Inevitably Yours

Quinn looked at her brother with an irritated expression. “I invited him,” she said. She set the plates down and squared her shoulders as she looked at her little brother. “Go away.” Mad Quinn was cute in the too small to really hurt anyone sort of way.

“When something goes wrong, I warned you,” he said. He turned and left the kitchen. I could see her shoulders deflate a little before she turned and sat down.

“Sorry about that,” she mumbled.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Our brothers seem to want to keep us apart.”

She shrugged. “I’ve never listened to him before. Don’t feel like starting now.” She grabbed a chip and popped it into her mouth. I wracked my brain, trying to come up with a way to lighten the mood again.

“What’s a mummy’s favorite kind of music?” she asked me before I could say anything. She was biting back a smile as she clearly found this lame joke hilarious.

“I don’t know,” I told her. “What?”

“Rap!” she said quickly before laughing to herself. I smiled at her. The joke wasn’t at all funny, but her reaction to it was the best. I liked the sound of her laugh and made a mental note to start learning some cheesy jokes to make her laugh more.

“That is awful,” I told her, chuckling a little.

“You laughed,” she pointed out. I took a big bite of the sandwich she made me, nodding. I paused, enjoying what I had just eaten.

“This is really good,” I told her.

“Thanks. It’s just a sandwich,” she said. She nibbled on hers, so I decided to continue our game.

–

I walked home slowly, smiling to myself. My whole day with Quinn was just perfect. She relaxed more and more as the day went by. It was like we were in our own little world. We didn’t do much of anything but talked a lot. We had way more in common than I had ever imagined, and I was beginning to think it would be a cosmic joke if she weren’t my mate.

I didn’t mind having a mate younger than me. As much as I craved her and couldn’t keep the crude thoughts about her from my mind, I couldn’t see myself wanting anything but her. It was unimaginable what 24 hours knowing someone could do. Until now, finding my actual mate had been the furthest thing from my mind.

When I got to the packhouse, I stepped inside, and something seemed off. There was no one around. I slowed my steps and carefully made my way to the kitchen. I snuck a glance inside to see my mom standing over the stove, wiping her eyes. The bruise mark on her wrist didn’t go unnoticed. I strained my ears, listening for anyone else. I couldn’t hear anyone else, so we had to be alone.

I stepped inside, and her head snapped to me. First, she looked frightened, but that quickly morphed to worry. She put on a fake smile. “Michael, you’re back,” she said with artificial sweetness. “Dinner will be ready in less than a half-hour. You should go wash up. Check on your brother for me, would you?”

I nodded my head without saying a word. I held my mom’s gaze for a moment longer, but she turned and went back to the stove. I gritted my teeth as I left the kitchen. I took the steps two at a time until I got upstairs. When I passed by Tyler’s room, I couldn’t hear him inside. I took a look to make sure before heading to my room.

I stepped inside and shut the door. I could hear a slightly elevated heartbeat coming from the other side of my bed. “It’s me,” I said calmly. My brother’s head emerged from below the bed’s edge. He looked a little panicked. “Mom wants us to wash up. Dinner will be ready in less than a half-hour. Do you want to watch an episode of Pocket Monsters until then?” I asked him.

Distraction was my best bet at calming him down. Dad was clearly not in a good mood today, and there was no one to provide a buffer to his anger tonight. Mom had already taken the brunt of his abuse while I was gone, which made me want to go after him, but I had to hold my tongue until I could take the Alpha title.

Tyler nodded his head and crawled up on my bed. I kicked my shoes off and hopped onto it with him, leaning against the headboard. I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, keeping the volume low just in case Dad did come down the hall. Tyler sat there with his eyes glued to the TV.

When the show was over, we both knew it was time. I turned the TV and said, “wash hands, let’s go.” He got up and went to my bathroom without argument to wash his hands. When he was done, he waited for me to finish up in the bathroom before we went down to dinner together.

Tyler trudged silently next to me. When we got to the dining room, it was no surprise that Mom was putting food on the table, and the only other person in the room was Dad. These were my least favorite days. They didn’t happen often, but they happened enough.

My brother and I took our seats silently. Tyler kept his eye down while my mom put food on everyone’s plate. There was a tense silence as we waited for Dad to start eating so we all could. When he had enough salad, my father gripped my mother’s wrist tightly, and I held back the urge to put my fork in his hand. She apologized quickly and quietly before sitting down. When he began to eat, we all started.

When I reached for the hot sauce, my father cleared his throat. I stopped, looking up at him through my lashes. “Do you think your mother’s food is bland?” he snipped.

“No,” I said, pulling my hand back. I finished my food quickly, wanting to escape the room. I promised to call Quinn and was worried this was going to turn south. Being with her all day pushed my family completely from my mind, and I wanted to get back to that again.

