Page 84 of Knot for Me
I could argue, but I can tell from the determined gleam in her eye she won’t let me. “Okay. Let me know if you need help.”
“I will. Thank you, doll.”
Smiling at them, I leave the room and head to the library to finish my latest alien smut book. The library is cozy as always, but I find my heart a little sad when I glance at the couch where Cory and I would sit and read. I grab my book and leave the room, deciding to curl up on my bed instead of torturing myself.
A while later, Frank knocks on my door. “They’re gone.”
“Thanks.” I glance back at the page I’ve been staring at for the past five minutes. I keep getting distracted and losing track of what I’ve read.
“Are you going to keep hiding?”
“I’m not hiding, Frank. Why are you so chatty all of a sudden?” I ask, defensive and a little rude.
“Just checking on you, miss. I’ll be out here if you need anything.”
“Great,” I mumble, focusing back on the words.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t get back into the book. The letters start to blur, and I furiously swipe at a tear that slips down my cheek. My new phone dings. I toss the book on the bed and grab the device.
Mom: Call me.
A mother’s intuition and all that.
It only takes two rings for her to answer. “Hey, Rea. Are you ever going to tell me why you got a new number?”
“Mom. What’s up?” I ask, avoiding that line of questioning. All she needs to know is that the pack got me a line. No need to tell her about creepy messages.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I say too fast.
“Uh-huh. You have that I’m-almost-going-to-cry tone. What happened?”
Sometimes I hate not being able to hide my emotions from her. I sniff and release a shaky breath. Remembering Frank is in the hallway and the camera is in the bedroom, I hop off the bed and rush to the closet, closing the door and sitting on the carpeted floor.
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Oh. Well, none of us know that,” she says with a laugh. “Did something happen?”
I tell her about Cornelius’ visit and how much I’m worried about what it means for me. I skip the parts about how I feel about the alphas. She’ll try to convince me to take them as mates, and that’s not what I want to hear right now.
“Your heat will be here in another week or so. Your emotions will be out of control, but it’s normal to cry for no reason or to feel like you want to punch a wall. I don’t recommend the latter. I broke my hand once.”
“Really?” I laugh, trying to picture my mom hitting anything. She’s always been so gentle with me and my siblings.
“Oh yeah. I think it was the second year I was mated to your fathers. I was pregnant with you actually. The pregnancy hormones are ten times worse than the pre-heat ones and man, oh man, did I lose my temper on more than one occasion.” She giggles, lost in the memory. “Anyway, something that always helped me was a nice long bath. If you have any wine, I’d pour a big glass and, if you can, forget about your responsibilities for the evening.”
“Self-care my way out of crying?”
“Self-care because you deserve it, Rea.”
“Okay. Thanks.” A strange sense of relief washes over me. It’s nice to have someone to talk to even though she doesn’t have the whole story.
“Anytime. Was there anything else? Your fathers and I are settling in for a long night without your sister and brother here.”
Code for about to have sex. Gag me.
“Nothing else. Did they go to Grandma’s?”
