Chapter 24

Clarissa's Scare

Clarissa.

Grandma Carter had fought until I was exhausted and gave up on trying to give her her medication. I spent the day cleaning up her messes and washing a pile of clean clothes she insisted were filthy and stank like skunks. She intentionally spilled cups of water on the floor and screamed out to me to clean it up.

By afternoon, I was already exhausted and hungry and decided to go out for a meal. Although Grandma Carter protested and called me a glutton, I just had to go if I was to last till night.

I was beginning to wonder if the money was worth all the insults I had received, but then I remembered that I had to feed Cisca. I had to nurture the last part of Clyde that I held. She was my rebellion against him; I was never going to let her know that Clyde was her real father. I would train Cisca until she was strong and wise enough to be a Beta, and then together, we would form a new pack of metropolitan wolves and conquer the strongest pack in the world that had stepped so readily on their Luna and Beta.

The glow of the sun was biting as I walked towards the hotdog stand with a few crisp dollars in my hands.

"Two hot dogs and a chocolate smoothie, please." I ordered and watched in amusement as the hotdog seller stared at my eyes and figure. Sometimes, I almost forgot that my looks were mesmerizing.

"I'm sorry for staring, but your eyes are just so beautiful, it's hard to believe that they are real." He stated it in awe.

"They are real, thank you." I responded, looking down at my wrists for an imaginary watch so he could understand that I didn't have much time for the chitchat.

"Sorry, I'll get your order now." The hot Dog seller adjusted his cap and gave some orders to his subordinates, who were trying to look infinitely busy.

Some minutes later, he walked back to me with a broad smile, a package of hot dogs, and a cold cup of cold chocolate smoothie.

"Two hot dogs and a chocolate Smoothie for you." He announced.

"Thank you." I beamed and offered him the dollar notes in my hands.

"You can keep the change." I said that and began walking back home. It was on this same street that I first met Jason. I remembered it as clear as day. I had been kind of excited to work for his grandma if it meant that I could be close to him, but he traveled as soon as I got the job, and I was left with a delusional woman that was bent on driving me crazy.

Tired, I sat on a sidewalk and munched on one of my hotdogs so I could summon the energy to go home. Then I walked home to Grandma Carter's apartment. When I stood at the front door, I knew immediately that something was terribly wrong. So I pushed open the doors and ran to her bedroom.

At the doorpost, there was a spill of water on the floor. I opened the door to find Grandma Carter slumped on the floor with a rubber cup where the water had spilled. My heart skipped five beats at once, and the first thing that came to mind was Vampires! But there was no sign of struggle, nor was there any blood or sign that she had been bitten. It was even afternoon, and vampires could not be seen roaming by this time.

I dropped to my knees and checked for her pulse, and it was really faint. Grandma Carter was dying! I could not let such a terrible thing happen. Not on my watch.

I instinctively raised her gently from the pool of water before running off in search of a telephone. I immediately punched in Jericho's number, but instead of him, his wife Nova picked up.

I was so stunned that I kept on repeating the same words over and over again:

"Grandma Carter is dying." "Grandma. Carter is dying."

"Clarissa?" Nova asked, and I don't think she perceived the urgency of my call: where the heck was Jericho when I needed him the most?

Jericho.

I was building blocks with my daughter, Cindy, when I heard my wife say, "Clarissa?" In the other room, why would Clarissa be calling my home by this time, I thought? My instincts told me that something terrible must have happened at work. So I ran towards the room and took the phone from a perplexed Nova.

"Grandma. Carter. Dying." Clarissa's voice came; it was half woman and half wolf speaking.

"Clarissa, I need you to calm down and listen to me."

"Jericho! You need to come over here right away; her pulse is faint, and it's growing fainter. I swear I didn't do anything; I just went out to grab a bite. Panic was strewn all over her speech.

"Just make sure she is seated upright and can get enough oxygen; I'll be there right away." I ordered, grabbed my coat, and ran out of the house. On my way there, I dialed the emergency number and reported Grandma Carter's case. I should have called Jason earlier, but I decided to call him when the storm was over.

On getting to Grandma Carter's room, I found Clarissa bent over her and still panicking.

"She's going to be alright, Clarissa; I have called for more help. When last did she have her medication?" I said this as I felt for her pulse. It was very light, but it was there.

"She's been refusing to let anyone give it to her for days now. I'm sorry, I tried, but she's just so stubborn and she hates my ass." Clarissa said she was more calm now that I had arrived, and she was wiping her tears off her chin.

"Damn, Jason's going to be quite mad when he hears of this."

"It's not anybody's fault. I try, but she takes all my efforts to help as mockery. I don't know what to do anymore; maybe I should quit so she can be at peace." Clarissa lamented that Grandma Carter had obviously driven her to frustration.

"I understand why you would want to quit, but you're the only one who has stayed this long with this woman; removing you now might prove dangerous to her health. And while you work here, you and Cisca are safer here in the city." I explained it to her.