Page 81 of Perfect Alpha

Victory:Okay, babe. Love you.

Hannah:Love you!! xoxo

I did call Hannah, but she didn’t answer. I assumed she fell asleep and would call me back when she had a chance. But that isn’t what happened.

She died.

She fucking died.

An animalistic sob rattles from my throat, and I pause in the middle of the airport, crying violently into my hands as the pain of the loss overwhelms me.

How can it possibly be true?

I need to see Hannah one more time and have another Christmas with her. I was not ready for her to leave me. We were going to raise our kids together and still be best friends when we were eighty.

I stumble blindly toward the plane, stopping to ask five people if I’m going the right way. They give me strange looks, but I don’t care. It’s all I can do to keep walking forward.

Rather than work, I spend the plane ride rereading texts and emails from Hannah. Looking through my digital photo albums prove how prominent of a fixture she was in my life.

So is Cade, and his image makes my heart hurt even worse.

Cade.

He must be so devastated, and that doesn’t even begin to describe it. So many emotions bubble in my chest. Maybe he’s alone and scared. Maybe he’s with the twins, who are his rocks in the same way Hannah is mine.

Wasmine.

No.

No!

Nononononono!

My parents are waiting for me when the plane lands, and we pile into a tearful hug. Hannah was like their daughter and spent time with them when I couldn’t. I’m too goddamn far away, and now they’ve lost her, too.

“Anything you need, Victory, just tell us,” Dad manages. “Aidan is with Gavin, and Carl is with the Grangers. We’re here to take care of you.”

“I’m staying with you guys until the New Year,” I vow.

“We need you to stay forever,” Mom cries. “So many things can happen to you in New York City. Look what happened to Hannah, and Montana is safe. You need to stay with us, Victory. We can’t lose you.” My mom’s small frame is wracked with sobs, and I hold her tightly.

“I love you,” I whisper fiercely.

“We love you so much,” Dad says hoarsely. “You’re our world, Victory.”

I want to promise to stay. Home is where I should be, now more than ever.

But I need to think everything through and create a plan, and right now my brain isn’t capable of rational thought. It would be a terrible time to make a big decision, but work means nothing to me anymore. I can’t imagine it ever will again.

I need to be with the people who love me, not spending my life helping other people reach their dreams at the expense of my own.

“Do you want to go home and sleep?” Mom asks.

When I’m depressed, sleep is my best solace. And I’ve never been more depressed in my life.

“No,” I whisper. “Can you drive me to the hospital? I need to be with Cade.”

Chapter 29

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