Page 18 of Shattered Trinket
“You okay?” he asks, keeping his voice low and even.
I nod, sniffling, and try, but fail to give him a smile. He helps me off the floor, leading me back to my chair and telling me to sit before moving over behind his desk. When he comes back, he hands me a small bottle of water, crouching at my feet to keep us at eye level, which I suspect is something he does on purpose, so he’s not standing above me.
“Small sips, okay? Until you’re sure it’s going to stay down.”
I listen, taking small sips of the water to get rid of the acrid taste left in my mouth until the bottle is nearly empty.
“How am I going to talk about the rest that happened if I can’t even get through some of the beginning without throwing up?” I croak out in frustration when I can finally speak again.
“We’re going to take it slow, and just like today, you share with me what feels most important to get out. You did so good today, Cozy.”
I huff, biting the inside of my cheek at his praise because it makes my chest feel funny.
“I threw up in your trashcan,” I tell him flatly, not seeing how he could think I did good.
“This was the most you’ve gotten out in one session since we met, and I’m incredibly proud of you for pushing through those memories to get them out. I could tell you were struggling, but you kept talking anyway, and that’s what matters. Besides, it’s not the first time someone’s thrown up in my trash during a session,” he says, chuckling lightly as he gives me a boyish grin, those dimples of his I seem to be so enamored with making an appearance and making me flush as my lips gingerly tip up in response.
“How are you feeling now?”
I don’t answer him immediately, looking inside of myself to take stock. Other than the fatigue and soreness from being sick and crying, I feel…
“Better,” I finally say, and it’s true.
I feel a lot better, and even lighter than when I’d walked in, something I hadn’t expected. It wasn’t easy reliving those things, but now that I have, I feel like I’ve gained some of that control back, and it’s relieving. Relieving to get some of my burdens off my chest at last.
With my next appointment scheduled, I walk out to meet Mama Valley in the lobby, a little pep in my step for the first time in a long time and a genuine smile gracing my lips.
Maybe, just maybe, everything really is going to be just fine.
Seven
Ridge
Zeke and I lock up the shop early after completing most of the work on the two cars that were brought in this morning, wanting to stop out at my parent’s place to check on Ma and maybe ask for her advice.
We’ve been so busy lately, working even more than usual after the incident we had with the omega we thought was going to be a good fit for us. So none of us have been able to get out there in a few months, choosing to avoid my mother because the womanis a bloodhound. We knew she’d pick up on how frustrated and disappointed we were.
We really thought we’d found the one, and so quickly, too. But it turns out after months of courting the omega all three of us had been drawn to, she was looking for more than we could give her. It was disappointing, especially because I’d thought we’d been making connections with her until she’d just… ghosted us. She hadn’t even had the decency to tell us herself that she’d found and bonded with another pack. We had to find out about it in the paper two weeks after no word from her. Bonded to one of the wealthiest packs in the city, she was splashed all over the front page for grabbing the attention of a well-known bachelor pack of alphas.
After that blow, Zeke, Manny, and I threw ourselves into our work. Zeke and I worked overtime at the shop, while Manny put in the extra hours at the construction site he’s been overseeing for the last four months. It wasn’t until the other day Zeke pointed out how strange it was that Ma hadn’t called in a while, which is unlike her, that I figured it was time we stopped avoiding her.
“How mad dae ye think she is wi’ us? I’m thinkin’ our arses are about tae be toast when we walk in,” Zeke says from the passenger seat of my pickup, rolling his head to look over at me as we make our way down the driveway.
“Let’s hope not. I feel like shit enough as it is,” I sigh, throwing the truck in park beside Ma’s car.
We haven’t been home in nearly four months, which isn’t normal for us. Not since my sister, Ripley, was kidnapped. But once we knew she was safe, we went back to wallowing in our hurt feelings. Of course, we saw her before hiding under our work, and Ripley told me some of the details of what happened, though I can admit I was stuck in my head during that talk. Iknow she killed the bastard that took her, and honestly, that’s all I needed to know about the situation.
We both hop out, heading inside without knocking, and Zeke looks over at me with a raised brow at the music blasting loudly through the speakers. I shrug as I head toward the kitchen where I can hear Ma singing loudly along.
“Ma!” I holler as I push open the swinging door to the kitchen and walk in, startling her.
She drops the bowl she was holding with a gasp and turns around with wide eyes as she quickly rushes to turn the music off.
“Boys!” she cries out, her voice high and squeaky, which makes me narrow my eyes at her. “W-what are you doing here?”
Her eyes dart to the door at our back nervously, making me even more suspicious than how high her voice went when we walked in.
What the hell is going on?