Page 27 of Generation Omega: Revealed
Kip’s blush deepens and she sniffles, before she rushes to get back in her car. We back away and watch her go, seeing that she’s completely lost control over those tears and is madly wiping them away as she leaves the parking lot.
I can’t speak, but I don’t have to. I just reach for Ethan’s oven mitt and grab hold as we walk across the parking lot toward the gas station. Once inside, we head toward the bathroom that is thankfully empty, and rummage through the bag, finding more than we could have hoped, all of it smelling like delicious cotton candy.
“I think the omega legacy is looking after us.”
He cups my cheek with the oven mitt. “It is. You are the omega who will change the world. I don’t have any doubt.”
“Do you want to tell me what you were so worried about me seeing in the auditorium?”
He glances around at the fairly clean bathroom. “Not here and not now. I think you’ll know very soon.” He raises his left eyebrow as he studies me. “Doyouwant to tell me why you didn’t want to be an omega?”
I sniff at our surroundings. “Nope. Not here and not now.”
“Okay then. We’ll both keep our secrets.” He stares at his reflection in the mirror. “The flowers have to go.”
“They do. Let me help.” I grab Kip’s makeup wipes and slowly move one over his cheek and neck, careful not to burn him. I think I succeed, but I’m not sure he would tell me if I failed.
After Ethan is completely de-flowered, he helps me remove the evidence of where we spent our day. It’s all a jumble, from the moment we woke up together in my nest to now, where we’re standing in a bathroom preparing to risk our lives to not only survive but to honor the reality of the omegaverse.
“What do you think would have happened if we hadn’t stayed for the lecture?” I blurt, the question suddenly all-consuming. Am I bargaining? Imagining I can get a do-over here? Maybe get back to my nest and cuddle with Ethan without burning him?
“I don’t know. Did you reveal before the lecture or during?” He seems uncomfortable. “You don’t actually think it would have been someone else if we weren’t there? That the decision to stay for the lecture changed our lives forever?”
“No, I don’t.” Okay, confession time… if I don’t confess now, it’ll feel like a lie later. “The professor talked about the omega’s heart, that it has holes that need to be filled.” I glare at the entirely boring tile floor as the weight of this secret gets heavier.
“Tell me,” he presses, his hand on my shoulder.
For a few seconds, I lean my head against his chest, which is protected by his dad’s leather jacket. Then I exhale and look up at him, getting lost in his kind, concerned eyes. “I’ve felt those holes in my heart most of my life. They scared me. I never understood because there’s nothing wrong with my heart, but it felt wrong, hollow, and unfinished.”
“You never told me.” It’s not an accusation, but it’s also not entirely neutral.
“You would have worried and you had enough to worry about. I didn’t want to make things harder for you, and there wouldn’t have been an answer until today anyway.”
Oof… the dark look has arrived. “That’s not okay, Till. You denied me the chance to be there for you and that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
I squeeze his mitted hand. “But you have secrets too—things you still don’t want to share. Doesn’t that mean thatyouaren’t letting me be there for you?”
“That’s hardly the point.”
“Okay, Mr. Snippy, but it seems likeexactlythe point, and also, that we both have things to work on.”
Why is he hotter when he’s displeased? A terse “I guess” is all I get from him.
I give him a little shove. “Youguess?”
He shrugs, his gaze boring into me, holding me and forcing me to silently acknowledge just how much I’m loved. His love is my home and I truly wish we could go back to this morning and never leave my nest. I wish we’d never come here and just stayed at the beach for a few days instead of all of this. But I don’t believe that would have changed anything about our fates—no, notourfates…myfate. Like a train wreck I can’t unsee, I know exactly what love demands of me and I also know what comes next is going to monumentally suck.
CHAPTER15
TILLIE
We leave the gas station, with me wearing the cotton-candy scented, ginormous black hoodie over my tunic dress and tights. I’m super grateful I chose my big, black boots to complete my outfit. If a girl has to walk into danger, wearing Dr. Martens isn’t just appropriate, it’s freaking required. The gym bag is slung over Ethan’s shoulder, and our hands are still joined. It’s unbearable to imagine not having Ethan’s hand to hold, but that’s all I can think about as we walk toward the intersection and cross the street.
“What are you thinking?” Ethan asks gently, picking up on my worries like I’m a roving satellite sending out signals just for him.
“About instincts,” I answer, which is the truth and a lie all wrapped up in one.
“What do you mean?”
