Page 25 of Rejected Plus-Size Mate

"They said you decided you were better than everyone else and left. That you didn't care what happened to me, the house or the pack. So suddenly, everything was about me and making sure I was perfect. I had to have the perfect relationshipand the perfect job. And god forbid I don't hassle things along and have those perfect babies."

She sighed. "I get why you left."

She had yet to say those, and I honestly didn't know if I'd ever heard them. I was shocked.

"I'm still not happy, but I get it."

"How can I help?"

"You can help by watching after my best friend. Do that for me."

Chapter 11 - Riley

I wiped down the counter, making sure I cleaned everything up. I had made myself a big breakfast because April was supposed to be back, but she would be gone longer than expected. So I ate it alone.

I could have called Cayden to join, but I decided against it. I enjoyed my alone time, and it gave me time to clean some things up since I was going to be leaving the house in a couple of days anyway.

I looked over at the checklist the owner left and saw what she wanted to be done before leaving. It was simple chores you'd expect when renting a space out for a while. It consisted of cleaning the bedding, wiping down the counters, and taking out the trash.

I looked at my phone, thinking about Brad's call. It still made me feel off. What was I going to do?

And why did it feel wrong? What was I even going to do when I returned to the pack? He was likely going to make it look bad for me. And there was nothing I could do to stop that.

But did I even want to go back? If I was being honest with myself, this place felt more like home than that one did. I felt free here. But that's how a vacation was supposed to feel. Eventually, you would have to come back to reality, and my reality was a hot mess.

I scowled as I chewed on my lip, unsure of what to do. I glanced back at my phone, knowing at least one person would understand.

I called April, who answered on the third ring. "Hey, chick. How's the vacation?"

I couldn't help but smirk as I leaned onto the counter. "It's actually really good. You wouldn't know, seeing as you abandoned me here."

"Oh, shut up, I did not abandon you. If I had, you wouldn't have had a fully stocked fridge and booze to last days."

I snorted. She wasn't wrong. The fridge had been stocked, but the booze hadn't been for me. It was for her, which I hadn't touched.

"Has my brother been treating you nicely? His ass better has, or I'll castrate him."

I rolled my eyes. "You're brother has been nice. He's always nice. You just don't want to see it because you're still pissed he left the pack."

April went silent for a moment, and I realized I had said the words we weren't supposed to say. We spoke about her brother leaving all those years ago, and then we never did again. We both knew he had a good reason, even if we didn't know entirely what it was.

"Sorry," I said.

"It's fine. But seriously, have you been having a good time? I'd hate for you to have gone down there, and it sucked."

I couldn't help the smirk that pulled at my lips. "I've actually been having a good time. I have spent some much-needed time watching TV and catching up on shows. I went to their winter festival and met your brother's friends. By the way, that photo I sent you is my new screen saver."

April laughed. "Mine too! At least for the next couple of weeks."

"We had some good food, and he's been checking on me. So, I've been having a good time down here." I fell silent for a moment, knowing the next question. "How is it down there?"

April was quiet for a long moment before she sighed. "Could be better. We've been fighting. Well, actually, I've been screaming, and he's been silently begging me."

I frowned. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. I really just want to be done. I don't want to fight. I don't want to talk. I want to wipe my hands of this and move on."

I wanted to tell her that wasn't realistic, but who was I to say those words? I was doing the same thing with Brad. I was running away, avoiding the problem and hoping it would just disappear.

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