Not His Omega To Love by GS Holmes

10Ethan

“Reggie, get in here!”

He sighed loudly as he backtracked and entered the living room, where I’d been channel hopping for the past hour since I got home from work. Nothing caught my attention. I had way too much on my mind to watch, but I was too distracted to get anything done either.

Reggie dragged his schoolbag behind him like a petulant child. From the tight expression on his face, our conversation wouldn’t be pleasant.

“Did you speak with Cody?”

He nodded.

“And?”

He nodded again. I leaned back on the couch. The last hope I’d been clinging to shredded. I rubbed at my temples. At least we knew for sure now, and we could do something about it.

“Come on. Sit and talk to me.” I patted the couch, and he plunked down beside me.

“I don’t want him to keep it.”

“Okay. I understand that.” I placed a hand on his knee. “But what does Cody want? You did ask him what he wanted, right?”

“Yeah, he wants to keep it. Says it’s okay if I don’t want it. He’ll do it all by himself.”

A mixture of pride and frustration snared me into a dangerous spot. Pride that Cody had made a mature decision he thought was best for him. Frustration at what that meant for all of us. For Reggie’s future and even for Cody’s. Having a kid was a huge responsibility.

“All right, if he wants to keep the child, there’s nothing we can do but to support him.”

He glanced up at me, his eyes troubled. “What am I going to do, Dad? I don’t want a kid growing up thinking their father sucked, but if I don’t want a kid, why should I be forced to be a parent?”

“Because you were irresponsible, and now you have to be mature about it.”

“I’m not going to make a good father. I know it.”

“You don’t know that, and when the baby is born, you might change your mind. There’s still some time to go. We’ll figure it out. Who knows? Maybe his parents and I can work something out where among us we can keep the baby so that you both don’t miss out on school.”

“You’d do that?”

“Of course. We have enough hands at the trucking company now. I can afford to take some time off to dedicate to this.”

“Can’t the baby just not know I’m the father?”

I frowned at him. “Is that what you’d want?”

“Yes,” he said quickly, too quickly.

“Look, I don’t want you making any big decisions yet. You have time to sort through everything. First, we need to get together with his parents and talk to them about this. Let them know they’re not on their own dealing with this.”

He paled, shifting in the seat. “Do I have to go?”

“You expect me to go on my own?” I scowled. “You’re the one who slept with this omega and got him pregnant.”

“You don’t understand. His parents are tools.”

Just great. I’d been hoping for easy-going parents who would be practical about this, people I could negotiate with when it came to caring for a baby.

“How so?”

“They took one look at me and disliked me. They’re snobs. I’ll bet you they’ll make him get an abortion whether he wants to or not.”

My stomach flipped. “They would?”

“Yes, they seem the type.”

“Shit. Maybe we should talk to Cody alone first and find out if he’s told his parents yet or if he needs us to be there when he tells them. Can you do that?”

He sighed. “Sure, but he hardly wants to speak to me. I think I screwed things up badly with him. And I kind of liked him too. He’s real smart.”

“Too bad you weren’t.”

His face turned red, and he got to his feet.

“Hold up. We’re not done yet.”

“We’re not?”

“Nope, when you go upstairs, you need to call your dad and tell him what you did.”

“Why can’t you tell him?”

“Not my happy news to share, son. That’s all on you. Go and do it.”

“Fine.”

He marched out of the living room, and I winced as he stomped up the stairs. He was so immature. How could he be a father? They still had so much growing up to do. Was Cody fit to be a father? He seemed smart and all, but that was different. Parenthood was rough. Exhibit A that just left the living room. When they messed up, there was no getting rid of them to cover it up. I still had to love and guide him and trust that in the future, he would make better decisions.

That’s it then. Looks like I’m going to be a grandpa.

I groaned and hit the button on the remote to switch the channel. My phone rang, and I had to dig it out from the side of the sofa where it had fallen beneath the cushion. Dammit. Matt.

I took a deep breath and answered. “Hey, Matt, what—”

“How could you let him get someone pregnant?” he yelled as if I hadn’t already prepared him for this possibility.

