I'm Not Leaving You

Part 6

DOM'S POV

Brian dozes on the couch in my office while I help Jesse during our lunch rush. I frown when I hear whimpering coming from where Brian is asleep.

"Go to him, Dom. I've got this handled," Jesse says, frowning as he glances towards the office. I nod to him before quickly making my way over to the office. I rush to Brian when he whimpers again.

"Bri, wake up. You're safe, Bri," I say, shaking him awake. He bolts up as he wakes up, breathing heavily.

"Dom?" he gasps out.

"I'm right here, Bri. You're ok and safe," I say, pulling him against me as he shakes.

"I'm sorry," Brian says once he's calm.

"There is no reason to apologize, Bri. Are you doing ok now?" I ask, sitting down on the couch.

"Yeah, I'm good now. I'm still nervous about meeting your friends though," he says, laying his head on my shoulder.

"I know you are. If it gets to be too much for you, you can go to the garage and stay with Leon," I say, kissing his temple and pulling him up. We walk out of the office and over to the counter to help Jesse. The rush is slowing when my friends show up. I frown to see that they both brought more than just their second in commands.

"Looks like they brought their whole packs," Jesse says, wiping off the counter. I turn when I feel Brian grasping the back of my shirt and find Brian almost hyperventilating.

"Jesse, take Brain out the back door and over to the garage. Let Vince know the meeting is about to start," I say, brushing Brian's hair from his face.

"I want to stay with you, Dom," Brian says, grasping hold of me tighter,

"Ok, Bri. Jesse, go get everyone. It's time to eat lunch anyway," I say, pulling Brian over to help me make sandwiches for everyone as Jesse heads out to get everyone. When my friends come through the door, I kiss Brian's temple before walking over to greet them. "Edwin, Hector, thanks for coming today."

"You sounded very serious on the phone, so we brought everyone," Hector says, shaking my hand.

"Who's this fine piece of ass," Edwin says, which makes Brian tense and look ready to bolt. I glare at Edwin and quickly head over to Brian, so he won't bolt.

"Bri, it's ok," I say, standing in front of him to block his line of sight to Edwin.

"Ow," Edwin suddenly says, which makes me turn to see Hector glaring at Edwin, who's rubbing his arm.

"Ignore him. He's got no filter between his brain and his mouth," Hector says, smiling at Brian, who just steps into my side and buries his head. At that moment, Vince, Mia, Leon, Jesse, and Letty all walk in and pause when they see Brian curled into my side. Mia is the first to move, and she quickly walked over to where we are standing.

"Is he ok?" she asks, going to lay her hand on his arm. I quickly stop her, knowing Brian may still bolt.

"What happened?" Vince asks, pushing past Edwin to stand beside me.

"Edwin being his normal self is what happened," Hector says, frowning at Brian shaking.

"Why don't you take him outside for a minute to help him calm down," Vince says, frowning at Brian as well. I frown and glance over to where Edwin and Hector are standing. Hector nods to me, so I hand Brian off to Vince.

"Dom?" Brian asks, panicking.

"I'm just grabbing a couple of drinks and sandwiches, so we can eat outside. You guys can all eat while we are outside, I say, quickly grabbing two bottles of water and two sandwiches before returning to Brian. I hand him his water and sandwich before leading him outside. I lead him over to a picnic table we have on a patch of grass between the store and the garage. I make sure we are sitting beside each other and facing the street. As we eat, I notice Brian slowly starting to relax.

"I'm sorry," Brian says suddenly.

"It's ok, Bri. Can you tell me why you reacted so strongly?" I ask, rubbing his back.

"The alpha my father tried to give me to use to say things like that to me all the time. He used to try and touch me, but my mom always showed up in time to stop him. When she died, there was nothing to stop him," Brian says, hugging himself.

"That's when your father decided to hand you over to him?" I ask, turning in my seat and pulling him against me. I feel him nod against my chest and start rubbing his back again. Brian is finally calming down again when I spot Vince heading our way. I raise my brows in question when Vince sits down across from us.

"Edwin won't stop apologizing for what he said. It's getting very annoying," Vince says, pulling three Hershey's bars out of his pocket and handing me two. I smile at him in thanks before holding one out in front of Brian's face.

"What is that?" Brian asks, sitting up but not taking the bar.

"It is chocolate but in a candy bar form," I say, putting it on the table in front of him and starting on my own.

"You want to eat that soon or it will melt and be messy to eat," Vince says, pushing it closer to Brian.

"I thought I already had my candy for today," Brian says, which makes me frown. I can see the anger in Vince's eyes at how Brian has been raised and treated.

"We all eat a Hershey's bar with our lunch," Vince says, meeting my eyes.

"Why?" Brian asks, slowly grabbing the candy bar.

"My mom started that tradition when we were kids," I said, showing Brian how to open the candy bar. Vince and I both smile as we watch Brian enjoy his chocolate bar, making a mess on his face.