Part 1 : The Wolf Eyed Man

They say people is an island, and if they're lucky enough they bring their spouse and kids to that island. It's a magnificent dream to be living in a dream of a husband and two kids. But unfortunately that whole island thing is a big bullshit. People will come around and find you, and drag you out of your cave just to be manipulated, insulted and humiliated. Or so she thought.

Kate stares at her phone again, looking at her husband last message.

'Eric invites us to his daughter's birthday party. Everyone else is coming. Should we?'

Kate sighs. The last question means her husband knows her that well. He knows she's the eternal introvert who hates social interaction. And he's considerate enough to asked her whether they should come, even Kate knows he probably really wants to hangout with his college gank. A gank.. what a stupid idea.

Maybe she's the one who hides behind the label introverted. She's just doesn't want to see them, The Lancaster. Eric and his wife, Aneeya Coldwell-Lancaster.

For Kate, meeting Mark, her husband, is like a dream come true. They both anxious to started a family, even at young age. Even when people frowned to the idea Mark and Kate getting married immediately after Mark graduated from college, and more over Kate still in one, they came through all of it. With two kids to be exact.

Kate swept through the women's clothing section, while thinking if she should buy a new clothes for the party. She shoves the idea of her shoulder immediately, knowing it would make no different. Mark is a regular employee in a pharmaceutical company. Though he just got promoted, with two kids and a housewife, their life is no comparison to the Lancaster.

Kate looks at her watch, it's almost time to pick up her kids from school. Thanks to the damn party, she just wandering around cluelessly at her precious free time. She sighs again and looks at the line of clothes in front of her. There's no point on trying to hard if she'll be defeated anyway. Kate left the store, thinking she'll just wear an old jeans and blindfoldedly picks the top.

***

"So have you decided to go to the party or not?" Mark, her husband, didn't hide around the bush. Emphasizing, that he really wants to go to that damn party.

"Do you want to go to the party?" Kate plays the endless asking game. When they both don't want to be the one who makes the decision and be responsible for it.

"Hey, I asked you first.."

"Sounds like you're already decided that we should go." Kate added.

"Well.. it's been a while since I saw the gank.."

Kate secretly rolled her eyes.

"Then.. we should go.." she said.

Mark hugs her from behind. "I know you hate them.."

"Uhmm, correction.. I don't hate Eric.."

"Which concluded that you hate Aneeya."

"Hey, she hates me first.." Kate defended.

Mark laughs. "Listen, I promise I'll distract them so you don't have to speak to any of them. You'll just need to eat some cake and play with the kids there. Wait.. you don't hate Raynee too,are you?" Raynee is the birthday girl who turns 4.

"She is the only reason i'll be there." Kate said smiling. "Just promise me we don't have to stay there until dark."

"The party is after dark."

"What.. wait, is this a dinner party or a birthday party?"

"I know.. how many people you know celebrate their daughter's birthday party at night?"

Kate laughs. "Only the Lancaster." And now she's thinking, she should have bought that dress at the store yesterday.

***

Mark cell rings just before they arrived at the Lancaster residence.

"For crying out loud, where are you guys? I don't have kids and I'm at this so called birthday party at night and I'm sitting with 3 sleepy kids who already begins to throw tantrums!" said the voice on the other side.

"Nice to hear from you too, Zach. How long has it been since the last time you shout at me?" Mark said calmly. "We just parked the car. Just wait inside. Where's Devon?"

"He's circling the room."

"Why don't you do the same?"

"I did. Only I did it with three toddlers!"

Kate come closer to the phone. "Relax, Zach. Will be there in 2 minutes, can you please get me some wine, I need to drink before I meet with them."

Mark looks at Kate in dissapointment after he heard her remarks.

"What?" Kate said.

"Please promised me you'll be civil. We haven't saw them in ages."

Kate looks at the rear mirror, checking on her make up. ".. there's a reason for that." she said quietly. "Come on Max, May.. we're going to a birthday party."

"Why is it so close to my bedtime?" Mayla, her 5 year old asked.

"I don't know either, honey. Special people have their own special reason." Kate answered.

"There will be food, right? I mean like normal food, not that little food you can swallow 2 at once in one bite?" this time Maxwell, Kate's 8 year old son asked.

"Don't get your hope to high, but I promise I'll buy you some burger if they don't have one inside, okay."

Kate looks at the fancy mansion with butler waiting outside to open the door. What a depressing 4 year old birthday party, she thought.

It hasn't been that long since they saw the Lancaster but it surely not yesterday. Kate knows she's not the most socialized person out there, but the time she spend with Mark and his friends in college was considerably a good time.

Off course she's with them because she was Mark's girlfriend, but Zachary Rodriguez and Devon Hall were welcoming her like their own. They hanged out and laughed together with no problems. But things got changed when Mark had a new roommate, who often goes MIA. He was Eric Lancaster.

