Page 203 of Captive Omega

To him, this baby is a sign of something bad. Of hurt, of pain and rape. In a way, he’s right. I have memories that will stay with me forever, but my baby is so much more than something bad. He or she is a part of me. And they are their own person, or they soon will be. I can’t wait to meet them.

“When are you and Emily getting married?” I ask, distracting myself from thoughts of how Garrison, Vaughn, and Blaine prioritized looking after me and my baby. Playing the comparison game never leads to anything good.

“We fly out to Mexico next week.”

I smile at him as I take a step away. “Well, good luck with everything. I’m sure you’ll both be happy together.”

“I’ll see you around, okay?”

I nod.

But I won’t.

He’ll have his new married life with Emily. I’ll have my life, and we’ll never see each other again. Unless our paths cross accidentally in the grocery store or the post office.

As he turns to leave, I remember something else I found that I no longer need or want.

“Give me a second.” I walk over to a box near Dad’s tool bench and dig out the envelope of stuff that must have come from the cops. I hand back my engagement ring. “Here. You gave it to me. It doesn’t belong to me anymore.”

His brow furrows, but he makes no move to take the emerald ring with the platinum band I offer him. “Are you sure you don’t want to…”

“No,” I gently interrupt. “I don’t. That was a long time ago, and I think we’ve both moved on now. Pawn it if you want and get something nice for Emily.”

He takes it, and our hands brush. I don’t have the same tingle I would always have whenever he touched me, because whatever we had is gone now. It went away a long time ago. He tucks the ring into his back pocket. “Thanks.”

I watch him drive past the cop car until I can’t see him anymore.

Dad wraps his arm around me and kisses the top of my head. “You okay, sweetheart?”

I rest my head on his shoulder and inhale his scent. Sweet orange and soothing mint. The scents of my childhood. Of safety. Of home. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

He squeezes my shoulders. “You sure you don’t want me to take my baseball bat to his backside? If I can remember where I left it, I’ll teach him a lesson about hurting my daughter.”

I smile. “I’m sure, Dad. And Mom made you sell it at the garage sale years ago. She said you never used it for anything but threatening my boyfriends.”

“Oh. Well, now I know for later.” He pats my arm. “Let’s go inside so I can tell your mom that I was right. I would need it one day.”

One day melds into two.

Then three.

Eventually, the cops knock on the front door and tell us they don’t have the manpower to keep watching over me anymore.

The cop car has just pulled away and Mom is in the kitchen making lunch when I spot a dark gray Audi park outside.

“I’ll be right back, Mom!” I yell as I run out of the house without stopping to put on my shoes.

“Where are you going?” She pops her head out of the kitchen, eyes wary.

“Just outside. I’ll be right back.”

I’ve settled on it being Garrison when I yank the passenger door open. “Oh, it’s you.”

Is it awful that I’m this disappointed?

“What a welcome. Nice to see you too,” Frost says dryly.

Smiling apologetically, I climb into the passenger seat and slam my door shut. “Sorry. I just saw the car, and I thought?—”

---