29. Kelly
Chapter 29
S teve is coming back to campus with me today. After his run in with Spence yesterday, I didn’t think he’d want to. Not that the bigger alpha would explain anything to us. He had his outburst, then left. He didn’t even say goodbye, just walked out.
Thankfully, it’s Friday, and almost everything is caught up at the shop. I get to leave work early, and we head over to school to hit the union and grab our lunch before my first class.
Spence is there again, and while he glares at Steve, he doesn’t say anything else. I really want to ask him what he was talking about yesterday, but I don’t want him to throttle Steve again, especially since he’s once again wearing my clothes. He really needs to start washing them when he’s done .
We’ve barely made it to stand in line for our food when my phone rings—Teddy’s picture pops up. It’s one I took of him last week asleep on the couch with Jake, and they look adorkable together. Answering the phone, my smile is already in place—I’ve really missed all three of them. It sucks that I got stuck here with the only one I don’t want to snuggle. The one who happens to keep cuddling me in his sleep. I don’t even mind that so much now that I’m expecting it. I just wish he’d stop freaking out.
“Hey, Pixie. Are you free to talk? I didn’t catch you in class or driving, right?” His voice is a deep rumble that I want to cuddle into. I can hear other voices in the background, Sam’s gravelly growl, Garret’s more cultured accent, and a higher pitch woman.
“No, Steve and I just got to campus. We were gonna grab lunch before class starts.” He’s quiet for a minute, and I have to hold my hand out to smack at Steve’s grabby hands when he tries to snatch the phone from me. Giving up, I step out of line and put the phone on speaker so he can hear too.
“Oh, Vee’s there too? Wait, is everything ok? No…Fucking shit! Goddamnit Sarah, give me my fucking phone. Son of a bitch!” The phone cuts out for a moment and I’m glad I don’t have it up to my ear anymore because Sarah’s loud screech rings echoes through the entire room. “You little son of a bitch! How dare you come close to Teddy again. If I could get my hands on you, I’d wring your fucking neck. He may be sweet enough to let you back in, but he’s obviously an idiot for doing so. ”
There’s a sharp intake of breath in the background, along with a low growl that sounds like Sam, then Teddy yelling, “Sarah, goddamnit, give me back my fucking phone.”
But Sarah seems to be on a tear, and while I can tell she switched to Spanish, I don’t remember enough from high school to actually understand what she’s saying. Plus, if I had to guess, they wouldn’t teach some of these words in class. “Teo, tal vez yo me haya disculpado que sigues un Hijo de Perra. ?Si descubro que lo lastimaste, te voy arrancar tu pito y te lo metere en el culo! ?Si esta lastimado por tu culpa, te voy a matar Desgraciado! Si crees que saldrías con la tuya por lastimar a mis amigos, Yo voy destruir tu puta vida!”
The phone goes silent after a moment, Steve staring at it intently. His skin’s gone pale and washed out. Several other people around the room are watching us in slack jawed horror, and I really wish I spoke Spanish right now. Even Spence is back to giving Steve a death glare. Finally, I hear some grunting, and Teddy comes back on the line.
“Sorry about that…um, Sarah says hi. Fucking hell. So yeah. You all good?” He sounds embarrassed and I can hear more yelling in the background as well as Sam’s growl getting louder.
I don’t even get a chance to think about my answer before Spence is tapping on my shoulder, his voice a loud stage whisper. “Hey, he said her name’s Sarah…is she looking for a pack? Her voice is so sweet.” I gape at the big alpha next to me, wondering what in that tirade sounded sweet to him, but he’s gazing adoringly at my phone .
The yelling in the background has gone quiet, but Teddy rushes out. “I’m sorry, Kelly, Vee…um…Spence, but we need to go. I just wanted to let you know we’re about to get on the road to head your way. It’s still a long ass drive, and Garret can’t take a turn, but hopefully we’ll make it back sometime late tomorrow. I miss you both so much. Just another day and we can have lots of snuggles. Love you.”
The phone beeps and the call ends before either of us can reply. The yelling in the background had reached a near fever pitch, with even Sam joining in right before it was disconnected. Spence looks between Steve and me. “So, um…Kelly, do you speak Spanish, like…at all? Pretty sure the jackass here does.” He throws his thumb over his shoulder at Steve before lumbering off.
Steve has gone from pale to green, and I throw up my hands, dismissing the idea of lunch with everyone gawking at us, anyway. Grabbing his hand, I half drag him out of the union. “Ok, you clearly know what the hell she was saying. Spill or I’m hiding all my clothes,” I say, flicking the collar of the shirt he stole today.
He stares down at me, his eyes big and round and full of tears. His throat works and I take a step back, not sure if he’s gonna speak or spew, but not wanting to be within range for the latter option. A loud sob breaks from him, and tears run down his face—I give up and lead him away. Looks like no class for me today.
