Page 84 of Thorns That Bloom
Vomit rises up my throat, and I barely swallow it back. The water Theo left by the bed comes in handy. I gulp down half of it and finally go to the bathroom. I pee, stretch, and wash my face to wake up properly.
Staring at myself in the mirror, I wonder if I can do this. Everything inside me tightens in the worst way at the mere thought of stepping back into that maelstrom. Even if this charity deals with legal issues of omegas, will they truly be able to do anything? What if the only thing in my future is further embarrassment? Trying to fight them and losing at every turn, completely powerless to their money and privilege, felt soul-crushing. Like fighting a raging river with my bare hands.
Will it actually be any different this time? And if not, can I handle another defeat?
I shake my head.No, don’t think about that.
I press my hand against my stomach and remember the way Theo calmed me last night. The gentle way he asked if he could help me. The incredible relief his pheromones brought. “I’m sorry for worrying you,” I whisper down at the baby.
Thinking of the worst won’t help anything. I know that. And if Theo were here, he wouldn’t let me. He’d find a way to cheer me up and get me going, so that’s what I need to do.
Feeling a little lighter, I decide to eat some of the food he made for me. I’m surprised he even found the ingredients to make anything proper. I can smell the sweet, cinnamony goodness the moment I walk into the kitchen. Suddenly, I’m starving.
I woke up a few times throughout the morning—heard him stirring and walking, but I was still too exhausted and unwilling to face the new day. I didn’t think he’d manage to go out, come back in, and cook an entire meal before leaving without waking me up.
When I lift the lid off the pan, comforting warmth and more of that delicious scent roll out. Buttery and sweet. It looks delicious, too. If Theo were here, I would kiss him.
I nearly drop the brimming spoon at the sound of the doorbell.
“Guess he couldn’t keep away,” I say to myself with a smirk, happy that I might get a chance toactuallykiss him.
Excited, nimble steps take me toward the door, but as I’m about to reach out, this horrible sensation makes me stop. Wrong. Something is wrong.
It’s not Theo’s scent of spiced coconut. It’s something different. Holding my breath, I carefully put my eye against the peephole.
My heart nearly stops.
No. It can’t be.
Brandon McCarthy. He’s right there.
With a gasp, I stumble away from the door, cold sweat passing over me and that horrible, overpowering tremble quickly spreading into my limbs.
“Sam?” He bangs at the door. “I know you’re there.”
I shake my head, taking another step back. My chest lifts sharply, heart tiredly pounding within, and my eyes dart across the entrance to my apartment.
My apartment. He knows where I live. He knows where I live, and he’shere.
“I can smell you, Sam. I know you’re behind the door,” he says, that forceful voice easily passing through the door. With every word, my body lets out another, more powerful shake. He must hear my panicked breathing because it’s so loud and I can’t make it stop.
“You’re n-not supposed to be here,” I whisper.
The familiar fear keeps surging through me until I close my eyes and hold on to my belly for support. Those words keep ringing inside my head, and when I open my eyes again, they get louder, more demanding.
This is myhome. He has no fucking right to do this.
“You’re not supposed to be here!” I say loudly this time, anger coming alive somewhere deep within, and I’m more than happy to let it overshadow everything else I’m feeling. Anything but this powerlessness and fear. Anything but misery and pain.
“Come on, Sam… Why can’t we talk about this like adults? If you’d just calm down, we could avoid all these hysterics.” The tone he uses enrages me even more. Like I’m some unreasonable, dramatic lunatic who doesn’t know better.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” My voice keeps trembling, but it doesn’t break. “Why would you think that after yesterday, you could… Fuck! You need to leave!”
Brandon lets out some sort of snicker behind the door.
“What do you…what do you want me to say? That I’m sorry? I am! I am sorry that my instincts, which I can’t control, were stronger than my will. Is that what you want to hear? You have no idea how powerful pheromones can be, especially for alphas.”
Bullshit! Fucking bullshit!I ball my fists, barely resisting the urge to punch the door.Disgusting, lying, abominable bastard.