I looked at my mom as I finished the food on my plate. “May I be excused?” I asked her.

“Sure-” she started.

“You can wash the dishes since you eat so quickly,” my father interrupted her. My mouth formed a thin line as I tried to reign in my irritation. I looked at my dad to see him raising an eyebrow at me.

“Yes, sir,” I said in a low voice. I stood, grabbing my plate. My brother stood as well.

“I’m full,” he said quietly. “I’ll help.”

“You haven’t finished your plate,” my dad said.

“He had a large lunch; he probably isn’t that hungry, hun,” my mom tried to defend.

“He isn’t going to waste food,” my father growled. I could see my brother cower slightly. I grabbed his plate from him. Taking my fork, I stabbed the rest of his chicken.

“I’ll finish his. It won’t go to waste,” I said, shoving it in my mouth. I chewed quickly as my dad’s face got redder

“Go,” my mom linked me. I grabbed my brother and pulled him with me quickly to the kitchen. When the door to the dining room closed, my brother spoke.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said quickly. “He’s mad now.”

“Just go,” I said, eyeing the door. “Go to your bedroom and don’t come out.”

“But-” he started.

“Go, Tyler,” I said in anger. I turned and took the dishes to the sinks, where a couple of pans were still sitting from Mom cooking. “You don’t want to be in here when he’s finished.”

Tyler ran from the kitchen. I knew he didn’t want to be around when Dad exploded, and I just lit the fuse. I pulled my phone out and begrudgingly sent Quinn a text to tell her I couldn’t talk tonight.

QUINN

When I fell into bed later that night, I was smiling. Genuinely smiling. The day had been fun up until my dad came home and ran Michael off. I never got to bake cookies, but I was okay with that.

Michael had been surprisingly easy to talk to most of the day. I went to the restroom at one point and came back to him smiling mischievously. He proceeded to tell me a hilarious joke and looked so proud of making me laugh at it.

I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so at ease hanging out with someone. Sure, my friends were great, but sometimes I felt like the odd one out.

Michael promised to call tonight when he left. I helped my dad make dinner then showered after eating with him and my brother. My mom got home while I was in the shower but went to bed immediately, so I laid there anxiously waiting by my phone. This was an odd feeling, waiting for a boy to call. My body felt light, but I also had the anxious energy that made me not want to sit still.

My room was pretty clean, but I got up to organize my books while I waited for Michael’s call. I got a whole shelf pulled off, dusted, and put back when my phone got a message. I checked it to see it was Michael. He said something came up, and he couldn’t talk. He promised to call me the next day.

I immediately felt down. “You spent all day with him,” Sapphire reasoned. “He just got busy.”

“Yea, I was just excited,” I told her.

“I like him,” she said. “He likes your dumb jokes.”

“They are not dumb!” I argued.

“They are really dumb,” she said.

I looked around my room. “I guess I will just wait for tomorrow,” I sighed. I flipped on the tiny TV on my dresser that only got three channels. I didn’t watch it much, mainly only for background noise. I set the air conditioner and crawled into my covers to get comfortable.

I stared at the little screen across the room, selectively paying attention to the infomercial playing while also thinking about my day with Michael. When I realized it was the third time I had watched the same infomercial, I sat up and looked at the clock.

“Not again,” I g*****d. It was well past midnight, and I was wide awake. “Saph?” I tried.

As usual, as this weird insomnia kicked in, Sapphire disappeared. “Fan-tas-tic,” I sighed, enunciating every word. I crawled out of bed and grabbed my notebook from my desk. I checked my phone again, hoping Michael had maybe not been able to sleep either. That, of course, was a long shot that didn’t work out.

I repositioned myself on my bed, stacking my pillows behind my back. I cracked open the pages of my notebook and let my mind wander without Sapphire’s influence. My pen glided across the page, giving structure to my imagination.Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Eventually, my hand began to cramp, and I tossed my notebook over to my nightstand, trading it for a book. When I closed the cover on my latest completed book, the sun was rising through my window. My body was heavy and tired from lack of sleep.

I stretched, reaching high to the ceiling before climbing out of bed. I could hear Mom moving around downstairs and decided to head down to cook her some breakfast before she left for work. I knew my dad would soon follow her, and they both appreciated a warm meal in the morning.

After making a pot of coffee and a quick scramble, I settled onto the couch in the living room and flicked a movie on. I felt the familiar push of Sapphire coming back. “Took you long enough,” I commented. She just huffed in response. I relaxed into the cushions of the couch. Now that she was back, I had a good chance at a nap today, at least.

Then, my phone rang, changing my plans.