With nothing else to do, I tow Steve back to the car and buckle him in. Spence has disappeared completely and honestly, I can’t handle any more alpha crap today, so I’m fine with that. We drive home in relative silence, the only sound the occasional thump of the road and Steve’s soft whimpers. I still have no idea what’s going on, but hopefully he’ll calm down soon and I can get some answers.
Jake’s waiting on the porch when we get home, and his head tilts at me when I help Steve out of the car. Whether it’s because he’s already memorized my schedule, or he’s wondering about the crying alpha I’m basically dragging along, there’s no way to tell. Regardless, he seems almost subdued when we get to the door, nosing at Steve’s hand and pressing his body against the alpha’s legs. Their low whines are almost echoes of each other.
Depositing Steve on the couch with Jake trying to crawl into his lap, I head into the kitchen. Hot chocolate with whipped cream is now, apparently, our thing. I put the kettle on and pull down a couple of mugs. I know it’ll take longer, but hopefully that’ll give me time to think. My brain struggles to remember what Sarah said—also now I’m kicking myself for not paying better attention to school. Teddy was definitely the subject and something about pulling.
BLARGH!
I was never any good at languages.
Most days I’m doing good to English.
What was that movie?
“I only speak two languages, English and Bad-English. ”
Yup, sounds about right.
My hands fist in my hair, tugging. The pressure feels nice, and honestly between cramps, hormones, lack of snuggles, and now the hysterical alpha on the couch, I really want to just say ‘fudge it’ and go crawl in bed. But no, I don’t get to do that, because I have to be the responsible one.
Crud.
Fine.
Whatever!
The kettle starts puffing out steam, making a halting whistle, and it’s as good a time as any to get this stuff sorted out. I roughly measure out the hot cocoa powder into each cup, and pour in water, stirring a bit too vigorously in my frustration so that some splashes over the side. Because why not?
Adding a spray of whipped cream to the top of each one, I carry both cups into the living room and set them on the coffee table. Jake’s nose lifts from Steve’s lap and he stares longingly at my whipped cream. I don’t know if Sam would be ok with him getting a little cup of his own as a treat, so that’ll be a question for when they get back.
Steve is hugging himself tightly and rocking back and forth. It’s tempting to go get one of the pillows out of the boxes that were delivered, but that just seems like it’d be delaying the inevitable conversation we need to have. He jerks when I touch his knee, his eyes coming up to meet mine.
Honestly, he looks terrible, his face all red and puffy, and I wonder briefly if he’s stopped crying at all since the phone conversation. Should I get him some water? He needs to stay hydrated. This is just another delay tactic, though, and I won’t let myself do it.
I don’t want to have this conversation.
Might as well just rip it off like a Band-Aid.
“Ok, Steve. You’re gonna have to explain to me what the heck happened. ’Cause my Spanish stinks. What exactly did she say that got you so upset? And what was up with Spence yesterday? He didn’t say anything, and you acted like it didn’t happen. I wanna be on your side, but I need to know what’s goin’ on.” There, mostly concise, straightforward, easy.
It’s never that easy.
Should I slap him, see if that resets his wonky brain?
It could be fun.
But probably won’t help.
Let's set that as a back-up option.
He swallows a few times, and I wonder again if I should have gotten water, but no. Steve’s a big boy, even if he is having a meltdown. I want to be supportive, but he needs something to snap him out of being a zombie, even if that just means getting his own water. His eyes glance from me to the cocoa and back again. His hand starts stroking Jake’s ears, and the big dog grumbles and settles deeper against the alpha.
When he still doesn’t speak, I wave my hand in front of his face. “Steve. Earth to Steve, come in Steve.” He blinks at me a few times before he swallows with a dry clicking sound.
Yeah, shoulda got that water .
Oh well, too late now.
Steve shakes out his shoulders. His voice isn’t much more than a whisper, a low rasp. “Sorry, Kelly, I got kind of lost there for…” He looks around the room, finally taking everything in. “…awhile, I guess. I…what were you asking?”
Now I really do want to shake him. “I asked what Sarah was talkin’ about. I don’t speak Spanish, or at least, not as well as you and Spence do, apparently. And what was up with Spence yesterday? You’ve been acting like it didn’t happen ever since we got home last night.” His head bobs up and down, and I don’t know if that means he’s going to answer, or if he’s just acknowledging what I said.
The nodding tapers off, but his voice is still croaky. He picks up one of the cocoa mugs and blows across the top before taking a sip and humming to himself. “I’m…still not sure exactly what happened with Spence yesterday, but after what Sarah said, I have a few ideas. My Spanish isn’t bad. It’s used a lot back in L.A. I don’t speak it well, but I can understand, somewhat…if that makes sense.”
