“Takin’ Mabel home, duh.” I roll my eyes as she hurriedly gets in the passenger side as I slide into the drivers’ seat.
“What about me?” he sputters, standing as I shut the door and roll down the window.
“You have your phone, figure it out.” I shrug. He’s lucky I’m leaving it with him so he can call someone to pick him up.
“You…you can’t just steal my car!” He calls out after me as I start to reverse.
“Oh, I’m not.” I assure him. “It’ll be parked at the school, waitin’ for you.”
With that, I peel out of the parking lot.
“I can’t believe he did that,” Mabel sniffles, wiping her nose.
I frown, handing her a tissue from the cupholder as we start to make our way down the hill.
“Not all guys will be like that Mabel, I promise. But the boys in this town…” I shake my head, then glance at her tear-stained face. “Are…are you mad at what I did?”
I have a bad habit of letting my anger take over for me. Ever since we turned fourteen and grew into our bodies, neither of us have been short on male attention. I warned them off pretty quick. But Mabel? She’s too sweet. Too trusting.
It’ll only get worse when we designate, seeing as we’re both built to be omegas. That’s why I always make sure to have my blade on me. They see us as easy targets.
“No.” She shakes her head. “Thank you, Jojo. For bein’ strong enough to do what I can’t.”
I frown at her again. “You’re strong enough, Mabel-cakes. You just shouldn’t have to be.”
She’s put herself between Daddy and me enough times that I know if I were any less hard-headed and stubborn, she’d be protecting me right back.
Mabel sighs, resting her head on the window. “I can’t wait to get out of this shit-hole town.”
A startled laugh leaves me. I don’t think I’ve heard Mabel curse before. “Mabel Harding. How scandalous.”
She gives a little chuckle, even as she sniffles and wipes her eyes. “I mean it, Jojo. As soon as we turn eighteen, we get out of here. You can goto college like you always wanted, and I’ll…I’ll wait tables or whatever I have to do to support us.”
“We’ll both work,” I correct her, my hands tightening on the wheel, “and we can both go to school, if you want to. You’ve always been so good at school.”
“Don’t mean I enjoy it.” She shrugs. “Why waste my time goin’ to school when I’m just gonna end up with a pack anyway?”
“Mabel—”
“I don’t mean it like that,” she shakes her head, “I mean…I wanna fall in love. I wanna find someone…orsomeonesto love me. Iwantto be an omega, Jojo. I want the alphas and the nestin’, and all the stuff that comes with it.” Mabel gives me a sad smile. “I just know that I’m not gonna find anyone ‘round here.”
Her head falls back against the seat of the car. “Maybe…maybe I’ll be waitin’ tables one day, and a handsome man will walk in. He’ll smell like…” her eyes close and she takes a deep breath, “like tobacco and…honey. He’ll ask for a cup of coffee, or what kinda pie I recommend, but when our eyes meet, and we scent each other…it’ll be like fate. He’ll whisk me away and introduce me to his pack. And you…” She trails off as she looks at me. A war of emotions plays out across her face, like she just realized she doesn’t know how I fit into her fantasy.
A sad smile tilts at my lips. “You don’t need to worry about me. As long as this hypothetical alpha takes care of you and treats you right, that’s all I care about.”
She laughs a little. “Jojo, you’re gonna have so many men fallin’ in love with you, you’re gonna have to beat ‘em off with a stick.”
A derisive snort leaves me as I finally pull into the parking lot of the high school.
“Oh, yeah, that definitely sounds like me.” I roll my eyes and get out of the car, placing the keys on top of the tire beforegrabbing my bike out of the bed. Everyone knows who this red truck belongs to, nobody will dare steal it.
“I’m serious.” Mabel walks on the other side of my bike as we start the walk back to the trailer park. The sky is dark, the streetlights the only light on the sidewalk, but it’s safe enough. “Once you get away from all the assholes we live with, you’ll open up more. I know you will. You’re genuine, Jojo. And beautiful. I’ll have my pack, you’ll have yours, and heck, maybe we can get together for Christmases and stuff.”
“If your pack thinks they can keep you away from me, I’m killin’ ‘em.” I mutter, shooting a scowl at the group of teens walking past us, all staring at their phones in shock. They look up just in time to see us, and scramble out of the way, fear clear in their eyes. Looks like everyone’s seen the video. A cackle leaves me as we keep walking, and I can’t help but think this is all I’ll ever need. Me, Mabel, and a light to guide us through the night.
seven
Jo
