I gripped my phone, hating myself for hoping he was asking because he cared.
Westin
Yes
Gray
I’ll be there at 10:30
36
WESTIN
Gray cleared his throat. “We’re here.”
I blinked, realizing we were parked in front of the house. I barely even remembered getting in the car at the end of my shift.
“Right, thank you,” I heard myself say. I was trapped in a fog, the world around me feeling distant and unreal.
And then Gray was in front of me, having opened the back door. I moved to get out but realized my seatbelt was still buckled.
“Westin,” Gray said, his voice painfully gentle. “Do you need to go back to the hospital? I shouldn’t have let you go to work today.” He muttered the last sentence quietly, as if speaking to himself.
I cocked my head, trying to understand his question. Why would he take me back to the hospital when he thought I was lying? “I’m fine.” I unbuckled and slid out of the car.
I started walking to the front door, unaware Gray was behind me until I heard his steps following me up the stairs to the porch. I turned to face him, hating how badly I wanted to lean into his body and soak up his touch. “Did you need something?” I asked.
He hesitated, running his hand through his hair. “You just seem… off today,” he finally said.
I swallowed hard. I’d spent years perfecting my mask and didn’t know how I felt about him seeing the cracks forming. I shrugged, forcing a smile onto my lips. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but I’m sure everything will be back to normal tomorrow.”
Gray nodded and a pang of hurt went through my chest that he’d bought my lie. Even though that’s what I wanted.
“Make sure you don’t leave the house without me,” he said sternly. “It’s not safe for you.”
“Sure.”
I expected him to return to his car, but he didn’t move off the porch. I was about to ask him if he needed anything else when he spoke. “You know you can call me if you need anything, right?”
Anger flared through me, but I breathed through it, refusing to let it show on my face. How dare he ask me that after how he’d been treating me? I gave him my back, unlocking the door.
“See you tomorrow, Gray,” was my only response before I closed the door.
Gray’s warningabout not leaving the house echoed through my mind as I changed my skates for heels outside of Cum Dumpster. I hadn’t planned to come here tonight, but spending a couple of hours alone in the house was enough to make my skin crawl.
I was scared of what I would do if left alone.
I took a deep breath, making sure my party-girl mask was firmly in place before walking into the club. Blaring music and flashing lights assaulted me, and it was so overstimulating Ialmost walked right back out. But I forced myself to walk across the main room to the private omega room in the back. I needed to stash my skates and get my head on straight. I should get customers to earn enough money to put the electricity back on, but I was feeling fragile and didn’t know if I had it in me.
I punched the code into the door and slipped in, seeing Kitty and another omega, Diamond, doing their makeup.
“You’ve been gone a while,” Kitty said, her eyes flitting to mine in the mirror. Her black eyeliner was heavy around her glassy eyes. There were a few lines of cocaine on the counter, and I guessed she’d already done some.
I set my bag down in the corner. My normal tote—with my bakery uniform and journal—was missing. I’d found another bag in my room to bring with me, but I was anxious to find it.
“I thought you might have found an alpha. A permanent one,” Diamond said, applying bright red lipstick that contrasted beautifully with her dark skin.
“What makes you say that?” I asked, shaking my head when she offered me the lipstick.
