Chapter 20
ESPER
Today is our first outing as a Pack. After my impromptu visit to Midnight Plaza, my guys dropped me off back at my dorm and I had the most restful sleep of my life.
My omega has never been so content before.
I awoke to a text this morning, in a new group chat—Esper’s Wolves, created by Neven but the name came from Asher—and I smiled as the texts started coming through.
Neven
Good morning beautiful, we have planned a lunch date today at Coal’s Diner, we will pick u up at 1pm, bring your books. It’s a study date.
Soren
What bout us not in school
Neven
You should be
Reed
be smart enough to figure it out
Esper
I’ll be waiting :)
I’d then proceeded to think about getting ready for the last two hours, because what does one wear to a study date? Casual and comfortable didn’t necessarily go hand-in-hand with hot or sexy. And now they’ll be here any minute.
Penny came over this morning far earlier than she’s ever done before.
She sits on my desk chair picking over her face in her phone camera as I get ready.
Her red hair is up in a messy bun, which is so not Penny’s usual style, but I don’t comment on it.
She’s left her face bare of makeup and is wearing a cute green matching set.
She’s acting…off. Maybe she’s having a hard time right now. Maybe something happened with her parents, maybe her parents found a suitor for her marriage… I can’t figure out if I should ask her or if I should wait for her to open up to me.
Or maybe I’m seeing what isn’t there. Maybe she’s actually fine?
She curls her knees to her chest and lays her head down. She watches me as I put on makeup by my windowsill.
“You should go with the cableknit sweater,” she murmurs. I glance at her from my little mirror setup. Her face lacks any real emotion.
Something is definitely off with her.
“Thanks. It has been getting colder out,” I say, picking up the sweater and carefully sliding it over my makeup.
Fluffing my hair, I turn and hold my hands out to show Pen the final ’fit.
She hardly makes a face, whether good or bad. Pen’s always been brutally honest, so the lack of anything is scary. I feel silly, showing off my clothes and makeup for a date while my best friend is obviously going through something.
“Is everything okay?” I finally ask, nervous for the answer.
Pen sighs, rolling her eyes, making me feel worse, but I guess this is what I get for not asking earlier.
“About time you asked,” she mutters and I tense at the comment. She winces and shakes her head. “No, I’m sorry I didn’t mean that.”
“It’s okay.”
Her eyes meet mine. Her piercing green eyes seem so… sad.
I should have reached out sooner.
“I… I’ve been a shitty friend, Esper.” I shake my head but she doesn’t let me interject. “I’m a bitch and I wish I wasn’t.”
“You’re not!"
“I can’t have this conversation with you, if you’re not gonna tell me the truth.”
I nod and look away for a moment. She’s right. She is sort of… a mean girl, sometimes.
But that isn’t all she is! And she has to know that.
“You are kind, in your own way,” I say as I perch on the edge of the bed beside her. “Remember when you helped me move out? Or those times we’d watch tennis matches together. You were my first and only friend here, and even though I’m a bit anti-social—”
“And somehow still have a date with four hot-ass bikers,” she interjects.
“—you still accepted me.”
“Who wouldn’t accept you? You’re an omega.”
“Did you hear the bit about being my only friend—”
“Now you have four alphas—”
I roll my eyes as I correct her. “One is an omega and one is a beta.”
Penny shoots up from the chair, standing at her full height, making her eye-level with me. She scrunches her eyebrows, and she looks almost angry.
“So you’re taking alphas and betas now?”
Her words hit me like a slap. “It’s not like that—”
“Like what? You taking all the eligible bachelors on campus with your omega cunt? Like it’s so fucking special? You’re just a clingy-ass omega. I mean, what the fuck?”
Taken aback, I gawp at her, speechless. The silence between us grows as Penny calms down.
She blinks. Shaking her head. “Have fun on your date.” She’s quick to grab her purse, storming out of my room and slamming the door on her way out. The loud sound makes me jump, and for once, I’m so glad she left.
What the hell was that?
Taking slow deep breaths, I try to bring my omega down. She’s just as rattled as I am, causing me a headache as she scratches at the inside of my mind to grab a blanket and curl up.
My softest cream blanket sits on my bed. I grab it, wrapping it gently around my shoulders and lying back on my bed. Counting the fairy light bulbs on my ceiling.
You’re just a clingy-ass omega.
Did I just… lose a friend?
Are friends supposed to talk to each other like that?
She’s just upset. That’s all. It’s fine. It’ll all be fine. I swallow that choking sensation holding back tears as I continue to count. Gripping the edges of the blanket tight around me.
She didn’t say she didn’t want to be friends anymore. Jeez, Esper, calm down.
But even then, what she said about me… that was entirely out of line. Even for her.
I can’t… I don’t know. I just want to forget it even happened. I don’t want to lose her. But I can’t keep… but I can’t lose…
What am I supposed to do?