Page 194 of Finding the Forward: Part One
The door of my greenhouse stood ajar. Odd. Saphira may have come in to check on it yesterday as a dry run and forgotten to close it all the way. She was going to check on them while I was gone.
Something caught my eye.Whorehad been spray painted across the side.
My heart stuck in my throat as I threw open the door to my greenhouse. The overpowering stench of gasoline assaulted me, making my eyes water.
Pots were everywhere, broken and overturned. Salt covered the floor. The back room had been busted open, the floor strewn with the wreckage that had once been my research.
Bile rose in my throat.
Panic lit every cell in my body on fire.Gone. Everything was gone.Mylife’swork was in that greenhouse.
Who would even do such a horrific thing?
No. This couldn’t be happening.
Sinking to my knees, crutch clattering to the ground, I began to cry.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Dean
Jean-Paul skated up to me as we were about to start practice, expression worried. All around me, everyone was still riding the high from last night’s win.
“Dean, Grif’s in the locker room, and I don’t think he’s okay,” he told me quietly.
“Thanks, I’ll check on him.” I skated off, dread-balling in the pit of my belly. Was he sick? There’d been something off about him last night after we’d gotten home and gone to bed, but I couldn’t pinpoint it.
Carlos came over to me. “Did Grif and Verity break up? I saw him in the hallway muttering about being rejected and looking absolutely devastated. Sarah and Clark saw them fighting in the bleachers.”
“Not that I know of.” My stomach churned. I left the ice, letting Coach Kirov know I’d be right back. What? Did Grif and Verity have a fight?
I entered our locker room, which was now empty. Salty sadness and a rotten smell greeted me.
Shit, somethinghadhappened. Oh, Ireallyhoped Verity didn’t break up with him.
“Grif?” I looked around, following the scent.
In the corner of the training room, I found Grif curled into a ball. He hadn’t changed for practice yet. My heart broke at the sight. It reminded me of when he’d presented and hid in the bathroom of our apartment, absolutely devastated, too ashamed to even tellme.
I took off my pads, glove, and blocker, and sat down on the floor with him. “Hey, Gumdrop, what happened?”
He gazed up at me, eyes red. “She rejected me. I… I thought we were it.”
“You mean you broke up? I’ll get my phone and we’ll call her. It must be a misunderstanding.” The bottom fell out of my stomach, and nausea rolled over me.
She couldn’t have broken up with him, with us, she just couldn’t. There had to be more to the story. Certainly, she wouldn’trejecthim.
“No, she rejected me. Why won’t she bite me? Why am I not good enough for her?” A low omega whine, one of pain and sadness, filled the room.
My belly twisted at his words. Oh shit. No, this might not be a breakup at all.
I pushed aside the omega part of me that wanted to echo his statements. As far as my omega was concerned, Verity was takingfartoo much time, and it bordered on rejection.
“You’re absolutely good enough. She’s so excited about it. I’m a little jealous that you get to be first.” If only there was a cozierspace for us. But it was what it was. I snuggled into him, careful since I still wore my skates. “What happened?”
Last I knew, he’d gone to sit with her in the stands.
“Why do we have to wait? We could go now. Call AJ to join us. And she saidno.Why? Why doesn’t she want me? I want her so bad.” He whined again.
