his room when she checked before going down the stairs. It's daytime which means vampires should be sleeping by now. Instead of seeing Ralph inside his coffin, he's not there. She also didn't see Arabelle around the castle. Usually, she cleans up every morning even if she's no longer the maid. Today seems to be extra quiet inside the vampire castle. She wanted to see Ralph before she sleeps but it might not happen.

Cassie remembered the incident from the steak house. She doesn't know how Arabelle was able to spot her from her seat. Her intuition seems stronger than other humans and it's annoying. How did she know she was there? She's been planning to talk to Ralph ever since but he seems to be avoiding her. He never did that before in her twenty years of existence. Now that Arabelle is around, he suddenly changed the way he interacts with her.

“Cassie, you're still awake?” Justin asked after suddenly showing up in the ballroom.

“Oh, you’re here. Where's everyone?” she replied and asked him back.

“Ralph left early but didn't say where and Arabelle went home for her day off.” Justin informed her.

“Why are you still here?” she asked, feeling annoyed.

“I have nowhere to go, that's why I'm here!” Justin exclaimed and laughed out loud.

“Whatever! I'm sleeping now.” she said and decided to leave him alone.

Justin suddenly remembers his pack from the village. He misses his mom and dad who are always out to hunt. While his friends who always think about something they can do to pass the time. He even misses Clyde, his arch nemesis. Did he become the new alpha? As much as he wanted to go home, he just couldn't. He's afraid his dad is still mad at him for stowing away. Leaving his home was not easy but he needs to find himself out here first.