Page 56 of Rejected Broken Mate

I swallowed. As angry as I was, I still wanted Laura. I knew we weren’t in the best place right now, but I cared about her. I wanted to be there for her despite not showing it.

“I don’t know what to do,” I finally admitted.

Owen gave me a sympathetic look. “None of us do, but you have to try and figure it out. At the end of this, what do you want?”

I looked away. I didn’t want to let her go all those years ago, and I had. But I wasn’t going to let her go this time.

“I want both of them,” I said.

Owen nodded his head. “Then fight for them.”

I wanted to fight, but I didn't know how or what was right or wrong.

Chapter 21 - Laura

I sat uncomfortably in the chair as the guys all stood behind the two tables we had set out for the career fair. They were each suited up, talking amongst themselves about the football game last night. Miles stood on the other end, quiet as a mouse.

I crossed and uncrossed my legs and squirmed in my chair. As chatty as everyone was, it was still rather quiet. It had been since our screaming match the other day. Miles and I still had yet to talk about it.

"When do the kids start?" Cayden said, standing just behind me. I could hear him sighing, sounding annoyed.

"The classes are coming in waves to control traffic," I said, looking at my watch. I knew that the first wave would just be getting out.

I looked at the table, taking in the oxygen tanks and some other things the guys had laid out. We had a large sign on the front of the table, and I had stickers and pamphlets to hand out. It would start with the younger kids and then go to the high school students.

The entire gym was packed with tables from various businesses, including themselves, for the career day. Across from us were a dentist and a midwife. There was a lawyer to the left of us, and the police officers set up their stands next to us. The gym was filled with posters, and a large banner hung on a wall that read Career Day.

I heard a bell go off, and everyone perked up. "Must be the first bell to let the kids out," Thomas said, rolling his neck.

It was only a moment later that a swarm of children started coming into the gym. Many of them came to our table, where the guys started talking about their daily lives. They told the kids about a couple of scary fires, and I handed out stickers.

Each of the guys had a heroic story to tell, and I hadn't heard of some of them. The kids were moving along smoothly and had good questions they were asking the guys. You almost wouldn't have noticed the tension through everyone.

I opened another box of stickers behind the booth and heard someone stop beside me. "Can we talk?"

I turned, seeing Miles standing just behind me. I scowled. "Not a great time. We’re kind of busy here.”

He frowned. "The first wave is heading out, and we won't get another for a couple of minutes. Please. Just a few minutes. This is important."

I looked at the guys, and I saw they were doing fine. I was really only here to see Michael, who would be getting out a little later.

It had been a couple of days, and I knew we both had calmed. "Fine, only a few minutes."

We turned, slipping out of a door into a hallway. Miles pointed towards an open door to a classroom, and we stepped inside. The classroom was quiet, and Miles stuffed his hands into his pockets. I would have admired how good he looked in his uniform if I wasn't so nervous.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you the other day and I shouldn’t have said what I said."

My eyebrows went up, a little shocked. I expected him to fight with me more, considering everything.

"What?"

He took a step back and pressed against the wall. "I shouldn't have yelled. As angry as I am, you have a point. I wasn't a great person in college, and I ended things. I know I don’t have a great reason for it, but still."

My eyebrows went up.

"I'm still angry," he added. "And I don't know where this leaves everything, but I don't want to miss out on anything else. Laura, I want to be a part of his life."

"I want that too," I said, knowing I was whispering. "I want you to be a part of it as well. Especially with how much you've been trying to be there."

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