Page 16 of Thorns That Bloom
“Hellooo?” I shout and wait for an answer.
At the other end of the long hallway, Pop pokes his head out of the kitchen. He has glasses on, so he must have been reading in the study. “Theo,” he says with a smile and slides them up and into his hair, pushing the few strands out of his face. “What’re you doing here?”
I put on an offended grimace as I make my way through the hall toward him. “Am I not allowed to visit my own parents’ house?”
He chuckles. “Of course you are, dork. Usually, you call first.”
“Well, I was feeling spontaneous,” I grumble playfully andwalk up to him. Pop hugs me briefly before sitting back down, shaking his head in disbelief at the gall of me. There are papers all over the table. He seems to be in the middle of something, but I won’t let that stop me.
Glancing around with my brows curiously raised, I realize there’s no one else. It’s a little strange to see this place so quiet. “Dad not home?” I ask.
“He’s working afternoons this week. Why?”
I sit across from him, leaning into the chair with a sigh. “Umm, just wondering.” When I meet Pop’s mossy green eyes again, he’s narrowed them at me. He purses his lips and scratches at his short beard as he sifts through the papers, seemingly without rhyme or reason.
“Anything happening? At work, maybe?” He carefully fishes for information. I guess he knows me too well. “What’s new in your life, dear son?” he asks in that ‘I know you’re up to something’ tone.
Rolling my eyes with a smirk, I spread my legs out as I sink lower into the chair. “I broke up with Emily a few days ago,” I say, starting with the boring stuff. Pop cocks his brow, but doesn’t really seemthatsurprised.
“Again?”
“Again,” I mutter. “For real this time.”
He’s never really liked her, and neither did Dad. It always annoyed me, but now I see that maybe they just knew she wasn’t the right person for me.
“Aaaand?” he continues, slowly tilting his head to the side like a curious dog.
I hum, pretending I’m trying to think of something interesting, even though there’s pretty much only one thing onmy mind. I should probably just get to the point. “Can I ask you about something? Something about Dad?”
He narrows his eyes, putting the papers in his hands on the table to show he’s paying full attention. “Yes?”
“I’m not sure if I should be asking him about it or not, it’s just that— I know this will come totally out of left field, but… You know how you said he was assaulted in college?” I ask in a hushed tone, nervously shifting my foot on the floor.
It’s something they talked to me and Gail about before we went to university. I still remember the way the dread lay heavy in my stomach when they'd sat us down in the living room, their faces ashen. I was terrified that they were going to tell us they were getting a divorce. Instead, it was a whole lecture about being careful, being a good person, and watching out for others, especially at wild parties that awaited us.
“Right,” Pop repeats slowly, his deep-set eyes studying me. I notice his shoulder tense a little, and his face grows a bit more serious. “I’m sure he’d be open to talking to you about it, bud. He told you long ago that you could always come to him. I can answer any questions you have as well, but…why are we talking about this? Did something…?”
“No!” I blurt out. I didn’t even realize he could getthatidea. “Nothing like that. Don’t worry.”
Pop doesn’t smile back as I thought he would. “Just because you’re an alpha, it doesn’t mean that you can’t—”
“I know, I know,” I interrupt restlessly, feeling stupid and even more anxious about my intentions. “Sorry for worrying you.” He’s right, and I guess it shows me how much I don’t understand omegas sometimes. I’m glad I have both of them to talk to. “It’s just…there’s this new person at work. He’s an omega.”
An omega I bumped into, took in his scent, and it somehow completely rewired my brain.
An omega I can’t stop thinking about.
“There was this thing that happened today. I…sensed him in the restroom. His pheromones were going crazy intense, and I found one of my alpha coworkers there with some other guys. I think he was having a panic attack or something. They were standing over him, not giving him space, and… Ugh! Then I started arguing with them, and I think that freaked him out even more. I didn’t want to. Now I feel like I completely fucked up, and I’m not sure how to act around him to make it better.”
It all spills out of me, and I must sound insane. Pop looks at me almost like I am. With his eyes wide and lips pressed into a line, he blinks before releasing a quiet exhale.
“Okay. What does your previous question have to do with this, bud?”
“My supervisor told me he thinks that’s why he was transferred. There was an incident at his last place of work, apparently.”
Pop winces uncomfortably, emotions flitting across his face. Unease, pity, worry. “Oh.” Tapping his finger on the edge of the table, he glances somewhere behind me, pondering. “Does he know you know about this?”
I lower my head. “No. I’m not really supposed to, I don’t think.”
