11. Andi #3
The mention of last time makes the alcohol I’ve been chugging indiscriminately tonight sit like lead in my stomach. What does he know? Obviously, he doesn’t know the details of that voicemail I left for Cameron, but he has to know something. Especially considering our added security.
The conflicting commands riot in my mind, warring against each other. The command of Ezra, obviously being in emotional distress and needing my attention. And the command of Stuart, who’s essentially been my keeper throughout this whole nightmare experience.
Ezra reaches out and grabs my arm.
“Fuck off,” he snaps. “I want her to come with me.”
“To go to the bathroom?” Stuart says, raising a single brow.
“Yeah, what of it? I barely get to see her.”
Stuart eyes Ezra up and down, his expression as sterile and cold as ever.
“Gina will be... pleased to hear you’re taking things to the next level again. Be discrete, and for goodness’ sake, don’t leave any marks on her again.”
Wait... what?
I barely have a chance to process the implications of Stuart’s words before Ezra is tugging me along to the ballroom.
“Wait—Ezra—” I gasp, shaking my head. “I’m not—”
“Be quiet, Andi. We can’t talk here.”
That same bodyguard appears in front of us, his massive arms crossed at his chest.
“I’ve been instructed to follow you both,” he says. It’s the first thing I’ve heard the guy say. It’s obvious the thought of him following us to the bathroom is freaking Ezra out, though.
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” he grunts.
“I assure you, whatever you intend on doing won’t be an issue; my job—”
“Not. Happening,” Ezra snaps, pulling out his phone and dialing Stuart’s contact.
“Yes?” Stuart’s tinny voice coming out of Ezra’s phone speakers only seems to rile him up even more. Some of the people leaving the main ballroom floor are glancing at us as they pass.
“You sicced your dog on us, Stuart?”
“It’s important that Andromeda has an escort for tonight—”
“You don’t think I know that? I’m escorting her. I literally won’t let her out of my sight.”
“It’s—”
“I’m going to say this once, and only once. I’m already settling for fucking Andi in a bathroom, I’m not going to do it with a fucking audience.”
The crudeness of his words makes me nauseous. What in the world is going on?
When I take an unsteady step back, Ezra’s grip around my wrist tightens. The bodyguard’s gaze cuts to me, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly.
“Fine,” Stuart mutters.
“There, hear that?” Ezra grunts, glaring up at the bodyguard.
“Very well, I will wait here,” he nods.
“Fan-fucking-tastic,” Ezra grunts, hanging up the phone and starting to drag me away from the ballroom.
My heart is threatening to beat out of my chest.
He checks something on his phone and turns.
Fear skates down my spine when he passes by not one, but two different bathrooms.
“Ezra, where’re you taking me?”
“To the bathroom,” he says, his voice low and his eyes darting about like he’s afraid we’re going to get caught.
He glances down at his phone one last time and turns down another corner. A women’s bathroom sign blazes on the wall.
“Okay, here we are,” he says, his shoulders slumping forward.
He knocks on the door, the pattern sharp and distinct. The click of someone unlocking the door from the inside echoes through the empty hallway.
My mind is spinning. What in the world is going on?
The door is jerked open, and a petite omega that smells like peach cobbler appears before us. She has shocking peach-pink dyed hair and piercing blue-grey eyes that strike me with an eerie sense of deja-vu.
“Come in, hurry!” she says, gesturing us into the bathroom. It’s a large rom, with a powder area containing large mirrors and a few plush-looking couches before leading back towards the stalls.
Ezra leans against the wall, tucking his hands into his pockets.
I stare at him like he’s grown two heads.
“What’s—what’s going on?” I stutter, my eyes widening even further when another omega appears, her face shockingly similar to the other, except instead of pink hair, it’s dirty blonde.
Her sweet cherry cobbler perfume swirls around in the air with her twin sister’s, making the bathroom smell like a delicious bakery.
Something about their scents soothes my frayed nerves. Maybe because I haven’t had the opportunity to be around omegas whose scents don’t make me want to tear my skin off like my mother’s does, in a very long time.
“Were you... not told?” The pink-haired omega asks, tilting her head.
The other omega’s gaze cuts towards Ezra, her eyes narrowing.
“Didn’t have a chance to tell her,” Ezra grunts. “There were people on us like flies the entire time.”
“Oh, well, I’m Cleo,” the pink-haired omega says with a bright smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Juno,” the other omega says with a small wave, her own smile a little sad around the edges. “We’re so sorry it’s under these circumstances. We’re Ever’s younger sisters.”
“Everett’s younger sisters?” I echo, my voice trembling at his name, like even saying it is a hardship. “Is he here?”
“No, he’s not,” a familiar voice calls from further in the bathroom. “But I am.”
Cameron steps out of one of the stalls, his expression soft and concerned.
The world, which hasn’t felt real for weeks, snaps back into focus when I meet his gaze.