Chapter 26

Twenty-Six

OLIVIA

I t was dark. The room was always dark as I huddled in my corner.

But the door slammed open, and I jumped, trying to scoot back against the wall until the cold concrete seeped through my skin. I couldn't hide any longer. He lifted me by the hair until I was on my hands and knees.

"Please let me go," I screamed.

"Shush, little Button," said Brett. "You're going to get used to me holding your hair while I fuck you from behind."

"Wake up, Libby. Wake up."

My eyes snapped open, my heart racing from the nightmare. I saw my mother sitting beside me, her hand on my shoulder. My pillow was drenched with tears, and I was sweating bullets.

I was so glad to be awake.

"Sorry," I said, shivering as the remnants of the dream disappeared from my memory. But it would happen again. The memories were always buried deep within me, no matter how hard I tried to forget.

"It's been a week, and you're always crying in your sleep," said Mom with sorrow in her eyes. "What happened to you, Libby? Will you ever tell me?"

"Fine," I sighed, closing my eyes. I was always her strong daughter, and I always acted like I had everything under control. But this was too much even for me to bear.

"So what happened?"

"They…violated me at the camp," I said. "Multiple alphas at a time."

"What?!" she said, and I opened my eyes to see her crying. "My baby."

"It's okay now," I said. Every bone in my body ached as I sat up. It always felt like I was perpetually tired all the time ever since coming back home. "I'm okay, Mom."

"Not if you keep having nightmares like this every day," she said, shaking her head. Her long hair had come loose of its bun in her worry.

"I guess," I said, staring at my feet. Damn, I needed to cut my toenails. I'd literally been in bed for so long that I didn't care how I looked.

"I'll set up a therapy appointment for you," my mom said, standing up. "The therapy clinic for omegas who went through trauma. I'll have to ask your father what the name of the clinic is."

"No, Mom," I said, panicking. "I don't need to go there. I'm not crazy."

"Going to therapy doesn't mean you're crazy," she said. "You suffered a lot of pain, and it should help you process."

"Mom, no," I said. "I don't give a fuck. I'm not going."

"Libby," she said, sighing. "There's no need to swear. Then will you at least get out of the house and accept the invite from Lacy?"

My cousin Lacy had invited me to go on a camping trip with her from the voicemails she left me. I ignored the voicemails and her calls because I couldn't be bothered. I didn't feel like talking to anyone, and I needed to rest.

"Fine, I'll make an effort," I said. "As long I don't need to go into therapy."

"Okay," she said, finally letting go of the therapy idea. "But if you ever feel like you need it, I'll set up an appointment right away."

Later that morning, I sat down at the dining table in my pajamas, about to eat the plate of scrambled eggs my mom had prepared. She had been intent on spoiling me since I got back, and I wasn't complaining. But when the smell hit my nose, I suddenly felt nauseous, and I ran to the garbage, puking out everything.

"Are you okay?" shouted my father, Dravin, who ran into the kitchen.

"What's happening?" said my mother in her usual panicky voice as I wiped my mouth with the paper towel my dad handed me.

"I don't know what just happened," I said, feeling sick at the thought of the eggs.

"Oh no," she said with dread in her tone.

"What, Mom?" I asked, my stomach sinking already at what she was going to tell me. "Actually, don't tell me what you're thinking."

"You might be pregnant," she said.

"I'm not," I said adamantly.

"You didn't get out of bed for a week, and now you're sick," she said, holding a hand to her mouth in horror.

"We'll take care of you," said Dravin. "And you're going to be a grandmother, Jade."

"Shut up," my mom said, rolling her eyes at my dad. "This isn't a joke. Our daughter is unmated, without a job, and she still hasn't figured out her life."

"Yes, you're right, baby," said Dravin. "But omegas have nothing to worry about. Their alphas take care of them."

"That was a long time ago," my mom sighed. "Now it's hard to find a good alpha these days."

"I'm not pregnant, though," I said, breathing hard as I paced around the living room despite my roiling stomach. I already felt like vomiting again, and panic settled inside me. If I was pregnant, what the hell was I going to do with my life?

"Please buy a test for her," Mom said, and my dad immediately left the house, keys in hand.

"I need some space right now," I said, walking to my room.

"Libby, please don't be immature right now."

"I just need time to think about stuff, that's all," I said.

