Page 59 of Lost
“Still,” Linus muses. “When is Adira’s next appointment?”
“I just rescheduled it for Thursday,” I say. “I missed it since I had my heat. She’s been doing really well so the shift isn’t too terrible.”
“Well what if Adira just came here instead and you could see them both on Thursday?” Linus asks.“Adira and Pack Dresmond won’t mind, they’re here often anyway.”
“Oh, are you sure?” I ask. “I’ll probably need to give Quinn an IV drip too…”
“I don’t mind,” Quinn calls out. “The snow isn’t getting any better, Nova, and we don’t want you driving all over for us.”
“You’re on speaker,”Linus says sheepishly.
“I can see that,” I tease him. “If everyone is okay with that, then I’ll see you Thursday. I’ll bring everything I need for the appointment. Quinn, how are you feeling?”
I vaguely remember her asking me while I was in heat if I’d be able to see her if she needed me, but I’m unsure if that was a real question or a test to gauge how bad things were for me.
“I’m better,” she says. “The nausea is starting to taper off now that I’m implementing the suggestions you gave me, but I’m still really tired. I’m exercising every day, even if it’s just stretching and silly dancing in the studio with Linus.”
“I miss dancing with her,” he sighs. I love how he loves her. Linus is so incredibly in tune with Quinn. Curling up on a cute couch by the window, I gaze outside as I ignore the voices at the front of the house. “Quinn is working maybe once a week at the club now since we never know how she’ll feel.”
“Growing a baby is hard work,”she says with a small yawn.
“Yes it is,” I chuckle. “Naps will be your best friend. You’re doing amazing. You’re almost in your second trimester, whichmeans you could experience a burst of energy or continue to feel tired. Everyone is different.”
“As long as the nausea decides to calm its tits, I’ll be happy,” she says.
“I hope it does,” I admit. “I’ll see you on Thursday at two then.”
“Take your time on the roads,”Duncan rumbles next to Linus. “Late is better than never, Nova. Are you sure your tires can handle the snow?”
My lips twitch in amusement. What does it say when other packs care more about me than Caleb and Lars? My eyes close for a moment as I pack away the shattered pieces of my heart. I seem to be doing that a lot.
It’s all going to spill over at some point, and I can only hope that I’m alone when that happens. There’s so much trauma threatening to bubble over, I feel like I’m going to sound like a crazy person when I finally break.
“My tires are solid,” I promise, opening my eyes to find Tyde rushing into the room with wide eyes. I can feel his alarm through the bond, and I wince. Oops. I almost forgot that he can feel the whiplash of my emotions. “The van should make it just fine in this weather. I’ll see you then.”
Saying goodbye, I hang up and raise my brows at Tyde.
“I’m not going to ask if you’re okay,” he breathes. “If you ever want to go outside and just scream, I don’t have neighbors. I also won’t judge because your emotions…Fuck, baby.”
There’s no time for me to respond as I gaze at him with wide eyes and no explanation for the feelings and memories threatening to spill out of my own personal Pandora’s Box.
“Nova,” Caleb says, walking into the room. Tyde merely inclines his head at me as if to tell me he’ll keep my confidence, and I turn to face Caleb. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” I lie, my voice strained from overuse. This is what happens when I disappear for a few days. “I just needed to rearrange some things so I’ve been on the phone. You’re back?”
Caleb grinds his teeth for a moment before he nods.
“We are,” he says, glancing at Lars as he joins us in the room. They seem to take up so much space, and I regret coming in here to finish my call. “What are you rearranging?”
“My life,” I mutter. “My phone was overflowing with requests from people who want to be new clients, current clients checking on me or rescheduling missed appointments.”
“Anyone unhappy with these missed appointments?” Lars growls.
Huffing out a laugh, I shake my head. “It’s rarely an issue when I’m working with omegas and packs. They all know how quickly a heat can come, and that they’re not an exact science that you can track perfectly,” I explain. “I need to check on the van, make sure nothing has cropped up that needs to be fixed.”
“Do you often find yourself doing that?” Caleb asks carefully.
“Bertha is ancient,” I smirk. “There’s always something to fix on her high maintenance self. It’s never something I can’t do myself or watch a video for. Duncan was worried about my tires being up to driving in the snow, but I just changed them. Well, Malcolm actually did that because I was nursing a sore head at the time.”
