Alexi looks at me and then my father. I can tell he wants to say something, and I just shake my head at him.
“Fine, I don’t need anything from you,” I say to my dad, even though my heart is breaking. Sure, I knew how this would go, that I’d never really meet his standards. But there’s still this small part of me that’s always seeking his approval. This little girl who looked around at her dance recital and never saw her dad there. The little girl who danced with her best friend’s dad instead of her own at the father daughter dance. The adult woman who just wants her dad to love her. He’s asked everything of me, and I’ve done everything I could. I’m a child of a narcissist, and the wounds cut deep—far deeper than I ever realized.
“Wonderful, then I suppose I’ll actually make a profit on this place instead of it operating at a loss,” he says, looking me up and down. It breaks me, and I have no words left, my mouth gaping open.
Suddenly, Alexi’s hand is on my dad’s arm, tugging him out of the house. My dad’s eyes are wide, and Tess is scrambling out the door. Alexi has him at the threshold, and my dad is about to say something, but Alexi speaks first.
“I’ll pack her shit and make sure she's taken care of. Fucking asshole.” Alexi slams the door.
I know it’s not the right response, and everything is so fucked right now. But I can’t help the laughter that bubbles out of me. Alexi called my dad an asshole, and his expression was priceless. I don’t have a home anymore, don’t know where my career is going, and I feel so emotionally stunted that I don’t deserve any kindness.
But my dad being called an asshole, it helps the sting a little bit.
Alexi looks at me like I’ve absolutely lost my mind, and maybe I have. But I’m sure as fuck not going to break down because I know if I do, there’s no going back. Now is the time to get my house—ha—in order.
“Piper, are you okay?”
I shrug my shoulders and grab a bottle of white wine out of the fridge. I know I told myself that I was going to cut back on my days off, but this seems fitting.
I sit on the tiled floor and flick off the cap. Alexi comes next to me, his long legs out in front of him as he holds his hand out. We pass the wine back and forth in silence until I finally sigh.
“Sorry for using you as a human shield.”
He laughs and takes the wine bottle out of my hand before taking a sip. “This tastes like shit.”
“It was five dollars.”
He groans but takes another sip. “So are we packing your shit up?”
“Yeah,” I sigh and clang my head against the wooden cabinet. “I could call Charlotte, but she has so much going on. Their house is full, and with the twins on the way, it’s only going to be more chaotic.”
“Stay at my place,” he says. He’s so nonchalant about it, like it was the obvious choice.
“I couldn’t impose.”
“I offered. I have three empty bedrooms, and I’m gone half the time for work anyway.”
“I don’t know, Alexi,” I say. Our relationship status is already confusing, and living together would only complicate things even further. But what other options do I have? With Alexi, there’s a guarantee of a quiet bedroom. At Charlotte’s, she has three Alphas vying for her attention as well as a toddler and two newborns on the way. I know they would be more than happy to let me stay, but it would feel like walking on eggshells.
“You're sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” He takes the wine bottle and stands up and puts it on the counter. “We aren’t packing up your shitty wine. Do you need me to go get boxes?”
“I can do it,” I say, and Alexi shakes his head.
“Fuck, woman. Will you let me help you?”
I place my hands on my hips, and I want to tell him off. But I swallow it down. I’m not used to someone wanting to help me the way that Alexi does.
“Sorry, yes. I need boxes.”
“Okay, I’ll get some boxes, and you start packing up. I’m still starving, so I’ll pick up more food on the way. And less shitty wine.”
“Okay,” I say softly, more than ready for a moment of peace by myself.
Alexi tilts his head and walks over to me and puts his thumb under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “Your father’s wrong. Fuck him for not seeing how perfect you are.”
I blink up at him and his soft expression. The realty of everything is hitting me, and Alexi must notice it. His hand drops from my face, and he gives me a small smile.
