Anything we’ve got left over we can take with us, or leave for the next people to find. I don’t care, I just have to make sure we’ve got enough stuff now.
What about pens? We might need some of those...
I frantically look around, trying to locate the damned things. This is why I don’t normally do this myself, this is why I hire others to take care of these mundane things.
Where are the pens located? Where would I look for them? In the aisle with the books and magazines? Or maybe somewhere around the corner from here? How does anyone figure out where these things are supposed to be in a shop? People must be so confused when they go shopping, how do you remember where everything is?
I stop, glaring around, until I find Spence staring at me from a little while off, holding a stack of notepads and a box of pens. “Expected you’d be looking for these right about now.” He pushes his cart over to me, his is loaded with food and cotton shirts and boxer briefs, from what I can see. I don’t even know what everything is that he’s got in there, though I spot a couple of pizzas and other things we can just throw into the oven. Smart. Food without any cooking involved. That should help.
“How did you...” How did he manage to grab all that in the time it took me to pick out laptops and a printer? I glance his way and sigh. “Yeah, I was looking for those.”
He puts the notepads and pens into my cart, his hand lingering on them. “You have a habit of spiralling out of control when you’re stressed. After laptops and printers, these seemed the logical next step for you to be looking for.”
I snort. “You know me too well.”
He slowly shakes his head, still not looking my way. Something’s wrong.
“What’s up?” He knows me well, but I also know how to spot when his mind is spinning out of control. I realise this is the first stretch of time we’ve spent alone since the party last night, since all the shit kicked off. “What’s on your mind?”
“If you know me so well, then... why?” The last word is so soft it almost disappears into the music they’re playing in the store.
“Why what?”
“Last night. Acting like we’re together. If you know me so well, why would you do that?”
I bump my shoulder into his slightly. “Because it’s better if it’s me, and not someone who your mum can actually scare off. I’m not going away, no matter how scary she gets. So, the next time you bring someone over, at least they’ll be used to the idea somewhat.” I try to keep my voice light, but that doesn’t mean I don’t worry about him, or whoever he brings home next, even if that’s Cyra. His mum is seriously scary and the next person he chooses has to be really strong to survive in that family. I just hope I didn’t make it harder for them.
He finally looks up, smiling slightly. “I guess you’re right about that. At least it won’t shock them as much, hopefully.”
“Now you can actually show up with Max at your side, at the next party.” I bump into him again and then quickly start pulling my cart away before he can hit me. I’ve seen the way he looks at the guy. Max might be a dog, but Spence is the one making puppy eyes.
“Hey!” He quickly follows me. “And leave you with Cyra? I don’t think so.” He laughs and I grin.
There he is, my best friend, that’s what he’s like when he’s himself. He might not know it, but his quiet strength, unlike his Alpha persona, is what keeps me grounded most of the time, it’s what keeps me sane.
I don’t want to imagine a future without him near me, a future where he’s not there every time I look to the side. Maybe part of the reason why I don’t want an Omega is because it would change this, it would change the way we are together, and I don’t know if I can do that. Which would be unfair to my future Omega and would be unfair to Spence, if I’d ask him to stay single just because of me.
I guess that all of us reacting to Cyra might bring something good with it, it means that I get to have an Omega, while not losing Spence in the process. Although, the other two Alphas, especially Liam, are fucking pain in the asses. But every good comes with a bad, a side effect so to say, and I guess I’ll have to learn to live with them...
27 Spence
We missed the first twenty minutes of the ‘interview’ while we were in the store, but as soon as we’re in the car, Zack pulls his phone out and tunes in.
Currently, Cyra’s parents are ‘explaining’ how worried they were. Going on and on about all the things they’ve supposedly done to try to find her. It’s bull, every single word of it. Bullshit. And the people doing the interview are lapping it up, the anchors encouraging Cyra’s parents’ every word, milking it for all the drama they can. It disgusts me. It almost makes me physically sick, listening to them.
Zack’s phone rings and he quickly picks up. I couldn’t see the name on the screen, though I don’t think that whatever it was was a real name anyway. “Yes?” Zack glances at me. “Thanks. Can you...” He thinks for a moment, going into ‘work mode’, looking serious, his voice authoritative. “I gave you the locations of
