Room 215 by Trisha Linde

Author:Trisha Linde
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Trisha Linde

13

Nathan

Dinner with my fathers was always a quiet affair—nothing like the total chaos over at Wesley’s family home—but this evening was the deadest it had ever been around this table. We’d barely exchanged more than a handful of words.

When I’d shown up at their door without even calling, they instantly knew something was wrong. I’d anticipated the third degree, but my omega dad had just pulled me into a hug and held me for as long as I let him. Then he’d made my favorite meal, chicken curry.

“This is delicious, Dad,” I said, to break the silence as much as to compliment the cook.

“Thank you, Nathan,” he said, smiling gently, but the pity shadowing his eyes had me quickly looking away again. I’d been keeping my eyes on my food so I wouldn’t see how my fathers kept exchanging glances. Did they think I couldn’t see them?

“So… I was at the grocery store this afternoon…” Dad said slowly, leading the conversation in a direction I instantly knew I didn’t want to go.

“Mmhmm,” I drawled, waiting for him to get to the punchline.

“And I ran into Sue.”

I froze, my fork hovering in the air halfway to my mouth. “And how’s Sue?” I asked, my throat so tight, I was surprised I didn’t sound like a cartoon mouse.

He didn’t answer, and I peeked up. His mouth had formed a straight line, his brows furrowed. “I didn’t tell her you were staying with us, if that’s what you’re wondering.” He sighed, and I hated how his lips turned down. I never wanted to disappoint my parents, and I didn’t know what to tell them. “Is everything okay, Nathan?”

“Yeah… of course. Can’t a son visit his dads?”

“Without Wesley?”

“Yes,” I said shortly. “Without Wesley. We’re not attached at the hip, you know. We are two separate people, and I don’t need him to come everywhere with me.” I instantly felt guilty for snapping, and my shoulders sagged. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“No, no, it’s okay,” he was quick to say. “I understand.” And I knew he understood everything I wasn’t saying too.

My alpha father reached across the table and rested his hand over mine. His skin was warm and smooth, and it brought to mind the time he was helping me learn how to ride a bike, but I fell and skinned my knee. Those same hands cleaned the blood away tenderly, and I remembered his words that day. “I can’t promise you that you’ll never fall down, but it’s important that you learn how to get back up.”

His words today, though, were a little less philosophical. “Want me to kick his ass?”

I laughed, wiping away the tears I had tried so hard to hold back. “No, Pops, it’s okay. I can fight my own battles.”

He nodded firmly, a slow smile spreading. “I know you can. I taught you how to throw a punch.”

We finished the rest of our meal in silence, though it no longer felt so stifling. It was just as well they didn’t make me answer their questions, since I had no clue how to explain my current situation.

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