17. Saylor
Saylor
Zale and Trent walk me back to the lake house at twilight, and my head won’t stop spinning.
My skin is burned from the sun, but it was entirely worth it.
Today had to be one of the best in my life for a long time, and I didn’t even get a single word down in my WIP.
Oh, well.
I can catch up tomorrow.
Trent’s eyes drift down to my tablet. It’s tucked beneath my arm, and there’s no missing his sorry expression. “It looks like we distracted you in the end, England.”
I gaze down at the tablet with all my bookish stickers. “Oh, it’s fine. There’s always tomorrow.”
Yep. Tomorrow...
And the rest of eternity.
Whereas I only have two weeks here.
My Omega wails at the bleak thought, but I push her aside, focusing on the path ahead.
When we arrive at my doorstep, a quiet settles over the three of us. I guess this is the part where we split ways, but then I have a crazy idea, blurting it out before I come to my senses.
“Would you both like to come inside for tea?”
Both Alphas light up at the question. Zale’s eyes narrow with warmth. “Sure thing, S.”
My heart thuds at the nickname yet again.
Well, it looks like it’s too late now. I invited them inside…
Now I open the door, stepping into the lake house.
Both Alphas gaze around, rather impressed. Zale muses, “Nice. Daisy’s is the same, but I’m getting sick of her place now since it’s starting to smell like her Alphas.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me,” Trent grumbles.
I place my tablet down onto the table. “You don’t like her Alphas all that much, do you?”
Both Alphas fall silent. I chew my bottom lip as I shouldn’t pry, but Daisy already told me enough of her story.
“It must have been hard, seeing someone you care about so much being humiliated in that fashion,” I say out loud then.
It’s hard enough thinking about my own rejection. It flashes through my mind yet again, playing on repeat over and over like an old, grainy movie reel, but at least that hallway had been empty.
At least Martina and Ryan had already exited the school building.
Yet Daisy’s bullies had front row seats to her rejection, and that must have been so awful for her. Her confidence had to have been shaken, but I never would have suspected as such when she came to Manchester.
She was so confident, but knowing what I know now, it appears she was just eager to put the past behind her and start afresh.
Don’t I know the feeling. I was supposed to find my fresh start here, too, in Silverpine.
Still, I went against my code. I promised myself no Alphas during this trip, yet there are two Alphas in my lake house.
Zale and Trent fall quiet, and I suppose it really was a hard time for them. High school is the worst, on both sides of the pond.
“It was,” Trent announces next. “But I guess we would be big hypocrites if we judged the Thorn Pack. Because we did the same to you in the end, Saylor. And for that, we will always have the deepest of regrets.”
A tense silence drifts throughout the room next.
I have imagined this exact conversation more times than I care to admit over the past ten years.
Sometimes, they apologize.
Sometimes, they pretend that they don’t even remember me. Other times, they laugh, just as they do in my nightmares.
But in the end, there was no grand declaration.
No dramatic plea for forgiveness. Just two men standing in my borrowed little lake house, looking genuinely ashamed of something they did as teenagers.
It didn't erase the hurt. I wasn't sure if anything ever truly could. But perhaps healing wasn't about pretending the scars had never existed.
Perhaps it simply began with finally being seen.
Releasing a shaky sigh, I go about making us some tea. “It’s okay. I get it. You were all still mourning Emma. Again, I am sorry about your loss. It’s sad to think she would have been our age now...”
I trail off as the guys become crestfallen, and did I speak out of turn?
Zale’s smile is tight when I hand him his tea. “You’re good, S. As much as we’d loved Emma, it’s been ten years now. And she would want us to find happiness again.”
My heart rings so loud, it causes the blood to rush through my head. I become lightheaded, and perhaps I am suffering from heatstroke, who knows, but the next thing I know, I am inside of Trent’s arms.
“Whoa, easy there, England,” the Alpha laughs nervously, nestling me down onto the couch. “It looks like you caught too much sun after all.”
I really did, and I should know better with my fair skin.
But I just got carried away.
When he places me down on the couch cushion, I give a wince when my burnt skin scrapes against the material.
Trent hisses. “Ouch, that does look painful.”
It really is, and I curse myself for having so much fun.
“Come on, let’s get you healed up. Do you have any aloe vera?” Trent asks.
I nod. “In the bathroom.”
The Alpha nods, heading to the bathroom. I scowl at Zale as he smirks at me from the kitchen island. “Why aren’t you burned?”
He shrugs, sipping his tea. “I guess I just don’t have your delicate, fair skin, S.”
No. Zale just turns golden in the sun while I turn into Piglet from Winnie the Pooh.
Ah, it really does hurt.
Trent returns with the aloe vera, and when he sits me up on the couch, squirting the cooling liquid onto my burned shoulders, I close my eyes, breathing a huge sigh of relief.
That feels amazing.
The Alpha starts rubbing circles into my reddened skin. “This should get you healed up nicely, England. You need to be more careful next time. Surely, the UK gets enough heatwaves.”
I exhale yet again when he keeps applying that precious aloe vera. “We do, and if you recall from your time living there, it’s only a few times a year. Yet when we do get the heat… it’s like living on Satan’s bollocks…”
Both Alphas freeze at my comment. Then they burst into laughter. “Fuck, I really do miss that blunt British humor,” Zale snorts.
I wasn’t being humorous, though. I was just stating a fact. Heatwaves in the UK really do feel like we’re all on Satan’s bollocks.
“She’s right, though, Z,” Trent chimes in. “Those houses were not built for the heat. But it’s just funny to hear you cuss so carelessly, England. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
My cheeks blush, and I hang my head. “Didn’t mean to sound so crude.”
“There’s no need to apologize,” Trent responds.
Once he has applied a generous amount of aloe vera onto my burned skin, I turn around and meet his brown gaze. “Thank you.”
Another terse silence passes among the three of us. Once they finish their tea, both Zale and Trent get to their feet.
“Well, we best leave you in peace,” Zale announces.
They move for the door, but I blurt out yet again before I can stop myself. “Wait. Would… would you both like to stay for the night?”
Zale and Trent stare at me in shock, and I blush yet again.
Now I am speaking way out of turn.
“That’s… that’s if you want to,” I add.
Zale smiles, and then he peers at his brother. “I’m game if you are.”
Trent grins down at me. “Sure. Someone needs to take care of you, anyway. You caught too much sun. Don’t want you passing out again.”
I did. He’s right.
I’ve been a bad girl…
Where did that thought come from?
Now they join me on the couch, both applying aloe vera onto my reddened skin. When Zale rubs at my lower back, a groan escapes me, and I cover my mouth.
Both Alphas freeze at my response.
Zale growls, but then he swallows the sound quickly, returning to applying more of that gel onto my shoulder.
His hand that holds the bottle shakes.
I meet his eyes then, and I’m not sure what he sees in mine. Perhaps he is recalling the time I fell into his arms back at Silver Grove High, who knows. One moment, we’re just gazing at each other…
And the next thing I know, he has his hand cupped around my face, his lips crashing into mine, and then all common sense drifts out the open window.
Well, so much for my Alpha-free trip.