He stands tall, looking down his nose at me as he speaks. “You’re one hundred percent right. Something did happen. When you left I got a chance to breathe and think properlywithout your scent making me as impulsive as I had been. Your scent and presence are very distracting, and I mean no disrespect?—”
“It’s fine, I get it. I’m sorry for what happened,” I interrupt but a growing need to get away from him, and the whole situation drives me on.
“So, you feel the same?” he asks slowly, and he doesn’t hold back on letting me know how pissed off he is. His eyes literally fill with angry relief, and it’s not a nice sight.
I scoff a nasty laugh, reaching out and patting his arm. “You go do you, Tyson. I’m pretty sure I said that before. I hope what I did doesn’t impact you too much.”
A flash of something blazes over his blue eyes but before I can decipher it, he cuts the crap and does the expected. “The time away from your scent gave me the chance to see there was a certain exaggeration to the whole situation.” He uses his fingers to highlight the word exaggeration, but he keeps his eyes on mine while doing it and I figure out what it was I saw in his eyes a second ago… He’s lying. One hundred percent lying.
The lies spill out of his mouth. “Five minutes with a person is not really time enough to determine compatibility. On a medical level I’ve witnessed the after-effect of an Omega’s manipulation but now I think I can write up what happened between us as evidence of that too.”
The look of finality on his face hits me deep in the chest and I have to start staring out a window over his shoulder so I don’t dissolve into sobs. And that’s despite me knowing he’s lying. His words absolutely hurt. But it’s his growing detachment, it rubs aggressively against my skin like a reminder of what I had and lost in the space of a few minutes that reinforces the pain I’m feeling.
“Physical distance will aid the connection dissolving, and I’d prefer you don’t contact me. There’s nothing else we needto discuss after this anyway. You may suffer minor physical discomfort as our bond withers but compared to a lifetime of suffering it’s a price I’m happy to pay and I’m sure you are too. I’ll speak with Jane and get some other promotional photos done for your family. I don’t think either you or I need a reminder of our time together out in the public arena, do you?”
“Jesus,” I hiss, recoiling from his bitterness. I honestly don’t need to hear another word out of his toxic mouth, but I do have a few words I need to say. “I apologised to you already and that still stands. Clearly something ginormous happened but you know what? You don’t need to be a deadshit about it and lie. I get it, trust me I get the whole lying thing but you could have told me the truth and I would have respected your decision.Instead, you lashed out like a snake. So, fuck you, have a great life and never for a second forget you were always the one insistent we do”—I wave my hand in the space between us—“this. Not me.”
He goes to reply but I pin him with a glare before finishing things my way. I drop my eyes and drag them slowly up his body to his gorgeous face before I stare into his eyes for a few minutes, eventually finding the resolution I need. Shaking my head in disappointment at the way he chose to end things, I turn and walk off, snarling over my shoulder loud enough for the whole ward to hear, “Done, dusted, see you fucking never.”
I don’t need to look at Big Tom to feel his pity. As I step past him, he falls into step next to me. “All good, Tris?”
“Just peachy, Big Tom,” I offer before I shut my mouth and focus on stopping the tears that are still threatening to fall.
The fresh air on my face as we step out of the hospital is a welcome reprieve, maybe the lemon-scented asshat has a point, but I doubt it. Of course, fate makes it so I can still feel him like a ghostly presence, which is completely unexpected and downright horrifying.
I unlock my car and wait for Big Tom and Tonka to get in theirs before I reverse out. A wave of exhaustion hits as I merge with the traffic and I distract myself from trying to figure out if it’s mine or Tyson’s by imagining I’m living a different life. I get so caught up in my thoughts that when I arrive back at the gates of Unity I realise I’ve been driving on autopilot the whole way home which fills me with a wave of guilt knowing I put people at risk.
“I’m so fucking over this day,” I grumble to myself as I climb out of my car.
Thankfully the girls are out and they don’t have to witness me slamming doors and punching pillows. A reminder on my phone about breakfast with Maverick has me feeling marginally better. As I’m drifting off to sleep the girls creep in my room, but I don’t move a muscle and keep my breathing slow and steady, and they leave as quickly as they came in.
Tired of tossing and turning, I give up on trying to fall back to sleep at just after four. Deciding on a workout I dig out my favourite lilac gym shorts and bralette set. The instant I put on my headphones and hit start on my favourite playlist, Halsey starts distracting me from my shitty love life with hers.
The gym is empty and no one joins me as I set a punishing pace on the weights my personal trainer set up. My workout philosophy has never been about losing weight; it’s been about feeling body confident because rubbing shoulders with beautiful people makes me anxious. And my Scorned Girls are some of the most stunning women I’ve ever met.
Adding water to my post workout recovery drink, I’m walking back through the still dark corridors of Unity feeling like a different person. I’m still butt hurt by Tyson’s rejection and I really wish he’d be honest with me about his reasons but I also feel a kinship with him, despite all that because I know sometimes you just have to lie to the people you love.
The smell of coffee rushes out as soon as I push open the door.
“Hey, Ho,” I say, dropping my head on Heidi’s shoulder and taking a big inhale of her apple scent. She pats me on the head until she realises she’s running her hand through my sweat.
“Gross.” She hikes her shoulder making me stop snuggling, so I grab her fresh coffee that Raney slides over as payback.
“Why were you up so early?” Raney asks, already at the coffee machine making Heidi a new one.
“Couldn’t sleep, why are you?”
Heidi answers for Raney though, “She’s going home after our practical today so she’s up early trying to figure out what you wear to unpack a pack. You didn’t forget did you?”
I wink at her confirming I did in fact forget, but her reminder unlocks my memory. I groan realising the day we’ve got ahead of us—our practical assessment for cake making. “Fuck your life. I’ve got the perfect jeans for you to wear though, they’ll make your ass snug as hell while those assholes get a reminder on what they’re missing out on.”
“Right?” Heidi grins quickly before glaring at Raney. I’d put money on them arguing about Raney going home alone without us. Again.
“Heidi’s right you know, I mean”—I jump in, and the both of them arch their eyebrows up at me—“maybe we don’t all need to go with you, but I definitely should as your stylist. I’ll even stay with you and King, for extra moral support.”
Heidi snorts out a laugh while Raney glares. I shrug before taking a loud sip of my coffee, which she hates but her glare turns into a smirk before too long.
“Have you even decided what cake you’re baking?”
