Page 101 of The Rogues

He takes my face in his hands. “Whether or not she can be helped isn’t relevant anymore, Omega. This is affecting you, affecting your health. For your own well-being, you can’t be involved with this anymore. You can’t try to help.”

I nod, knowing he’s right, but the defeated feeling still cements in my stomach, holding me down with the weight of it.

“I don’t want to lose my best friend,” I whisper.

Jamie reaches over and wipes away a tear. “Petal, she isn’t acting like a friend right now. You have to be a friend to yourself, first and foremost.”

The words make my heart swell in my chest. I’ve always put my loved ones first, because that’s what felt like the most natural thing in the world. I know what it’s like when someone doesn’t put you first. My parents, their parents, and Cleo’s family. Loving someone is choosing them, seeing everything through the good and bad.

But the guys are right. This is past the point of healthy. I can’t be Cleo’s punching bag, even if it’s the only thing she’ll let me be. I have to choose myself.

“Then, I think…” I gnaw at my lip, working the idea over in my head. Lennon is suddenly there, his ginger scent a beautiful, bubbly presence. He takes my lip between his fingers and pulls it away from my teeth, giving me a soft look.

“What do you think, Bubbles?” Malaki asks, his tone gentle yet playful as he comes to stand between Jamie’s spot on the bed. His scent is a roaring campfire, a bitter edge still clinging.

I breathe in deeply and exhale, knowing this is risky but not being able to stop myself. “Can I stay on your bus with you instead?”

There’s a pause, the men taking in my words with surprise.

“Did she just say what I think she said?” Malaki whispers out of the side of his mouth, like he’s afraid any movement will cause everything to explode.

“I think she did,” Remi replies, his eyes wide and glorious as he looks at me like I’m a gift from some heavenly entity. “Are you sure, baby? Do you want to come live with us for the rest of the tour?”

Gosh, I can think of nothing better.

“I think some space between Cleo and me will be good, especially after our fight today, but I also think it would be good for us.”

“I think so, too,” Cyrus agrees. His eyes are on mine, and he almost looks… proud. My omega preens from that look, something sliding into place at long last.

“What about Florence?” Malaki asks the whole group before looking at me. “She’s an omega, will her presence bother you?”

I shake my head. “No, she’s lovely. And I trust all of you.”

“Biology isn’t always that simple though,” Cyrus points out, thinking it over. “I’ll talk to her. Maybe she’ll be okay with taking your bunk on the Vicious bus, or bunking with some of the female roadies on theirs.”

I panic. “I don’t want to kick her off or make her uncomfortable⁠—”

“Florence is tough,” he cuts me off. “She’ll be able to handle her own. Plus, I’m sure she’ll be more excited about us spending more time together than anything.”

“Yeah,” I agree, nothing but warmth flowing through me as I think about the other omega. “She did say she was a hopeless romantic.”

The decision settles between us, and my heart feels so full it could burst. There’s a new peace lingering in the air, like all of our beasts have calmed by the realization that we’ll be in even closer proximity than normal. It’s relaxing, and my body instantly lets go of all the stress from earlier today.

“And we’re not worried about this looking suspicious?” Malaki asks. “This could get to the press.”

“I don’t care,” I tell them sincerely, loving the way they all feel surrounding me. “We can figure it out in a few stops, but for right now, I want to be somewhere I feel wanted.”

Cyrus’s lips fall over my forehead before he stands. “I will make all the preparations. I’ll make sure to coordinate with Izzy and Tom to get everything settled. Don’t worry about a thing.”

“Yeah, you know what you should worry about right now?” Lennon asks, causing my heart to spike. “You should worry about what we’re eating for dinner. We had been arguing over it for thirty minutes before you showed up.”

I laugh. “Oh my god.”

“We didn’t know if you were coming over or not, so everyone had a different opinion on what you might like if you did show up.”

“And what were the options?” I ask, looking around at them.

“There’s no contemplating anymore, Josie.” Jamie laughs, fiddling with my hair. “Now that you’re here, you can just pick. We’ll eat anything.”