Page 32 of Knot Forgotten

Setting his tray down, he slides into the seat, his massive body taking up almost the whole space. His eyes travel over my neck and the fading bruises before he brings his hazel eyes—that are more brown than any other color at the moment—to mine. I love that about his irises, the ability to change with emotions.

He is quiet for a minute, looking as if he is debating something with himself. His soft ginger smell washes over me, reminding me of the gingersnap cookies his mom used to make us. I devoured those cookies. There was something about them I couldn’t get enough of. And I have a feeling I would be the same now.

“I’ve thought about things, Rin.”

My tongue darts out over my lower lip nervously, and his attention catches on the movement. I’m silent as I wait for him to continue.

“You are right. I wanted to cling to who we were as kids so badly that I didn’t take into account that time might have changed you as much as it changed us. So, let me learn who you are now. Allow us to rebuild what we had before.”

I can barely hear him over the rushing of blood through my ears. My palms are sweaty, and I wipe them down my leggings beneath the table.

“Do you feel comfortable talking about why you left?”

Inhaling a breath, I steady myself. He went big. My eyelids flutter as I attempt to hold back my emotions. Gripping the tabletop, I swallow. If he can be brave, I can too.

“That last night–” I start. “You guys made it so magical. And I was so in love. But when I got home, my father, I overheard him saying horrible things about me. He wanted to sell me to people that traffic omegas.” I press my lips together, attempting not to be dragged back to that night in my head. “And my mom didn’t want to. He, uh, I think was going to kill her.”

“Shit,” Matt breathes, reaching for my fingers.

“Yeah, I stopped him after calling the police.” Now that it was coming out, I needed him to hear it. At least one of my boys could know the truth. “He hit me a few times before the police arrived. They took him to jail for the night. But my mom was so scared and convinced he would kill her and sell me when he got out. She packed just the essentials into bags, and we left. In the middle of the night, we ran for our lives. I had to go no contact because if he found us–”

He releases one of my hands and drags his fingers through his curls. “He told Cam–”

“What?” Horror lowers my voice, and I’m surprised he hears me. But when he flicks his eyes up to mine and holds, I know he did.

“Your dad, he said that you chose to go away. That you confessed to the things we had done, and you knew how wrong it was. You begged to leave.”

“All we did was kiss,” I scoff.

He huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, but it was so much to us. It meant a future had been started. We were all hurt, but Cam took it the hardest, followed by Blake.”

“You believed my father?” It hurts to hear that, but they were just kids like I had been.

“He was convincing. Any time we saw him, he didn’t seem worried or like you just disappeared and he needed to find you. Eventually, we stopped trying to communicate with him.”

His thumb swipes over my palm almost absently.

“I’m glad you and your mom ran. If he sold you–” he breaks off. “I’m glad you’re here now, Rin.”

I smile sadly. Everything that has happened since I’ve arrived rushes over me. I’m not sure I agree with his sentiment. Being here has almost been more painful than leaving all those years ago.

“I’m glad you’re here, Matty.” I squeeze his fingers.

Because at least I can say that honestly. The other three haven’t earned those words, even if my body wants each of them.

He smiles, the light finally entering his eyes again. At least one good thing will have come out of this disaster. I’ll have the friendship of one of my guys.

“Is that all you’re eating?” He eyes the apple that is already browning where I took a bite.

I shrug, glancing down at the fruit with distaste. “I probably won’t finish it.” He swears before he pushes his plate of food across the space. “That’s yours,” I say.

“Eat, Rin,” he demands, making my stomach flip with nervous energy when he picks up his chicken sandwich and holds it out for me to take a bite. He is seriously going to feed me if I don’t do it myself, and the omega in me wants it. She wants to be taken care of. Craves it as much as she craves their musks.

“I’m good.” I press my lips together even as he holds it out again.

Then he shocks the crap out of me when he slides out of the booth and then slides right in next to me, his arm looping around me. He holds the sandwich up to my lips. “Take a bite.”

I lock eyes with him before opening my mouth to do as he ordered. Satisfaction paints his face, and his musk fills the space when I chew silently. After I swallow, he lifts his brows and holds the sandwich up to me for another bite. I willingly take a bite this time, just to see the alpha in him happy. It is obvious his hormones are driving him to take care of me, and I am loving every second, even if I really don’t need to eat right now.

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