บท 20: Grannie's Pies

Esme rolled onto her side, covering her eyes with her arm from the sunlight beaming on her face. She groaned after hearing the sound of cars whizzing by and the occasional honk of their horns. A light wind blew across her body, and her lids snapped open, remembering that she never made it home in the end.

Her head was resting on her bag, her small frame curled in a foetal position from the cold night air. Esme accidentally left her blanket at the apartment, but usually, werewolves ran a little hotter than humans and weren't too concerned about the cold. She, however, was smaller than most werewolves and felt the cold more. It also didn't help that she was sleeping on some random fire exit staircase to a building.

While walking home in the early hours, she still felt the presence of someone following her. She didn't know if it was her gut feeling or paranoia because she could never see them. If they were real and not in her imagination, were they observing her movements and waiting for the right moment to strike?

Her apartment was essentially her 'safe house'; if someone was following her, she didn't want to lead them back there. So, Esme's night was filled with paranoia. Her back against the bars of the staircase, looking at the rooftop across from her, above her, and the ground below. But at some point, her body's need to sleep took over, and she drifted off.

Esme stretched out, groaning once more as she felt the aches and pains of the night before. She didn't need to look in the mirror to know she looked a mess with dark circles under her eyes, her face bruised and cut. She gently touched her face; at least her healing had already decreased any swelling overnight.

She slowly pushed herself up, her body protesting at moving and being awake, but she couldn't stay there. If someone found her, then it would just cause issues. She sluggishly walked down the staircase then hopped down three floors casually. Her gaze followed the buildings again, but she couldn't feel anyone watching her.

"Maybe we got a little paranoid last night," Esme muttered.

"It's better to be a little paranoid, though," Isana spoke through a yawn. "Mind if I sleep?"

Esme rolled her eyes. Alright, for some. "Hey, I'm just a wolf in ya head. And I was also up most of the night with you." Esme waved her hand in response and let her wolf sleep.

She trudged her way onto the high street and started to lower her head after feeling the public's stares. She wondered just how bad her face looked, or if it was because she didn't exactly fit in with everyone's fancy suits and work clothes. Everyone was in a rush to get to their destinations, bumping into others without apologising, so they weren't late for work.

After some time, Esme realised she was near that little café she went to when she first arrived in Chester. Esme never did get the name of it, but she would recognise it. A coffee was exactly what she needed to wake up and to warm up. Although she was walking, she was still feeling chilled. Esme stopped on the pavement, refraining from laughing aloud at the name of the café. She apologised to the man behind her who almost bumped into her.

Esme opened the door to the cute café named 'Grannies Pies' and took the window seat she sat at last time. She checked over the menu left on the table, almost drooling from the food list and the smell of freshly baked pastries and pies with all that sugary goodness. But she dropped the menu after her phone vibrated to an incoming text.

Esme narrowed her eyes and glanced outside the window before flipping her phone open to see who the sender was.

[ 8:48am Message from Leo ]

[ 8:48am Did you get in okay? x ]

Shoot, she forgot to message him. Though she was a little distracted most of the night.

[ 8:49am Ah, I am the worst! Sorry as soon as I got in I crashed ]

[ 8:50am Es I know you r an independent woman and all that.. but I was worried. Hana didn't hear from you either. Chester isn't safe. You have no idea how dangerous it can be. Knife or not. x]

Esme stared at Leo's response, a little dumbfounded. Why was he so worried? She bit her lip in thought.

"Why wouldn't I worry about you, Es? You went MIA for three days!" Ruby hugged Esme so hard she thought her back might break. She was so shocked by this human who she barely knew to worry about her like so.

"Here you go, dear."

Esme blinked and looked at the warm apple pie placed in front of her. She looked up to see the old lady from before in the café. "I didn't order this.." She trailed off, looking at her kind smile.

"It's free unless you don't like it. But.. I have a feeling you will," The lady replied, patting her shoulder gently.

Esme looked at the name badge and smiled joyfully. "Thank you, Grannie. You really are too kind. You'll lose business if you keep giving me and others free food," She winked.

"You look like you need it, dear. I put something a little extra that will make you feel even better. Would you like a drink with it?" Grannie smiled again, making Esme want to smile.

A little extra, eh? Like a liqueur?

"Coffee would be great, and I WILL pay for that!" She smiled broadly at her and looked back at the pie, wondering if she wanted to fatten her up. Ruby once told her that that's what a grandma did, fret on how thin their grandchildren looked and fed them cake, sandwiches and any meals they would readily make.

All she knew about the rest of her family was her grandparents were dead on her mother's side, and she had no idea about her father's. Then again, she had no clue where he was anyway. Esme stabbed the pie with her fork, distracting herself from thoughts about her father. As soon as the pie hit her tongue, she felt like melting in her seat.

Grannie was right; this was a little 'pick me up' she needed. After wolfing down the pie, she asked for another three servings, washing it down with her coffee. Esme picked her phone up again, trying to think on how to respond to Leo's message when something outside of the café caught her attention. A police car parked outside, and Simon, the policeman who helped her, stepped out and walked across the road to a small convenience store.

"Grannie, can I have another pie?"

"I don't know where you put it all, dear, but I will happily get you a pie," Grannie joked, bending over to reach for the pie in the glass showcase.

"Oh, it's not for me," Esme replied, putting her phone away in her leather jacket and picking up her backpack.

Grannie paused what she was doing, and while Esme's back was turned, she reached for another pie that looked exactly the same. "Do you want it in a takeout box then?"

"Yes, please!" Esme reached for a pen and a pink napkin with 'Grannies Pies' written in gold. She wrote on it then paid for her pies and coffee, dashing outside before Grannie could object to 'overpaying'. The kindness she showed her was more than enough. Esme already felt lighter and even felt the aches and pains nearly diminished from her body.

Esme saw Simon exiting the convenience store, and so she put the box on top of the car bonnet and placed the napkin under the windscreen wiper.

"Hey!" He shouted, not aware of who she was. But when he arrived by his car, the small hooded figure was gone and left on the windscreen was a note:

'Thanks for your help, here's a pie – That homeless girl who was not homeless. P.s ask Grannie if you don't trust the pie. But it's delicious! – THGWWNH.'

Simon chuckled and glanced at Grannie through the window, waving back at her before checking the box's contents. His mouth-watering when he saw it was his favourite blueberry pie. Closing the lid, he climbed into the car, pie and note in hand.

Esme walked down the street, rechecking the message on her phone, sending a quick apology to Leo in response. As she put her phone away again, she was reminded of the ringtone that went off the night before that revealed her location. But as the she-wolf replayed what happened, Esme could not think of who it would be, then her thoughts fled as she arrived at ONYX.

She inhaled deeply then released her breath before opening the doors. This time, she went through the main entrance; keeping her hood up, she swiftly walked straight to Gabriel's VIP room. Closing the doors behind her, she kept her head down.

"I know, I know! I look a mess, no fancy outfit and stuff today. But you asked me to come straight here, and after last night, I couldn't exactly show my face at the bar," She walked straight towards the bar, avoiding eye contact with the man in the room. "I don't have the energy to tell people some made up story about what happened.." Esme glanced up, trailing off after seeing who was in the room.

Sitting on the leather sofa, in white trousers and a shirt with brown leather shoes, was Lenny, his hair dishevelled with a pair of sunglasses sitting atop his head. He pushed up from the couch and sauntered over to the bar, then midstep stopped.

His amused expression dropped when he saw her face.

"You're not Gabriel," Esme pointed 'finger guns' in Lenny's direction.