Lost In Purple
Chapter 34: Last Day With the Wolves
Johnny's POV
Last night was exhausting. It wasn't the kind of exhausting where you wish death upon yourself or anything like that, but it was instead the kind of exhausting where everything becomes sore the moment you go to bed. My feet and my head in particular were aching pretty badly the moment Melanie dragged me into bed. It also doesn't help that I'm getting closer to my most stressful semester ever, which is going to begin within the next two weeks. I still can't figure out a way to tell Melanie about the mess I'm in, and at this point it might be better to just not tell her. No matter how I frame it there's no possible way she'll be happy with me, and I don't think I could handle her being mad at me. It's probably better for my mental state to just live in the moment and not worry about those things for now. What I would rather think about is watching all of Melanie's cousins go starry-eyed when they opened their presents last night. Axel got dart guns, Fenix got cheap yet pretty dresses, Leif got books, Soren got sports trading cards and a soccer ball. Everyone seemed to get gifts based on their personalities and hobbies.
That reminds me…it was Christmas Eve last night, meaning…it's Christmas today! I can remember all the times as a child when I would bounce out of bed and race down my parents house' hallways to see the mountain of presents I got. Unfortunately, there wasn't really any sentimental value behind them since the whole reason I got them was for the sake of getting them, at least that's what it was like when I opened presents from my father. My mother was the one who got me the toys that stayed with me until I outgrew them.
I turn over, making sure I don't accidentally squish Melanie while she's sleeping, and see her beautifully snoozing like she usually does. Her mane drapes over her eyes, and she breathes slowly and calmly enough that I can't hear it this time. Her arms are wrapped around her pillow, exposing her sexy hourglass figure underneath the blankets. God, waking up and seeing her next to me is the greatest thing in the world. She starts shifting, clearly within the process of waking up, making me more thrilled to spend my first Christmas with her. I turn all the way over and cradle her while on top of her, creating a long and drowsy groan coming from her larynx. "Joooohn, it's too early for that."
I can't help but rub my head against hers. Melanie groans some more and even starts growling in annoyance. "John let me sleep!"
"But I want attention," I reply.
"Oh my god you are going to make me cry," Melanie says tossing herself to the other side of the bed. She even grabs one of the pillows and smacks me upside the head with it.
I crawl over and continue ensnaring her as she tries to squirm her way out. "What do you want Johnny?!" She wails.
I turn over onto my back, and take her with me, placing her playfully on top of me. "For you to come downstairs so I can give you your presents," I mumble.
Her eyes finally pry open and I can feel her tail thump against my legs. Why does it make me so incredibly happy when she gets exuberant?
"Oh! I forgot it was Christmas!" Melanie cheers while running to her bedroom window and looking out to see a sunny day reflecting the bright white snow into the house.
"Oh so you wouldn't ever get out of bed for my sake huh? I see how it is," I joke.
Melanie turns around, showing me that she's rolling her eyes. "Oh shut up. It's winter break, cut me some slack."
"Never," I continue joking, "The world will end if I don't keep annoying you."
Melanie scoffs and runs over to take my hand, pulling me out of bed. She then forces me towards the staircase while she stands in front of her parents bedroom door. "Go downstairs, I should wake up my Mom at least so she can take pictures and what not."
"Wait for your father Mel, you know he's old and rickety," Evelyn jokes before taking a sip of coffee.
"Mom, he's just tired. I would be too after working all day yesterday and then coming home to deal with seven rowdy children... actually make that eight because of Uncle Alden," Melanie remarks.
Melanie takes a seat next to her mother, looking at the Christmas tree in the back right corner of the house. All the ornaments, while they may be cheap, beautifully adorn it and the lights shine brightly even with the morning sun glaring through the windows. The only thing that could make this scene more beautiful would be fireplace a couple feet away from it.
"If he doesn't get down here in the next minute, I will drag him down here," Mom threatens with a sadistic smile and jolly tone.
Yeah, she's kind of starting to intimidate me a little bit. For a monster who seems so sweet and motherly, she's has one hell of a violent side that has yet to be shown to me (and I hope it won't ever be shown to me).
"Do you think he accidentally went back to sleep?" I ask with a chuckle.
Evelyn stands up and stomps over to the stairs. "HE'D BETTER NOT HAVE!"
Whoops.
"RONAN ROBERT EVERETT! GET DOWN HERE AND WATCH YOUR DAUGHTER OPEN HER PRESENTS OR I WILL DRAG YOU DOWN HERE MYSELF!" Evelyn roars up the staircase.
