Deja VU

HIS BACK EYES, they just never left her mind. They stayed ingrained within her head,  the black the colour of her now comfort for the heart and soul, in his black eyes, she saw home. She saw a glimpse of the eternal, of serene divinity. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel disappointed at that thought. He had left without a word.

The scene just kept on replaying within her mind, an emotionless expression upon his face and the coldness within his eyes, really it told her everything she needed to know, but... questions still roamed her mind, swarming with theories; of who he could be, who was he? Why didn't he stay? What was his name? Why didn't he speak?

"Harlow, honey, are you okay?" Her nan says, causing her head to instantly wipe around to see her nan in the driver's seat, holding onto the steering wheel as she looked at the road ahead.

Was she okay? In all honesty, she felt far more okay; okay didn't even seem to exist in her line of vision. "Yes, I'm fine." She lied. This was starting to become a habit of hers, lying to her loved ones, but it was harmless. The truth was far more upsetting than the initial lie she was telling them. What was she supposed to say? She'd just met her mate only for him not to even acknowledge her existence. Only to have left and rejected her, at least that's what she thought. He hadn't initiated a verbal rejection, but to her, it seemed like rejection. He didn't say the words; his actions spoke louder.

Who was he? Harlow couldn't help but point out that he'd looked so familiar to her like she'd seen him before, but she couldn't pinpoint where she'd seen him. His clothing prevented her from further figuring that out; she barely got a glimpse at him in the first place, his features buried in the depths of his black hoodie.

Harlow didn't need to see his face to know he was her mate. The mate bond never worked in that way, which she wished it did. It might've made this a little bit easier. All the mate bond needed for you to recognise your mate was their eyes; somehow, your wolf would be able to recognise them in this way, a bond is formed.

Great, what a present thought...she had a bond with someone she didn't even know. Her life was a joke at this point.

"What happened back there? You looked so out of it." Her nan asked again for the millionth time, which she didn't blame because if she'd seen her like that, she would've wanted to know as well. "You seemed so consumed with shock."

True. Shock couldn't begin to explain what she felt. "It was just a panic attack, nan." She lied again, "I'm sorry."

Her nan and her mom both were aware the Harlow suffered from anxiety, she'd had many in the past, so it was nothing abnormal about that. But that never pushed the guilt she felt by concealing the truth from the only two people she was open about everything.

For Harlow, it was far easier to lie to her nan than tell her the truth. It was embarrassing for her to admit that she'd met her mate, and he had instantly left. Her dad had left her mom years ago, rejecting her altogether. The reason for that is still unknown to this day, her mom never talked about it, and honestly, she didn't think she would ever talk about it. And now, here she was, repeating history.

Damn. She was speechless, didn't know what to think about it. Every bit of her body surged with an emotion she couldn't quite decipher. It was a strange feeling. A tingling sensation, something that would be described as something you felt when you were happy, but she didn't feel happy. She felt confused, so confused and a little bit angry.

Maybe, she shouldn't have agreed to go to the supermarket with her nan in the first place, and then she wouldn't have met him. 'Dammit!' The thought of meeting her mate at a bloody supermarket was just not the way she wanted it to happen; it was so unromantic...so bland. Yet, her mind always argued against that thought with it was better meeting them there rather than not at all, even if they left just after she'd found them.

What was she supposed to call him? She couldn't just refer to him as mate, and it seemed wrong. Even if he was her mate, his leaving made her second guess herself like she might've just dreamt about, imagined it.

The car came to a slow stop, rolling into the driveway. Slowly, she stepped out of the car. Looking up at the house just as she always did, getting deja vu from the very first time she'd been here, she was three at the time. In the summer, her mom had let her stay here at her grandparent's house, only for about a week bu,t even then, her mind still couldn't imagine living here and yet, it has been a day since she'd first arrived here with the intension of just that. To live here.

"Harlow, help me with these, would ya?" Her nan's voice was pulling her out of her thoughts.

