บท 50: Chapter 45: Binge watching

After a long talk with the Alpha, Erick was finally able to go to his room. His father had asked a lot of questions, much to Erick's exasperation. He doesn't like being questioned too much. Luka, who had been tired from its little adventure, too, went straight to its bed. It snuggled deeply in its blanket and immediately fell asleep.

Erick yawned as he began to make himself comfortable in bed. He grabbed his phone and was sad to see that there were no messages nor missed calls from Amber. She probably had fallen asleep already. Even if it's Sunday tomorrow, it seems like she still sleeps early.

He flopped back on his bed with a sigh, dropping his phone beside him. It was indeed a tiring night. It was fun too, though. It was his first attempt to shift and it felt strangely pleasant. He presumed that this must be how other shifters felt when they first shift. There was a sense of belonging and comfort after he had shift.

He then settled into bed and went to sleep.

----

The next morning.

His phone was ringing non-stop, startling Erick awake. It even woke up Luka, who began to bark incessantly. Together with the sounds of ringing and the barking, it seems impossible for him to go back to sleep.

Erick groaned as he sat up in his bed, yawning. Squinting his eyes, he fumbled around and found that his phone had fallen underneath his bed. With another groan, he got up and went to reach underneath his bed to grab his phone.

Without looking at the caller's name, he answered the phone with a loud yawn. "Yeah, what?" he said sleepily, feeling a bit disgruntled that his sleep was disturbed.

"Oh, did I wake you up?"

All the tiredness and the drowsiness in his tone and mind began to fly out the window after he heard that sweet voice of Amber's. "No, no, you did not. What's up?" he asked gently, looking very wide awake now.

"Oh great! I was wondering whether you're free later this afternoon. We can meet up to discuss our literature assignment since the due date is pretty soon. The earlier we finished, the better, no?" she said on the phone.

"I'm good," he replied quickly. Even if he has any other plans, he would cancel them in a heartbeat, just to see his mate.

"Great. Shall we meet up at the Stitch Food Joint?" she asked.

"The wha--?" Erick asked back, feeling confused.

"You know, that food joint where you stole my fries."

Erick chuckled. Seems like this girl has a grudge for anyone who steals her fries. "Ah, that one," he said slowly, smiling. She was so darned cute and adorable.

"Yeah, I remember the fries there were so good. And we probably can discuss while we eat. It's not that noisy there, compared to the McClay's," she suggested, referring to the usual food joint that Erick always went to.

"Sure, sure. I'll see you later at 2PM?"

"Great! See you later then," she said. With that, she hung up the phone.

Erick frowned as he stared down at the phone. "What? That's it? No see you later, babe? No kiss-kiss?" he mumbled as he placed his phone on his study table.

He stretched his arms up as he yawned again. Walking past Luka, who went back to sleep again, he grabbed his bath towel and went off to have a shower.

Soon after, he was sitting at the dining table, where his mother had placed all the food on the table. There was a huge bowl of potato tater tots, a plate filled with sausages, piled up high, a dozen fried eggs, one loaf of toasted bread, a plate filled with many grilled tomatoes and a huge bowl of baked beans.

Grabbing each food from each plate and bowls, he turned to his mother, who was washing the dishes at the sink. "Where's dad, mom?" he asked, curious as to why he isn't joining them for breakfast.

"He went to the station. He had an urgent meeting with the mayor," his mother replied, still washing the dishes, her back to him.

"Did something happen last night?" he asked again. From what he could recall from last night, nothing happened, other than Dane sensed that there might be rogues up in the north.

"Oh, nothing that you should worry about, son," his mother replied, wiping her hands with a kitchen towel, once she was done washing. She then joined Erick and placed both of her arms on top of the table. She smiled as she watched her son 'vacuumed' everything in his plate. Her son is growing up well. It seems like yesterday when he first started to learn how to eat by himself. He was adamant, saying that he was old enough to feed himself.

Erick grabbed a slice of toast and began to pile up eggs and sausages on top of it and ate it. He repeated the actions until the plates filled with eggs and sausages were empty. He then grabbed a bowl of baked beans and scooped it into his plate. He did the same for the potato tater tots and grilled tomatoes.

His mother rolled her eyes. "Why don't just take the whole plate and eat everything?" she asked sarcastically, her chin on her palm and elbow on the table.

"I can?" Erick asked back, not noticing Luella's sarcasm. "Why didn't you say so earlier?" he exclaimed, grabbing the bowls and eating the food straight from it.

His mother rolled her eyes again and sighed. She got up and began to collect the dirty dishes from the table.

After he was done with his breakfast, he got up to help his mother with the dishes as well. He then went back to his room where he rummaged around his little box on his study table. The little box contained his pendrive and whatnot.

He grabbed his laptop and inserted his pendrive in. He began to type on his laptop and a few minutes later, his screen started to darken and showed the intertitle; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. He paused the movie and went down again to grab some food. One does not watch a movie without any food.

With a huge bowl of popcorn, several potato chip bags and two huge bottles of water, he placed the food on his table. He then connected his laptop to his wall TV and settled in bed.

An empty bowl of popcorn, three empty potato chip bags and one and a half empty bottles of water later, the movie finally ended. Erick was so engrossed in the movie that he didn't even notice Luka lying beside him. Erick, too, has changed his position from leaning against the bed frame to lying on his stomach, with his chin on his palm and elbow on his bed.

He managed to finish off two Harry Potter movies; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets before his 'date' with Amber. If it wasn't for the date, he would still stay in his room and continue watching.

But alas, his 'wifey' will be waiting for him so he better get going.

Grabbing his backpack and shoving his laptop inside, he went out of his room and got into his car, heading straight to the Stitch Food Joint.