I held the phone from my ear until he calmed down. “Are you finished?”

“My baby’s going to be a father, and that’s all you can say?”

I swiped a hand over my face. “Getting someone pregnant was all our son’s doing, Matt. I give him condoms, and I expect him to use them. What more could I have done? Forbid him from having sex?”

“That’s a start.”

“You’re being ridiculous. It’s his body, and he’s an adult.”

“So, you’re not going to do anything about it?”

“We’re going to support these two in whatever they decide.” Especially if Reggie was right and Cody’s parents were difficult in handling the matter.

* * *

I had to spend two days on the road for a delivery across the state, but I kept up with Reggie and how things were going between him and Cody. Apparently, Cody was avoiding him, not returning his phone calls, and ditching all the places he used to hang out at school. It weighed heavily on my mind while I made the trip back and forth, and by the time I returned home on Thursday, my stomach was tied up in knots, as I wasn’t sure what was going on.

Reggie had a game that evening, and I pulled up into the driveway just as he was leaving the house.

“You made it!”

“Told you I would.”

He grinned at me, but tension lines bracketed his eyes. “I’m heading out to the school to meet with the team before the game begins.”

“Just a minute. Did you talk to Cody?”

He shook his head. “He hasn’t been at school the last two days.”

I frowned, alarm bells ringing in my head. “Is that like him?”

“No, he doesn’t usually miss school.”

“And you didn’t try to find out what’s wrong?”

He squared his shoulders. “I did, but he won’t answer my calls or respond to my texts, and all that friend of his does is glare at me every time she sees me or I ask where Cody is. Can we talk about this later? I really need to go.”

I let him go to his game. Just this once. It was his final game. Afterward, we could drive over to Cody’s parents’ house together and talk.

As I didn’t want to miss a single minute of his game, I headed straight for the shower. Truck stops were convenient, but nothing beat taking a decent shower in my own bathroom. When I returned to the bedroom, I ignored my oh-so-tempting bed. The sleeper berth in the truck wasn’t exactly built for comfort for my bulk. Instead, I dressed in a pair of jeans and one of the new polo shirts I’d bought.

I was putting on my boots when the doorbell rang. I quickly tied the laces and hurried down the stairs. The young woman at the door wasn’t anyone I was familiar with. Her face was pale, and she kept glancing over her shoulder at the car parked in the driveway. Another young girl sat on the hood, watching the front door with a phone in her hand as if she was on guard duty.

“Mr. Finch?”

“Yes?”

She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket. “I’m Piper, Cody’s best friend. I think he’s in trouble.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Cody was in trouble? “Why? What happened?”

She sniffled. “His parents found out he was pregnant, and because he refused to get rid of the baby, they kicked him out. With nothing at all. I convinced my parents to let him stay with us, but after a couple of nights, they also found out he was pregnant and asked him to leave.” She burst out crying, knuckling her eyes with her fists. “I told them they were wrong to throw him out, but they didn’t care. I’m so mad at them for doing that.”

“Where’s Cody now?”

“He had some money saved up, but it wasn’t enough to get a place. He’s staying at one of those run-down motels in Side View. You know the one that nobody hardly ever stays at?”

Did I know of it? That place wasn’t fit for anyone to live in, let alone an innocent, young omega like Cody. It was the most crime-infested part of town.

“Do you know which room he’s in?” I pulled the door closed behind me.

“Room thirty-two. I promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone, but he said you were always nice to him, and he called me half an hour ago that he was scared. That someone was fighting next door.”

Shit. I stalked past her to my truck. “You girls need to go home. I’ll drive to the motel and get him.”

“You won’t let him stay there, will you?” Cody’s friend asked, hurrying down the steps.

“No, I promise once I get to him, he’ll be safe.” And so help anyone who’ll hurt him.

