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“Micah even got snippy with her. So, expect more drama next call,” I told my poor sister. “You need to move to Lockwood. Escape that situation.”
“Ugh, but my job is here,” she argued. “Turn your phone back on. I hate not being able to just text. Who talks on the phone anymore?”
“We do,” Micah laughed. “Even when she can text.”
Tori laughed before letting out a sigh. “You know… she’s probably right about getting sued. You’re going to have to eventually answer the producers and do the interviews you agreed to.”
“Avoidance has been doing so well for me, though,” I deadpanned.“I’m just not ready to go back into the fire so soon.”
“I don’t think you have a choice,” Tori pointed out. “You’re literally days away from the finale. You can do this, baby sis, hold your head high and show them that they never mattered to you. Take away their power. The whole game was to humiliate you and make you look like a loser. You were the scapegoat, they saw a shy, innocent omega and capitalized on it. Show them you’re a bad bitch.”
“That’s actually really good advice,” I said. Honestly, I was a bit shocked. Tori was usually about the big and flashy revenge schemes.
“I’m a little offended that you seem confused why I came up with the good plan,” Tori said before we both laughed. “You know I’ve got your back and I’m sworn to secrecy. I’ll never tell mom where you are but if I had to guess, someone eventually is going to leak where you’re living. Your small town is not bulletproof.”
“I’ll keep her safe,” Micah promised.
Someone shouted in the background and Tori muffled the speaker before yelling back. She came back with a groan.
“I’ve got to go, guys, the manager is getting on to me for being on the phone because Mom has called like four fucking times in the last two days. Keep me posted.”
In true Tori fashion, she hung up before we could respond.
“Are you ready to talk about it yet?” Micah half joked but I could tell he was really worried about what exactly went down in that finale. He knew more than the rest of the world at this point, but it wouldn’t kill him to find out the rest by watching. Reliving it was not exactly something I was excited to do.
“Absolutely not,” I said. At least we had just pulled in at home, so I climbed out quickly and grabbed the groceries from the trunk, starting to carry them inside and avoid the conversation altogether. Honestly, if avoidance was an Olympic sport, I’d be a gold medalist at this point.
The one thing they were all right about was that I couldn’t just pretend this never happened. I’d have to turn my phone off of do not disturb, log back into everything, and face the chaos that had been rolling in. The only real consolation was that I had probably made Candice’s life hell by disappearing. She likely was furious that her scapegoat disappeared on her but there was nowhere in the contract saying I had to stay past the filming, once the cameras were done, so was I.
My poor brother looked like he was walking on eggshells around me and I felt bad enough that I grabbed my keys, tucked my phone in my back pocket, and yelled out a quick goodbye before heading back into town.
I had no destination in mind, I was simply walking down the street and trying to stop my thoughts from spiraling.
Thankfully, my resting bitch face was strong today and no one tried to approach or talk to me.
I couldn’t shake the unease that had settled in my stomach, making its home there. Tomorrow morning I’d have to face the music.
Honestly, I was terrified that this entire new life was about to be ripped away from me. I hadn’t even started at the Raven’s Nest, we picked the building we wanted to work on but hadn’t made our final plans or even had a second meeting. Hell, I hadn’t even decided where I’d stay beyond this. Living at Micah’s was temporary and I’d have to eventually find a place to stay.
As I walked down the street I couldn’t stop imagining the pitying looks I’d get once they all knew. The fact millions of viewers would watch the Forrest pack reject me like it was a fun, little game was mortifying.
Fuck them.
They’d shown their true colors and I’d had a harsh lesson in realizing that you could never trust anyone. Especially in three short months with the cameras rolling.
The joke was on me.
I’d walked so far, ranting in my head, by the time I’d tuned back into my surroundings, they were unrecognizable.
An overgrown field was on one side of the road, a graveyard on the other, and ahead was a dead end, complete with a guard rail and a giant, yellow sign.
I spun in a slow circle, trying to figure out where the center of town was and how the fuck I blanked out long enough to end up on a random side road. Thank god I was in Lockwood and not the city because that would be the last place an omega would want to be caught alone.
The sound of tires on gravel had my chest tightening instinctively. When the pickup truck started to slow down, my body tensed and my fight or flight kicked in. I was ready to start running and zigzagging through the cemetery if it came to that.
The window rolled down and it was Ezra looking down at me with a look of confusion.
“What are you doing all the way out here?” he questioned.
