Chapter Twenty-Five
Dex
Apparently the universe felt that I dithered away more than enough time thinking while I slept.
When we woke up in his hospital bed the next morning, it was to a text alerting me to an impending visit from my dads.
Normally that wasn’t something I would have been concerned about but the greeting of we have bad news didn’t set a very optimistic tone.
By the time they arrived, I was showered, dressed, and moved to the chair while Otto lounged in his bed with a smirk on his face, amused that I insisted my dads not see us in bed together.
“Asbestos?” I stared at my dad like I’d never heard the word before. “What?”
Dad and Papa both shrugged.
“There was a small fire in the electrical room last night and it seems that the fire department discovered potential asbestos when they tore out some of the drywall to put it out,” Papa said.
“They aren’t sure how much of the building is contaminated. They have to evacuate all the units until they’re inspected and the building is cleared to be reoccupied,” Dad added.
“Why didn’t they call me?”
Papa quirked a brow at me. “They tried. Maybe you forgot to give them your new number when you changed phone carriers last year? When they couldn’t reach you, they called us as your emergency contacts.”
Crap. Yep, that tracked.
“Ug. What now?”
“They were letting residents in during a two-hour period this morning to get their things, so we swung by and packed up a few suitcases with clothes and other things we thought you might need,” Dad assured me.
“And they’re saying that they don’t think it’s going to take more than a couple of weeks to clear the building, so we assumed that you’d come home until you can get back in? ”
I love my dads, I do. They have been amazing parents from the time they took me in when my mom was diagnosed with cancer but. Just..but. Swallowing a sigh, I turned to Otto.
“I guess I had enough time to think,” I said sourly.
“Are you sure?” Otto asked. “You know I want you there but not if it’s only because you feel forced.”
“Forced? What are you talking about?” Papa interjected, looking from me to Otto and back.
“I asked Dex to come and stay with me at the house,” Otto responded quietly. “He said he needed time to think about it.”
Papa shrugged. “So, you come home for a bit,” he said. “You know we’d love to have you.”
Time for the big reveal, I guessed.
“I didn’t want to tell you like this, but Otto is the baby’s sire.” I winced a little as I shook my head. “I’m, um, having flash heats when I’m away from Otto too long, so it could get awkward pretty fast,” I admitted. “I’m probably better going with him when he’s released, at least for now.”
Papa frowned but didn’t react to what I thought would be a bombshell. “Okay, son, but you’re free to change your mind and come home any time, day or night, okay?”
“I know.” I stood and walked to where they were standing by the bed and kissed both of their cheeks. “I will.”
The conversation quickly turned to the state of the house.
“The house should be fine,” Otto assured them, his cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment. “Myke said the cleaners went through while I was still unconscious. They, um, even had the carpets cleaned so it should be in good shape.”
Thankfully neither of my parents felt the need to dwell on what had caused the carpets to need cleaned and instead ask when Otto was going to be discharged.
“I’m hoping this afternoon,” he said quickly, “but there’s no reason that Dex can’t take his stuff over and get settled now while he has help, if that’s more convenient? I can text him the door code.”
If my dads were confused by that it didn’t show and less than an hour later we were unpacking the last of my clothes into the empty dresser drawers in the guest room.
“There we go,” Papa said, grinning as he slid the last drawer closed with a thump. “Now, you need anything at all, you call, right?”
“Right,” I agreed, snuggling into my Dad’s arms as he hugged me. “Let me walk you out.”
Then I was left all alone in the big, empty house with some memories I really could have done without.
Glancing at the clock on the wall, I sighed.
Otto would have just started his memory therapy, leaving me with two hours to kill before it made sense to go back to the hospital.
Giving in to the exhaustion, I stripped out of my clothes, set an alarm on my phone, and curled up on the bed to try and sleep.
~*~
Otto
At the end of my memory therapy appointment the doctor cheerfully informed me that I’d shown significant improvement and he was signing off on my release. That left only the medical release approval from the medical doctor and I could be home before dinner.
Amped as I was to be heading home, I frowned when I returned to my hospital room and found it empty. Hours had passed since Dex left with his dads to drop his belongings at my house and Dex still wasn't back.
You’re being ridiculous, I scolded myself. He’s been with you almost nonstop since you woke up. He’s probably just taking a little time for himself. When did you get so damn needy?
Before I worked out an answer to that, there was a knock on the door. Assuming it was Dex, I called out for him to enter. My smile slipped when the door opened and Taylor walked in.
“What are you doing here?” he huffed, crossing his arms across his chest and narrowing his eyes at me.
“What am I doing in my hospital room?” I quirked a brow. “Waiting for my discharge orders. What are you doing in my hospital room? Aren’t you supposed to be in your own hospital room recovering from a gunshot wound?”
“Please.” Taylor rolled his eyes. “As soon as they leached the residual silver from my blood, I was fine. It took like six hours. As for why I’m here, I’m looking for Dex, obviously.”
“Obviously,” I agreed with a tilt of my head. “Because?”
Taylor snorted. “Because I’m his best friend and I’m worried about him. I stopped by the apartment and found out it might be condemned.”
“You don’t need to worry about him,” I huffed back. “He’s going to be staying with me and I’ll take care of him.”
That earned me a glare.
“Right because you’ve been doing a knock-up job so far,” he snapped.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“I think you know exactly what it means.”
The hostility in the Omega’s eyes bored into me and my anger dissipated. Dropping down into the chair by the bed, I shook my head. “Taylor, I’ve got some memory loss still. I know I’ve been a dick about how I’ve treated him since I’ve been back but I’m trying to make up for it.”
Weirdly, that seemed to annoy Dex’s friend even more and an honest-to-god growl escaped him. “How exactly do you make up for him being fucked in the dirt the first time and sent home before the cum was even dry?”
“I know it wasn’t ideal..” I started to respond and then Taylor’s words caught up with me. “Wait. You’re not..you don’t mean that was his first first time?”
“Am I saying he saved himself for you for fucking years and you took his virginity by fucking him in the dirt and then telling him you regretted it? Yep. Sure am.”
All of the oxygen was suddenly sucked out of the room as I gaped at Taylor. “Oh, fuck no.” I gulped for air in the vacuum. “That was the night he conceived?”
Taylor nodded, the anger on his face dissolving. “You didn’t know?”
I shook my head. “No, Taylor, I didn’t know but that’s no excuse. And it probably explains why he wasn’t exactly overjoyed when I told him I want to claim him.”
Taylor’s jaw dropped. “You do?”
“Yeah.” I scrubbed my hand over my face. “But he, um, said he needs time.”
Taylor walked over to pat my shoulder. “Time is good. That means you have a chance at forgiveness.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I guess.”
“And as for his current whereabouts?”
“His dads packed some of his stuff since the apartment manager couldn’t get ahold of him and then they took him to my house a couple hours ago to settle in.”
“Is he coming back?”
“He looked pretty tired so he might be napping. I figured if I didn’t hear from him before I got my release papers, I’d catch an Uber home instead of risking waking him up.”
Taylor nodded and walked over to sit on the end of the bed, pulling his phone out of his pocket.
“You’re, um, staying?”
Taylor nodded, his eyes still on his phone screen. “If you’re going to try and make my bestie happy, the least I can do is give your ass a ride home from the hospital.”
I snorted. “And make sure I’m not lying about him being at my house?”
“Damn skippy.”