There's something about Eric that had a different vibes, not just from Zach or Devon but from any other person out there. Off course there's all kinds of people in the world, especially in college. The one who drank to much, the one who's in love with an anime character, the one who slept with the marriage professor.. but Eric is different.

Not he's actively annoying or disturbing, he was just there, but everytime he was there the atmosphere change significantly. And not just Kate who felt that, but also Zach and Devon who shared the same highschool with Mark.

Maybe because Zach and Devon were these dudes who just enjoyed their life in college, they could just brushed the feeling out of their shoulders. But for Kate, who notably was Mark's girlfriend, there was that 'something' she can't pin point. Probably the only one who's okay with Eric was Mark. Mark was, and still is, this simple logic guy. If he's hungry he eats, if it's to expensive don't buy the stuff.. if the guy sleeping with you in the same room not a serial killer no need to complaint. Kate couldn't explained to Mark what was her provlem with Eric. Everytime the three of them sat in a room together, Kate could swore Eric was blatantly staring at her, but turns out he was reading a book. Eric only spoke to her a couple times, but she knows in her guts he doesn't like her. And the creepiest thing was, Kate knew if hypothetically they had an argument, Eric could easily be violent towards her and without hesitation breaks her neck. And she never saw Eric lost his temper.

Maybe the complete metaphor was like sitting in a room with a wild wolf.

She remembered Mark just laughed at her, and he said Eric was just a regular guy. He's quiet and not that easy going with girls, that's how he came out scary. And that's the end of her argument with Mark about Eric.

Things came into light when she finally spoke to Zach and Devon. She recalled Zach mention, with two exclamation point, Eric giving him an anxiety disorder and not the good one. Devon was more careful with his word, he said everytime he spend time with Eric, he remembered when he had to came home late and rode the last train alone with that one suspicious guy sitting at the corner. The whole ride Devon kept watching the guy wondering was he just another passenger or at some point he will stand up and robbed him with a knife.

But you can't judge people based on his vibes.

So at the end, the whole years in college Mark, Eric, Zach and Devon were friends and Kate survived as Mark's girlfriend too.

One accident happened, when Mark just proposed to Kate and they decided to get marry immediately. Kate knew many people against their decision, Mark's parents, her parents, even Zach and Devon weren't that supportive, but to think that Eric personally gave her a piece of his mind was unforgettable for her.

She remembered at her engagement party, when the guests began to left and she was just resting alone, someone suddenly sat next to her and she didn't have to turned her head to see who it was.

She could remembered just it was like yesterday.

"So you and Mark are getting married." Eric said, in a tone that fitted to a sentence : You better watch your back, bitch.

"Well.. that's why we throw the party." Kate tried to made a joke.

An there was that uncomfortably ackward silence.

"Why?" he asked again suddenly.

"Why what?"

"Why do you guys have to get married?"

Kate tried to analyzed the situation, and she remembered the best moved probably just to asked him in the face.

"Can I ask you something?" Kate asked. "Do you have a problem with Mark and me.. getting married?" Kate remembered, the whole sentence she can felt the wetness of sweat in her palms.

The silence was there again.

"No." Only two letters after that long pause. Kate is getting impatient.

"Seems to me you do have one." She remembered she quickly regretted what she said after finishing the sentence.

And at that moment, the first time she looked at Eric straight to his eyes. Surprisingly it's not as scary as she thought it will be, but the creepiest thing was she too found what she expected was there. There's that cold eyes, that she knew for sure could killed her without any hesitation or remorse. The eye of the wolf.

"I believe you're the one who still not answering my question." there's a subtle elevation on his tone. It was high enough to made Kate nervous and felt threatened. And she just reacted like any other people who felt threatened. Fly or fight.

".. if you find the one, you just know, right. So why should we wait? I just want to spend my life with the man.."

"You love Mark?" he suddenly cut in, surprising Kate. He asked Kate with that wolf eyes and threatening voice and threw her off guard.

".. of..offcourse I do.." Kate answered nervously.

"Really?" he asked again, and now Kate felt offended. "Listen to me you, psycho. I don't care what you think, but Mark and I will get married, whether you or the whole world doesn't like it..it's none of your fucking business!" now Kate recalled it was an emotional answered with no reassuring reason at all.

Another silence but this time Eric looked at Kate straight to her eyes, and she knew back then that she couldn't backed down anymore. Even it meant she made a sworn enemy. Kate could swore Eric almost threw her to the wall that day.

"Well then I hope you and Mark have a happy life.. if that's what you really wanted." Eric said before he went away.

And now here they are, years after that conversation. As long she could walk through that door and proof her words back then, everything will be just fine.. and so she thought.