Page 2 of Knot Enough
It wouldn’t be a good change, and the dread that balled in my stomach heightened with every step down the hall toward the staircase.
The steps wound downward toward the main floor, and I shuffled across the seamless tile. Even with the numerous rooms in this mausoleum, I got the closet in the attic because Valerie liked her space ‘untouched’.
As an omega, my sister was extremely sensitive. So I didn’t start shit, not that starting anything would get me anywhere, but I also didn’t want my Beta scent to hurt her. Sacrificing my comfort and moving out of the room I'd grown up in wasn't a big deal anyway.
I reached the base level, took a sharp right into a long hall that spat me out into the kitchen.
The low chatter of conversation reached my ear. Damn, they were still in here.
A savory scent filled my nose.
My stomach turned, the hollow feeling spreading. I rounded inside to Valerie sitting on the island with my dad beside her. I shuffled closer, and they didn’t turn to look at me as they stabbed their food.
Mom madechilaquilesandpisupo. I bit back a moan. My favorite meal mixed both my parents’ cultures, and it wasn’t often that Mom made the dish.
Dad stabbed his fork into the tomato-based food and then stabbed the corn beef. My mouth salivated.
I tried to smooth my expression and cleared my throat, swallowing hard.
They wouldn’t invite me to eat, so I tried to avoid looking at the delicious meal.But maybe this time it’ll be different?I hesitantly approached the lone chair on the other side of Valerie.
“Mom’s sitting there,” she sang.
I slid to the side, playing it off as if I hadn’t been about to plop down.
Neither Mom nor Dad said anything to address Val’s comment. I gritted my teeth, but kept my expression bland. I didn’t want to piss my older twin sister off; she’d cut me off from my pills. She already did me the favor of hooking me up with a doctor so I could get my depression medication. Despite how the three of them treated me, I knew she still cared about me deep, deep, deep down because she did this for me.
“Bear,” Mother crooned, and the ankle biter yipped at her heels as she plucked a piece of meat from the plate beside the stove to feed to him. I inhaled sharply. I tore my gaze away from the brown fluffy dog.
“What are the boxes for?”
For a beat, there was only the hiss of the stove.
Mom shook her head as she set the tongs down. She turned to me, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips pressed into a disapproving line.
“Those boxes are a sign that it’s time to grow up, Elena.”
Grow up?I mouthed it back, trying to make sense of her words. Mom scooped a second serving ofchilaquilesonto Valerie’s plate. How did she keep her figure yet eat whatever she wanted?
“O-kay,” I said haltingly and so very confused.
“Mhm, we need you to get your life going. You can’t expect to live with us forever.”What is going on?They’d never mentioned I had to move out in the past.
“No,” I said hesitantly. “I wasn’t planning on living here forever. But I haven’t saved money. Ican’tbecause I give you my whole check?—”
“The money is not enough,” Mom said with a shrug. “Plus, we need more space.”
I could only blink in shock. More space? They had the entire house. But I kept my mouth shut. It was all excuses.
Valerie’s lips curled up at the corners. It was the slightest bit, but the smile was unmistakable.
“I petitioned for a placement with the council,” Dad said. “It was accepted.”
A pack placement?
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I gasped. A weight fell onto my chest, and I wanted to sink to the ground. That was what the boxes were for . . . they were kicking me out—to a new pack.
“I just did.” He grunted and shrugged nonchalantly.
