8. Hannah
Hannah
Me
I'm sorry Cady, I had to leave. I'll text you when I get home.
M y head falls back against the headrest of my car and stuff another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. Thank gods there's an ice cream shop between Cady's house and my apartment. Chocolate ice cream and hot fudge with marshmallow whip does something to ease the aching chasm inside of me.
Not enough, but something.
I'm such a wreck, I ordered it for delivery on the app and put the address as their parking lot, so I wouldn't have to go inside with my puffy red eyes and sniffling nose. So now I'm sitting in the parking lot, stuffing my face full of the ice cream that usually never fails to comfort me.
This is hell.
I finally find my scent matches, and who are they? An alpha who already made it clear he didn't want me, and another alpha who is too mature, too…sophisticated for an omega like me.
Austin already thinks I'm a hot mess, and I just fucking proved his point with how I ran off. I'm sure Enzo isn't far behind him on that train of thought. Who wants an omega who can't even talk to her own true scent matches?
A bitter laugh leaves me as I shove more ice cream in my mouth. It makes sense now, why I never found my match at the Omega Matching Service. They aren't a pack.
Gods, I wish Nana were here. She'd know what to say. What to do. She'd whip out some weird metaphor that makes no sense, yet magically solves all the problems of the world.
Pulling up my voicemail log, I hit play on Nana's again and her comforting voice fills the car. " Hi there Nana. You don't have to worry about calling me back, I just wanted to check in and see how you're settling into your new apartment. I'm hoping it's better than the last one."
The voicemail is interrupted by a text, and my brows furrow when I see that it's from my brother.
Kieren
Heads up, Charlie Williams just asked me for your number.
Fuck. Why is he doing this? He broke my heart once and now he's back for more? In what world does he think that I'd ever give him a chance to destroy me again?
Me
Thanks. Don't give it to him. Did you ever tell him that I'm an omega?
I don't think Kieren would tell Charlie the one thing I asked him to never divulge, but I need to know if that's why he's come back to me after all these years.
If Cat really was right about him. That's what stings after all this time, the idea that he would only want me because I ended up presenting.
Kieren
No, though I don't know why you're keeping it from him.
Me
It might be out of the bag now. He just showed up at a party that Cady was having for her grumpy-ass alpha and he was there. Like AT the party. I had to bolt.
Kieren
I'm not surprised you ran into him. He got traded to the Meteors. Don't think it was a coincidence that it was right after that anniversary post where you were in the background of that photo of Cady
My brows furrow as I stare at my phone. What photo? But more importantly…
Me
You knew he was coming here and didn't think to give me a heads up?
As expected, my brother had been pissed after he found out about my relationship with Charlie, even if it was after I left.
He doesn't know why we ended, just that I was heartbroken enough to leave our hometown of Laguna Falls.
Not that he didn't try to find out if he should fuck up the other alpha big time or just a little bit, but after a rather dramatic video call where I called him, screaming at him to not embarrass me more than I already had been…
he relented. Less than a year later the two of them were back to being buddies, and I let it go, since I was three hours away and wanted nothing more than to forget that Charlie Williams ever existed.
Then he shows up here. Calling me "mags" and looking at me like I hung the moon.
As if.
My phone vibrates with my brother's answer, and I stuff my face with another spoon of ice cream to see what he has to say for himself.
Kieren
You guys need to get your shit together. Was I weirded out when we were kids? Hell yeah. But it's obvious the guy is still in love with you.
I let out a muffled scream as I suppress the urge to throw my phone across the car. Charlie was never in love with me. I was simply a placeholder until he found his real omega. I saw the texts. Cat made damn sure of that.
I'm not even going to grace him with a response.
Maybe I shouldn't have blocked Charlie's social media accounts. Then I would have known he was being traded and been more prepared to see him.
My phone buzzes with another text, but it's not my brother.
Speak of the bitch.
Cat
Don't ignore me, Hannah. We need to talk.
Fuck. Deciding I'm already in a shit mood, I figure I should listen to the voicemails my step-sisters left. It can't get any worse, right?
Less than a minute later, Cat's shrieking voice fills the speakers of my car and I wince, turning it down.
"You conniving little bitch!" My brows shoot up as she keeps going.
"How the hell did you get that old bat to give you everything?
" I nearly drop the phone. Everything? That can't be right.
There's no way Nana wouldn't have given her biological granddaughters something.
"One damn dollar! That's what Birdie, Rue and I got! Not a penny more!"
Oh.
A man's voice is quiet in the background and she cuts off, before snapping, "Don't fucking touch me, Roland!