A couple of thuds rattle the walls and a door upstairs swings open only to slam against the wall. Ronan, down on all fours, smashes against the walls twice more before sprinting down the staircase and slamming against the banisters, making goofy sounding vocalizations when he makes an impact. "Y-Yes ma'am!" Ronan responds with one eye nearly closed, clearly dazed by his wife's outburst. It's obvious he fell back asleep…poor guy.
Melanie reaches out to him when he walks by, pulling him in for one of the best looking father-daughter embraces I've ever seen. "Are you alright Dad?!"
"H-Huh, Wh- yeah," Ronan replies groggily, still in a whole other world.
Melanie lets him go and then turns towards her mother, placing her hands on her hips. "Moooom! We have literally all day to do this, why are you being mean to him?!"
"I want to see you open your presents! I'm not waiting ten hours to see your adorable, radiant smile just like back when you were a puppy!" Evelyn counters.
I can't help but laugh at all of them. Even though it might seem like their mad at each other, I can tell it more or so that kind of wholesome mad that will blow over in less than 10 minutes. They all look over at me, and smile at me as if they know exactly what's going on. "Sorry Mr. Everett, this might have been my fault."
Ronan face plants into the cushions on the couch to my right, mumbling through the rough surface. "It's fine Jonathan. I can't be mad at you for something as trivial as that."
That's good. I wouldn't want someone like Ronan to hate every inch of me. I can't say I would feel the same if I were him though, so I guess that's a positive.
"Well," Evelyn sighs, "Now that we're all down here, how about you open your presents Melanie. They're pretty much all yours."
"Wait really?" Melanie asks out of surprise.
"Of course! You're the only one we ever think about, so we all went a little overboard. Mr. Worthington especially," Evelyn replies with giddiness.
Melanie gives me a scary looking side eye. "Please tell me you didn't spend another small fortune on me."
I can't help but place my hand on top of her head and pat it. "You know me so well."
After a small sigh, she gets to opening the many things we all got her. Ronan finally seems to wake up enough and becomes interested in seeing what she's gotten. Her mother got her many art supplies which include canvases, brushes, paints, colored pens, and sketchbooks. She'll certainly be making more masterpieces this semester. As for her father, he got her more Scare Cards for her amazing collection and a pendent with a picture within it that has him and Melanie hugging. I actually really liked that gift. The amount of sentimental value and thought put into that one is out of this world. When Melanie gets to opening my presents, she wipes her brow as if she just lifted a heavy object and wishes to clock out for the day. "Oh man, I'm gonna be old when I'm done opening all of these," Melanie jokes.
Evelyn and Ronan both laugh. "How many things did you even get her?" Ronan asks.
"Oh you know…a lot," I smile while looking at the twenty more presents under the tree.
Having now shrouded all the presents in mystery, Melanie starts ripping them open relentlessly, sending wrapping paper in every direction and making the living room floor look like a battlefield. Her parents watch with big smiles on their faces, happy to see her be spoiled for once in her life. She finds some presents with more clothes that fit her punk rock vibe, along with some jewelry that actually were a small fortune. All of it ended up being $30,000, but I'd prefer to not tell her that because she would just want to give it back to me. I instead just tell her that I spent only a couple hundred dollars on them, which is enough to keep her from returning it to me. Some other presents are opened, revealing many cooking supplies like pots and pans for her passion of cooking (which could also go to her mother; I wouldn't mind if that happened), the fluffiest and warmest of blankets since she's always cold, and a new black handbag with gold accents and a strap made out of gold since her old handbag looked like it was about to fall apart.
"How are you so thoughtful Jonathan?" Evelyn asks.
"Uuuuhhh… I don't know," I chuckle, "I just know what she likes. The blanket was really the only thing I put thought into though, because of the blizzard earlier this month. I don't really want her to struggle like that again, so I figured I'd find the best blankets I could."
Melanie places everything into a nicely organized pile, only to reach for the last present for her underneath the tree. Fortunately for me, this is the present I was most excited to see her open.
"What else could you have possibly gotten me John? It's not like I need anything else," Melanie asks.
"I don't know, might as well open it to find out," I reply with an uncontrollable smile.
Evelyn jumps down to the ground with Melanie to get a closer look, picking up on the subtle hint that it's the best one. "Ooooooo, it must be a good one!"
Melanie tears the present open, coming face to face with a thick and sturdy white box with three small gold and red letters on it in the top right corner: ROR. She slides the lid of the box off, causing her pupils to expand by three times their usual size. She places her hands on the object inside, and pulls it out, letting it unfold naturally.
