Mom’s voice cuts back in. “Jack, give your sister the phone. You and Mateo step out. Hank, tell the flight attendant I need another pillow.”
They obey instantly.
A moment later, she exhales, and her voice softens. “Did something happen at the clinic?”
“Yes,” I manage to choke out.
“Did someone hurt you?” My silence must be answer enough. “Oh baby, I’m so sorry,” she says, tears thickening her voice. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want to tell anyone,” I sob. “I didn’t even tell Jack. Tony picked me up and took me to Shelby’s house, so they know, but only because of that. If it hadn’t happened, no one would know.”
“Okay,” shesays, and it sounds like she’s more thinking out loud than actually talking to me. “If your fever spikes again, you need to take some more suppressants—”
The call drops before I can tell her that I don’t have any more. I try to call her back, but it goes straight to voicemail. The plane’s wifi must have cut out. Shit.
I come out of the bathroom and hand Jack his phone. “I’m going to lie down in my nest. I feel awful.”
Mateo frowns. “What did she say to do if your heat spikes again?”
I give a sharp laugh. “Take more suppressants. Which I don’t have. So I’m just going to go to sleep and hopefully stay unconscious until she lands.”
Jack and Mateo look at each other, and I can tell they are not in agreement with this plan, but what other choice do I have? I don’t have any suppressants. I can’t go to a clinic or the hospital, so this is how I have to ride out the next twelve hours.
You could call our alpha,my omega whines.
Except no, I can’t. He blocked me. And he’s on a date. And I’ve ruined everything. So, bed it is.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mark
“Is your family going to chase me with shotguns or pitchforks if I let you come home with a different alpha than you left with?” I ask Marnie seriously. After the whole situation with Harvey, the three of us had escaped to a late-night diner for milkshakes. It quickly became apparent that I’m the third wheel, so I’m about to take my leave.
Marnie giggles and looks over at Adam. “I already texted my mom to tell her what happened and that I probably won’t be home tonight.”
Adam can’t keep his eyes off her. I’ve never seen him like this before. Like a kid on Christmas that just got everything on his list.
“Tell you what, this car is paid up through until 1:00 a.m. You two crazy lovebirds go have fun before you go wherever you’re going for the night.”
“No, man, we can’t take your car,” Adam says. It’s clearly the same kind of tone you give your grandma when you tell her that you don’tneedthe twenty dollars she’s trying to slip you without your mom noticing.
“It’s fine. Really. I’ll get a cab.”
Marnie bites her lip and looks at him, and it doesn’t take much more convincing. They quickly slide out of the diner booth and head out the door. They’re so adorable, it makes my chest ache. It also makes me think about Ava.
Maybe I was too harsh to block her. She obviously came to Harvey’s to talk to me, and even though she acted like a brat because she was jealous, do I really have a lot of stones to throw on that one? Did I not literally fuck her on one of her dates and send her back to the table?
All I wanted was some effort on her part. An indication that I mattered, thatwemattered enough to fight for, and she gave me that.
I chew on my lip and pull my phone from my pocket, staring at her name for a long second before hitting unblock in the contact details. Almost immediately, a text message comes through.
“I’m sorry. I panicked. I want to continue our conversation tomorrow. There are things I need to tell you.”
I start to respond and then think better of it. No. I’m done with the text messages. We need to actually speak to each other, not leave any room for misunderstanding. If this is going to happen, it needs to be a real conversation.
I hit call, and it goes straight to voicemail. I frown and hang up without leaving a message. She clearly didn’t block me, or it wouldn’t have rung through. But Ava never has her phone off. I’ve texted her at all kinds of hours of the night.
Unease settles in my chest. She did seem different tonight. And she was flushed and sweating like she was running a fever. What if she’s actually sick? What if she passed out in her bathroom, phone dead, no one around to notice?
