Page 43 of Awakened
“Uh—o-okay?” Bewildered, I went into the kitchen and found Seth leaning over the counter on his forearms.
“What’s up?” I asked, not sure if I even wanted to have the conversation.
Seth looked up at me andscoffed.
I stepped to the other side of the counter. “Look, I should have told you, but I didn’t want the pack to know until it was official. It’s what’s right for me.” I cringed at the plea in my voice.
Why am I begging him to understand?
“Les, I can’t talk about this right now.” Seth pushed off the counter and left the kitchen. A few seconds later, the front door slammed.
I was shocked. He was reacting the way I thought Brandon would. Something scratched at the back of my brain, but I shook it off and returned to the dining room.
“That went well.” Emily gave me a half-assed smile and took another bite of her beef and broccoli.
“Oh, yeah,” I deadpanned, slumping into my chair.
After a few minutes of silence, I couldn’t ignore Brandon’s lack of reaction any longer. “Why the hell are you being so cool about this, Brand?”
He glanced up from his plate and shrugged. “What good would freaking out do? You made your decision, and I have to respect that.”
“It’s that easy?”
“It’s that easy.”
I got up from my chair and hugged Brandon from behind, whispering in his ear, “Thank you.”
When I looked up, I caught both Sarah and Emily with tears in their eyes. Emily held up her phone and took our picture. I gave Brandon’s cheek a big, ole kiss and went back to my seat.
“What kind of brother would I be if I gave you a hard time, knowing full well how Aiden and Seth are going to react?” He smirked and picked up his fork. “You’re screwed, sis.”
And didn’t I know it?
“Shit. Should I go after him? Would that even help anything?” I pinched the bridge of my nose, shaking my head. “Why is everything so fucked?”
Sarah’s laugh caught me off guard. I glared, and shepiped down but said, “Sorry, Les. You just have this whole woe is me thing going on, and it’s so not you.”
Emily giggled, and in a high-pitched voice, she said, “How will I survive being loved by my super sexy best friend? How will I ever let my super sexy hookup off the hook? How will I make it through these trials?” She had one hand over her heart and the back of the other to her forehead.
Brandon and Sarah started laughing, and I shifted in my seat, embarrassed and uncomfortable. “Guys, it’s not funny. I could fuck up everything right now. I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.” Tears blurred my vision. It seemed like all I did anymore was cry, and that was pissing me off.
Seeing my pathetic face, they all stopped laughing, and Emily grabbed my hand. “Sorry, Les. I was just trying to lighten the mood. You haven’t mentioned Aiden for the past couple of weeks, and I guess I thought you were moving on.” She passed me a napkin, her frown deepening. “Now I feel like a real bitch.”
I squeezed her hand to calm myself and let her know there were no hard feelings. “It’s okay. I just don’t know how to be okay right now, so I’m trying to fake it till I make it.” I shook my head and put on the best smile I could. “Let’s stop talking about this.” Sarah’s phone lit up, and I got an idea. “Get Michael and Zach over, and let’s play some games.”
Brandon’s eyes dropped to his plate.
“You sure that’s a good idea?” Sarah asked as she tapped out a message.
Nope, but when has that stopped me before?
“Absolutely. I need a distraction.”
She shrugged and set her phone down. “It’s done.”
The guys showed up half an hour later, just about when Seth texted Brandon to say he wasn’t sure when he’d be back.
Fantastic.
