Page 97 of Broken Dreams

Suicide? I never would have thought my mom would do that. She was always so bright, happy, and strong. Mom would stand up to my father, advocate for my friendship with the Kellys, andused to tell me that anything could be achieved if you focused on a few seconds at a time.

I’ve used that last one more times than I know, just not in the way she ever would have thought.

“Shit,” Linus mutters. “I can see why you sent them to pick us up. Thanks for explaining.”

“We cut it too close on time to pick up Ayla, and then things went sideways. I’ve been feeling shitty about it,”Callum says.

“It sounds like you may have saved her life,” Linus says simply. He’s right, how could we ever begrudge him this.

God, I’m going to see my mom!

“She’s fine now, getting hydrated with fluids and taking some activated charcoal to help neutralize the effects of what she took,”Callum says. “We’ll see you soon.”

“We’ll take good care of them,” Adira says before saying goodbye and hanging up. “I didn’t know how to articulate all of that, and I only know pieces of what he explained.”

“Thank you for calling him,” Linus murmurs. “I guess we should get home.”

The two of us are quiet as we walk out a side entrance toward the car with Adira and Jed. My thoughts are sliding from one potential moment to the next, imagining all the different ways this reunion could go. My anxiety is a thief of joy, twisting each one until I feel tears threatening my vision.

I have to focus on what is in front of me, and not what could be. I’ve lived in a bubble, uncaring of what others think of me because they don't matter. Even my father’s opinion of me isn’t worth much because he’s always been harsh to me.

But my mom? Dad has been using her against me because I’d do anything to see her, and now…

“It’s okay to cry,” Linus says gently. That’s all I need to release the floodgates, beginning to sob, my fingers twisting in the fabric of his shirt.

Unbuckling my seatbelt, he cradles me in his arms, holding me tightly as my new seat harness. Sucking in deep breaths, I let him snuggle me, struggling to get control of my emotions. When you’ve had to hide them all in a little box for the past twenty years, it’s hard to process them.

Everything feels raw when they begin to leak out, and you can’t stuff them back into the box. The leak turns into a bigger problem, until you’re trying to control a fucking fire hose. It’s not an easy thing to manage. All I can do is sit and go through it, even though it feels as if there are nails clawing at my insides.

My eyes feel a little raw by the time we pull through the front gates of the house, and I’m glad I removed my makeup. Adira also pushes tissues into my hand to help me mop up my face and blow my nose. I’m a damn mess.

I haven’t spoken at all, my tablet left in the Kelly’s SUV. It’s nice to not be expected to speak, because it exhausts me to get my thoughts together to write out after years of sitting in silence.

It’s why I sometimes get overstimulated with the guys when I’m expected to contribute to the conversation. I think they’ve noticed, because the last couple of days, they have been sitting in the living room with us to work on their things, while Linus and I watch movies or listen to podcasts.

I want to be in the room with them, I crave it, but my sensory intake is easily overloaded. I don’t want to hide away to be able to even things out, so I love that I get to hang out with them.

It’s odd and very much because Linus and I have spent so much time alone, despite living in close proximity with other omegas. I would often find a place to hide away to get some space as often as possible, while not catching Bret’s wrath.

It’s a thin tight rope to hold onto my sanity, since so many comfort items weren’t available nor allowed. Now that I do have those things, I’m finding my way around spending time withmore people. Linus notices the moment my eyes start to glaze over, which is a huge flex.

Most people go nonverbal when they hit their wall, but I already am.

Sliding off Linus’ lap to get out of the vehicle, I watch as the front door flings open and the brothers rush out.

“How was work?” they ask in unison.

My lips twitch because they’re cute.

“We accidentally got someone fired,” Linus offers as we walk toward them. “A twat dancer thought it would be fun to pick on Quinn.”

“Oh my god, people are dumber than rocks,” Adira mutters as she and Jed stand beside us. My lips curl up a bit more, because she’s not wrong. “From what I understand, Cerenity doesn’t put up with that kind of behavior.”

I shake my head, and Linus says, “She wasn’t amused. Everyone else was great, and Quinn and I loved dancing together. It was almost like we could forget there was anyone else around.”

It’s definitely what we both needed, but I want to go inside. Linus has our bag in his hand and I bounce impatiently on the balls of my feet.

“We’re going to let you guys get inside,” Adira says. “If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from running to see my mom.”

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