Chapter 28 #2
“Cassidy?” Seren asks, looking up from a sketch she’s doing. “Ah, you’re all here! How are you?”
“Good, we wanted to come say hi, and I think someone may have some questions for you,” I say. I can feel Winter’s bubbling curiosity from standing beside her, and I step aside so Seren can see our omegas. “This is Winter and Bellamy.”
“Nice to meet you,” Seren says, smiling. “How can I help?”
“Bellamy and I are considering a tattoo,” Winter says shyly.
“It would be a cover up of sorts,” Bellamy adds, looking ashamed.
Ansel rubs Bellamy’s back so that only we can see it, and it makes me glad we’re here for this.
“Okay,” Seren says, looking sympathetic and intrigued. “How large is the area? Am I covering up ink?”
“It’s more like a burn,” Winter explains. “I’ve been playing with sketches, but it’s not done yet. It would probably cover most of a butt cheek and move onto my hip.”
“That’s a fairly large area. Would you both want the same tattoo?” Seren asks.
“I want anything Winter creates on my body forever,” Bellamy says with a shrug.
Our omega is romantic without even trying. That’s one of the sweetest things I’ve ever heard.
“I can cover up burns depending on how well healed it is. I’d need to see it to make a decision on how the ink will look,” Seren says gently. “How old is it?”
“Eight months old,” Bellamy says. “We don’t mind waiting if that’s not long enough.”
“I’d prefer for it to be closer to a year to two years,” she explains, “especially if it’s still red. It could affect how I do the tattoo, as well as the colors. It’s not impossible, we just may need to do a few sessions to give you a break in between though.”
“That’s fine,” Winter says with a nod. “It’ll take some time for me to be completely happy with the sketch, and it’ll let me play with some of the colors.”
“I definitely think color will hold over all black ink, but it all depends on what the design is,” Seren says passionately. “I’m excited to see what you come up with for me.”
“Thanks, Seren,” I say with a smile. “Is everything good with you?”
We aren’t besties by a mile, but it’s always nice to be asked how you are.
“Things are good,” she says with a shrug. Her eyes appear tired, but there’s pride there too. “I have one more appointment and then I’m headed home. It’s long hours, but I get to do what I love.”
“That’s important,” Abbott admires.
None of us ask about her daughter because on the heels of what she just said, it could be taken the wrong way.
Saying goodbye to her, we slip out of the shop, continuing on toward the soda shop.
The street is darker, and Abbott slows us down as he points toward a person huddled against a building.
The police have a strict policy against homeless people, and I sigh, knowing Abbott is going to wake whoever it is up.
Whenever possible, we have a list of homeless shelters on hand, because not everyone knows where they are. It has to be better than being arrested, you know?
And if they’re dangerous, I know Abbott can handle it, and at least he, Ansel, and Shi are armed right now. While I have a knife in my back pocket, I don’t have a firearm.
“Hello?” Abbott asks, moving toward what I now see is a girl with dark hair. “Are you okay?”
The girl flinches before she scrambles onto her feet, weaving slightly. I’m not sure if it’s exhaustion or if she’s high, but I still keep my arms out so that Bellamy and Winter won’t get any closer.
Winter still attempts to lean closer, trying to get a better look at her.
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to rest,” the girl whispers, breaking my heart.
“I just don’t want you to get picked up by the police,” Abbott says gently. “Can I help get you into a shelter?”
“I can’t go there,” she rasps.
“Alisa?” Bellamy asks, also taking a step forward.
“You know her?” I ask, dropping my arms.
“No!” Alisa hisses. “You do not know me. It’s better for everyone if you forget you saw me.”
Turning and walking quickly away, she doesn’t look back as she slips into an alley to get further away from us.
“Shit,” Abbott sighs. “I would have given her money. The shelter wasn’t a deal breaker.”
“Madam Clara is a scarier person than we are,” Winter reminds us sadly. “It looks like some of the omegas who escaped definitely stayed in Savannah. I hope they stay hidden. Madam Clara is really petty.”
“And dangerous,” Bellamy sighs. “I’m getting the heebie jeebies from standing here.”
“Let’s get moving,” Abbott suggests, and we all continue walking another block until we arrive at the soda shop.
I feel awful that we couldn’t help Alisa, especially when it appears that she’s living on the streets.
“We’ll take a path home with better lighting,” Abbott tells me softly as I nod.
“Bell, will you share a root beer float with me?” Winter asks, glancing at him.
“Yes. That sounds really good. The walk was still a solid idea. I needed the fresh air to help me sleep tonight,” he says.
Winter gives him a big smile, and I’m glad that seeing Alisa didn’t ruin being out with us. I’ll suggest to Pack Mayor to keep an eye out for her.
After ordering, we sit in a booth and chat, giving me time to text Easton. He’ll be able to keep his ear to the ground while at the police station.
Me
We saw one of the girls from the auction downtown tonight. She ran away, but maybe you can look out for a girl with long, dark hair and a pale complexion. I didn’t have a chance to see what color her eyes were since it was so dark.
Easton
I’ll also let Silas know in case he hears something. Thanks, Cass. If she was scared, there’s nothing you could have done to keep her from running.
Tucking that piece of advice away, I set aside my phone and take a sip of my drink.
“Mmm,” I say happily. “This was a good idea.”
“Glad you had it,” Shi teases me, sipping his coke float. “Thankfully, caffeine puts me to sleep.”
My lips twitch in amusement because it’s true. There’s fifty different browsers open in his mind, and all of them are insistent that they’re important. It’s a miracle he gets anything done, but then again, that’s just how his brain works.
“Oh!” I gasp, checking my phone to see what the date is. “Abbott, did you ever get those tickets I asked you about?”
“I did,” he drawls.
“It’s so damn sexy when you come in clutch,” I say happily, letting the combination of carbonation and sugar make my body hum with contentment.
“What’s going on?” Bellamy asks, looking between us. “Tickets for what?”
“Shakespeare in the Park in two days,” Abbott says with a shrug. “Have any plans?”
“Of course we don’t!” Winter squeals. “Cass and I talked about it, but I didn’t think she’d actually get tickets.”
“If it’s important to you, then it’s important to us,” Shiloh says nonchalantly. His eyes are sparkling with happiness that they’re so excited for this.
“Exactly,” I say with a nod.
“I missed the auditions for one of the productions I was interested in, didn’t I?” Winter asks, wrinkling her nose in disappointment as she takes another sip of her root beer float.
“You did,” I say sympathetically. “There’s another you can audition for.”
“Or, I could work behind the scenes,” she says with a small shrug. “It’ll be nice to get back into theater. I really did love it.”
My fingers cross underneath the table that nothing crazy happens before the next audition so Winter actually gets her shot. Life is unpredictable, you never know what can happen.