Offered to the Lycan King by Misha K
Chapter 167
Lia was unable to focus on her studies for the whole time because she was wondering where she would go and stay for the night. During lunch when she went to the main door of the school building, she saw Garry on the other side, waiting for her. He was leaning against his green Ford and smoking, keeping an eye on the glass door. Lia turned back and darted to the cafeteria where she once again went to the back to hunt for food. However, the moment she was looking for leftovers, she heaved and ended up vomiting in a nearby flowerbed. “S*hit!” she rasped as she doubled over, the pain in her belly returning. The food of thought repulsed her and she went to sit under a shade of tree, feeling so weak that she folded her knees and rested her head on it.
She didn’t know when she had drifted off to sleep but when she woke up, it was already the time for the last class. She clenched her teeth and got up. But her head reeled and she went back to leaning against the trunk of the tree. Instead of going to the class she decided to go to the nurse.
“You look like s*hit!” the nurse said as she h*anded her two Advil and a glass of water.
Lia chuckled. Her life had become s*hit. “Can I rest here for a while?”
“You sure can,” the nurse said. “But you can’t stay here for the night. I heard about your case and I will keep a watch on you, Liah Garrison.”
“I won’t…” Lia replied, lying down on the mattress of the bed. She missed the softness of the mattress and instantly went off to sleep. She was woken up an hour later by the nurse.
“You have to leave,” said the burly woman.
Lia felt better. Even though the queasy feeling in the stomach lingered, at least she felt better. She dragged herself out of the infirmary and went to her locker. She gathered her satchel and plastic bag. Her feet took her to the main entrance of the school. However as soon as she saw Garry still standing and smoking over there, her heart thundered in her ribcage. Her steps retreated and she rushed back to her locker. Students walked past her, talking in loud voices as to how they were going to spend the weekend. She kept her head low behind the locker’s door until the lobby cleared and only a few students remained. She closed her locker and then walked to the opposite side.
Lia knew that she had to go to the child support center as soon as possible. That was her only hope. She crossed the school grounds on the back until she reached the run-down rusty gate. Several junkies were present over there and they looked warily at her. She tucked her hair behind her ear and dashed past them.
The road to the child support center was two blocks later. She started walking as fast as possible. It was 4PM and they closed at 6PM. All the time she kept glancing back, scared that Garry might follow her.
She wasn’t feeling too well when she reached the center. Sweat made her clothes stick to her like she had bathed in it.
At the reception, she met a young woman in her mid-twenties who smiled at her. “What can I do for you?” she asked, but then scrunched her nose.
Ignoring her reaction, Lia said, “I have come to meet Mrs. Morrison.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No, but my guardian has an appointment with her? she lied.
“Oh. What’s the name?” the girl asked as she flipped through a diary of appointments.
“Garry Lopez.”
The girl furrowed her eyebrows. “He was supposed to come a day after”
“He is unwell,” Lia immediately said glibly. “He has sent me.”
“Oh I see,” the girl replied as she closed the diary. “Why don’t you sit there?” She pointed at the leather sofas on the right. “And I will inform Mrs. Morrison.”
“Thanks.” Lia pursed her l*ips as the girl left to inform the social worker. All the time Lia sat there she hoped that Garry didn’t somehow barge in. If he did, she would lose the last chance of surviving on her own.
Few moments later, the girl came out. “Mrs. Morrison will see you in ten minutes.”
Those ten minutes were the longest in her life.
Lia entered her office ten minutes later. “Good evening, Mrs. Morrison.”
Mrs. Morrison was a kind-looking woman in her late fifties. A lanky woman, she had dark hair that was pinned up in a neat bun. She adjusted her glasses as her green eyes slid to Lia. “Liah Garrison, please come,” she said, pointing at the chair at the desk opposite to her. “I am so sorry to hear about your mother Nat Garrison.” Lia bit her bottom l*ip as she kept her gaze fixed on Mrs. Morrison.
“So what brings you here?” she asked, keeping a folder aside.
Lia had rehearsed her words a thousand times before coming here. She blurted, “I have come here to collect the child support”
Mrs. Morrison jerked her head back. “Has Garry sent you to collect the money?”
“Yes, he is unwell.”
“But why do you want it two days before the due date?”
Lia clutched her skirt in her lap. “I have to pay my tuition fee.”
Mrs. Morrison narrowed her eyes. She studied Lia for a while. “Okay, I will h*and you over the money. You are lucky that Nat already signed the receipt just before she passed away.” Mrs. Morrison picked up a folder that she had set aside. “Nat had started trusting me after so long.” She flipped through the pages and picked out a paper. “Take this to Grace outside and she will clear the amount”
Lia took the paper with shaking h*ands. When she got up, Mrs. Morrison said, “Remember, this is the last amount for you because you are turning eighteen next month.”
“Yes, thank you,” Lia said and exited before the woman could say something else. Lia was surprised to see that Natalie was receiving two thousand dollars every month. Where did it all go?
Grace grinned at Lia when she h*anded her the paper. She deposited the paper, counted money and h*anded it to her.
“Umm… this is fifteen hundred…” Lia pointed out.
Grace raised an eyebrow. “So?”
Lia’s eyes went wide as she instantly realized that Mrs. Morrison was eating the rest of the money as a bribe. She let out a ragged breath and nodded because she was in no position to fight against them. Tucking the money in her empty wallet, she picked up her bags and went out of the office, knowing well that she would never come back. But now she had a lot of money to survive. She planned on taking up a job as a waitress after her school hours.
She was about a hundred meters from the office when a car screeched on her side of the pavement. Her heart leapt out and she increased her pace. The window on the driver seat rolled down and a woman called her. “Lia!”
“Debra!” Lia was surprised to see her.
“Jump in! I have something very urgent to tell you.”
“I- I can’t!” Lia was terrified. Debra was Natalie’s friend. “I have to go elsewhere.”
“Lia, please. I have to give you something.”
Lia didn’t trust her. She continued to walk on the pavement as fast as possible only to increase the distance between herself and Debra. She didn’t want to do anything with her mother or her past. At the same time, she was afraid that Debra would go and talk about her to Garry.
It seemed that Lia’s luck was running out fast. She saw Garry’s Ford coming in her direction. “S*hit!” Fear blasted in her. She was about to get caught by him.
Debra noticed her fear. “Jump in, will you!” she shouted at her as she backed her car.
Lia didn’t have time to think. She had to choose between the lesser evil. On a quick decision, she opened the car and jumped in the passenger seat. Debra’s car screeched as she raced it on the street. Garry was on their tail. The two girls weren’t talking as Debra steered the car to an underground garage, losing Garry.
“F*uck!” Debra rasped as she shook her head. The garage was eerily quiet at this hour with a few cars parked in it. Lia gave her a wary glance and waited for her to speak.
When Debra settled, she pursed her l*ips and looked at Lia. She pointed at the dashboard and said, “There’s a letter for you that Natalie gave me just before her death. Take it out from there.”
Lia’s t*hroat became dry. “I— I don’t understand.”
“Take it out. I’ll explain,” she replied drily.
Lia’s h*ands shook as she drew a white envelope out of the dashboard.