Chapter Seventeen
Robin
My final weekend in the hospital suite was the longest forty-eight-hours of my life. I swear I felt every second pass as if time was slowing to a crawl, trying to trap me there for the rest of my life by making the minutes stretch out into hours, and the hours turn into days.
That’s probably an over-exaggeration, but considering I spent most of that time alone, staring at the walls, the relief I feel now that it’s Monday morning is palpable.
I’m so ready to be out of this windowless room.
The nurse who told me to be ready for ten a.m. also made sure she told me to gather up my things for the move. Hah! Three sets of baggy pajamas and a small washbag containing essentials I was given when I got here are all the worldly possessions I have here.
I hug the small bundle close to my chest as I stand by the foot of my hospital bed.
Today’s the day everything changes.
In just a few minutes, and, yes, I’m counting them, the head of the academy is coming to show me to my new room in the main part of the building.
I’ll be free to come and go as I please, outside of the hours I’ll be working, and in line with the rules and regulations that keep the Omegas here safe, of course.
It’s kind of scary to be in a new place after all this time, I’ll admit, but I’m so desperate to get the chance to spend some time outside every day that I don’t feel too nervous about it.
If anything, I’m eager to find out what my new life is going to be.
When Lana finally opens my door, I let out a huge sigh.
“Finally!” I blurt, too excited to contain myself.
Lana looks as pretty and professional as always.
She laughs lightly. “I can tell someone’s glad to be getting back to some kind of normal.”
“You have no idea. I’m not used to being this idle.”
“Well, I’m sure our chefs will have you looking forward to the end of the day once you start working with them, but you’ll start your new job next week.”
“Next week?” I ask, hugging my bundle of belongings tighter. “Does that mean …”
A lump rises in my throat, and I can’t even finish the question. The thought of being stuck in this tiny room all alone for any longer makes me want to scream.
Lana blinks at me. “Oh. No. Please, don’t worry.
The job is only delayed because of current staffing issues.
Our existing staff can only handle training one new person at a time.
I thought that might be a good thing since it’ll give you a chance to settle into your new room before you get started.
You can get to know how this place runs, and Dr. Clarke and I can check in on you to make sure you’re doing okay before you start working. ”
I nod slowly, taking in what she’s telling me and trying to calm down.
I don’t really understand why they’re delaying my start date if they need more staff, but I’ve only ever had one job, so I wouldn’t know how any of that stuff works.
“Let’s go,” Lana says, holding the door open for me. “It’s much nicer in your new room.”
I step into the hallway and wait for her to follow.
I know how to leave this corridor, and I’ve seen the main hallway now, but I have no idea where my new room might be located.
Lana leads me into the big, bright hallway.
“We’ve had to close off a few rooms because of a security threat,” she tells me. “So, this is the closest I could get you to a room near the kitchens. We already moved the chefs and the other kitchen staff to these floors, so you’ll be living next to your co-workers.”
I picture the off-kitchen room that Colleen shared with me back in that house I thought of as home, our sleeping areas split up with curtains to make two separate rooms and a thin hallway that led to the pantry’s door between us.
My heart hurts a little that I’ll never see that make-shift room again, but it hurts worse that Colleen is gone from my life as completely as if she never existed.
I push thoughts of the past down as I follow Lana to the elevator across from us.
Stop thinking about what you’ve lost.
There’s no going back, especially now that I know the whole truth.
I shouldn’t want that, and I don’t, not really.
It’s just … confusing.
You’ll get over it.
I nod slowly as I wait by Lana’s side.
She pushes the button for the elevator, and the big doors open with a pinging sound.
I follow her inside, and I watch as she presses the button for the second floor.
“You’ll be free to spend time in the gardens, and the cafeteria whenever you feel like it,” Lana starts as the elevator doors close. “At least during the day. All the main doors get locked after dark and we have to be very security conscious because there are over a hundred Omegas in the building.”
“It’ll be nice to go outside whenever I can,” I admit quietly.
After dark was always one of my favorite times to sit outside, but I understand why they can’t leave the doors open here. Omegas are seen as a rare commodity by the kind of men who stole and sold my mother. They need to be protected.
“Aside from expecting visits from myself and Dr. Clarke, kitchen staff will come in weekly in the early morning to empty your laundry basket, restock your fridge and do any cleaning that might be required.”
“So, those are the kind of things I’ll be doing once I’m working?”
She nods slowly. “You might be in the kitchen all day helping prepare food or going from room-to-room emptying laundry baskets or you could mainly be delivering food to the Omegas.”
So far, it doesn’t seem too complicated.
“Sounds like my kind of job.”
The elevator stops, and Lana presses another button to open the doors.
“This is our stop. We’re the second room in the hallway. There’s a staircase at the other end of the hall. You can use those stairs or the elevator to get to the kitchens once you’re working in them.”
She steps off the elevator, and I follow her down the corridor.
Peering towards the other end of the corridor, I already know what my preference will be.
Walking into that bright main entrance with the tiled floor and the big reception desk was like having a spotlight shining over me. It made me a little uncomfortable, almost like my every move was being watched.
The stairs seem like a much better option.
“Can you show me?” I ask, thinking they must lead to the corridor I went past when I was escorted outside for my walk through the gardens. I wish I’d paid a little more attention to my surroundings inside the building now.
I look back at Lana and she nods slowly.
“I’ll show you when I visit later in the week. For right now, I think it’s more important that we get you settled. Our lawyer’s working to get your papers registered since your birth was … undocumented. You’ll be paid in cash until you’re able to open your own bank account.”
“Sounds good,” I murmur, making myself focus on the good parts of what she’s telling me.
