Chapter 19
Asher
Sully watches me pace the sidewalk outside Ophelia's apartment building, Theo leaning casually against his car like he hasn't a care in the world. They're both the picture of calm, but I can feel how worked up they are. Sully's hiding it better than any of us, but that's his superpower. Taking control of situations, reining in his emotions. Theo is typically good at feigning cavalier indifference, especially with Ophelia, because he works extra hard not to be affected by her. Still, even he can't hide the worry behind that fake, tight smile.
She's upset. Not like usual, like we've seen before. She's hurt. She overheard Sully inviting an unbonded omega somewhere private; even if she misunderstood the situation, it broke her heart. Any goodwill we've made, any progress—Theo and our stupid fucking plan to try and make her jealous actually worked, and she came to that goddamn luncheon. I can't believe she came. We never expected her to, but she did, and things couldn't have gone worse.
The only reason we haven't broken down the door is because we know Enzo is with her. We expected her to kick him out hours ago, but he's still up there. Wondering what they're talking about, what they could be doing… it's fucking killing me. But I wait.
We all wait.
Until the sound of a gunshot going off inside her building wakes the three of us out of our silent deliberations, and it's a mad dash as we clamber inside, faster than we've ever moved. Fear grips my heart, and I panic, one step behind Sully with Theo at my heels as we all practically fly up the stairs, three steps at a time.
God damn Ophelia and her fourth floor walk up.
As we round the last steps, there's lots of shouting and yelling, neighbors all crowding the hallway. It took us less than two minutes to get up here, but these fucking people are all just nosing about.
Sully grips Ophelia's door handle, and I decide to be angry with her later when it swings open easily, unlocked. There, we find a half-naked Enzo with Ophelia struggling beneath his weight in a pile on the floor. At first glance, it looks like he's attacking her, but I know that can't be right.
Theo comes up right behind me, all of us crowding into her small space, made all the more intense by the shouting in the hallway.
"Get! Off! Me!" Ophelia whacks Enzo with her tiny fists, but he's gone half-feral. I look at Sully, and he nods, getting the same idea.
"Enzo, it's okay. She's safe. We're all here. Ophelia's okay," he cajoles, laying a hand on Enzo's shoulder, who only grips Ophelia tighter, holding her waist and whipping them both up to a stand, pulling her away from us.
"Holy fuck, they bonded," Theo whispers. Jealousy tears through me as I look over, and it's true; I just can't believe it. I don't see the mark hidden beneath her shirt, but I can sense it, their scents winding together in a way only a bonded couple's does. The jealousy immediately gives way to relief because I know, now, she can't run from us.
Enzo's eyes are black and dilated, and he bears his teeth like a wild animal.
"Enzo! Let go of me right now!" Ophelia shouts, bopping him on the nose. It's a little funny, and he finally softens, his feral alpha receding, but only slightly; he still doesn't let her go.
"There was a gunshot," he snarls.
"I know! I need to find out what happened! I need to know if everyone is okay!" She struggles, but is still too tightly wrapped in his arms, her wiggling barely moving him.
"Ophelia, we'll go check. Theo, you stay here with them," Sully directs as he and I head into the hallway. People are dispersing like it's just another daily occurrence. Where the fuck are the police? Do we need an ambulance?
There's shouting, a familiar voice a few doors down, where we find Ophelia's beta friend Melanie yelling at an older woman with wild gray hair.
"Dammit, Sheila! I've got kids! You can't just wave that thing around like a maniac!"
"Well, now, how else'm I gonna get Earl to listen? That old bastard won't lift a finger, always watchin' that TV—"
"What in the hell is going on here!" Sully roars when we enter the tiny apartment. It smells like grease and nastiness, an old grouch of a beta sneering at us from his recliner. Amazingly, when his wife shot around him, he didn't stir. And yet, when Sully and I enter his apartment, he's clambering out of his chair.
"I want a divorce!" The woman, Sheila, yells at the old guy, Earl. Melanie throws her hands in the air while Sully carefully sneaks up behind the woman and, when he's close enough, quickly tugs the gun from her grip.
She lets it go easily but yells, "Hey! That was mine!"
"And you are fucking lucky I'm not using it on you. My omega lives in this building, and if she were injured or hurt because of this ridiculous domestic dispute, I would end you!" He shouts, anger lacing and punctuating every word.
"Well, now, you hold on a minute! Don't you talk to my wife like that!" Earl finally joins in, but now that we know the three gunshots went into the wall, no one was hurt and we have the weapon, we follow the enraged Melanie out of the nasty-smelling apartment, slamming the door shut as we go.
"I cannot believe she did that!" Melanie pops her head into her apartment and yells, "Polly, Brian, everything's fine. Sheila's acting like an old bat again. I'm gonna talk to Auntie Phe real quick, you keep watchin' your cartoons!"
With that, she follows us into Ophelia's apartment, and I'm relieved to see Enzo's brown-so-dark-they’re-black eyes have returned to normal, but his hand is still clutching her waist with a white knuckle grip.
Ophelia doesn't notice, her rounded eyes going to her friend, who updates everyone on the status of events.