The girls had to back out of the driveway so I could leave. I promised Piper I’d have Cody call her as soon as he was with me. I seethed all the way to the motel, gripping the steering wheel tight. It took extreme control not to run through red lights. When I parked in the parking lot of the motel, my stomach swooped. When was the last time I’d driven to this part of town at night? In the dim light, the motel looked even seedier than at daytime. The stench of weed, urine, and vomit hit my nostrils as I tracked the numbers of the apartments downstairs.

Hookers were out in numbers, and I walked around one who approached me with an offer I wasn’t even interested in hearing. I finally located the building that coordinated with his number. In total, there were three buildings on the premises, each having two floors and stairs on the outside that led up to the second.

I had to double-check the room number on the door when I found a man with his pants half-hanging off his waist banging on the door.

“You gots to wait your turn with the new guy.” He grinned at me from blackened gums, slurring his words. “Of course, if you can get him to open up, then I don’t mind getting a second shot between those plummy ass cheeks.”

My vision went black, and I was seconds away from slamming my fist into his face. I grabbed the man by his neck, hauled him away from the door, and slammed him against the wall. He clawed at my hands, his glassy eyes wide.

“You get the fuck away from that door, you hear me.”

He choked and stumbled away. Even as an alpha, my skin crawled to be in a place like this. What the hell had Cody been thinking, and why hadn’t he come to me?

I knocked on the door, gentler than that asshole had been pounding on it.

“Cody.” I raised my voice to be heard. “It’s me, Ethan Finch. I’m here to take you home. Will you open the door for me?”

Scuffling sounded from inside, and the bolts and chains came undone. Smart boy. He didn’t undo them all. Just enough so he could peek out and verify it was me. His impish face appeared, and with it, I breathed a sigh of relief. His eyes were as wide as saucers and his face pale, but he looked unharmed.

“Hey, are you okay?”

He started to nod, then shook his head, eyes welling up with tears. I tried to take his hand, but the door wasn’t open wide enough.

“Open the door for me, Cody.”

The door closed temporarily, and for a second, panic surged through me that he wasn’t going to reopen it. Locks slid back, and the door swung open. Cody stood before me in a long T-shirt and a pair of shorts that left his slender legs bare. The poor boy looked frozen to the spot.

“Dammit, Cody, why didn’t you come to me?”

A sob tore from him, and he bolted toward me. I caught him and pulled him into my chest as tremors shook his entire body, his fear seeping out. With him still in my arms, I stepped inside the dingy motel room, shut the door, and spun the lock. A schoolbag lay on the twin bed, and some snacks and a bottle of water rested on the three-legged table in the corner. There was no television. Nothing at all for his entertainment, and this was where he’d been for the past two days?

“Listen to me, Cody.” I set him away from me and held his shoulders. “I want you to get your stuff, and then you’re coming with me.”

He pointed at the backpack on the bed, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Is that everything?”

He nodded. “I wanted to keep everything packed in case I had to make a run for it.” His bottom lip trembled, and he wrapped an arm around his body as if to cover up the tremor that ran through his frame.

“Did anyone force their way in here?”

“No, I was careful when I got here, but then I had to grab something to eat earlier, and a couple of the guys who hang around here saw me. They’ve been harassing me all day.”

I clenched my teeth and grabbed his backpack from the bed, slipping one arm through one of the straps. “Come on, let’s go home.”

He didn’t protest as he would usually do before he gave in. The stupid alphas around must have shaken him up pretty badly. A couple of guys stood on the opposite end of the corridor, and his steps faltered.

“Don’t stop. Keep walking.”

I led him down the stairs, and we crossed the lot, doubled around the other building at the front until we reached my car. He got into the front seat, and I tossed his bag into the back seat and sat behind the wheel.

“Seat belt on?”

“Yes.” He startled, digging his fingers in the seat. “You can’t take me home. My parents kicked me out because of the…”

“Because of the baby.”

He hung his head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to get pregnant. I swear.”

“Hey, don’t get worked up about it. Things happen, and we’ll deal with it. That’s what parents are for. I’m going to take you home and get you something to eat, and you can rest up. We’ll talk about everything in the morning.”