"A ROR cardigan," Melanie says with elation.
"Got to let everyone know you're an official member now," I mention.
Evelyn takes the cardigan and looks it over. She places her hands on it to feel it's softness and elasticity, while also glancing at the lettering only to run her fingers along them. "It's so pretty Mel… I'll be sure to wash it before you take it back to campus."
Melanie nods as she takes the cardigan back to place it back in the box. She then places the box with the organized pile she's made, and stands up in order to lunge towards me. She lands in my lap, hugging me tightly and saying, "Thanks John."
I hug her tightly back, putting the side of my head along her neck. "Sure thing princess."
Breakfast is quick and easy. It's the usual pancakes and bacon, which seems to be a staple around here. Not that I mind because it's the best breakfast I've ever had, especially when Melanie helps out, but it wasn't what I was expecting for Christmas morning. It's whatever though, there's other things to be complaining about.
I see Evelyn move towards the kitchen window, exactly like yesterday, and get just as excited as yesterday. "Oh! Mel, Ronan! They're here!"
"They?" I ask.
Melanie, who's still sitting next to me on the couch, chuckles. "My grandparents. From my fathers side to be exact."
Ronan saunters towards the door and opens it wide, only to be greeted lovingly by the two old monsters, one being wolven, and one being... not wolven.
"Ah-haha, Ronan my boy! How are things!" Melanie's grandfather beams raspily.
Ronan throws his arms around him, getting a couple pats on the back in response. "Not bad, I'm just still working those awful hours."
Melanie's grandmother comes up behind him slowly, trying her best to keep her balance with a cane. "Awwwww, have you still not found a better job Roe?"
"Unfortunately not," Ronan sighs.
Evelyn walks over to give the two grandparents some hugs and kisses, taking their winter coats, and scarves. She and Ronan guide them into the kitchen and serve them some breakfast, of which they gladly take. "Your cooking is still amazing as always Lynn," Melanie's grandfather states.
"Oh thank you! I always try my best for everybody, you two especially," Evelyn blushes.
The two grandparents limp out to two different locations, plopping down in an almost painful looking manner, but act as if nothing abnormal has happened. While Melanie's grandfather sticks with Ronan and travels into the dining room, her grandmother chooses to sit next to me out of curiosity. "Now who is this Melody? Please tell us he's your boyfriend!"
Melanie tries her best to hide her embarrassment, but can't do anything but nod, confirming her grandmothers claim. Her grandmother grabs my hand and grasps it with both of her gentle hands. "Oh yay! Melody he's so handsome! I'm Hazel, Melanie's grandmother."
Yet another family member that's not only gorgeous but worth fighting for, and yet another family member that looks wolven. Like her name, her fur is light brown, and that's it. She looks like a normal monster overall.
"Johnny Worthington the Third," I introduce while squeezing her hand and bowing my head.
Hazel removes one of her hands to place one near her heart due to flattery. "How did you manage to grab this one Melody?" Hazel asks.
Melanie keeps blushing and can barely think of anything to say for a couple seconds. Man, she really hates talking about how we met. That might be my fault though since I tend to tease her about it. "It was coincidence. Someone unintentionally knocked her over and I caught her before she hit the ground," I answer with the intention to avoid embarrassing Melanie.
"That's adorableeee! That sounds like something straight out of a movie!" Hazel marvels.
"Yeah, everyone seems to think that," Melanie laughs.
"You can't blame them, people usually meet each other by disagreeing with each other, fighting each other, or being in the same classes. It's like fate, like it was meant to be," Hazel signifies.
I look at Melanie and see that she's having a hard time believing that one. I don't really know how I feel about it because I've always wanted to think that there was something out there that brought about good things, but I know that fate isn't something a monster can really rely on.
"I don't know about that Grandma. I just think it was coincidence, like John said," Melanie replies.
"Well whatever you choose to believe, I'll think it was meant to be. Something like that could only happen to special monsters like you two," Hazel praises.
It feels good to be called special by someone I've never met, especially when it comes from someone like Hazel, or even Evelyn. I really can't believe how amazing Melanie's family is, and how quickly they've got me to think of them as a better family than my own. My curiosity ends up getting the better of me, and I turn the original question onto Hazel. "May I ask how you and… uh, your husband met?"
"Oh, sorry Johnny, Melanie's grandfather has this incredible bond with her father, so you might not even get the chance to actually meet him because he can't help but spend all of his time with Ronan. His name is Ambrose," Hazel elucidates.
Wow, that's one hell of a name. Sounds like he would be someone important…or some wizard from a far away land, but I'd like to believe that he's just 'important.'
