"Exactly."
I smile in spite of myself.
Alex leans back in his chair. "He's not even the worst. I almost burned the apartment down once."
"Almost," Malcolm says. "Very generous."
"The fire department came," Finn says. "It was toast. On the stovetop. Directly on the burner."
"The toaster was broken."
"So you adapted by eliminating the toaster from the equation entirely."
"Adaptive thinking. A survival skill."
"The curtains didn't survive."
I'm laughing. Actually laughing, the sound coming out of me before I can think about it. Full and surprised and real.
All three of them go quiet. Like they're listening to it. As if it means something to them.
"There it is," Alex says. Quiet. Looking at me with warmth in his expression.
I look back down at my plate.
I ache, but in the soft way this time. Not the hollow way.
After breakfast I help Finn with the dishes and then go looking for somewhere to put myself.
I find Alex on the porch.
He has two mugs of coffee, the chair next to him is open, and there's a phone on the small table between them. I'm not sure how he knew I was coming, but he apparently did. Maybe it's a scent match thing I haven't caught onto yet.
I sit.
He looks at me with those soulful eyes. I think he understands that I'm ready for answers now.
"It's yours," he says. "New number. Your contacts are loaded in."
I pick it up and scroll. Jess. Noah. The instructor from my dance class at the gym. My omega friend from the registry that I haven’t spoken to in years.
I swallow hard. "How did you get these?"
"Chase."
"How did Chase—" I stop. "Never mind. I don't want to know."
"He also spoke to them briefly. Let them know you're safe but needed space. They're waiting." He wraps his hands around his mug. "No pressure. Whenever you're ready."
Someone thought about my friends. In the middle of everything. In the middle of a registry case, a heat and Alex's pack stealing me away from Ragon to protect me. Someone made sure I didn't lose everyone.
"Thank you," I manage.
He nods.
The woods stretch out in front of us. Dense and still. A bird calls somewhere deep in the trees.
"Some practical things," Alex says. "While you're here."