Figuring out how to open a bank account is daunting, so I won’t think about that until it’s time.
Lana stops outside a door and takes a set of keys out of her pocket.
“This is you,” she tells me.
I glance back down the hallway and note that I’m the third door down the corridor from the elevator. Moving my gaze, I see that there are two doors past mine on the way to the stairs.
I’m in the middle. That makes it easy to remember.
Lana has the door open by the time I look back.
She steps inside and I hear her flip the light switch.
I blink at the interior of the room as I follow her inside.
It’s nothing like I expected.
The big, open space is part kitchen, part living room, and there’s a door to the right that appears to lead into a bedroom.
It’s a far cry from the split room I shared with Colleen back … not home, but where I used to live.
I’m speechless as I take in all the details, from the thick carpet under my worn-out sneakers to the plush leather of the massive white couch across the room to the modern, bright kitchen area with the big, silver fridge and the glass-topped dining table to my left, with four silver and white chairs positioned around it.
It takes a second to realize the glossy black screen on the wall is a TV.
Once I figure that out, my mind is blown.
I look at Lana. “This is my new room?”
She smiles. “It’s supposed to be an Omega suite, but we have a lot more rooms than we need, and I realized we should be using them for staff.”
That makes more sense, but still …
“I get to live here?” I ask, not quite believing it.
It’s such a big space. It’s almost … Well, it’s kind of what I imagined having my own house would be like, only fancier. To be offered this place to stay as an upgrade to my hospital room is nothing short of mind-blowing.
“This suite is all yours. I know everything probably feels a bit weird right now,” Lana says.
“But I’m here anytime you have questions.
I’ll help in whatever way I can. All you need to do is call or knock on my office door.
And you can speak to me or Erika on reception if you want to see Dr. Clarke or one of the nurses for anything. ”
A lump starts to rise in my throat.
Lana has been so kind to me.
Everyone I’ve met here has been the same.
Dr. Clarke, my nurses, the security guards.
If my world had to be turned upside down for me to learn the truth about my life, I couldn’t have landed at a better place to start from scratch.
“This is incredible,” I admit, swallowing the lump and holding back my tears. “Thank you. So much. You’ve already done more than enough for me. I don’t know how I can ever repay this kindness.”
She shakes her head slowly. “You have nothing to repay me for. Do you believe in the fates?”
The unexpected question takes me by surprise.
“The fates?” I echo, as I try to find an answer. “I’m not sure.”
I feel like a liar the moment those uncertain words fall from my lips.
Dr. Morgan’s visit made me feel like I was right where I was meant to be.
He helped me remember my mother. That’s a gift I never would have gotten without him. And I never would have met him if I hadn’t been brought here.
“Well, I do,” she admits, giving me a wry smile.
“Meeting my true mates really made it obvious, but I felt it a little before that, when I knew despite my lack of leadership experience that I had to apply for the position here. If I hadn’t this would be a very different place, and I never would have met you.
Sometimes, you have to trust the fates. When it feels right, it’s because it is right. ”
She brushes her hair back from her throat and my gaze drifts to the marks there.
My cheeks warm thinking about how she got them.
I’m sure not every mark is made during an intimate moment, like every romance movie I’ve ever watched made it seem, but I know if I’m ever lucky enough to meet my mate, or mates, I’ll want to enjoy the moment as much as possible.
“Oh, I have one more thing to show you before I leave!” She motions to me to follow before she turns on her heel and stalks toward the bedroom.
I follow, still clutching my meagre bundle of belongings to my chest.
Once we step into the bedroom, I see there’s a stack of boxes to the left side of the bed.
She goes straight toward them, and peels open the top box on the pile.
“Under the circumstances, I was able to send Owen to your old … place of residence. The lady of the house was happy to let him empty your room.”
“The lady of the house?” I murmur, realizing she must be talking about my boss’s wife.
Mrs. Hamilton was hardly ever around, and whenever she was, she spent her time on the warpath, storming around the property and creating little pockets of chaos with her outrageous demands.
Just thinking about her makes me shudder.
Her outbursts feel based in reality now that I know what her husband was really like.
She must have known or at least suspected. Though I guess from her point of view, it probably just felt like he was cheating on her. At least, that’s how it seemed by the way she was always muttering about him.
“These are your things,” Lana says softly. “If you’re missing anything that should be here let me know.”
I gaze at the open box, and I can see the top of my tiny TV.
Seeing it makes the lump rise in my throat again.
“I’m sure it’s all there.”
She nods. “Okay. Well, that door leads to the bathroom. And this door is your closet. It’s a little … well, extra, because it was designed for an Omega, so don’t be surprised by all the mirrors and gilded edges.”
“Great, thanks.”
She looks me over and bites her lip.
I’m too afraid of bursting into tears to ask what’s wrong so I just look back at her, trying to swallow that damn lump that isn’t going away.
“You’ll be expected to maintain a healthy weight,” she starts. “So, your old clothing might not fit like it used to. I can have the sewing teacher come and take your measurements. We’ll need your sizes for your uniform anyway.”
I breathe out in relief. “Oh, thank God!”
She smiles. “I’ll ask her to visit this afternoon, if that’s okay?”
“Sure.” I nod. “It’ll be good to put something on that fits better.”
“Great. I’ll leave you to settle in.”
She puts the keys in my hand before she goes.
They’re a little heavier than I expect.
I put them down on the bed, and I take my tiny TV out of the box.
Seeing it again makes me smile the same way I did when Colleen gave it to me.
It doesn’t matter how much better the huge TV in the other room is, I’ll never put this one away.