Page 48 of Knot Mine

“So, what happened?” I ask, while Millie continues to hang off me.

He shakes his head, “Don’t even ask.”

Blake stands behind him with his backpack slung over his shoulder. We share a look as he nods, signaling that he’ll tell me everything later. Omegas were known to be notorious gossips, but in reality, they had nothing on football players.

“Let’s get unpacked and settled. Maybe nap. Then we can all meet back downstairs later, maybe get the grill going and turn the hot tub on?” Millie grins, and some of the others give her a thumbs up or nod before disappearing into their rooms. The Vos’ clearly like hosting since their guest rooms were all either twin beds, that could be made into doubles, or had pull outbeds. I wasn’t even sure how many people they could fit in here altogether.

“Sounds like a plan,” Hunter says as he and Blake look into the room I’ve been staying in and motion to it with a thumbs up.

Squeezing past Millie, I start walking towards them, hoping to have a catch-up with them before we start hanging out with everyone else later. I wanted to know what really happened with Evans, and why Sadie was sticking to him like glue.

“Babe,” Millie grabs my arm. “Where are you going?”

Frowning, I look at her nails biting into my skin. Did she usually do that? How annoying. “I thought you wanted to go get settled in your room.”

She glances between me and the room Hunter and Blake just entered. With an annoyed sigh, she rolls her eyes. “Did Shiloh not tell you which room was mine? Did that little shit make you sleep in a guest room?”

Holding back I growl, I fake a smile. “No, I chose to sleep in the guest room. I thought it would be awkward to be in your room without you. And to be honest, I haven’t been sleeping very well lately so I’m not a very good co-sleeper.”

She presses up against me, looking up as if she wants me to kiss her. “You know that kind of thing doesn’t bother me, I just wanna be close to you.”

Carefully, I try to step backwards, but she follows me until I’m practically backed against the wall. “You’ve had a long two days, Mills. I just think it’s best if you at least have somewhere where you can get a decent night's sleep.”

She strokes my cheek, before curling her fingers in my hair. “You’re always so thoughtful trying to take care of me. I’ll have to reward you later…”

It makes my skin crawl. Surely that wasn’t a normal reaction? Last week I didn’t flinch when she touched me, did I? So why was I struggling so much now?

With a quick kiss that I wipe away as soon as she’s out of sight, she heads towards the family rooms and goes in through the door next to Shiloh’s.

After the excitement of the last couple of days, most of the others decide to have a quick afternoon nap ahead of tonight. I try to join them, laying on my bed with Hunter’s soft snores providing a steady soundtrack. After another two hours tossing and turning, I finally admit defeat. There will be no sleep for me because every time I close my eyes, all I can see are mossy green eyes staring back at me. I wanted to be curled up with him, wrapped around his smaller frame while we slept. My bed felt lonely with just me in it.

Deciding I need some fresh air, I head back downstairs and turn the hot tub on. I also can’t resist the allure of the fire pit and soon I have a steady blaze warming up the patio, even though it’s heated.

Grabbing a beer from the fridge, I pop the cap and sit watching as the sun dips behind the trees. I just needed to survive the next day or so, and then I could start working on a plan to win over Shiloh. My reactions to Millie made no sense, but if I could find a way to push through then I wouldn’t ruin her celebrations.

It would also give me some more time to start considering what I wanted from my life, and how I was going to achieve it. I always toyed with the idea of going into Sports Management, but if that was ever to become more of a reality, how could I make that happen?

“Is everything okay?” a croaky voice asks as Evans drops down into the chair next to me, looking more tired than he did earlier. Did he even sleep at all? Hunter and Blake aren’t far behind, bringing more beers. What was this? Was there some shit housemate sigil out there, beamed up in the sky like The Bat-Signal?

“Yeah.” I nod, ignoring the way all three of them are watching me.

“There’s something different about you today. It’s like you’re the same, but you’re also different somehow.” Hunter muses as he hands me a cold bottle, taking the seat on my other side while Blake leans against the balcony rail.

“Different…” I tilt my head, thinking about last night. About the call to my parents and the decisions I was making. Was different bad?

The four of us stare out at the landscape as Evans’ takes a sip of his drink, and sighs. His voice is stronger now, as if having the others with us has given him a little extra bravery. “The last couple of months it’s kinda felt like you’re only half in the room. One foot in, one foot out the door.”

“What?” Blinking, I don’t know what else to say. Where was this coming from?

“The last three weeks have been worse, but we didn’t want to say anything because we didn’t want to put any extra pressure on you.” It's like they’ve pre agreed what they’re going to say as Blake’s the one to speak this time. “You’ve been holding yourself back. Hiding whatever is it you’re dealing with. And if you wanna talk about it when you’re ready, we’re here for you.”

Nodding, I take another gulp. Quietly, I ask, “Have you ever been with somebody, but one day you look at them but it’s not the same anymore? Suddenly everything they do just doesn’t seem right—hypothetically speaking.”

The way I’d wanted to flinch away from Millie was weighing on my mind. How was I supposed to get through being around her if I couldn’t stand to be near her right now?

The heaviness of the moment is broken as Evans chuckles, his eyebrow lifting knowingly. “Did you get ‘the ick’?”

“What the fuck is the ick?” Blake asks as he narrows his eyes at Evans suspiciously.

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