12. Making it right—or trying to
12
MAKING IT RIGHT—OR TRYING TO
Micah
I slammed a fist on my desk and pushed the chair back. Walking to the window, I stuck my head outside and gulped mouthfuls of fresh air. Not being able to concentrate on work was one thing but my stomach was churning because thoughts of Archer and our night together kept creeping in and disrupting whatever I was doing.
Busy at the office . That was the last message Archer had sent. The morning after we’d slept together. Three days ago. Since then, radio silence. And I didn’t understand why. He’d said more than once that he’d taken his current job so he could help support his parents. I got that and admired the commitment to his family. And I’d told him directly that unicorns can only mate with other unicorns.
We were both on the same page but for different reasons. He had to focus on earning money. I had no choice about who I was and the limitations of being a unicorn. Not that I’d change anything if I could choose, though during the last few nights of tossing and turning, I’d cursed what fate had handed me.
I’d tried the dating someone you can’t mate with relationship and look how that turned out. Me losing most of my savings and renting an apartment in Sunshine Manor. But the people living on these three floors had become my family and that I’d never regret.
And besides, me never being able to commit had soured what Jason and I had had. Neither of us put much effort into solving our problems, probably because in the end, it didn’t matter. Why try to fix something that was temporary when it was going to end sooner rather than later? Though I hadn’t figured on him draining our bank accounts.
I leaned out the window but couldn’t see if Archer's bike was downstairs. The first night I’d listened for him to come home and he never did. Same with the next night. Either he was staying elsewhere or he was creeping in and out when I was asleep.
Needing more fresh air that only being outside could provide, I went downstairs, flicking a glance at Archer’s closed door. But when I got to the porch, I discovered his bike chained up. How had he managed to get in without me hearing him? Perhaps he was doing it in Spiderman style and climbing up the side of Sunshine Manor. Pretty extreme if so.
Daire was on the front lawn holding a mallet. More repairs? I hoped not. He swung around as I approached and the mallet missed my head by half an inch. “Whoa!”
“Sorry.” He picked up a sign at his feet and started banging it into the ground.
This was his usual routine when he had an apartment to rent. I couldn’t understand why he didn’t just advertise online. Which he also did, so why bother with the sign?
“Good luck with finding a new tenant.” I should have said a suitable tenant. But as I reached the gate, my feet froze and refused to move. I almost toppled head first onto the path. There are no empty apartments.
“Daire,” I said in a voice much louder than a normal speaking tone. “Who’s leaving?”
“Archer.” He didn’t bother to glance up as he gave the sign one last bash.
“Why?” Now the whole street could probably hear me.
He shrugged. “I assumed you knew.” He added under his breath. “Or had something to do with it.” He slapped me on the back. “Sorry, it didn’t work out, man.”
“Me too,” I muttered as I tore inside and up the stairs.
One thump on Archer’s door became two and then three and I yelled his name. Even if he were sleeping, the noise I was making would wake him. The door flung open as my hand was raised to hit the door again.
“What?” His eyes were fixed on my clenched fist hanging in mid-air.
“You’re leaving!” There was no point asking him how he was or that I was worried I’d done something wrong as I’d said in my text.
“Mmmm.” He avoided my gaze and studied his feet.
“I thought you were happy here.”
He nibbled his bottom lip and blinked. Were those tears? “Yes.”
I wished I could shake the truth out of him because his one-word answers were driving me crazy. “Then why are you moving?” I wanted to hear him say it. Say it was me, that us having sex had fucked things up and he couldn’t even look me in the eye.
“It’s too far from work.” He shuffled his feet.
“I call bullshit.” That got his attention.
“How would you know? You work from home some of the time and you have a car for when you’re inspecting properties or whatever you do. ”
Ouch! While it was true my life and finances had taken a hit when Jason left, I didn’t have anyone to support, was well established in my career, and he was right, I had a vehicle. No wet and windy rides in winter or being covered in sweat in the warmer months.
“Can I come in and discuss this?”
His grip on the door handle tightened and his mouth set in a hard line. I held up both hands in surrender and repeated, “Just to talk.” But the front door banged and there were footsteps on the stairs. If the person was headed to the roof, they’d see us. He stepped back and jerked his head inside.
I didn’t sit and he didn’t ask me to. “I’ve missed you.” No reaction from Archer. “And I loved being with you the other night. I’m sorry you don’t feel the same way.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“True. But you’re running away, leaving a home and people you’ve grown to love because…” I left it to him to finish off the sentence.
He took a deep breath and after inspecting his nails he glanced up and looked directly at me with his one green eye and the other almost hazel but more brown. “It’s… it’s just…”
I decided to make it easy for him even though it hurt. “We can go back to being friends. Enjoy BBQs on the roof, shift with the Sunshine Manor family, enjoy a beer together. No pressure. We’ll be Archer and Micah. Two shifters who happen to live on the same floor.
While I didn’t mention it to him, us being the only two people on the third floor would be a problem for me if he started dating. But I’d had my heart broken before and Archer and I weren’t in a relationship. We’d slept together once.
