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“How is she?” Duncan asked.
“Doing better,” Bran replied.
“Tell her I said hi,” Duncan said as he filled his own plate.
Orion wanted to ask why Bran was going to therapy, but it was none of his business.
“And I…” Santee looked around the table then shrugged. “Since I got fired from the grocery store, I have nothing to do today.”
Orion reached across the table and squeezed Santee’s hand. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“Dude, I know.” Santee pulled his hand away but smiled.
“Maybe we should all go to therapy,” Orion said. “Lord knows I could use some.”
Santee jumped up from the table and took off. Orion frowned as he watched his friend leave. “What did I say?”
“Santee still blames himself for what happened to you,” Bran explained. “It was his brother who attacked you, after all.”
“Yeah, but I don’t blame Santee,” Orion said. “He wasn’t responsible for Marvell’s evilness. I already told him this when I was in the hospital.” Orion looked over his shoulder and then stood. “I’m going to go talk to him.”
“Eat your breakfast,” Duncan said. “He’s probably talking to Beckett right now.”
“Are you telling me what to do?” Orion narrowed his eyes. “I offended my friend, so I’m going to fix it.”
“Orion,” Duncan called out, but Orion ignored him as he made his way upstairs. Though Orion liked both his mates in equal measure, he felt Izel’s absence. He never thought he could miss someone as much as he missed Izel.
When Orion reached the top of the stairs, Duncan touched his arm, clearly following behind him. “I wasn’t trying to tell you what to do, hon.”
“It’s…” Orion pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s not really you, Duncan.” He turned to look at his mate. “I went through something traumatic, and now my mom is hounding my every step.”
“She’s worried about you.”
“There’s worried, and then there’s taking things to the extreme.” Orion held up his phone. “Do you see the notifications for the missed texts and calls?”
Duncan nodded.
“All from my mom,” he said, though Orion had yet to read any of the texts. “I get that she’s concerned, but trying to wrap me up in cotton isn’t the solution.”
Duncan leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. “Have you ever thought that your attack was traumatic for her, too?”
Honestly, no. Orion had been so wrapped up in trying, but failing, to heal from what Marvell had done to him that he hadn’t stopped to think about how it had affected her. “No.”
“Maybe you should cut her some slack,” Duncan said. “Worrying is what moms do, Orion. No matter how hard you fight against it, she’s never going to stop.”
There was something haunting in Duncan’s voice. “Duncan?”
His mate cleared his throat. “Go find Santee. I’ll keep your food warm.”
Orion watched as Duncan walked down the stairs. There was a lot of pain in this house. Orion could feel it from some of the people living under their roof.
He’d talk to Duncan later, but right now, Orion wanted to mend things with Santee. He knocked on Santee’s bedroom door. Beckett opened it. “Yes?”
“I need to talk to Santee,” Orion said. “He has to help me get my foot out of my mouth.”
Beckett’s eyes softened. “Go ahead. I’m going downstairs to get our food.”
Which meant Orion had limited time before Beckett returned. He stepped into the bedroom as Beckett left, spotting Santee sitting on the edge of the bed, his arms wrapped around himself.
