25. Teddy
Chapter 25
O f course, the other omegas here are interested in Sam. The man is fucking hot. I growl at a few of the younger ones who come up asking me to introduce them. These girls aren’t my friends, they’ve never been my friends, and trying to poach my fucking alpha is certainly not the way to get on my good side.
I’m practically dragging poor Sam across the lawn to my dorm when Sarah bursts out of the double doors. She runs at me full tilt, throwing her arms around my neck and nearly dragging me to the ground—something of a feat for a girl that I have a foot of height and about a hundred pounds on. Unfortunately for most of the people around her, what she lacks in size, she makes up for in attitude .
As if to emphasize this, she’s wrapped around me like a fucking spider monkey and starts screaming at the girls who followed us. “What the hell is wrong with you thirsty bitches? Begone thots! This is Teddy’s alpha, and I’m gonna kick all your asses if you don’t back the fuck off right now!”
I squeeze her in a quick hug before pulling her off me and setting her on the ground, and her switch flips immediately. “Hi! You must be Sam. I’m so excited to meet you. Thicc, you didn’t tell me how fucking hot he is! Why didn’t you send me pictures? And you didn’t bring Kelly, is she ok? Are you ok?”
She’s grabbed me by the elbows and is trying to shake me back and forth until Sam steps up and wraps his arm around me. “Ms. Sarah, it’s an honor to finally meet you. Teddy’s told us how important you are to him.”
She blushes nearly scarlet, and it lights up her olive skin. It’s adorable, and I’ve never seen her blush. Holy shit! But she’s doing it at my alpha, and it makes me want to growl. “Sorry, Kelly has work and school. She’s trying to graduate this semester. Plus, there’s Jake. We didn’t want to leave him home alone.” At her look of confusion, I take out my phone and pull up a picture I took of Kelly cuddled on the couch with the big dog. He looks like he’s in heaven, all four legs in the air.
“Holy fucking shit, Thicc. They’re both adorable. You lucky bitch! I want a puppy!” Sam’s loud bark of laughter draws both of our attention back to him for a few moments, while he and I contemplate Jake as a puppy .
“I don’t know, Shorty. I’m pretty sure Mr. Shaggbutt wouldn’t be happy if you got a puppy.” I chuckle at her look of consternation.
She stares at me thoughtfully, finally shaking her head. “No, I guess you’re right. Shaggy would rip me a new one if I got a dog. Possessive little bastard.” She looks up at Sam. “Does Jake like bunnies? I could bring Shaggy and come visit Teddy once you all get settled in. Maybe meet some of your local alphas?” Her eyebrows waggle suggestively.
“Darlin, I’m not sure if the alphas back in Mississippi could handle you. You seem like a spitfire. Gimme a few months to finish up the guest room and build a hutch for Shaggy, and you’re welcome any time. You’re important to Teddy, so you’re always welcome.”
She seems to melt listening to Sam’s slow southern drawl, her eyes fluttering briefly before turning back to me. “Yeah, Teddy, I think I need one of these. Hook me up.”
S arah jabbers on as we sit in the open common area. Sam’s knee bounces, and it’s obvious he wants to get back to the hospital. My mind is still spinning with the news about Brice, but everything that’s happened since I talked to Mom has thrown me for a loop. Finally, Sam stands up and takes my hand to pull me into a tight hug.
“Remember what I said; you need anything, you call. I’ll be here as quick as I can. I love you. We’ll get this shit sorted out and head back as soon as we can. Hopefully, the hospital will let me in to see Garret, and tomorrow we’ll stop by to get you and all your nest. Then we can get the hell home.”
He pulls my shoulders down so he can kiss the top of my head, then my nose, then capture my lips with his, and I want to melt against him, drag him back to my nest, and do naughty, naughty things to him. But we have a no unbonded alphas in the dorms rule, plus I don’t want to invite any more omegas to scent him and get any ideas.
In truth, nobody wants bonded alphas in the dorms, either. It can lead to heat spikes and all kinds of crazy shit. However, it would be nice to have help for packing up all my stuff. I might be able to have Sarah help, since I’m used to her, and I’ll need to wash it all when we get home, anyway.
I’m so lost in thought waving to a retreating Sam that I don’t notice how still Sarah has gotten. When my attention finally returns to her, her face is red and angry, and she starts talking before I can ask what’s wrong. “He said Garret, didn’t he? It’s not that common of a name, Thicc…” She doesn’t finish the sentence, but I see the question glaring at me from her eyes.
Scrubbing my hands down my face, I give her the best answer available. “It’s a long fucking story, Shorty. You feel like coming upstairs and watching me pack while I go over the batshit crazy that is currently my life?” She huffs at me, crossing her arms and scowling suspiciously, before finally throwing her hands in the air.
“You don’t owe me an explanation, Teddy. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop worrying about you. Can I at least take your stoic silence to mean that these are the same twins who broke you before we met?”
When I don’t answer, she starts cursing profusely, a long and loud combination of English and Spanish words that would probably make my mother faint. She finally tapers off, taking a deep breath, and pointing towards the door of what’s been our shared home for the last decade. “Alright, Thicc. But if I’m doing manual labor, I expect gratuitous amounts of pizza and gossip. Not necessarily in that order.”
And that’s why I love Sarah. She may not agree with all my choices or life decisions, but she still supports me. My palms rub over my leather cuffs again, and her eyes turn stony. “Do they know? Those little bastards, do they know what they did to you?”
