Page 63 of Her Knotty Alphas

Before I can check the phone number under the contact, she snatches the phone out of my hand and goes through the bathroom that connects our rooms, shutting the door behind her.

She didn't let me check the contact number. So, she must have just had someone else text her and change the name or something. That has to be it.

That's what I tell myself as I fall into a restless sleep. The next morning, Cat is gone, and Mom and Paul give Kieran, Rue and I news of Nana's sickness, and I call Charlie, devastated.

His phone only goes to voicemail, so I walk down the street to his house. His car is in the driveway, and I try calling again, hoping he picks up. I really don't want to have to explain to his parents why I'm on their front porch crying my eyes out.

Movement in the front room window catches my eye, a flash of blonde hair, is that…Cat? Bile turns in my stomach. Her head is thrown back, and she's laughing at something.

It…it was all true. The most recent message on her phone said "see you tomorrow". And she's here, in his house.

The last year we spent together, hushed whispers and stolen kisses…none of it meant anything. Did Ievermean something to him? Or was I just a convenient way to pass the time? He told me he loves me…but he's here, with her.

I can't…I can't be here. Turning on my heel, I look down at my phone and block his number with shaky fingers before running the five houses down the street it takes to get back home. How am I going to face him now, knowing how he's used me? Lied to me? The thought of seeing his electric blue eyes looking at me with disdain, or worse, pity, makes my stomach revolt.

But…Mom and Paul mentioned they were going to hire someone to go live with Nana in Starbrook City. Maybe…maybe I could do it instead. I could finish high school online and stay with Nana during the day. I hate the thought of leaving Cady and Kieran, but as my heart lies bleeding in the road in front of Charlie's house, I find that I hate the thought of staying even more.

Charlie's face is a mask of shock when I finish speaking, and unease fills me. He genuinely seems like he has no idea what I'm talking about.

"I…" He shakes his head, then leans forward, grasping my hands earnestly. "Hannah, I swear on…on...on my mom's life, that I never texted Cat. I've never been able to stand her, and I never would have said those things about you. I swear, you can have Noah hack into my phone records and pull up every text I've ever sent and you won't find a single one to Cat."

I don't know what I was expecting him to say, but it wasn't that. Words fail me. He says he never texted her? He wouldn't offer to let Noah into his records unless he was serious. But…but…"Then why was she at your house?" I demand, sitting up straighter. If he has a reason for this…if he's telling the truth…that means we've wasted the last twelve years fornothing.

"That morning," he says, shifting forward and holding me captive with his icy blue gaze, "I was playing a pickup game of basketball with Will Rogers and his buddies down at the school. I walked. When we were done, I checked my phone and saw your missed calls, but when I tried to call you back, it went straight to voicemail. So I went home, thinking I'd take a shower and head to your place, but Cat was there, waiting with my mom. She had a typed note that she said was from you, she said you couldn't write it because you were too upset. It just said that you were sorry, but 'whatever we have is done, please don't contact me.'"

The words are out of my mouth before I can think better of it. "And youbelievedthat?"

"Not for a second." He frowns. "But when I went to your house, Kieran was there, and when I asked about you, he said you went to go visit your Nana last minute. But then you were just…gone. I knew the note was fake, but you did actually leave."

"We…" I choke out, my hands tightening in his. "We wereplayed? We wasted twelve years…and for what? What did Cat get out of any of this?"

All these years, he wanted me. He looked for me. He moved out here on the off chance I might live in Starbrook City. The knowledge hits me in a way I have no idea what to do with. I'm devastated, angry, heartbroken, but most of all…relieved? I can't blame Charlie for any of this, though. I blocked him. Ran without getting the full story. Barred my family from telling him about where I was. He did everything he could.

"I don't know," Charlie's hand reaches tentatively for my cheek, and I find myself leaning into the contact. His eyes widen slightly in surprise like he didn't actually expect me to welcome his touch. The feel of his palm resting on my cheek sends the deepest kind of warmth through me, and it's like something in my heart finally clicks into place. My eyes close, relishing in the feeling as my hand comes to rest on the back of his. "But, Hannah?"

"Hmmm?" His touch has turned me into a pliable little puddle of goo for a moment, and as angry as I still want to be about Cat's transgressions—which I'll definitely be dissecting later—right now, I just want to feel his skin on mine.

"I still love you." His words have my eyes snapping open. They act like a charge of electricity straight to my heart, lighting every nerve ending on fire as my mouth drops open in shock.

"What…what do you mean? You still…"

"Love you. Never stopped, mags." His words are sure, his touch firm as he gently cups my face and leans in.

Kissing Charlie is like going back in time. The second his lips meet mine, it's as if we're just two kids again, learning what it means to love. Sandalwood and coconut intoxicate me as my mouth opens to his, a small moan escaping me.

This. This is what I've been missing. For the first time in twelve years…I feel whole. Complete.

My hands grip the front of his shirt, hungry for more, and he fucking delivers. I'm yanked out of the bed and into his arms, my legs wrapping around his waist.

We only had sex a few times when we were teens, and it's been so long it still feels like exciting new territory.

Charlie and I startle apart at the sound of the door flying open, and my cheeks heat when I see Simon's concerned face.

"Sorry to, um, interrupt," Simon says, rubbing the back of his neck, and I get a glimpse of my other three alphas smirking in the hallway. "But the nurses said her heart monitor was going off the charts."

"Oh my gods," I hide my face in Charlie's neck, embarrassed as hell.

"You're going to be discharged here in a second anyway, so let's just take those nodes off." Simon walks over, and Charlie sheepishly sets me on my feet, making me realize we're lucky we didn't rip any wires out

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