“We’re going to get through this,” I say, as much to my brother as to myself. “We will.”
“She makes me better, Ryland. She grounds me. Better than any breathing exercise. Just being around her quiets the thoughts.”
I smile sadly at Rowan. “The benefits of a scent match,” I mutter.
Blair makes me better, too.
Before her, I was content with my video game company and waiting for my scent match.
But now, I want more from life, but only if she’s in it.
“Hey,” Rowan says after a few minutes of silence. “So, I had an idea, and it may be crazy.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me.”
He huffs. “Yeah, well…” he pulls out a small notebook from his hoodie pocket. “I worked on this yesterday and wanted to run it by you. It would be for Blair, if she ever wanted it.”
He tosses the black notebook to me, and I flip it open. I haven’t seen him use one of these notebooks in years to scribble down his thoughts, and I dread what new horrors I’ll find, especially after Blair’s absence.
But I smile softly when I see what he’s written and sketched.
“Do you think it could work?” he says. “It would be rough, and very basic, but I think she might like it.”
“We have energy drinks in the fridge,” I tell him. “Let’s get to work. I wasn’t planning on sleeping much, anyway.”
Rowan nods, and when he stands, Josie, Posie, and Rosie trail behind him.
“Rowan?”
He stops at the doorway.
“This is a really good idea,” I tell him.
He quirks the corner of his lip.
It’s the closest to a smile I’ll get until Blair returns to us.
But Rowan’s idea shows exactly what Blair needs to understand.
She brings out the best in us.
28
BLAIR
“Grandma loves baby Mervy and Marley,”my mom sings to my cats. She takes turns feeding them a squeezable fish puree treat, each of them sucking up to their grandma like the little traitors they are.
I groan in irritation.
I’ve been miserable since I’ve come here, symptoms of a flu plaguing my body.
My inner Omega is nauseous and desperate for her scent matches.
The longer I’m away from them, the worse I feel.
I know this is a mistake, but I’m not sure what the alternative is.
Should I go back and tell them I was wrong? That Idowant them after everything?
