Page 67 of Patiently Yours
She nods. “After Rory helped me during my bad trip, she investigated and read my texts. She asked me to end it… she told me it was time, and I agreed with her. I shouldn’t have let it go on for that long. I just didn’t want to…dealwith it.”
“It’s over now, angel.” Atlas cradles her head with his free hand, rubbing it softly. “Youdiddeal with it. And now we’re here, and it’sover.”
Her eyes well up with tears, like she was trying to stay strong long enough to get the story out. “It’s over,” she whispers back, her lip quivering. “Fuck, I’m so fuckingglad.”
She falls into Atlas’ side, letting the sobs take over. He rubs her back, kisses her hair, does everything to soothe her.
“We’re never going to let him hurt you again,” he tells her, and it’s the fucking truth.
THIRTY-FIVE
“Not as many people showed up today,” Sam quips, looking over the sign up sheet.
I give an almost inaudible laugh before whispering to him, “We expected that, though. It’s raining, the basketball team is off for two away games.” I give him a pat on the shoulder. “Regardless, there’s a few people here who needed help and we were able to provide it. That’s what this is all about anyway.”
He smiles then, nodding tersely. “You’re right. As long as we help some people, the number itself doesn’t matter.”
There’s chatter from the tables around us, frat brothers of mine sitting with open textbooks as they converse with other students, discussing statistics and U.S. history and memorizing methods. Everett talks unintentionally loud while going over physics with a redheaded freshman. Dax and Kendall are laughing quietly at him from another table, chilling as they wait for more students to show up.
This is one of my favorite proposals of Sam’s from the beginning of the year. Most of us meet every Friday in the library, offering tutoring services to anyone who needs the extra help, whether it be for a test coming up, essay writing, or techniques on how to study. I thought it was genius. We stick tothe subjects that we’re confident in, and we help whoever needs it no matter their designation or schedule. And it’s all for free.
Thatcher Cowan comes up behind me and gives my shoulder a strong pat before stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Did Uriah have band practice today?”
I nod. “He probably needs to come as a tutee instead of a tutor, honestly. If it’s not music, he doesn’t give a shit.”
If people think Uriah is grumpy, then they should meet Thatcher. He’s stoic most of the time, even when joking around. He’s helpful on the ice, and is the first to volunteer if someone needs help, but his cold exterior is such a contrast to his kind actions. He’s an enigma.
He’s also Sam’s best friend. I’m pretty sure they’re pack mates, but they more than likely won’t know until they meet the rest of their pack. Kendall and I had a strong intuition that we’d be pack mates, but the bond didn’t click in until we each met Uriah and Ciro. It’s such a strange way for our beasts to operate, like there needs to be every puzzle piece before the full picture forms.
“Well, shit. I probably shouldn’t be here either, to be honest,” Thatcher replies.
Sam gives a small laugh and shakes his head. “You have your strengths, Thatch.” Something catches his eye over my shoulder and whatever he sees makes him smirk at me.
“Your girl is here,” Sam whispers. They both walk away as I turn and, sure enough, Stacia is heading toward me with a few books in her arms. Her hair is in a messy bun and she pulls her cardigan up because it keeps falling off of her shoulder. She looks freaking beautiful.
Our eyes catch and she smiles widely, putting a bit of a rush in her step to get to me.
“Hey angel.” I lean in to give her a kiss. When I pull back, her eyes are wide before looking around the room. The pink on her cheeks makes me smirk. “Is my omega acting shy?”
She narrows her eyes at me, giving me that attitude that I wholeheartedly crave.
“I’m just not used to PDA, is all,” she says through gritted teeth. She eyes Sam behind me for a second before meeting my gaze once more.
“Are you uncomfortable with PDA?” I ask, and she shakes her head. “Okay. As long as it’s just a case of you getting used to it, then I’m sure all four of us will have a good time making it a habit for you.”
She’s surprised by this, clutching her books closer to her chest. It makes me notice how comfy she looks in a t-shirt dress and sneakers. Her oversized cardigan—again—hangs off one shoulder.
I point at her books. “You here to study?”
She looks down at them before trying to shrug casually.
“Ciro told me where you two were, so I thought I’d stop by…” She lets her sentence linger. I quirk my brow at her and she gives a deep sigh. “I’m not doing so hot in biology.”
Ah, our omega is bad at science. Kendall’s going to love this.
“So you came for tutoring, even though it was going to be from a bunch of frat guys.”
She rolls her eyes and gives me a soft slap to the shoulder. “Sam is a genius, I’m sure there’s a few of you that’s capable of teaching me some proper memorization techniques.”