Nodding along, I make a go-ahead motion. Steve takes another sip before speaking again. “Ok, so the basic gist of what Sarah said was threats. Teddy may be willing to forgive me, but she isn’t. If I hurt him again, she’ll rip off chunks of my anatomy and shove them up other parts of my anatomy.” His eyes finally come up to meet mine.
“But there was also something about him hurting himself, and her killing me. There was a bit at the end about me not escaping…but…the mention of Teddy hurting himself. And yesterday, Spence talking about scars…I’m…it sounds like Teddy did something, but I haven’t really noticed any scars. I mean, I haven’t gone over him with a fine-tooth comb in the last week, but nothing major stands out. Still, what if I did make him hurt himself? What if…”
I don’t hear the rest of what he’s saying because my brain is replaying what Billy talked about on Wednesday at the store, about blood and scars. It didn’t trigger anything at the time, because, well, I’m bleeding this week, and like Steve, I haven’t really seen any big scars on Teddy. The only markings I’ve really noticed are his tattoos…though come to think of it, Spence mentioned those too and was looking at them. I wish my omega was here so I could look at them again myself.
Nausea rolls through me, and I’m glad I haven’t drunk any of the cocoa, because I think I might vomit as I realize what kind of scars are usually on the forearms. Something you might be self-conscious about and want to cover up, especially if you wear a wide band that covers your wrist too.
Nearly tripping over my own feet, I scramble for the bathroom. There’s a commotion behind me as Jake jumps off the couch and tries to follow. I hear Steve calling me, but I barely have time to get the toilet lid open before I vomit bile into the bowl. Thank fuck we didn’t get lunch yet.
My mostly healed knees throb where I hit the floor. I spit in the toilet before sitting up, reaching for toilet-paper to wipe my mouth with, and flushing. It’s suddenly too cold in here, and Jake sticking his nose in my ear with a low whine doesn’t help. I want to comfort my cuddly boy, but my mind is spinning, throwing out images of Teddy, always wearing those bands of leather around his arms. How he rubs at them when he gets nervous or upset.
My mind flashes to the long pillar running behind the card on his left arm, almost like he needed something just a little longer than the other side. My stomach rolls again, and I lean back over the toilet, but nothing comes out but spit. My head weighs a ton, and I just want to lie on the floor in here and stop thinking. Stop putting the stupid puzzle pieces together.
A knock on the doorframe draws my attention. Steve towers over me. His voice is still croaky. “What happened? Are you ok?”
Physically, yes.
Mentally, not sure.
Oh, wait, no, it feels like my knees might be bleeding again.
Physically, mostly.
I need to get a rug for in here.
I sit up, and let him pull me to standing, then limp back out to the couch with Steve and Jake following close behind. Shucking off my work jeans before I try to sit on the couch, I don’t think Sam’s gonna be mad about me hanging out in my underwear on his furniture, Jake won’t care, and Steve can lump it, ’cause my knees frigging hurt.
Hey, look, more blood. At least it’s distracting, and it lets me take a couple of deep breaths and focus on the sting rather than the picture that my mind wants me desperately to keep putting together. Steve shuffles around the side of the couch after Jake, and it takes more willpower than I like to admit not to scream when I hear, “Really, Kelly. Why the hell did you take your pants off? I don’t need to see that.”
In truth, the urge to pick up my still warm drink and chuck it at his face is really strong right now, and I try to tune his voice out to avoid doing just that. He’s just so danged…mean. What did I ever do to him? He may have known Teddy first, but he left. He left our omega behind because he was too much of a coward to stand up to his dad. There’s probably stuff I don’t know about, but that’s the gist of it, and now he has the audacity to complain about my taking off my frigging pants so I don’t bleed all over my stupid work clothes. After I went through the trouble of making him a hot chocolate and everything.
No, I’m done.
I don’t care.
Steve can shove it.
I’ve tried, I’ve done everything in my power to help and be friendly.
He’s never gonna be happy with me being around, so he can just suck it.
Spinning on my heel, my hand is moving before I even realize what’s happening. The loud crack of skin on skin when it connects with his cheek surprises us both, and Jake starts barking. Steve stares at me like I just slapped him, and going by the bright red palm print on his face, I guess I did .
Jake hops back and forth around the coffee table, baying a loud drawn-out howl. He seems to be trying to get close to each of us. As much as I want to comfort him right now, I can’t even speak without screaming. So instead, I bend over, pick up my good jeans and carry them up the stairs so I can try to wash the blood out of the knees, and bandage up my aching legs.
Maybe I’ll lock the bedroom door and just go to bed early. Steve can sleep down on the couch or in Teddy’s room, but I just can’t anymore today. I can feel him watching me as I walk up the stairs to the master bedroom, but he’s not stupid enough to say anything else. I guess I was an idiot for thinking he might have actually been worried enough about me getting sick that he wouldn’t be a critical butthead for five minutes.
Guess I was wrong.