“Tell me more about your family.” Cyra’s voice is soft and her eyes are filled with uncertainty but also with curiosity.
“Want to know into what type of insane family you’re going to be mated?” I can’t help the words and she narrows her eyes at me, probably ready to tell me to forget about it, but I quickly kiss her forehead. “I’m kidding. My sister is probably the best sister you can imagine, if she’s not being a know-it-all.” I grin, thinking of how Phoebe would be on my ass about doing the right thing, mating Cyra as soon as possible, if I’d actually be accepting her calls right now... Which I haven’t, just like calls from anyone back home. I’ve ignored them all.
I don’t know how much time has passed, but it must have been a while, when Liam appears in the doorway, which we apparently hadn’t closed...
We were so caught up in stories of our past, silly things that happened in college, since we went to the same college. Though I was in my last year when she started her first year. It felt good, fun, to talk of the past instead of the mess we’re in right now. But all fun things must come to an end, obviously.
“Spence...” Liam steps inside. “Zack’s about to pick up Cyra’s stuff from the airport, did you want to join him?”
I blink at him. Okay, obviously more time has passed than I thought. “Ehhh...” I glance at Cyra, who’s now sitting up.
She looks from me to Liam and back. “I want to go too.”
But we both shake our head, answering at the same time. “No.”
She glares and I quickly hold up my hands, in case she really gets angry. “It’s better if you stay here for now. It’s better if nobody sees you. Your face is all over the news, the two of us are much less recognisable.” I get up, carefully taking her hand. “We’ll be right back. I promise. I’ll even see if I can get you more chocolate.”
Her face falls. “I wish I could have... Can you get me my old life back instead?”
Leaning down, I skim my lips over her forehead, somehow her lips still too intimate, too... forward, strangely. “I truly wish that I could. But, while money can solve a lot of things, this, sadly enough, isn’t one of them.”
“I know.” She looks up. “Be safe.”
I nod. “Will do. I’ll even try to keep Zack out of trouble.”
That makes her smile. “I’m afraid it’s too late for him.”
“Always worth a try. It’s never too late to change things.” I put my lips to her hand and then look around. “You try to stay out of trouble too. No more watching stuff that makes you cry.”
She shrugs, sighing. “I don’t know if I can keep that promise... But I’ll try.”
I take one last look at her before I pass Liam as I walk out of her room.
I wish I could change the last day. No, the last week. I wish I could get us all together without all the drama, so that Cyra can still go to her job at the cafe, and we can just hang out, watch her from the best seats the cafe has to offer. I wish I could turn it all back to when everything was easier.
But I don’t want to go back to not knowing that she’s my mate, I don’t want to go back to a time where I didn’t feel this tug inside me every time I look at her. I want to be with her, hold her, keep her. I don’t want to go back to not knowing, I just want to go back to before the drama...
I guess the best thing I can do now is to stop the drama, and for that we need to pick up Cyra’s things from the airport, hoping that it’ll be enough to stop all this before it gets any worse. It’s hurt her enough, we need to stop it, right now.
28 Cyra
For a moment I was able to forget the world around us, just listening to Spence’s soft voice filling the room and laughing about how crazy some of the professors at our college were. Just talking about happier times and listening to him tell stories of his sister and also of how Zack used to be. Stories of Zack in his awkward times before college and everything. But now the real world has kicked in again and a bad feeling settles in my stomach.
Liam comes over, kneeling in front of me, his eyes sad as he looks at me. “You look like you need some fresh air and sunshine. Though the first is probably easier to provide than the second.” He holds out his hands and even though I take them automatically, I want to say that I don’t need it, that I just want to stay inside. But with the way he looks... Maybe he’s not really talking about me needing those things, and I nod.
“Let me just...” I look down at myself, maybe I should put something on that’s less... Less ‘homely’.
“You look fine, I promise.” He smiles, standing up and tugging on my hands.
“I bet you say that to all the Omegas.” I shake my head and he winks.
“That would imply that other Omegas could hold a flame to your beauty.” He grins and the next moment I’m in his arms. It immediately reminds me of when Max did it when we were at my apartment, which makes me think of the other guy.
“Where’s Max?”
Liam gasps mockingly. “I’m holding you, and you talk of other men?” Then he smiles. “Fighting the printer, last I saw him. Seems that sending twenty files from four computers at the same time might not have been the best idea. I thought he’d know that by now.”
