Chapter Sixteen – Kayla
My mind is racing by the time the two join me. It’s difficult for me to sit there and stare at those donuts and not wonder what kind of delicious goodness they hold. The sugar. The colorful sprinkles. The cream and other stuff inside half of them. It’s a battle with my stomach.
And then the whole omega thing. My truth is out and there’s no stuffing it back into the bottle and pretending it doesn’t exist. All that doesn’t even mention the fact they saw my neck. I can’t imagine what they’re going to say.
Before they wandered into the hall, Hayden looked like he wanted to kill whoever was responsible for hurting me. It was an almost startling reaction, one I didn’t expect.
I don’t know what to do when they both sit on either side of me, with their eyes on me. I keep my gaze on my lap, trying to hide myself and everything else that came out into the open mere minutes ago. My hands are fists on my lap. Honestly, I don’t know where we can go from here.
Jeremy is going to be so pissed off at me. He’s going to blame me, say I didn’t hide things enough, say I wasn’t good enough—and to that, I’d have no response, because I wasn’t good enough here. I should’ve been better all around.
“So,” Bradford starts, “first thing, before we discuss what comes next, I really would like to see you eat one donut. Just one. I’m not demanding you eat the entire thing, but I would like you to at least try.”
Back to this again? Ugh. Maybe I should just eat one and be done with it so he can stop pestering me about it.
Fine. At this point, it isn’t like I have any other options, and if I’m getting fired in a few minutes, I might as well make the most of it. Donut here I come.
I reach for one of the frosted ones, which I assume is vanilla. It has pretty pink and white sprinkles on it. I bring that donut to my mouth and take a bite, and when I do, I have to close my eyes, lean back in the chair, and hold in a moan.
Holy crap, is it good. Like, so good it might just be the best thing I’ve ever tasted in my life. So fluffy, and with the added crunch of the sprinkles and the taste of the thin frosting? Downright amazing.
There are certain high calorie foods that I’ve simply never eaten before.
Donuts are one of them. I have had pizza, but that’s because I can limit myself and leave Jeremy the leftovers.
Plus, he knows the guy who runs the place and does small jobs for him, so he bakes us those pizzas for free typically.
Donuts, cake, pastries; that sort of thing. Stuff that is sweet and sugary, high in fat. You know, stuff usually reserved for special moments or celebrations. My brother and I never went out and got cake on our birthdays. It was just another day for us.
But this? Fuck me, this donut is heaven in my mouth. Before I know it, I take another bite, then another, and another, and soon enough I’ve finished it without realizing it.
When I open my eyes, I find both men staring at me. Hayden wears a sad smile on his face, and he asks gently, “Was it good? It looked like you were lost in that donut.”
I nod, momentarily forgetting the weight of the current situation as I say, “Yeah, it was good.” I lick my lower lip, wondering if I’m going to feel sick later because of said donut. No, you know what? It was worth it. Totally worth it.
Is it wrong to want another? I don’t know if my stomach can handle it, but it was so damn good I think I’ll accept whatever the consequences are.
Bradford says, “Have another, if you want. Or wait a bit and have another. They’re all for you.” He glances at Hayden. “We should discuss what comes next, though.”
My stomach sinks to the floor, and not because of the way I inhaled that donut.
I bring my hands to my lap. “Okay.” It’s about all I can say.
I can still taste the donut on my tongue; it was so good I didn’t even have time to notice how it hurt to swallow.
The power of a donut, apparently. “You want the pants back.”
My statement about the pants causes Bradford to blink, and I don’t think he realizes what I mean at first. It takes him a while, and then he must remember he bought me all those clothes, including the pants I currently wear.
“What? No, I don’t want the pants back. Why… why would I want the pants back?”
“Because you’re firing me,” I say, my throat sore.
The über alpha is quiet for a while, and then he tells me something I just can’t believe: “I’m not firing you.” And the way he says it, like it’s so simple, so obvious, makes me both confused and skeptical beyond belief.
Why wouldn’t he fire me? Why wouldn’t he report me? What would he gain by not getting rid of me? It doesn’t make sense.
“I think,” Hayden hedges, “you have the wrong idea here. He’s not firing you. That’s not what he meant when he said we should talk about what happens now. You’re clearly not safe at home. Neither of us want you to go back there.”
