Page 58 of The Flavor of Us

Ryder takes a blanket from the back of the couch and drapes it over her lap, his movements careful, precise. Ashton appears a second later with the water and a small bowl of something—soup, maybe? I can’t quite tell because my focus is locked on Carleen’s pale face.

“I’ve been watching you for too long, Carleen,” Ryder begins as Ashton hands her the bottle of water. “You push yourself. Over and over. Until you’ve got nothing left to give. And it’s too much.”

“I’m fine,” she insists, but her voice wavers just enough to betray her words.

Ryder shakes his head, his thumbs brushing lightly against her knees. “No, you’renot.And it’s okay not to be. But what’snotokay is you thinking you have to earn your place here by exhausting yourself.”

Carleen opens her mouth, probably to snap back, but Ryder’s already leaning in closer, his gaze locked onto hers as they snap open to meet his.

“You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone. Not to me. Not to Ashton. Not to Tati. You’reours,Carleen. And we’re yours. Noone here is keeping score and no one here is going to let you run yourself into the ground just to feel like you’re enough.”

The words hang heavy in the air and I can see Carleen’s shoulders start to relax, just slightly. Her gaze drops to Ryder’s hands on her knees and her lips part as if she’s going to argue again, but she doesn’t.

Ryder’s voice softens, but the steel remains. “It’s hard for you to sit still. I know that. But you’re going to do it today. You’re going to sit here and you’re going to breathe and you’re going to let yourself be.Hell, I don’t care if you go to the movies or something but no work.”

Carleen swallows hard, her eyes flicking to mine briefly before landing back on Ryder. “And if I don’t?”

Ryder raises a brow, a faint smirk ghosting across his lips. “Do you really want to test me on that?”

Some part of me loves this fierce exchange and the other part is terrified that Carleen thought she had to work so hard. Carleen huffs out a breath, her arms dropping from her chest as she sinks back into the couch cushions and takes the bowl of soup from Ashton.

“There you go,” Ryder murmurs, his thumbs still stroking slow circles against her knees. “That’s it. You’re not going into that kitchen today. Not for anything. You’re going to let someone else handle things for once.”

Something flickers in Carleen’s eyes—something soft, something vulnerable—and before she can pull away or put her walls back up, Ryder leans in and presses a feather-light kiss to her lips. It’s brief. Soft. Barely a whisper of contact. But it’s enough to make Carleen’s eyes flutter shut, her breath catching in her throat. When Ryder pulls back, he rises to his full height, his hand lingering on her cheek for just a moment longer before he steps back.

“I’m sorry,” Carleen whispers to me. “I get so into my head sometimes. Ellie was always the one to drag me out of it because she was here.”

“Then I’ll be the one to drag you out of it.”

She snorts, ungracefully shoveling some of the soup into her mouth. “How about we go visit Ellie then since I can’t step into my own damn kitchen?” There’s no bite behind her words there, a playful but tired edge to her voice. I agree, only because it’ll keep her away from the menu, the kitchen, and whatever else is bothering her.

Chapter twenty-eight

CARLEEN

The sound of the shower fills the bathroom, steam curling around me like a cocoon as hot water pelts my back. I brace my hands against the cool tiles, my forehead resting between them as I let the heat seep into my aching muscles.

Moments like this—when the adrenaline fades, and the silence settles in—I start to unravel a little. My mind loops around Ryder’s words from earlier, his steady gaze, his firm voice telling me I’menough.But it’s hard to believe him when weakness still feels like a sin in my chest. When being vulnerable still feels like failure.

Alphas aren’t supposed to stumble. We’re supposed to carry it all—every burden, every expectation, every damnthing—without breaking a sweat. But Ryder saw right through me. Ashton saw it too. And Tati… Goddess,Tati.She sees everything, even the parts I try to keep hidden.

I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing those spiraling thoughts away.

“Alpha?”

Tati’s soft voice pulls me from my thoughts and I lift my head, looking through the haze of steam. She’s peeking around the shower curtain, her short black hair damp at the ends, those hazel eyes wide and concerned.

“You okay?” she asks, stepping closer.

I nod, offering her the faintest smile. “Yeah, sunshine. Come here.”

She doesn’t hesitate. In seconds, she’s slipping into the shower with me, her soft body pressing against mine as her arms wrap around my waist. Her cheek rests against my chest, and I let out a slow exhale as I wrap my arms around her, pulling her closer. We stand there for a long moment, the water cascading over both of us, washing away the lingering weight in my chest.

“I hate seeing you like this,” Tati whispers, her voice muffled against my skin.

I press a kiss to the top of her head. “I know, Tati. I’m trying.” She’s never seen the really bad nights, the nights I would spiral into my cooking so far that Ellie had to throw me in a shower fully clothed to bring me back to reality. It isn’t even about the cooking at that point but the perfection I’ve been striving for getting into my head.

It’s not an easy world that I’ve stepped into and I fought with every fiber of my being to get there. The problem is that sometimes I lose myself in that notion without remembering how far I’ve come.

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