Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Saturdays are becoming one of my favorite days as they’ve been deemed my relaxation days.
Sundays are for preparing anything Miss Blue needs from me for the week, while every weekday is filled to the brim with errands, chores, my teaching assignment, and anything else I need to do so the first day of the weekend can be stress free.
Although normally, stress-free doesn’t include random phone calls from my brother.
“You’d better have a good reason for calling me on my sibling-free day,” I say as soon as I answer his call.
Riley bellows with laughter so loudly that I can almost imagine him with his head thrown back as he shrieks the awful sound. “Good to hear from you, too, Pals. I know today is your ‘forget-everything-exists’ day, but I wanted to run something by you.”
The sigh that escapes me is involuntary. “I don’t have anything to do on purpose. I work hard throughout the week, so I don’t have to think about anything today. You should try it. For your mental health.”
He makes an awful scoffing sound. “Please. I have the best mental health of the family. At least I didn’t call you during your oh-so-busy week you’re telling me about.”
“Fine, go ahead and say your piece,” I say, pretending to be annoyed, but the truth is, Riley is my closest sibling.
Being Irish twins, we kind of have to be.
All our other siblings are a few years younger than us.
The youngest just entered middle school this past fall.
I had wanted to go a few towns over to attend Bensen, just out of reach, so that I couldn’t live at home.
Not that I would want to, it was always a madhouse and I enjoy my quiet space.
But Riley was never like that. He loved being a caretaker to our siblings and helping our parents with everything they needed. He opted to stay home and go to community college, which he will be graduating from this spring.
He loves being around family, ever the extrovert. Which is why it stuns me when he says, “I want to move to the West Coast.”
I immediately halt. “Have we gone into an alternate reality? What are you talking about?”
“There’s this small town in California. I’ve only seen it in pictures and through stories, but it sounds like a magical place. Their bookstore owner just moved away, and I want to go there after graduation to take it over.”
That last part isn’t out of the realm of possibility at all, considering that’s been Riley’s dream for as long as I can remember. It all aligns way too perfectly.
“But what about mom and dad?” I ask. “Do they know?”
“Not yet. I wanted to talk to you first, because I know this will seem… out-of-character to them.”
“Well, yeah. You love Massachusetts.”
“I do, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ve already been in contact with a realtor and the mayor about taking over the bookstore.”
I think about it for a few moments. It would suck not to have my big brother around, but I have to start thinking about these things as well.
College is coming to an end for both of us.
I only have one more year before I have to start thinking about permanent placements and where I want to look for one.
I don’t blame him for looking for the perfect opportunity to own his dream store.
“Are you sure this is safe? Someone could be dangling this opportunity above you like a golden carrot so they can kidnap you.”
That results in a hearty laugh. “No, Opal. No one is trying to kidnap me to a place literally known as the coziest coast on Earth.”
“I know, but it sounds… too good to be true,” I say carefully.
“Something is calling me there. I know it,” he says, soft in a way that extinguishes my argument completely.
I give a heavy sigh, but I know one’s instincts must be followed. I knew I was supposed to follow Cindy to Bensen University, but I thought it was to preserve our friendship. Really, it was to lead me to new friends.
And to my scent matches.
“Okay,” I say, giving up the fight. “If you feel like this is something you need to do, you should do it.”
“Really? You mean it?” he asks, relief in his tone. I can almost see a smile on his dopey face.
“Yes, I do. But there will be conditions.”
“Oh?” he replies. “Pray tell.”
There’s some unexpected emotion as I say, “You have to call every Saturday to tell me how it’s going.”
After we hang up, I’m a bit out of sorts. I decide to play some games since I have enough time today to do so. When I stop by Kit’s room, it’s slightly ajar but empty.
I try not to let it disappoint me that the other omega isn’t here to keep me company.
I’ve gotten used to him being around every day, especially since he is usually the only other housemate who’s home most of the time.
I imagine it’s quite lonely for him, being in this big house all by himself day-by-day, but then again, I wonder if I’m just projecting that thought onto him.
It’s not uncommon for an omega to enjoy their time by themselves.
When I walk into the living room to play games by myself, I find it already occupied.
My body immediately tenses the second I see Thatcher.
He’s sitting back on the couch, his attention solely on his phone screen.
His thigh muscles bulge beneath a pair of tight work-out shorts in a way that my omega simply can’t ignore.
Between those slutty shorts and his minty scent, I’m already a goner.
He doesn’t even look up when he hears me walk in and stare. I open my mouth to say hello, but then immediately shut it in fear of the rejection that would follow if he blatantly ignored me.
I force that away and huff at myself. This brute of an alpha can’t make me go away, not in my own home. I won’t let it affect me, no matter how he answers.
So, instead of running away, I force myself to say, “Where’s Kit?”