There was no way in hell I was going to take the pregnancy test. I was still plagued by nightmares constantly, and I had come home to a voicemail from Howl's Honor Hospital firing me from my receptionist job. Also, the fact that Sergio hated me weighed heavily on me. I couldn't just easily forget about him.

Picking up a pen and my raggedy notebook full of half-written stories, I flipped through them and stopped upon one that I had particularly enjoyed writing. It was about an omega who had fallen in love with someone outside the island. I wanted to get lost in another person's story right about now. It was thrilling to write about her journey, but I was too shaken to write, so I set the notebook down.

Maybe I did need to get out of the house and just go on the damn camping trip with Lacy and my friend Manny. Pulling out my backpack in my very cluttered room, I started throwing in things I'd need for the trip.

Hearing a knock at the door, I got up to unlock it.

"Here you go," said my dad gruffly, handing the pink pregnancy box to me, standing there awkwardly. We'd never had a conversation about me mating alphas or about pregnancy.

"Thanks," I said.

"Let me know when you take it!" screeched my mom from the living room.

"I'm not taking it," I called back, and I heard her sigh of annoyance. Dumping it on my dresser, I resumed packing. I was ready to get out of here for a few days already, despite how much I missed being home because it was suffocating to me now.

I hadn't realized how much I had actually changed, and I was way more impatient with things.

A couple of days later, I walked out of my room, ready to go on the trip with Lacy. I wore my sunglasses already with my backpack slung over my shoulder. Lacy was waiting outside in a van with her pack. I decided to wear something simple- jeans and a blue tank top.

"Did you take the test?" my mom asked as I headed out. She asked me that every day, but I still refused to take the damn test.

"Nope," I said. "I'm not pregnant, Mom. I'll see you when I get back."

"Have fun," she said, her face glowing with happiness at seeing me leave the house. She was so odd sometimes.

"I'll try," I said, giving her a hug. Who knew what would happen if I ever left the house again? It was a new kind of paranoia that I had to stop myself from developing. But the fear was still there that I could easily get kidnapped again.

I went outside and saw Lacy all excited with the van door open. The inside was crowded with camping supplies.

"Hey, cuzzo," said Lacy, making room for me in the van as I flung my backpack on top of the pile. I sat in the middle seat with her while three of her alphas sat in the back row and two at the front. They all started out as her bodyguards, but they had all fallen in love with her during duty.

"How have you been?" I asked Lacy carefully as the van started moving. I hadn't talked to her ever since I got home last week and had been avoiding her calls.

"I'm great," she said. "I would've liked to know how you'd been all week. I called you a million times, Liv."

"I know," I said, looking out the window. "I just needed time to process everything."

"Yeah," she sighed sadly. "I never felt at ease since I knew you were still trapped. Every day, I remember you there."

"Listen, we won't talk about it," I said. "I just want to go camping and relax a little. Let's talk about other things, like your singing. How are Ben and Ty?"

I needed to change the subject quickly because I was scared I might blurt out the truth to her about what really happened at the OBC. I didn't want her to know what happened to me or anyone for that matter except for my mother. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, and dirty, like it was my fault it happened. She wouldn't understand since she hadn't gone through anything like I did there.

At the mention of two other males, Ryder growled from the driver's seat.

"Oh, hush," said Lacy, rolling her eyes. "I work with them, and I sleep with you at night, so there is no need to act all territorial now."

I laughed, and soon the mood brightened again. Lacy rested her hand on her belly, and I contemplated asking her if she was pregnant, even though I couldn't tell. But I didn't want to act creepy as hell.

Oh, fuck it.

"Lacy, are you pregnant?"

"I am," she confirmed, looking down.

"Oh, congratulations," I said. "How many months?"

"Two, but there's also something else…"

"Yeah?" I asked, not sure what else could top this news. I was happy for her, but it only made me think of my own possible pregnancy. I really hoped I wasn't pregnant. I still felt sick every morning, but I refused to take the test and be subjected to what reality had to offer.

"I got married too," said Lacy. "Meet my new husbands."

Now that hurt . She went ahead and got married without me being there. Did she even intend to ever come back for me? What the hell?!

But I put on a fake smile instead of losing it on her, "I'm really happy for you. You deserve all the happiness in the world. No need to put your life on hold because of me."