Page 78 of Puck My Life

He presses his lips into a firm line and just stares at me. I have no idea what it means.

“What?” I screech. “Are you or not?”

Raynor stands up and stalks away. “I don’t know what love is! How the hell could we know what love is? We were all dumped here. We were just abandoned. What I do know is that there is no us without you. When I get up, I want to see you; when something good happens, it’s you I want to tell. You are my Vae. You have always been here, and I can’t imagine a world more wrong than one where you are with someone else.”

I stare at him. He’s breathing hard as if it cost great effort to get those words out; he’s confused and scared. Does he think that saying these things will make him lose me?

Maybethey will.

But it sounds like he loves me, too, and, for some reason, that makes me angry.

“Now you know how I feel every single time you bring home another bitch and put her in my place.”

Raynor’s eyes flare wide open. “Vae…”

“You with all your girlfriends, going off and doing and having a life while I stayed here and cleaned, cooked, and waited to pick up the pieces. Looking at you the way you never look at me.”

“You are the one who said we need to never blur the line. We’re best friends forever. Family first!” Raynor shouts.

“Yes! I did say that! Because I was feeling things that was damn obvious none of you did.”

We stand off against each other.

“And now I’m an omega, that’s meant to all change? You’re supposed to magically have feelings now? Going to stop fucking all those horrible omegas and stay with me?”

“So, what if we do?”

I gape at him. “That’s not fair.”

“No, what’s not fair is you're not talking to us, not telling us the rules have changed, that we can look at you and see something other than our family. It was always there, all the potential under the surface, the feelings that would not take much to bloom. Just a kiss.”

“We had a kiss.”

“Yes, we did. And I’m telling you, Vae, I have not been able to look at you as my family member since. I can’t see anything other than a gorgeous woman, whether you are beta or omega, who is my perfect match in every way. I don’t care if you’re omega or beta. All I want is to be with you.”

“But-”

“But what? Are you going to argue my feelings for me some more? Tell me how I feel, too?” Deacon shouts from behind me.

I whirl, surprised to find him there, but he looks wild with rage. His hair is a mess, and his eyes are dark, furious, accusing.

“Deacon, please-”

“You don’t get to do this. You just abandoned us without a single word. Where was the communication, Vae? Where was your confession? You didn’t say anything about being unhappy, about needing anything different, about being in trouble, fuck, Vae! We’re supposed to be family. We’re supposed to love each other.”

I stare up at him.

“I would have changed for you,” Deacon admits. “I would have changed in any way you asked me to. For you. Only for you.”

I lick my lips and stand up.

“I would have helped you with whatever you needed.”

I tuck my shoulders.

“Vae…aren’t we family?”

I exhale roughly. “Yes.”