“I don’t know.” He shook his head.
“Do you want to leave?”
“No. You’re right I love it here, but you and I can’t be a thing. We both know that. And it’ll be weird seeing you with other omegas.”
It was as though he’d read my mind. “I would never parade a date in front of you.” What date? I didn’t want to be with anyone. Except Archer. And based on our circumstances, that was only a temporary arrangement.
“You and I.” He waggled a finger back and forth in the space between us. “We can’t be friends.
“Archer.” I reached out meaning to do what? I hadn’t given it any thought. My fingertips grazed his cheek. It was damp, coated in a faint trace of tears. “We can try.”
Ryde r
Shit! Ivor hates working for me. Maybe I’ve been too hard on him, expecting him to take on too much. But he’s a capable kid and gets good grades at college. Also not a kid. He was in his early twenties.
I was standing in the shower at the gym, muscles aching, and an image of Kellan appeared in my head. Since we’d broken up, and been doing the are we or aren’t we dance, he’d filled my thoughts, wondering how to get him back. He wasn’t right for me if I was honest, but in saying that, I’d be admitting I made a mistake.
But as the weeks went on, I thought about him less. Except when he turned up. Sometimes at Sunshine Manor, often at work.
As I drove to the office I pictured Ivor and his cheeks that were sprinkled with freckles. Every kid with freckles used to dream if they got enough, they’d join up. And hey presto, no more freckles.
But they were adorable. Anyone’s freckles. Not Ivor’s in particular. Just freckles in general.
Ivor was already packing up boxes when I arrived. I caught a glimpse of my neat desk. Just as I liked it. Even the stapler was in the right place.
“Need any help?” I asked. Ivor was bent over a box, his denim-covered ass in full view. Nice! Not nice. It’s Ivor. My employee, Ivor.
He stood up. And I busied myself by turning on the computer and opening a drawer.
“Ryder.” I glanced up. He fiddled with the hand-held tape dispenser. “I really appreciate you giving me this job but…” He was avoiding my gaze and picking at the tape.
Damn. He’s quitting . “No need to continue, Ivor. I get it.”
“You do?” He tugged his ear.
“The job isn’t what you expected and you’ve been offered another.” Shame. I enjoyed coming to work when he was here.
“W-What?” His voice trembled. “No. Are you firing me?”
“No.”
“Really?” he asked.
“Yes!”
“I’m unclear. Do I still have a job or not?” he added.
“Absolutely. I’m very pleased with your work.”
“Phew. You had me worried for a minute.”
Daire
“And from now on we want nothing to do with that damned building.” Father was yelling and waving his hands around on screen while Dad sat beside him saying little. “That was a dirty trick you and your friends played. But if you love the place so much, it’s yours.”
Father ended the call without a goodbye.
I was proud of the Sunshine Manor family pulling off our scam. But I’d have to come up with something to bring in more money. The phone pinged again. I sighed. It’d be Father continuing his tantrum. But it was Neil. One of my oldest friends from school. The one I’d blabbed to about shifters when I’d had too much to drink. He was cool with it. Our resident human.
I need some advice. Are you free?
I wandered to the fridge and stared at the almost empty shelves, wondering if I could make fried rice with leftovers.
Got any eggs?
He did and ten minutes later we were chopping vegetables that had seen better days and frying them. “What’s going on, buddy?”
“Two things. There was a guy at work pestering me to meet up.”
“Neil, no. I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Okay, Dad,” he joked.
“Sorry to go all grizzly bear on you.”
“I love your bear.” He patted my shoulder. “But regarding the guy I mentioned, Ivor said the same thing and Archer thought we needed to dig into his background.”
“Honestly, I don’t want you going on a date with some random person.” I dropped the wok spatula on the bench. “And I’m sounding like your father again.”
“Nah, it’s okay. I’d already decided it was a lousy idea. Just wanted your opinion.”
We sat on the sofa eating our meal, me with a spoon shoveling it in and Neil using chopsticks.
“But I’ve had another offer,” he said.
“What?”
“Nothing to do with work. Well, it is, but not my online job.”
“You got a job offer?” I wasn’t crazy about Neil’s current line of work. Sure it paid the bills and he got to do it from home, but there were so many crazies online. And he did stuff ! I hated that.
“Yeah but just one morning and one afternoon a week. And I won’t get paid. It’s more volunteer work.”
“Doing what?” I put our dishes in the sink and grabbed a tub of ice-cream from the fridge along with two spoons. “Sounds as though someone’s taking advantage of you.”
“It’s coaching a youth soccer team.”
Not what I was expecting. “And?”
“I don’t know. Soccer brings up a lot of painful memories but teaching kids would be fun. ”
Neil had to quit playing professional soccer because of injuries. “But what about your anxiety? How would you handle that?”
“I was thinking of getting counseling.”
“That’s a great idea.” I patted him on the back. “I’m really proud of you.”
“You think?” He swallowed a mouthful of ice cream.
“Yeah.” I raised my spoon. He did the same and we clinked them. “Congrats.”