" Then she starts speaking into the phone again.
"You're going to give us what we're owed, Hannah!
You aren't even related to her!" The call cuts off, and I'm left staring slack-jawed at the phone.
Nana left me…everything? Why would she do that?
Well, now that I think about it, it's not that surprising, considering I'm the one who's been with her the last twelve years. Birdie, Cat, and Rue hadn't called for a birthday, texted to check on her after her hip surgery six years ago, or even sent a freaking Christmas card the last twelve years.
Nana may not have been my biological grandmother, but she was my grandma in every way that counted. You would think that her own son would make sure his kids were checking in with her, but not even Mom and Paul have been in contact as much as they should have.
I don't know what it is, but Mom changed when she married Paul.
Mine and Kieran's dad always had a way of bringing the world around us to life, letting us live in the moment.
But then he died in a car accident when I was seven, and Mom met Paul two years later.
True, he did bring her out of her depression, but she didn't come out of it the same person.
Not in a way to where I would say grief changed her, but she stopped caring about the things that used to matter the most. Family dinners were no longer a priority. Her hair appointments were more important than coming to my dance recitals.
The first time Cat caught me crying in my room after Mom missed my first solo performance, she told me to quit crying, it's not like her parents ever came to her violin recital.
Kieran had been there, and told her to cut it out, and I know that it bothered him that she didn't care about his baseball games anymore.
It might have been different if she was so lost in her grief that she couldn't function, but no. She was just lost in Paul.
I can't say I can blame her for it either, broken bonds have killed the omegas left behind.
If she had other bonds besides Dad's, it might have been different.
They could have grounded her. But she and Dad were a single alpha-omega pair.
I don't want to think about what would have happened if Paul hadn't come along.
She may never have come out of her depression, and I'd rather have a slight absentee mom than no mom at all.
Shaking my head, I turn off my phone screen and drop it on the passenger seat, opting to finish my ice cream and wallow in peace.
That is, until a car pulls into the space next to me.
I eye the blacked out SUV curiously until a pack, complete with giggling omega and smirking alphas, get out of the vehicle, laughing and roughhousing as they walk into the ice cream shop together.
Fucking hell.
It's only when I see one of the alphas press a kiss to the pretty omegas forehead before another one hand-feeds her a sample of ice cream do I lose it, stifling a sob.
It isn't fair.
You could have that, the little voice in the back of my mind says. If you weren't such a coward.
I'm not a coward. I've tried. I've put myself out there twenty fucking three different times. How many times do I need to be rejected before I realize that I'm the common denominator?
Except Austin and Enzo…they're my true scent match. Basically fated mates.
But Austin doesn't want me, and Enzo…well Enzo already had his match, didn't he? So whatever happened tonight, whatever we thought we felt, it has to be some kind of fluke…right?
Steeling myself, I take the last bite of ice cream and put the trash in my little car trash can that Cady got me for my birthday last year.
Backing out of my parking spot, I make the quick drive home, hoping that maybe, if I can get myself to bed, I'll wake up and this whole night will have just been a dream.
When I get into my apartment, I realize that I have a text from Cady, received ten minutes ago.
Cady
Did you get home okay? Ollie just told me you found a damn pack tonight??? I wasn't aware I had been handing out party favors ??
Dammit, Ollie. Of course he told her. I roll my eyes as I answer her.
Hannah
If you were, I didn't take any home ?? I'm hoping I wake up tomorrow and realize I've imagined the entire thing.
Cady
Hannah, babe, talk to me. This is what you've always wanted, right?
Tossing my phone down on my mattress, I change into the comfiest pajamas I own. My omega is on high alert after coming across her scent matches and needs to chill the fuck out.
Soft fabrics are a must have for sedating the neglected bitch within me.
It's not like I've tried to neglect her. I love being an omega. I love soft things and shiny objects and love loving them. But I'm also touch-starved and not wanting to subject alphas to my apparent…shortcomings.
I can't tell Cady why I'm feeling this way though. Not without telling her about my horrifying encounter with Austin, or the fact that out of the twenty-three packs that rejected me, I probably could have made a life with half of them.
Sighing, I type out my answer.
Me
Can we please talk tomorrow?
Deflect, delay, deny.
The denying part can come tomorrow.
Cady
Fine. But you owe me an explanation.
love you, hannah-banana
me
I know. Love you too.
Crawling into bed, I burrow under the covers, ready for this night to be over. While I'm not looking forward to facing the Spanish inquisition regarding my alleged pack, I'm mostly just glad that I have a friend as fierce as Cady in my corner.