Chapter Twenty-Six - Dead Man Walking

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The party ended well before nine o'clock. I would hazard a guess and say it ended even earlier than that. By three, things started to wind down, and people were relaxing where they could find a vacant seat. By five, people started to leave, giving us good wishes before mentioning that their kids were with the babysitter. I caught a glimpse of what our lives would look like at that moment.

While I'm sure we would adore our child, we would eventually want to go out to spend quality time together. Let our proverbial hair down, so to speak. We would find a babysitter, go out for a couple of hours to enjoy ourselves, and when it was time to go home, the magic bubble where you started to remember what it was like not having a kid would burst. I saw it that same night.

The parents would sigh, look at the time, and bid their friends goodbye before getting in their cars and driving off.

Now, that may not be the case most of the time, but it was a strong possibility. I suspected that some went home simply because their social battery ran out. Oh, how I envied them. I would love nothing more than to go home and leave the majority of the cleanup to the hosts. Sadly, we were the hosts this time around.

When I mentioned this to Sarah, she simply shrugged.

"Honey, when you work a typical nine-to-five job, your bedtime usually ends up being pretty early. Especially when you have kids. Now cut them some slack and help me clear this table off."

Surprisingly, we had a good amount of food left after the party, even after people took plates piled with food with them on their journey home. Luckily, we had a lot more help with cleanup than set up, and it only took an hour to get the house into a somewhat organized mess. I'll have my work cut out for me tomorrow, but right now I was beat.

I kicked out Sarah and her husband once she tried to pitch in on the cleanup detail. She had already done so much for me, and if I let her help with this, it would feel like I was taking advantage of her.

As the last of the stragglers stumbled out the door—some were Derek's buddies that broke into his liquor cabinet, while a surprising few were some of the Omega friends I reunited with—I received a text message from Jason of all people.

'Hey, sorry i couldn't make it tonite. Family drama.' - Jason

'It's okay, seriously. Hope everything else is okay?'

The customary three dots appeared and disappeared a couple of times and then nothing. I laid my phone on the kitchen counter to say goodbye to Henry and the others, and when I came back, there was a new message waiting for me. Two new messages, actually.

'Yeah, sister's just going fuckn psycho. Same shit different day' - Jason

'Do you spread your legs for any desperate Alphas? Or is it just the fat ones with a lot of money?'

Whatever was going on with Jason was wiped from my mind as I read and re-read the message from Asshole Anonymous. Warning bells were blaring in my brain as I opened the thread and started to type a reply.

'Why the hell do you feel the need to harass me?! Get a life!'

'Because you don't deserve what you don't have. You're defective, ugly—'

I threw the phone to the floor, unable to read another rancid word from someone who didn't know me. Once upon a time, I would take the verbal abuse lying down, but not anymore. I know the truth now. I'm not a recessive, and yeah, I may have a scar, but I'm simply who I was meant to be. It was time that I embraced and loved myself unconditionally.

It was also time that I finally told someone what was happening. I just hoped that Derek didn't have a stroke once he found out.

I picked up the phone, not even caring that the screen was cracked and went to find Derek and the others. Something about this whole situation was severely abnormal. I understand the appeal of wanting to be a troll. It gives a semblance of power while also granting safety while hiding behind a screen. But I was fed up and most of all? I was pissed.

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