"Sheila shot at Earl again? What a bitch."
"Again?" I growl, but both women ignore me.
"He's fine; she shot more toward the TV than him. Sometimes I hate C-Block," Melanie gripes, collapsing in a huff on the couch. Ophelia grabs a seat beside her, Enzo following close behind.
Melanie takes in his state of undress and starts whispering, trying to gossip with Ophelia about what she's been up to. My jealousy returns now that I know everyone is safe, but while Theo and I stand off to the side, a little uneasy about what comes next, Sully roars, still furious.
"You are moving out!" He points a finger at Ophelia.
She scoffs, but when she realizes how serious he is, she climbs out of Enzo's death grip and comes to stand in front of Sully.
"I am doing no such thing! It's not a big deal, everything is fine. I live here, Sullivan. This is my home. Don't you get that?"
"This piece of shit?" He cocks his head, but both women gasp.
"Yes, Sullivan, this piece of shit. I work my ass off to afford this place, you don't get to come in here and judge me!"
I'm surprised she hasn't slapped him for that comment, but her cheeks are turning red, and I can see how mad she is, even if I couldn't smell the burnt edge of her lavender and sage.
I think this is the first time I've been around her without the hint of scent-blockers since that time on the bridge, and it washes over me. We're in the middle of a heated argument after a shitty day, and I just want to wrap her up in my arms and hold her close.
Sully doesn't apologize or look even remotely remorseful. It is a piece of shit apartment, but even I can tell after the last few weeks of getting to know her that unbonded omega struggles are bigger than I ever realized, certainly bigger than the OFA lets on, whose only solution is that they all join their ranks. I've seen how much Ophelia does to keep a roof over her head. She works two jobs with a side hustle and still manages to take care of everyone around her.
Theo groans, and I catch on to what he's already figured out, what's coming next. Sully clicks on the gun's safety, setting it on the table before slipping his hands into his pockets, casual like. A move he does when negotiating at work. He isn't the least bit concerned he won't get his way because he always does. I just never expected him to use the tactic on Ophelia. I'm almost worried about what's coming next.
Sully turns to Melanie, "How much is your rent?"
Melanie glances from Ophelia to Sully, unsure if she should answer, if this is a trap. It is, it's definitely a trap. Unfortunately, I'm too desperate to get Ophelia out of a building where her neighbors shoot guns like they’re toys to try and stop the trainwreck.
"Umm… We pay… It's like nine hundred a month. For all the apartments." Her eyebrows lift toward Ophelia in a silent apology for answering.
Sully hums. "And they're all in this condition, more or less?" He waves his hand around as we take in the state of Ophelia's apartment: peeling paint, water-stained ceilings, and the faint air of mold. Both women bristle, but Melanie gives a terse nod.
He turns to Ophelia, "If you move out of your apartment right now, I will buy this building, and I will update and repair every single apartment, and I won't raise the rent for anyone, except maybe the gun-toting assholes next door. I will give Melanie free rent for a year and start updating her apartment first."
Both women gasp but for different reasons.
"No, Phe, don't let him buy you," Melanie shakes her head vigorously. Everyone can hear the lack of sincerity in her plea, though. Melanie has two kids to think about. A nicer apartment and free rent?
Ophelia presses her lips together in anger. When she looks up at Sully, her eyes are watery with unshed tears. She doesn't even have to think about it, even though, at this moment, I'm not sure she doesn't hate him for forcing her hand.
"Starting immediately." She lifts her chin defiantly.
Sully feels her anger, her hurt, but he doesn't waver. We can all smell it in the air, brighter without the scent-blockers. "Done."
Ophelia holds herself together as best she can while she and Melanie say goodnight. Melanie tries to talk her out of accepting. At first, I thought it was obligatory, but the more they talked, the more Melanie realized that Sully would use money to fix a lot of problems, which wasn't necessarily a good thing. She makes an honest effort to get Ophelia to change her mind. I think back to Ophelia's comment after I told her I'd simply replace her coffee table when Enzo broke it. I didn't understand why it offended her at the time.
That's the thing about Ophelia, though, that I'm starting to learn. She's selfless in many ways, sacrificing her happiness for the greater good. She'd never say no to Sully's offer, and he knew it.
Melanie leaves, and Ophelia and Enzo disappear into her bedroom, where she presumably packs a bag. I try not to feel jealous that she and my brother obviously grew so close so fast, of the bond they get to share. I'm truly happy for Enzo.
She won't look at Sully as we make our way out of her apartment and downstairs, parting ways as she and Enzo climb into Theo's car.
"We'll pack up the rest of your stuff tomorrow and have it moved," Sully tells her before Theo drives off. She doesn't look up or respond.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you did the right thing, forcing her like that," I tell Sully once we're shut inside the SUV. We sit quietly in front of her apartment building for a minute.
"I know. She could have been killed." We let that sink in.
Even though we want Ophelia to live somewhere nice and even though her neighbor shot a gun off so carelessly—not for the first time, apparently—we both feel uncomfortable knowing that even though we got what we want, it isn't going to make any of us happy for a while.