Thatcher doesn’t take his eyes off his phone as he says, “Sam swooped him away for a little romantic getaway. You know, for Valentine’s Day.”
There’s a hint of something in his tone that I can’t decipher, but then I remember this past weekend. The way Sam teased Kit about his date plans and I place my palm on my forehead.
I completely forgot about Valentine’s Day.
“Oh, so when Sam said he had a whole day planned, he really meant the whole day? Even tonight.” I think out loud.
Thatcher nods, still not looking up. “I guess so.”
“Okay then,” I pause, almost like I’m walking on eggshells around this alpha. “What are your plans for the day?”
He gestures around himself. “You’re looking at it.”
One of my brows rises comedically high, then I look around the room. The only light is coming in through the window behind the couch. The TV is muted and rotating sounds venture out of Thatcher’s phone speaker.
“You’re just going to doomscroll all day?” I ask.
He looks up at me then, a tiny flash of something on his face before he shrugs. “There’s a game on tonight that I might watch,” he says, and goes back to his phone, but much less relaxed than before.
His mint scent singes slightly, like the aroma of burning leaves.
I didn’t mean to judge his plans, having apparently put my foot in my mouth, but it got to him nevertheless.
His insecurity bleeds out of his scent as he tries to distract himself once more with the temporary dopamine of short videos.
I scuffle my feet, kicking imaginary dirt as I hesitate to speak, but then I muster up the courage and rip the Band-Aid off before I can walk away by saying, “Maybe we can hang out.”
His eyes meet mine once more and they nearly take me out. I didn’t notice before, but they’re the most decadent brown I’ve ever seen, little flashes of gold shimmering in the center. They widen at the indication.
“Us?” he asks incredulously.
I steel my spine. “Yes, us. Why not? We’re both single, so we don’t have anything better to do or anywhere else to be.”
Thatcher swallows. The movement of his throat would be distracting if it weren’t for the furrowed brows on his face. His eyes dart away. “What about your friends? Maybe you can hang out with them.”
A laugh bursts out of me. “What? My two friends who are newly bonded? You think they’d be available to hang out on Valentine’s Day?”
“Shit, you’re right. I forgot they were bonded.”
The amusement continues to tickle me pink. “Yeah, I wouldn’t risk going near them with a ten-foot pole today.”
Thatcher chuckles and my head jolts up at the sound. It’s so foreign, so mind-throttling. When he notices me looking at him, he flattens his lips and clears his throat.
“Didn’t you live with someone before you moved in? Maybe you can hang out with her.”
His question startles me and my smile falls. He asked about my friends and I only thought about Rory and Stacia. The horror of what just happened seeps in almost immediately. Maybe I was wrong about why Cindy’s and my friendship is in this current state… maybe I’m the bad friend in this scenario.
“Hey,” Thatcher says softly, and I realize I’ve been staring off into space for a few moments. “Where did you go?”
I sit down on the couch, feeling guilty. “I did live with a friend, but we haven’t felt like friends for a long time,” I admit. “So much so that I didn’t even remember her until you asked.”
Thatcher looks sympathetic, and his head tilts to turn his whole attention to me. “I’m sorry. Sometimes it’s hard to live with people, even when you like them.”
“Maybe… but even before that, our friendship was strained.”
The alpha looks mildly uncomfortable. Maybe he isn’t one for emotions, or maybe my sudden onset of problems is too much for him, but then he asks, “Did you guys have a fight?”
The question is so simple, but there’s something so innocent about it that it brings a smile to my face.
A weak one, considering the subject matter, but a smile still.
“It probably would have been better if we did,” I say candidly.
“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to bring the mood down.
Maybe you should spend the holiday with someone less… confused.”
The word comes out, and I realize I’m not just referencing my friendship with Cindy, but also my presence in this house.
Even now, his scent calls to me and I can’t do a damn thing about it.
If I leaned towards him, if I closed any contact between us, he would look at me like I was from Mars.
No one in this house can smell me. This connection is one-sided, and I am falling deeper into it by the minute.
“Wait,” he says as I stand up to leave. I turn to look at him, halted in my spot. He looks strained, hesitant. His hand rubs the back of his neck, staring at the floor as he works through whatever is happening in his mind. Finally, he heaves a heavy sigh and pats the spot beside him. “Come on.”
I widen my eyes at him. “Really?”
He nods. “I think hanging out”—he coughs slightly—“with you could be fun. And you’re right.
I have nowhere else to be. I’d rather not be…
” He lets the sentence linger, the last word forgotten, but he doesn’t need to clarify.
It’s the same reason why I went looking for Kit, why I came down here and pushed my luck with him.
Being alone, especially today, doesn’t sound like fun.
But being near a grumpy, complicated alpha might just be, which is why I take my seat next to him with an uplifted energy.