Page 146 of Loving Ladybug: Part One
Like Lucius had.
Because those with the money made the rules.
“I’ll support you,” Clark asked. “Um, so how does your ex fit in with all this? He reported you missing?”
“Austin never knew much other than an obsessed alpha from my childhood kidnapped me and I was forced to kill him in order to escape. He didn’t make me talk about it, though he knew there was more to it. I was kidnapped in November, so I did most of my recuperating at my dads’ over break. When I had the fight with my dads and I crawled out the window in Vancouver, it was time for the new semester to start and they didn’t want me to go back to New York. I missed my life–and Austin. While he’d offered to come out, he still had work and hockey and everything.”
I also didn’t want him to see that part of my life. It wasn’t me.
“Not to mention Lucius didn’t do this alone. He’d promised to help my uncle get back what he lost during his failed takeover. Uncle is now in jail, as are some others who helped. I had zero interest in staying in Vancouver.” I sighed again. “I told my dads that if they had any money for me, to give it to Officer Jones’ family. He was a good guy. I attended his memorial, met his family and dog, and talked to his friends and co-workers.”
If I’d ever met him under other circumstances, we would have been friends.
Maybe even more.
“I hope they did that,” Clark told me. “Um, what’s the name you were born with? Will you tell me? Curious.”
“Gabriella. It was great for ice skating, but I never truly felt like a Gabriella. I also detested being calledGabby,which Maricella, of course, only calls me. Some people called me Gabs. Mostly my family calls me Buttons.”
“Because you’re cute as a button?” Clark booped my nose, which made me giggle.
“Because my sister, Isa, decided to potty train me after watching a video online and used chocolate button candies as a reward and I became obsessed with them.” I still loved them and would bribe people to bring them to me from Canada. They were pricey here in the gift shop, but maybe we could stop at a grocery store on our way to the train station.
“What do you need, Precious?” Tenzin asked.
“I still want to snuggle in a big pile like you promised.” I needed it before my paid-for spa afternoon.
“In bed or on the couch?” he added.
I eyed the couch. It wasn’t big and cozy like Clark’s. “In bed.”
Clark rolled me under the covers and the two of them fluffed pillows, got more blankets, and made everything nice and cozy before squashing me so tight between them they might just manage to squish my broken soul back together.
“Better?” Tenzin kissed my forehead.
“Much.” For a moment I luxuriated in warmth and cuddles. “You two are actually okay with the fact that I grew up with another name, that I essentially lost a mate, and I killed someone?” It seemed too good to be true.
“We all have things in our past, and I’m sorry for everything that you have gone through. I'm here for you. You're a lovely person and I enjoy spending time with you. I look forward to where you lead us next,” Tenzin told me.
Awww.
“The terrible things that have happened to us don’t define us,” Clark told me. “It’s what we do following it that counts. After all, I killed someone once, too.”
Chapter Forty-Nine
Clark
As the words left my mouth, I winced. I might as well tell them the story. I didn’t want to keep secrets from them. Also, maybe it would help Gwen a little. None of that was her fault, and I felt awful for her on so many levels.
Gwen looked up at me, her hazel eyes still a little teary, minty scent tinged with concern.
“Her name was Yelena. We were high school sweethearts. I was getting a lot of attention on the hockey front. I wanted to go to Natty for engineering–and hopefully play hockey for them. Because I was so confident, I did early decision, and was ecstatic when I was admitted,” I told them. Natty, National Tech, was just as prestigious as NYIT and well known for engineering.
“You got into Natty early decision? Shit, you’re smart,” Gwen told me.
Considering I struggled sometimes with reading it had been a huge accomplishment for me.
“My parents were happy for me, even though we had no idea how we’d pay for it if I didn’t get enough scholarships. Yelena and I had a huge fight. She didn’t want me to go so far away. I might have gotten mad and accused her of being unsupportive. Not my finest moment, because shewassupportive.She called me selfish, grabbed her stuff, and stormed out.” I closed my eyes, trying to shut out the fight, the ugly things we’d both said to each other.
