Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
Watching Tyson as he gives his speech for receiving Dean’s award is like watching a person I’ve never met. It’s painfully obvious something happened in the space of me leaving and him taking a phone call. By his unwillingness to even look at me it’s not hard to figure out the kind of conversation coming my way.
“Okay”—I turn to Big Tom the second the applause dies down and decide to take the coward’s way out—“we can go.”
Since I already spoke to the Board members before the presentation, I figure I don’t have to again.
“Sorry, Miss Cameron, can we trouble you for a photo with Dr. Blake and the executive team?” The coordinator foils my escape plan.
I twist around, a big fake-ass smile already in place. “You bet, as long as I get a couple of copies for Dad’s office.”
Handing my bag to Big Tom, I follow behind the lady and wait while everyone is assembled how she wants the photo staged. Of course, she positions me in the middle of Tyson and the Hospital Registrar. As I glide into place I nearly choke on the acidity of Tyson’s lemon scent. Gone is the mouth-watering sweetness from before, making me question how I ever thought it was sweet. And no shit, the iciness of his presence is like standing in a wind tunnel during a blizzard. But I’ve been through worse, a lot freaking worse.
On the outside I smile at the camera and act like I haven’t got a care in the world. Internally I race to build another wall around my bruised heart before I have to face him. Which is stupid. I barely know Tyson, and the obvious rebuttal that is coming my way shouldn’t hurt but there’s no denying it’s going to be another chip in my already dented and bruised armour.
“And we are done, thank you for your patience. That concludes our award presentation, you’re free to go unless of course you have further questions,” she says, effectively dismissing us all.
After another goodbye handshake with the board and everyone else involved, Tyson and I are the only ones left in the room. Big Tom stands by the door ready to go and I wish I was over there with him instead of standing waiting around for Tyson to speak.
I fidget as I keep watch out the window, but I’m not going to start the conversation. Bugger that.
“Tristan, will you please look at me?” Tyson asks after a few minutes watching me shuffle. It shocks me how he even sounds like a different person now. Gone are all the good things I was tripping on before.
I turn to face him, and despite the fact there’s a hundred or so words filling my thoughts, none of them reach my mouth, leaving me gaping like a fish. I wave him on, trying to get this whole thing over and done with, which makes what was left of his emotion drain from his eyes.
He stands tall, looking down his nose at me as he speaks. “You’re one hundred percent right. Something did happen. When you left I got a chance to breathe and think properly without your scent making me as impulsive as I had been. Your scent and presence are very distracting, and I mean no disrespect?—”
“It’s fine, I get it. I’m sorry for what happened,” I interrupt but a growing need to get away from him, and the whole situation drives me on.
“So, you feel the same?” he asks slowly, and he doesn’t hold back on letting me know how pissed off he is. His eyes literally fill with angry relief, and it’s not a nice sight.
I scoff a nasty laugh, reaching out and patting his arm. “You go do you, Tyson. I’m pretty sure I said that before. I hope what I did doesn’t impact you too much.”
A flash of something blazes over his blue eyes but before I can decipher it, he cuts the crap and does the expected. “The time away from your scent gave me the chance to see there was a certain exaggeration to the whole situation.” He uses his fingers to highlight the word exaggeration, but he keeps his eyes on mine while doing it and I figure out what it was I saw in his eyes a second ago… He’s lying. One hundred percent lying.
The lies spill out of his mouth. “Five minutes with a person is not really time enough to determine compatibility. On a medical level I’ve witnessed the after-effect of an Omega’s manipulation but now I think I can write up what happened between us as evidence of that too.”
The look of finality on his face hits me deep in the chest and I have to start staring out a window over his shoulder so I don’t dissolve into sobs. And that’s despite me knowing he’s lying. His words absolutely hurt. But it’s his growing detachment, it rubs aggressively against my skin like a reminder of what I had and lost in the space of a few minutes that reinforces the pain I’m feeling.
“Physical distance will aid the connection dissolving, and I’d prefer you don’t contact me. There’s nothing else we need to discuss after this anyway. You may suffer minor physical discomfort as our bond withers but compared to a lifetime of suffering it’s a price I’m happy to pay and I’m sure you are too. I’ll speak with Jane and get some other promotional photos done for your family. I don’t think either you or I need a reminder of our time together out in the public arena, do you?”
“Jesus,” I hiss, recoiling from his bitterness. I honestly don’t need to hear another word out of his toxic mouth, but I do have a few words I need to say. “I apologised to you already and that still stands. Clearly something ginormous happened but you know what? You don’t need to be a deadshit about it and lie. I get it, trust me I get the whole lying thing but you could have told me the truth and I would have respected your decision.Instead, you lashed out like a snake. So, fuck you, have a great life and never for a second forget you were always the one insistent we do”—I wave my hand in the space between us—“this. Not me.”
He goes to reply but I pin him with a glare before finishing things my way. I drop my eyes and drag them slowly up his body to his gorgeous face before I stare into his eyes for a few minutes, eventually finding the resolution I need. Shaking my head in disappointment at the way he chose to end things, I turn and walk off, snarling over my shoulder loud enough for the whole ward to hear, “Done, dusted, see you fucking never.”
