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Getting between them, I tuck Benjamin behind me. Not to protect him from Tanner, but to keep him from advancing on the kid when he’s full of emotion. “What’s going on?”
Benjamin sighs. “He wants to come to the meeting. I’m trying to tell him he should stay here so he doesn’t get hurt.”
I stare at Tanner and see how vulnerable he looks. He looks small and a little broken. I think Benjamin is right. It’ll hurt like hell for him to see that his father is willing to let strangers take him in for fifteen thousand dollars, not knowing if we mean Tanner harm or not.
Benjamin and I would never dream of hurting Tanner, but how would his father know that?
While I agree with Benjamin, I think he’s going about it the wrong way. I know he’s trying to protect Tanner, but he hasn’t asked him how he feels about it. I think Benjamin just told Tanner he couldn’t go and didn’t ask why he wanted to be there in the first place.
Waving a hand to the couch, I motion for Tanner to sit. After a moment he does, and I sit beside him, pulling Benjamin down on my lap. “Why do you want to be there, Tanner?”
His eyes flare with surprise, but he covers it quickly. “I need to f-f-f-face him. I need to.” Tanner pleads with me and I find I can’t tell him no. He’s a child, but he understands what he wants and is trying to express his needs. It’s important to him.
Shrugging, I say, “Okay.”
“That’s it?” Tanner asks, looking back and forth between me and Benjamin. I feel my mate boring a hole in the side of my head, his eyes feeling like missiles.
Looking at my omega, I say, “Baby, we can’t protect him from this. He wants to be there, to close this chapter in his life. I won’t deny him that.”
Benjamin makes an irritated sound in his throat. “But it’ll hurt.” He looks at Tanner. “This will break your heart and I want to protect you. Is that so bad?” Benjamin’s voice is soft and sad.
Tanner looks older than his fourteen years as he looks at us and I hate that he must feel the weight of the world on his shoulders. Eyes grave, he tells us, “I know h-h-he’s a shitty p-p-p-person. I n-n-n-need to know h-h-h-h-he’s n-not coming back. I w-want to feel f-f-free.”
Benjamin sags against me. “Okay. That makes sense. I hate it though. Just know I’ll be there if you need me.”
“You can sit beside me during the meeting, if you want,” I reassure him, impressing upon him that he won’t be alone at all.
Tanner nods, then walks to his room to get dressed.
Benjamin leans over and bites my shoulder, shocking a yelp from me. “What the fuck was that for?” I ask, laughing as I kiss his neck.
He chuckles, wrapping his arms around me. “You had to come in and save the day, huh? I would have ended up at the right conclusion eventually.”
“I have no doubt.” I kiss him lightly. I tuck my hand around his waist and pull him closer, feeling his warm body tucked against mine. Before I can deepen the kiss, Benjamin pulls away from me, hand on his mouth and rushes to the bathroom.
Sitting back against the couch, I tell myself to make Benjamin schedule an appointment. It’s been almost a week and he’s still sick. It makes me uneasy that he’s so unwell. I should have stayed here to make sure he’s taking care of himself, but I let the anger at Tanner’s father get in the way of taking care of my mate.
If I don’t already hate that fucker, this would push it over the edge.
Tanner comes out looking nervous, but serious, his face set. A few minutes later, Benjamin comes out of the room, hand on his belly, eyebrows lowered.
“You’re making an appointment today. And that’s not an option,” I tell Benjamin, putting an arm around his waist.
He nods. “I’ll go to urgent care when we’re done.”
“We’llgo to u-u-urgent care,” Tanner says, standing on the other side of Benjamin. “I d-d-d-don’t like that you’re sss-sick.”
Before Tanner or I can blink, Benjamin bursts into tears, hands covering his face as his shoulders heave. Tanner looks shocked, eyes wide as he meets mine. I’m not sure what’s going on either.
I lightly move Benjamin’s hands from his face, ducking to look at him. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Taking some shuddering breaths, Benjamin wipes his face. “I don’t know. I guess it’s hitting me how much you both care about me. Fuck, I’m not sure. I just got overwhelmed with emotions and crying was the only thing I could do.”
Again, Tanner looks shocked and I shrug. I hug my omega, kissing his curls, then rubbing away the tears tracking down his face. His honey brown skin is splotched with red and I don’t think I’ve seen him look so adorable. “Come on, crybaby. Let’s get this over with.”
Slapping me lightly in the belly—I make anoomphsound—Benjamin tucks his arm through Tanner’s. “Come on, son. We can walk together since my mate is being an ass.”
I don’t miss how Tanner smiles at Benjamin calling him son and the rightness of it settles in my spirit. He’s only been with us for a few weeks, but he’s our son. He’s ours.
