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“Well, it is a thing, buttercup,” Serenity said bluntly. “And we brought treats. Come on, Micah is helping us get things ready in the living room. Good thing he called us and told us how bad this was.” She waved her hand at me for emphasis.
Katya nodded. “We were already planning on stopping by. We just got extra supplies since we had an official invite.”
“There’s nothing booze and chocolate can’t fix,” Serenity said with a forced cheerfulness. Now I was freaking out my new friends. Did I look that pathetic?
I grabbed a pillow and stuffed it over my head to hide from them. “I don’t want you guys to see me humiliated like that.”
“Girl, we already know it’s coming and I doubt we’re going to feel anything but anger for that pack of twats. Oh! We could stalk them on social media and make their lives miserable. I could catfish them, but not with a fake picture, just fake interest.” Her resulting evil cackle had all of us losing it.
I had no doubt that she meant every word.
“No, don’t. But I do appreciate the sentiment.”
The two girls stared down at me, likely assessing whether I was going to burrow again or get my ass up. I was debating it until I got two matching glares.
“Fine. You have….” Serenity paused and looked at her wrist like she was wearing a watch. “Ten minutes to shower and get dressed and meet us in the living room. We’ll handle the rest.”
I knew that they wouldn’t let it go, so I forced myself out of bed and into the bathroom. Once I was standing under the hot spray of the shower, I started to feel human again.
The more my senses came back to me, the more I realized that I didn’t want to face this alone. I mean… I didn’t want to face it at all but if I was going to, this was the way to do it.
When had my life changed so drastically that I now had a group of people to rely on? Being independent was one thing, but the isolation I had in the city was something I never wanted to feel again.
Dammit. I owe my brother an apology.
Serenity and Katya’s voices yelled out, urging me to hurry, though in much more colorful words. I hadn’t even checked to see how long I’d drifted off for.
Shit, I had less than five minutes.
Not wanting to miss a second of the finale, I dried myself fast enough I nearly fell over, leaving my hair a tangled mess and just putting it up in a chaotic messy bun. My clothes were the comfiest I could find, refusing to be uncomfortable physicallyandmentally.
They’d created something that resembled a nest in Micah’s formerly organized living room. It wasn’t like an omega’s heat nest filled with her pack, but the cozy vibes were there.
Someone had brought out a king-sized air mattress and loaded it with blankets and pillows. It was strategically placed against the sectional so it created a giant bed. The pillows and blankets covered every portion of it.
The coffee table was pushed aside and loaded with snacks and drinks, including champagne and whiskey. They did not come to play around.
Nerves buzzed through my entire body. Micah was the first to notice me, rushing over and squeezing me in a bone-crushing hug.
“You’ve got this, baby sis,” he said in a low enough voice only I could hear. I couldn’t form words.
The door burst open and I let go of Micah and turned around in time to see Tori barreling into the room, duffel bag in one hand and a huge smile on her face.
“Tori!” I gasped, sprinting toward her and tackling her in a hug. She burst out laughing as we fell to the floor. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed her until she was standing in front of me. Or sprawled out in front of me, rather. “Thank god I wasn’t late and you’re not mad I crashed this,” Tori said around her laughter. “I knew you’d need me.”
She said it so simply, like this wasn’t a huge deal. I hugged her again, whispering my thank you to her shoulder so I didn’t lose it before this damn show even started.
Tori gave Micah a quick hug when I finally let her go and helped her to her feet before waving at the other girls.
“These are my friends Serenity and Katya. This is my sister, Tori,” I introduced everyone quickly.
“We have one minute before the finale starts,” Micah warned everybody. “Crap, the pizza should have been here by now.”
“Still not cursing, little brother,” Tori teased him.
“I’m sure we’re not the only ones tuning in and ordering pizza tonight,” I muttered. I could almost imagine everyone at home, excitedly waiting for this to start, oblivious to my world crashing around me.
Despite the dramatics, the way I felt in this moment was terrible, yet I was glad it happened. Otherwise, I’d still be stuck in that stuffy job and tiny apartment. Coming here and meeting everyone, finding mates, it changed my perspective.
