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Ava puts a hand to her forehead and groans. “Hazel. Youcan’tdo this. What if a neighbor reports you?”
“And? What? What can they possibly do to me already that they haven’t done, Ava?” she spits. “Alter my suppressant dose? Fire me again? Snatch another child away?”
Her friend’s blue eyes soften. “This isn’t the right way to go about it, and you know it. Self-destruction will not solve anything, as helpful as it may feel now.”
In her heart, Hazel knows Ava’s right, but she’s spiraling, hard.
“He was seven-years old,” she mutters, flopping onto her faded floral couch.
“I know,” Ava says gently, joining her. “But when’s the last time you took your suppressants?”
“Does it really matter?” she murmurs. “What will happen if I don’t?”
Ava cocks an eyebrow at her. “You’ll be more miserable than you already are, plus aroused. So, sad and horny. It’s not a great combination.”
Hazel cracks a smile at that. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Then your mating gland will hurt, and you’ll call me and whine about it…”
She chucks a pillow at Ava, who catches it easily. “You and I both know,” Ava continues, “that something fucked up happened. But it’s possible we may never find out what exactly, and that’s something that you’re going to have to accept, as heartbreaking as it is.”
Hazel narrows her eyes at her best friend. “Idon’taccept it,” she spits petulantly.
Ava sighs. “If he was showing signs of Alpha aggression—”
“Then they take him away to thatplace?” she shrieks. “Never to be seen again? Do we even know what happensafterthey join the military? Have we ever bothered to wonder why—”
Ava grabs her arm. “Shh! You have tostop—”
“NO! I’m not going tofucking stop!” Her voice breaks as Ava watches warily. “Do you ever wonder why we can’t leave the city? Onlyus, not Betas? Why does everyone else get to live freely and we—”
Ava reaches over the couch and clamps a hand over Hazel’s mouth. “Lower. Your.Voice,” she hisses. “We can talk about this, but only if you stay quiet. Do you understand me?”
She nods, whimpering. Once she’s satisfied Hazel will stay calm, she removes her hand from her mouth. “I don’t agree with everything that’s happened,” Ava whispers. “And I’m going to do my best at work to find out what happened to Connor, okay? I’m keeping my ears open for you.
“But, Hazel, we’re Omegas. You think I don’t want to leave Lincoln City? Imissgoing on vacations before I presented. I want to travel the entire country, but it’s a sacrifice we make in exchange for everything we’re given. We have itso much betterthan other people. You know that, right?”
Ava makes sense, like she always does, and Hazel feels foolish for her outburst. “Idoknow that,” Hazel insists. “And I was fine with it, before. But now that they’ve taken Connor, I’m rethinking everything. Ithurts.”
Ava stares at her hands, a guilty expression falling across her face.
“I’ve had those thoughts, too, Hazel,” she admits, her blue eyes dark with concern. “But, at the moment, your priority is taking care ofyou, getting back on your suppressants, and not day drinking orsmoking. We can start questioning everything later.”
Hazel scowls and sticks her tongue out at her.
“I’m sick of you always making sense,” she mutters, and Ava chuckles as she stands up.
“C’mon. Let’s get you in the shower, and I’ll clean up for you. When’s the last time you ate?”
Hazel fidgets. “Does coffee count?” she asks guiltily.
Ava rolls her eyes. “No, dumbass, it doesn’t. Get in the shower and I’ll make you something.”
Grumbling to herself, Hazel stands and heads towards her bathroom.
Ava’s right.
Her best friend is always right, and she’s grateful for the moments of clarity Ava supplies when she can’t find them herself.