Alarm bells flash in my head. “But I have nowhere else to go.” I hate admitting that out loud, I really do, but if these two think I can just stay on the streets…
they don’t know what the streets are like for someone like me.
For a woman, let alone an unmated omega who just had her first taste of a delicious donut.
Bradford is the one who says, “You don’t have to go anywhere. You’re going to stay here. I can have anything you need delivered—or Hayden can run out. Your favorite shampoo, the kind of sheets you like, anything.”
My heart beats fast, though I don’t exactly know why. “I can’t. I can’t stay here. I… can’t accept any of this.” It hurts to talk, but these two need to know how strange this all makes me feel. I wouldn’t say I’m uncomfortable, but… no, maybe I would say that.
“You can and you will, you just don’t want to. There’s a difference.”
Hayden shifts his weight, leaning closer to me when he says, “I know you don’t like accepting help, but I’ll be damned if I let you walk out that door and go back to the person who did this to you.”
I tentatively reach up and touch my own neck, muttering, “I don’t see why either of you care. You should be mad I hid who I am, not this.” What kind of life did I live when I’m not used to people caring about me? A depressing thing to admit. “I can’t stay here.”
“Again,” Bradford says, “you can. I have plenty of room. You’ll have your own bathroom and all the privacy you need.”
My mind races. If I stay here… then what?
What’ll happen next? How long could I possibly stay here before Jeremy comes sniffing around?
I wouldn’t put it past him to track me down here; he did see the address when I got the job.
Whether or not he remembers it is another story, but I don’t know if I’m willing to take the chance.
He won’t be happy if I don’t come home, but then again, he wasn’t happy last night, either.
At this point, I don’t know what to do.
I glance between the two men. Hayden wears his emotions on his face, and given everything he’s said and done the past few days, I get it. I understand where he’s coming from, why he cares. It fits with his personality.
But Bradford? His emotions belong to no one other than him.
His face gives nothing away. His mouth is drawn into a thin line.
My first impression of him wasn’t a positive one, but that impression has slowly given way to something else.
I can’t forget the scars lining his back and the nagging suspicion I have that his father did that to him, which means he understands me more than Hayden does.
Still, though, why would Bradford Bentley give a shit about me? Even if you take his fall from grace into account, his crimes, I’m still a nobody compared to him.
“Kayla,” Hayden says my same softly, causing me to bring my eyes to him. “Who hurt you? Who did this to you? We can report him—”
Of course, it’s logical to want to report an abuser.
It makes sense. No sane person would want to protect a person like that, but then again, what sane person would stick around and make excuses for that same abuser?
It should be clear, but it’s not. Everything is so confusing in my head, and I don’t know what to do.
Report Jeremy? What would happen to him? Where would he wind up? In prison? In one of those institutions for feral alphas?
The better, bigger question is: why do I care what happens to him when he clearly doesn’t care about my life?
Ever since we’ve been on our own, he’s claimed we could only count on each other, that he has my best interests at heart.
That everything he does is to make our lives better and to protect me from a world that would swallow me whole, bones and all.
I can’t say his name. I can’t tell Hayden and Bradford that my own brother did this. Bradford might get it, but still, there’s that possibility of judgment, of disdain, and I don’t think I could bear it.
In the end, all I end up saying is, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Hayden lets it go, but he does share a look with Bradford, the latter of which says, “That’s fine. You don’t have to tell us anything you’re not ready to.”
“Can we—” I swallow and run my hands up my arms. “—just pretend everything is normal, for a little bit? Until the end of the work day? Please?” I hate how pathetic I sound, but I don’t know how to be anything else, especially after this.
This changes everything, and I’m scared that I don’t know what’s going to come next. Whatever it is, it can’t be good.
“Sure,” Bradford says. “But by four o’clock, I want a list of things you need. Think of it as part of your job, if that helps.” His black gaze studies me, but he doesn’t say anything else as he stands. He walks out of the dining room, leaving me alone with Hayden.
Hayden, whose stare is the heaviest it’s ever been, I should add. The way he looks at me, it’s like he’s seeing me for the first time, and the strangest part is, the intensity doesn’t make me feel small. No, if anything, it makes me feel the opposite. It makes me feel seen.