Their Head turned with a look of apprehension on her face. This was her new life, and so far it doesn't look good, but what else could she do...a day in and the unknown identity of her mate was still unknown to her, even after meeting him, coming face to face and yet, it was as if she hadn't met him at all.  It wasn't like there was a way for her to change it. If she could, she would. So many say just that when they are in a predicament, yet none of them does, even if they had the opportunities to. She was one of those people, one in many.

"Yeah, sorry." She ran towards the back of the trunk, pulling the bags of groceries out.

In each hand, she carried one of those bags on either side, they were heavier than the ones her nan held within her grasp, but she knew she was older and less able to; hence she went to the supermarket in the first place... Following her nan to the front door, who had stopped in front, bags of groceries dropped to the wooden porch. She opened the door with the key she pulled out of her pocket, punching it within the keyhole and turning the lock and clicking it open, pushing the door open and stepped inside. And she went in after her, putting the groceries on the kitchen counter.

"I'll get the other two bags." She says. Harlow saw how drained her nan looked, and she didn't want her to carry anything more or do anything else but rest.

With a smile, "Oh, thank you, sweetheart."

Something within the air felt tense as she walked further towards the front door, standing on the front porch, shifting from foot to foot as she felt the hairs in the back of her neck rise. Something felt off, very off. Goosebumps prickled her delicate skin, and it was similar to what spider-man got when he sensed danger. Her spider senses were going haywire at this point, and she didn't understand why. There was nothing there.

Nonetheless, Harlow's eyes scanned the driveway carefully, looking at the trees that surrounded the house. Her nan's house was quite secluded. The forest surrounded it, just like it did everyone else's houses in this pack. Everything was so spaced out. At first, she thought it was weird but then brushed it off as it meant she had more privacy.

Harlow couldn't help but feel like something was out here and the gut feeling she felt told her that something was watching her.

On the outside, she looked fearless, like she could take an army of rogues, but on the inside, she was scared and a little spooked by everything. Nevertheless, there was nothing there. Everything was quiet, just as it always was.

God...She felt like she was going insane.

She was walking down the remaining steps, grabbing the last two bags and closing the trunk of the car so quickly. Just as quickly as she'd come out, she'd gone back inside. Not taking any chance, if her gut feeling was right, then being inside was a better decision than being outside right now.

Turning the lock to close from the inside, a sigh of relief escaped. Today was...eventful.

Walking through the little hallway that connected the living room and the kitchen. Dropping the bags where the others remained.

"I'll unpack, sweetie." Her mom said, walking back into the kitchen. "Go catch up on homework."

Harlow wasn't going to argue with that, even if she didn't have much homework to do. Walking up the stairs, and just as she was about to enter her room, something stopped her from going in further. Hallow's opened her window. Something she knew was strange because she'd never opened it initially, not since yesterday.

The very same chill ran through her, heart ramming in her chest so quickly. She was confident her mom wouldn't have opened it, she never went into her room without her being there, and her nan was with her...so how did it pop open?

Slowly she approached it, grabbing her curling iron in her hand just in case someone was in here. 'Oh god, oh god.' Her mind was in panic mode, and this place just kept getting weirder and weirder.

She checked the door behind her, pushing it slightly to a close. If someone was behind there, she wanted the door open, just so her mom and nan could hear her scream. Nothing. Harlow's eyes moved towards the bathroom. Heart accelerating at a quick pace, it felt as if it was going to burst out of her chest at any minute. When she entered the bathroom, checking behind the shower curtain. Still Nothing, no one was in her. When she didn't notice anything, she approached the window and closed it shut, making sure to lock it.

Sighing in relief, this place was different and not in a good way.

For the past twenty-four hours, so much has happened. From meeting Mia and the ball, she was being forced to attend to meeting her mysterious mate. Harlow couldn't help but miss her old, everyday, monotonous life. She preferred stress free.

Maybe a shower would do her good. Dropping the curling iron, she did just that. She was spending the afternoon relaxing.