"We met at a bar when he came back from the military about 60 years ago. He had a little too much to drink and tried… too hard to take me out on a date," Hazel finally answers.
Melanie giggles. "I still don't understand why you said yes."
"Neither did I, but just like you two, it was meant to be," Hazel confesses.
I think about that scene within my head. A strong young man, dressed in uniform and unable to keep his balance or talk without slurring or stuttering, trying his best to go on a date. Hazel must be one generous person to give him a chance. However, in the end, I ended up with Melanie because of that. I also think about Melanie's grandfathers appearance. Unlike everyone else in the family, he didn't look wolven which also might be why neither Melanie or Ronan aren't just pure wolven. Ambrose (based on my memory) in fact looks like some sort of demon because of his head resembling a skull, fiery eyes, and several sets of horns sticking out from his head and jaw. He also has no lips…just teeth, and yet he's able to enunciate perfectly. The only thing that keeps me from being absolutely terrified of him is that he has a jolly personality and body type that resembles Santa Claws. His personality seems like the antithesis of what a monster is, and I could not possibly want him to be anything different.
"So he was a military man?" I ask while Hazel takes a couple bites from her breakfast.
She waits to talk until she's finished chewing and swallowing. "Yes, he served during the Vexenam War. Although he wasn't there for very long since because he ended up getting shot several times, survived, and then got discharged."
"Ugh, well that's good… the surviving part I mean," I mention.
Both Melanie and Hazel agree. Hazel then starts asking about me a bit more. I tell her what I've told pretty much everyone I've met. I'm a soon to be Scarer, I go to Monsters University and hold onto a 4.0 GPA, while being the President of the best fraternity on campus. I tell her my hobbies which include reading, exercising, and collecting Scaring related things like Scare Cards. Aside from that, everything becomes relaxing. It's just a day of being around Melanie's family, and being there for Melanie in general. We watch television, talk about many other random things, and eat as much food as we can. At least everyone else does. I'm able to keep myself from eating too much and consequently gaining weight which could be detrimental to my Scaring performance. I really feel like I've become a part of the family, and feel like I've found a place where I can belong outside of Monsters University. I've really been worrying over the past four years about this, so it brings me a load of relief that I have a place I can go to if I need any help or someone to talk to. That unfortunately somehow reminds me about all the issues I'll be faced with this next semester. I really don't know how I can deal with this because I do want to make my family proud, but I also want to be Melanie and experience things with her. Its just obvious that I can't have both.
The night eventually comes around and I'm left alone in the living room with Hazel. She asks about my family, and I tell her all about how my parents are always working and never have time to spend time with me. It's not like I have time for them either anyways.
"I'm sure they love you Johnny. Maybe they're just having a hard time finding a way to balance their time. Even though it might seem easy enough, it's not that simple for important people like your parents," Hazel explains.
"I don't know. I can't help but feel a bit of hate towards them since they've been like that my whole life, but I know that's an extremely childish thing to feel," I admit.
Hazel places one of her weak, shaky hands on my arm, empathizing with me. "I don't think that's childish, I just don't think you should develop such harsh feelings towards them without understanding why."
I sigh. "It's just hard not to when you feel like you barely know them."
"You don't feel like you know them? Why is that?" Hazel questions while turning her head to the side.
"I mean, I know my mother a lot more than my father, but it's my father who has made me feel this way. The only time I've ever seen him was when he had to watch me at work when I was a kid, or when he was in his office at home. Other than that, he's always screaming at me because I'm not turning out the way he wanted me to," I explain, "I guess I'm just wondering if he even wants what's best for all of us, or if he just wants what's best for him."
"Hmmm. That's… a hard one to have an answer for. Maybe give it a little more time, I'm sure things will work out in the end, especially with your mother. If she's how you describe her, then she'll reach some sort of burnout and want some change. I'll also say that even if it seems like father doesn't appreciate you, and things start feeling a little bleak, Ronan and I will be there for you because we love you," Hazel continues.
A dramatic rush of admiration for Hazel finds its way into my head. I don't remember the last time I had someone I'd consider a parent-like figure say that they love me. My undying pursuit for my parents proudness has blinded me, and kept me from seeking one of the most basic needs of life.
"Things always work out in the end, and I'm sure you're relationship with your parents will fix itself. But for now, just focus on your relationship with Melanie, that will be the driving force for you to keep going," Hazel continues. She places her hands back into mine. "If there's ever a day where you feel lost, there will be another day where we'll guide you to a better tomorrow."