Page 34 of Roommates
I'd thought it was the start of something great. That life was good—that we were good. And then we'd had sex and he'd started to cry in my arms when we were done. And I hadn't had a clue as to why. I'd only wanted to make him feel better.
That wasallI'd wanted. For him to be happy. For us to be happy together.
And now he wasn't even coming back to our room.
I didn't care that he was omega. I only cared about what that meant for us. Had he wanted to have sex with me or was that just his hormones spiraling out of control? He'd been suppressing them for years, after all. I couldn't even imagine what that must have been like.
“Actually, I'd never slept with anyone before. Guy or girl. I couldn't.”
I still heard his words in my head. The night before I'd been too upset to really pay attention to what Lucas was telling me when he said that, but now that I'd had some time to cool down, the full impact of it all was starting to hit me like a punch to the gut.
Lucas had never had sex before me. That was how important his secret, his goals, had been to him. Of course. I knew how driven he was. That was one of the things I admired about him.
Exhaling, I rested my head in my hands.
What if there wasn't space in Lucas' life anythingbuthis ambitions?
No, he cared about me. Why else would he have cried? I had to believe that there was still a chance for us. Some way that we could be together.
I needed to talk to Lucas. The sooner the better.
Determined, I got up from my desk and left the room. I had no idea where on campus Conner lived, but since he roomed with Raphael, I knew just the person who could tell me.
“WHAT DO you mean he's not here anymore?” I stared at Conner in disbelief.
“He left ages ago,” Raphael spoke up, sitting on the edge of his bed with a sketchpad and shooting me a look that clearly judged me for being way too late.
For a second, I stood frozen in the entrance to Conner and Raphael's room. Lucas had left campus. I'd had no idea. Did he want to get away from me that badly?
“It's not about you,” Conner said, as if he could read my thoughts. Peering over my shoulder, he checked the hallway, as if afraid that anyone might be listening to our conversation. “Why don't you come in for a moment? You know alphas aren't allowed in this wing, especially not after dark.”
Somehow I'd forgotten all about that, too focused on my quest to find Lucas and bring him back to our room, but I could have gotten into trouble for coming here.
Funny considering I was rooming with an omega.
An omega I desperately needed to make up with.
“Have you tried his phone?” Raphael asked when I entered the room and Conner closed the door behind me.
“He's not picking up,” I said.
“He's in a tough spot,” Conner said as if to apologize for his friend's evasive behavior. I was pretty sure that both Conner and Raphael knew exactly what had happened.
Was I the last to find out about Lucas' true nature? I ran a hand back through my hair. No time to worry about that now. “I'm in a tough spot too. Apparently I knocked up my roommate.”
Conner looked me up and down, but I had no idea what he was seeing in me as he did that. “Did he tell you what he's going to do?” he asked eventually.
I opened my mouth to reply, then stopped to think for a second. WhatwasLucas planning to do? “He told me he can't have the baby.” A memory that hurt every time I thought of it. I wasn't sure if it was my alpha nature or whatever, but everything in me rebelled against the idea of Lucas losing my baby in whatever way.
“Do you also realize how he would get rid of it?” Conner questioned further.
“I don't know,” I had to admit. These were not things I'd ever really thought about.
“Underground clinics,” Conner said. “It's dangerous.” His eyes blazed. “He's only considering it because he thinks his life would be over if everyone found out he's omega and with the society we live in, I can't even say he's wrong. That's the kind of tough spot he's in. I don't think you can compare.”
I tried hard to come up with something to say in response, but I had nothing. Conner was right. I didn't always love being an alpha, but life was even less fair to those of us who carried the omega label. “I have to talk to Lucas.” There had to be some way we could set all of this right.
“You do.”
