Smoke and wood curl around me as I crouch to run a hand through his hair. It’s softer than I anticipated, and he sighs deeply in his sleep at the touch.
“You could wake him up,” Rowan supplies.
But he looks so peaceful, in a way I’ve never seen before.
“Just tell him I say goodbye,” I murmur.
Waking him up will only prolong the inevitable.
I need to get home, check on my cats, then get ready for work.
Rowan opens the front door for me, and I step outside, surveying the aftermath of the storm.
One of the Alphas must have fixed the trash cans, which now sit right side up and look as though they were never disturbed. The air smells of wet pavement, and the driveway is still damp from the night of rain.
One of them also reparked my car in the driveway.
“Sorry about last night again,” I murmur, my face burning.
“No worries,” Ryland says easily. “There wasn’t much to clean up out here.”
I have a feeling he’s lying.
As I approach my car my muscles tense. I suck in a sharp breath, pushing through the anxiety, but I’m unable to move.
I don’t want to drive, but I need to leave.
Immediately, my inner monologue assaults me.
You idiot. You’re too old for this shit; you know how to drive. Suck it up and get in the damn car.
I can’t move.
“Babe?” Rowan asks carefully. “Blair?”
Get in the car.
Be an adult. Get in the car.
My fingers twitch on my key fob. My car is unlocked; all I have to do is open the door.
It’s not that far of a drive to my apartment. I could even take side streets if I need to and avoid the freeway.
“I’m fine,” I breathe, sounding anything but.
I need to get in the car.
I don’t have the option of not functioning.
“Hey,” Ryland says, and I look to him. There’s no judgement in his face. “How about one of us drives you, and the other follows?”
I swallow.
It’s embarrassing enough to knock over someone’s trash cans and freak out over rain.
But now that the weather is fine, I can’t even get into my car?
And if Piper knew or Maeve knew what was going on with me?
