Page 86 of Alpha & Omega

Then his tears spilled. “God, I thought we’d lost you. I’ve been trying so hard not to freak out and use the coping tools my therapist has given me, but… it’s so hard. And your poor leg. Drinks run through my head, recipes, new ones. I make lists of them to find ways to make money, ways to stay open… ways to keep my brain staying on track. I can’t slip up, but I slipped up a lot, making the wrong drinks and making people mad. It’s not helping. I’m not helping. Harley sent me up here…”

I rested my hand on his to bring him back on track, his ADHD shining through despite his medications. Perhaps he forgot to take them.

“Who’s running the bar tonight, Pip?”

“Uhm… I can’t remember her name. She’s one of the bartenders who work at Harley’s. She volunteered.”

“Jesus Christ… he’s going to slay me with kindness.”

“He’s really nice and patient. We all like him.”

Pippin sat up, crossing his legs and hugging one of my pillows, burying his face in it, other than his green eyes peeking over the top. “What’s going to happen, Alpha? You always have the answers, and we’re… so lost without you.”

I pushed myself to sit up, leaning against my headboard and scrubbing my head. “I don’t have answers because I don’t know what’s going to happen. Before anything, I need to heal and learn to walk again. There just aren’t any answers. All this… it’s…”

He tried to hold back the tears that were falling. Fuck me. With a sigh, I lied to him instead. “It’ll be fine. We’ll figure things out. Eventually, I’ll walk again, but it’s going to take a while. I’m sure we’ll get through this, okay?”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him Alpha’s was going to fail because I couldn’t afford to keep it running anymore… or I wouldn’t soon once I was forced to shell out whatever my insurance company wouldn’t pay. Who knew when the other insurance company would handle things? After I woke from my coma, I’d talked to my insurance company about the accident.

“You don’t need to lie. We know you, Alpha, and I can tell when I’m being placated. Are you going to lose Alpha’s Rejects?”

My sigh was loud as I rested my head against the headboard. “I don’t know, Pip, but it’s not looking good. I was already struggling before the accident.”

“Because you take care of us?”

“I would do it over again if I had to. Don’t worry about that.”

Pippin sat up straighter and put the pillow back. “Then we’ll take care of you. I can come up with some new drinks! Maybe create a theme each week! Yeah! I’ll work more days… definitely.”

My eyes watered at his sudden enthusiasm. “That sounds amazing.”

“Shit, I better write that down before I forget.”

He pulled out his phone and wrote out a note on his app. His memory had gotten better since he’d been on meds, but they were never perfect since he’d suffered brain damage after getting electric shock therapy during conversion therapy. The assholes hadn’t known what they were doing—or they didn’t care.

“Can I hang out with you for a little longer?”

“Sure.”

“Can I get you something? Anything? Do you need water? Juice? Something to eat? I can make you a sandwich or something.”

“Some juice would be great.”

Tears slipped as he left my bedroom, so eager to be useful.

“I’m sorry I failed you, Pip,” I whispered.

Eachday,Iwokeup to a bouquet of flowers that Harley would make and leave by my bedside. When they started to wither, he’d replace them with a fresh one. Even when he wasn’t here, it was a constant reminder of his presence… or perhaps letting me know he wasn’t going anywhere.

I lay flat on my back with a pillow under my head to keep my hips straight, which annoyed the hell out of me. I missed the days I could curl up on my side. Maybe one day, but not until I recovered.

Because I couldn’t curl into him, Harley would often snuggle into me. He’d practically moved in with me, and Hudson stayed in the spare bedroomperiodically, making me feel only slightly less guilty about taking his dad away so much.

I rolled my head to the side to see Harley still sleeping, his arm draped over my stomach. The sunlight hit his face through the blinds and curtains, giving him an ethereal glow. He looked like an angel. Hell, hewasan angel.

He must have sensed me staring because he woke up and stretched. Then he smiled and kissed me. “Morning.”

“Aren’t you tired of this yet? Tired of me?”

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