Page 20 of Small-Town Secrets
I snapped my eyes open again and tried to take in the room before me. The sharp smell of the bathroom cleaner I'd been using was the first thing to make it past the haze in my mind. I was in the bathroom. Okay. There was the toilet in front of me, the sink to my right. One of the faucets was dripping. I reached over to turn the handle and shut it off more tightly. It continued to drip.
Well.
Fuck that.
At least I was able to think again and my throat didn't feel so tight anymore.
Gregory wasnotgoing to kill me. I wouldn't let him hurt me. I wasn't with Howard anymore and I wouldn't let anyone hurt me ever again. I only needed to find a way to have an adult conversation with my cousin—and I needed to find a way to pay him for the broken tablet.
"Daddy?" Tyler poked his head in the door to the bathroom, eyeing me cautiously as if he could sense my distress. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." I gave him a smile. No matter how shaken up I was on the inside, I couldalwaysfind a way to smile for my children. I wasn't sure if I managed to convince my son or not, though. He came into the bathroom and gave me a hug. Tyler could be such a sweet kid. I closed my arms around him and squeezed him tight.
"What's that in your hand?" Tyler glanced at the tablet.
"It's Uncle Gregory's," I said.
My son's eyes widened. "Did you break it? Are you gonna get in trouble?"
"No, I'm not getting in trouble." I made my voice sound as firm as I could. If Tyler thought I was scared of my cousin,he'dcontinue to be scared of alphas too. Honestly, I'd thought we were past this, but if Aaron had made him freak... I stroked a hand through the unruly hair on Tyler's head. "Go and tell your brother to get ready for karate. I'll talk to Gregory."
"You'll be fine?"
"Yes, I'll be fine. Go."
"Okay." Tyler nodded and went off in search of his brother—while I went off in search of my cousin. Past me might have tried to hide the tablet and delay the moment of discovery, but I refused to cower and hide in fear of an alpha anymore. So I'd cracked his tablet, big deal. We could handle it like grown-ups. I'd made a promise to Tyler that I was going to be fine and I intended to keep it.
I could be strong for my kids.
As I went down the stairs, the smell of freshly brewed coffee teased my nose and gave me a hint as to where my cousin might be. I finally spotted him sitting at the kitchen island with a mug of coffee raised to his lips.World's Greatest Plumber, it said on the front side of the mug. My lips curled in disdain only because I knew it saidMaking Shit Workon the back. I hated that thing only because the kids loved it a little too much.
"You done with the bathroom yet?" Gregory greeted me as I stepped into the kitchen.
"We need to talk." I walked deeper into the kitchen, but stopped in front of the kitchen island to keep that physical barrier between us, seeing as he was sitting on the other side of it.
My cousin's eyes narrowed. "What do we need to talk about? Are you going to be late paying rent again?"
"No, it's not rent." God, I hoped my voice sounded steadier than I felt. I'd promised myself I'd never be afraid of another alpha again, but this shit was hard. Years of conditioning didn't go away overnight—not even when it had been more than one night and lots of counseling. "I picked up your tablet while I was cleaning the bathroom and I dropped it." I forced the words out of my mouth and then they hung in the air between us as I waited, throat tight with fear, for any sort of reaction from my cousin.
I didn't have to wait long.
"You broke my tablet?" He jumped up from his stool and rounded the kitchen island in two long strides, puffing his chest as if to make himself taller never mind that, at six feet five, he towered over me even when he wasn't standing straight.
"I'll buy you a new one if this one can't be fixed."
"Yeah? How are you gonna do that? You can't afford to buy me a tablet! You can hardly afford rent!"
"I'll find a way. Maybe I can take over some more shifts at work somehow."
"You hadbetterfind a way!" Gregory took another step toward me, his voice so loud I flinched even though I was trying not to move at all—because I knew if Ididlet myself move, I'd be running out the door in another second. "You have any idea what that tablet cost me?" Gregory raised his fist now and it took all of my willpower to remain still.
Honestly, I didn't knowhowI managed to keep my body from shaking, but somehow I did. Gregory was not Howard and I wasn't going to let him walk over me.
I will never let another alpha harm me.I repeated the words over in my head like a mantra.
Gregory's lips were moving. He was sayingsomething, but I couldn't hear him over the chanting inside my head. His fist was still raised and I needed him to lower it.
"You're not going to touch me," I heard myself say. Sure, my voice wasn't as steady as I would have liked it to be, but whatever. I was glad I got the words out at all.