I shake my head, not able to answer without either lashing out or crying. Not that I know which one it would be at this point, and neither would be helpful. Her hand lands on my forearm, tracing over the tattoo of the pillar, and the scars hidden underneath. “Do the rest of your pack, Sam or Kelly?”
I shake my head ‘no’ again, which elicits another round of profanity from my best friend. I didn’t realize how much I missed her, how much I’m going to miss her soon. I take a deep breath, wanting to pull her against me and hug her until she stops bitching, but we don’t really have a hugging relationship—recent actions to the contrary. I’ve just spent so much time with Kelly and Sam over the last couple of weeks that I’ve gotten used to it, and now I want one. Plus, it sounds like Sarah could use one.
She stops her rant, takes a deep breath, and lets it out again. “That’s fine…this is fine. Everything’s fine.” We pass Lily, another omega on our floor, and her eyes flare in concern at the loud sounds of annoyance my best friend makes, but she still gives me a timid smile and a wave as we pass.
Returning her smile with one of my own, I follow Sarah down the hallway. Her suite is across the hall from mine. She opens her door and pulls out a stack of boxes, rolls of tape, and trash bags from her room before following me into mine.
Looking around, I take in the space that’s been my home for so long. It hasn’t been the full ten years since I saw the guys, but close enough that it doesn’t matter. Sarah’s the only one who ever comes in here other than me, but I still like to keep the place clean. I go into my nest first and start pulling my blankets and pillows off the bed, stuffing them into the bags to clean when I get home.
Sarah stands in the doorway watching me, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, and I don’t know if it’s because she’ll miss me or she’s worried. After a minute, I give up and wrap her in the hug we both need .
It’s awkward, and she pulls away after only a moment. “Thanks, Thicc. Sorry I’m just…I’m gonna miss you.” She takes a loud, wet sniff and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “Now, spill. What the fuck has been going on that you actually let those fuckers back into your life? Give me a reason not to choke Steve with his own severed dick.”
I wince and bring my knees together in sympathy. I would not want this tiny woman mad at me. “Ok. Just hear me out…”
I n her defense, she listens to the full story of everything that happened since Brice and Joseph picked me up from the airport. Going full goo-goo eyed over my meeting Kelly and Sam. Scowling when I tell her about Brice calling my mom. Then cheering when it comes to the part about Steve and Garret being stuck in the snow, and booing when I talked Sam into letting them stay with us.
By the time I’m finished stuffing pillows in bags, and stripping all but the basic blankets from my nest—so I still have a place to sleep tonight—we’ve reached the part about today and our arrival in Los Angeles at their apartment. Her gaze grows darker and darker as she learns about Brice being sick, and then the visit from Garret’s dad, and his ensuing hospitalization.
By the time I finish talking, we’ve moved into the tiny living room, and all my books are boxed up. Sarah watches me intently as I pick Jessie up, running my fingers down her strings before putting her in the hard case with my spare picks.
Sarah hasn’t said anything since the story ended, and I wonder what she thinks. Closing the latches on Jessie’s case, I turn back to my best friend for the last several years. She’s chewing on her thumbnail and staring intently at the carpet.
Finally, her eyes raise to meet mine and she opens her mouth, closes it, and chews on her nail for another minute before wiping her hand on her jeans. “So, you didn’t know? You grew up with these assholes, and you had no idea their dad was an abusive fuck?” I shake my head, ashamed that I never realized what was happening to my friends growing up.
“And none of them know about your…” She waves her hands at my cuffs. “…forays into unlicensed body modification?” She doesn’t like to say the words, but we both know what she means. I shake my head again. She flops onto the couch. It’s not mine—it came with the suite and will get sanitized and de-scented before the next room occupant.
Her big brown eyes look up at me, a darker chocolate color than Kelly’s honey brown. “What the hell are you gonna do, T? They should probably know.”
Her hand shoots out, forestalling my argument as I sit next to her. “No, I know, I know it’s not gonna happen again. You’ve worked your shit out more. You know you have people to talk to, and outlets. I get that. But…they have a right to know…fuck, you have a right for them to know what they put you through. You sure you don’t want me to just break their legs? Just like…a little. One kneecap, I can do a kneecap easy.”
Sarah smiles up at me, and fuck, I’ll miss her so damned much.
“I’ll tell them when I’m ready. It’s not like I’m trying to keep secrets, but it’s been busy.” Her eyebrow goes up, before she asks the question I knew was coming. “Oh, no…you’re not hiding it. So…have they seen you without these on?”
Her finger runs over the leather around my right wrist, and I slide it out of her reach with a mumbled, “No.”
“Ok, T…well, I’m not gonna nag. But you could tell. That alpha, Sam…you’re it for him, man. He looks at you like you hung the fucking moon.” I smile at the thought of my big mate. “And he deserves to know the truth about the two guys you’ve moved into his house.”
She holds her hand up again to stop my argument. “No, I know, it’s not like they fucking held you down and slashed your wrist themselves. I get that. But they broke you…almost to the point you didn’t come back. And I would have been really fucking lonely if you weren’t here.” She sniffs loudly, big tears rolling down her cheeks. But I don’t try to hug her again, just hand her one of the throw pillows from the couch and watch as she wraps herself around it, rocking back and forth .
It takes a few minutes for her to calm down, but eventually the sniffles ease up. Her voice comes muffled from where her face is still pressed against the pillow. “And just…fuck you for leaving me here on my own. What the hell am I gonna do without you?” This declaration is followed by a watery chuckle, and another sniff.