I don’t need to look at Big Tom to feel his pity. As I step past him, he falls into step next to me. “All good, Tris?”
“Just peachy, Big Tom,” I offer before I shut my mouth and focus on stopping the tears that are still threatening to fall.
The fresh air on my face as we step out of the hospital is a welcome reprieve, maybe the lemon-scented asshat has a point, but I doubt it. Of course, fate makes it so I can still feel him like a ghostly presence, which is completely unexpected and downright horrifying.
I unlock my car and wait for Big Tom and Tonka to get in theirs before I reverse out. A wave of exhaustion hits as I merge with the traffic and I distract myself from trying to figure out if it’s mine or Tyson’s by imagining I’m living a different life. I get so caught up in my thoughts that when I arrive back at the gates of Unity I realise I’ve been driving on autopilot the whole way home which fills me with a wave of guilt knowing I put people at risk.
“I’m so fucking over this day,” I grumble to myself as I climb out of my car.
Thankfully the girls are out and they don’t have to witness me slamming doors and punching pillows. A reminder on my phone about breakfast with Maverick has me feeling marginally better. As I’m drifting off to sleep the girls creep in my room, but I don’t move a muscle and keep my breathing slow and steady, and they leave as quickly as they came in.
Tired of tossing and turning, I give up on trying to fall back to sleep at just after four. Deciding on a workout I dig out my favourite lilac gym shorts and bralette set. The instant I put on my headphones and hit start on my favourite playlist, Halsey starts distracting me from my shitty love life with hers.
The gym is empty and no one joins me as I set a punishing pace on the weights my personal trainer set up. My workout philosophy has never been about losing weight; it’s been about feeling body confident because rubbing shoulders with beautiful people makes me anxious. And my Scorned Girls are some of the most stunning women I’ve ever met.
Adding water to my post workout recovery drink, I’m walking back through the still dark corridors of Unity feeling like a different person. I’m still butt hurt by Tyson’s rejection and I really wish he’d be honest with me about his reasons but I also feel a kinship with him, despite all that because I know sometimes you just have to lie to the people you love.
The smell of coffee rushes out as soon as I push open the door.
“Hey, Ho,” I say, dropping my head on Heidi’s shoulder and taking a big inhale of her apple scent. She pats me on the head until she realises she’s running her hand through my sweat.
“Gross.” She hikes her shoulder making me stop snuggling, so I grab her fresh coffee that Raney slides over as payback.
“Why were you up so early?” Raney asks, already at the coffee machine making Heidi a new one.
“Couldn’t sleep, why are you?”
Heidi answers for Raney though, “She’s going home after our practical today so she’s up early trying to figure out what you wear to unpack a pack. You didn’t forget did you?”
I wink at her confirming I did in fact forget, but her reminder unlocks my memory. I groan realising the day we’ve got ahead of us—our practical assessment for cake making. “Fuck your life. I’ve got the perfect jeans for you to wear though, they’ll make your ass snug as hell while those assholes get a reminder on what they’re missing out on.”
“Right?” Heidi grins quickly before glaring at Raney. I’d put money on them arguing about Raney going home alone without us. Again.
“Heidi’s right you know, I mean”—I jump in, and the both of them arch their eyebrows up at me—“maybe we don’t all need to go with you, but I definitely should as your stylist. I’ll even stay with you and King, for extra moral support.”
Heidi snorts out a laugh while Raney glares. I shrug before taking a loud sip of my coffee, which she hates but her glare turns into a smirk before too long.
“Have you even decided what cake you’re baking?”
I grab my heart. “Bitch! That hurt because you know I haven’t. I’m going out for breakfast so maybe I’ll just pick up a sponge slab and smuggle it in.”
“You should, actually. Your baking skills are absurdly bad,” Heidi deadpans.
I scoff. “And yours are any better?”
“Tristan, all jokes aside I really think you should just call in sick instead of attempting the exam.” Raney smirks and starts laughing as I dip my middle finger in my coffee before sucking it clean, watching her the whole time.
“Who are you having breakfast with?” Heidi asks over Raney’s continuing giggling.
“Not you. I’ll be back before class. Okay, bye,” I snark, making a dash to my bedroom at the same time before either of them can ask again.
I take it as a win and a sign of my day improving when the both of them are in the shower getting ready when I sneak out. Dropping an armful of clothes and shoes on Raney’s bed for her to take with her home, I shoot off a group message offering to bring back iced lattes before I send off a text to King, who’s been strangely quiet.
The traffic is barely existent as I make my way through Lower Westside. I even get to park right out the front of Tommy Booths. A quick scout of the tables and it’s easy to see Maverick’s not here yet, but I am early. I grab one of the small booths and the server follows almost immediately with water and a menu.
Tommy Booths has the best cold-pressed juices and keto menu options and I waste the next twenty minutes alternating between watching his fight videos and trying to figure out the perfect breakfast combination until it’s awkwardly obvious I’ve been stood up.
Being stood up by Maverick stings like a fucking bitch. On top of being dumped by Tyson, my ten-minute pack mate, add on King still not getting back to me, it’s hardly a surprise that I place a calorie laden order from the bakery next door before sitting in my car to have a little cry.