The Howling (Book 1 of The Howling Series) REWRITTEN

One

REWRITE

With a furrowed brow and reasonably quick calculations in my mind I sighed, fingers leafing through the notes- or lack thereof - praying I'd hit lucky and the bills that lingered in my wallet had somehow just gotten stuck together. Of course they hadn't though, I had been almost certain I had enough for the rest of the week.

The cashier in front of me tapped impatiently on the counter, her ruby red nails slightly chipped from the keys she pressed on the register. I smiled weakly at her, my cheeks already heating in humiliation, "sorry, I'm a little short," I say. As though she would care as she stared at me blandly.

She glanced down at the products she's already scanned, the red numbers on the screen blinking furiously with each second that ticked by. With a sigh, "you want to put some things back?" She asks, I could tell just from her face how much of an inconvenience that would be for her.

I contemplated before I shook my head, "it's fine, I'll pay with this," I say tightly. My tone wasn't  aimed solely at her, merely just resistant on having to use the credit card that was now between two fingers.

With a nod she swiped my card while I packed up my groceries. She didn't say anything else for the duration of the transaction not even as I said thank you, bags in hand. I didn't mind though, my brain now fully preoccupied with the fact that I was almost out of money. Sure I had my credit card, but I'd only allowed myself to apply for that under the condition it was used only for emergencies.

Walking deflated to my car, a car I'd acquired from my mother, I placed the full bags into the trunk before taking a seat, the door slamming besides me. I checked the date on my phone, four days until I get paid. I can manage that, the bills are paid and there's gas in the car. And now all the groceries are paid for.

With a heavy sigh I started my car winding down the familiar roads of Clearbairn towards my home. I'd lived here five months now and I still struggled to comprehend the beauty of the hidden city, a small town lined in greenery and quaint houses. Streets lined with family run stores and restaurants, that always seemed to be relatively frequented by patrons. I admittedly hadn't ventured much, my time spent mainly between my own house and my work. Unless you could count the grocery store, of course. But as for everything else, I hadn't wandered, I hadn't entered the bookstore that housed an ageing woman and I hadn't scoped out the dimly lit antique store that a man maybe the same age as myself worked dusting different items.

Naturally I'd been tempted, though I could never find myself able to force the will to bother. It seemed silly, that if I ventured it was me fully accepting that this was my home now. I wasn't ready for that yet. Consciously I knew it to be already true, I wasn't stupid but welcoming that fact meant that they were truly gone. It'd be a deathly reminder that my parents were dead and I could never go to my true home again.

When I'd first moved here the people had seemed friendly, my neighbours especially though they kept their distance now. My own desire for isolation clear each time they attempted to draw me into conversation. Unless you could count Dakota, she was the exception. Not that she gave me much choice, she'd been rather persistent. And despite that persistence I was still thankful to have a friend in her.

Pulling into my small drive I grabbed my groceries locking the car behind me and walking up my front steps. The house I rented was only small, though it was more than enough. I remember when my aunt had shown me the listing, her own home only a couple of towns over.