Chapter 31

Chapter 31
Aria

As I’m leaving with Noah and the others, we pass Daniel and the doctor on their way to Xander’s room. 

“Oh, Ms. Monroe, I’m told you would like to discharge yourself and Mr. McCain early. I do think it would be best to have Mr. McCain stay another night.” 

I know it would be smart of us to take his advice, but I don’t like the idea of all of us being so vulnerable right now. Xander needs to be somewhere safe, and the longer we stay here, the more anxious I’m starting to feel. 

“I understand, doctor, but some extenuating circumstances have come up. We will have a friend keep an eye on him, though. She’s a nurse.” I tell him. 

He looks hesitant, but nods. “Very well, if you could just sign this, I’ll start the discharge process.” 

I look at the doctor a little confused. A tablet is passed to me, and I give Daniel a quick look. He nods, telling me it’s safe to sign without reading it because he already has. So I use my finger and sing at the bottom of the screen. The doctor takes the tablet back and continues with Daniel to Xander’s room. 

The rest of us continue on and exit into the hospital parking lot. 

“We’re parked over here,” Roman says, pointing in the direction of a basic dark SUV. 

When we reach the car, Roman climbs in the driver’s seat. Jaxon offers for me to take the front seat, but I tell him I’ll sit in the back with Noah. We need to stick close together…doctor’s orders. Noah lets me slide in first, which means I end up sandwiched between him and Ezra. The car is completely silent as Roman pulls out of the parking lot. My mind is racing right now. So much is happening, and I have no idea what I should do. First and foremost, we need to get to the compound, but then what? I have to bond with all these guys. 

Men that I don’t know anything about. How am I supposed to basically let them into my mind? 

I am so lost in thought that I don’t realize someone is talking to me. 

“Sorry, What?” I say not even noticing who it was. 

“I was asking if you’d like to stop by somewhere and get some food. You haven’t eaten today.” Roman says.

I look at him in the rearview mirror, and I can see the small wrinkle between his eyebrows. Like he’s…worried. 

“Oh, that’s okay. I don’t want to waste any more time.” I say, but Noah rests a hand over mine. 

“Maybe it would be a good idea. You need to keep your strength up.” I look between him and Roman and then the others. 

All of them are watching me with various looks of concern. I want to laugh. I’m used to my people being worried about me, but these guys…they don’t even know me, and they’re worried about me. 

“I guess you’re right, but we should go through the drive-thru.” I give in, but I feel my face heat a little. 

I’m not sure how to feel about this. 

“Of course. What are you craving?” Roman asks. 

Crap. I glance around to see where we are, but it doesn’t look familiar. Normally, I stay in the direction of work and home. I get too nervous going outside of my normal route. 

“I’m not picky, so anywhere is fine,” I say. 

“We know a place,” Jaxon says, winking at me over his shoulder. 

I can’t help the heat that creeps up my neck at that wink, and I have to bite back a smile. He’s going to be trouble I just know it. 

The place Roman pulls up to looks like a small family business. He orders us all a breakfast burrito and something called a dulce de leche latte. Once we have the food, Jaxon passes out each of them to all of us. I examine the latte, and although I don’t usually drink very sugary coffee, I’m intrigued. So I take a sip, and my eyes widen at the taste. It’s sweet but in a warm way that I've never tasted before. 

“Wow, that’s crazy good.” I blurt out before taking another sip.

The guys chuckle. “Best breakfast in town.” Jaxon says before biting into his burrito.”

Everyone else does the same, and there are various sounds of appreciation that ring out. It makes me laugh a little, and I take a bite of my own burrito. Just like the drink, it hits my taste buds hard, and my eyes roll back into my head, and I add to the chorus of appreciative sounds. For some reason, though, they all go silent. I open my eyes and find them all watching me. 

“What?” I ask with some of the burrito still in my mouth, making the question come out muffled. 

I look at Noah and see his face has gotten slightly pink, and his eyes are a little wide. 

“What?” I snap at them. 

“Nothing,” Noah says, clearing his throat and taking another bite of food. 

I look at the others, and when they catch my eye, they all quickly follow suit. Too hungry to care why they’re acting weird, I go back to happily eating. 

Soon, Roman turns into an apartment complex. I notice a sign out front that says: Beta Apartments. I had no idea that they made apartment communities just for Betas. Does the city do this to keep the Betas safe or to keep them isolated? 

Roman pulls into a parking spot, and all the guys climb out. I set my drink down and slide out of Noah’s door. He closes it behind me while I look up at the building in front of me. The condition of it is…not the best. The walls definitely could use a coat of fresh paint, and there is a clear greenish color on top that must be some kind of mold or something. 

“Aria?” The sound of my name pulls me away from my attempt at taking in the condition of the complex to Noah.
I give him a forced smile and follow him toward the stairs. The guys climb up ahead of me, and Roman unlocks the door to the apartment at the top of the stairs. Once I step inside, I can’t believe the difference. Even though the outside seems run-down, the inside of the apartment looks nice. More than nice, actually. It looks like everything is new and well-kept up. The style is simple but tasteful. 

“Make yourself at home, beautiful. We won’t take long.” Jaxon says before taking off down the hallway. 

Everything is so nice that I’m afraid to touch it! Then it hits me. The reason they are here isn’t that they can’t afford anything else; it’s because this is a Beta community. This was probably their only option. 

“Okay.” Is all I manage to say in my awe. 

A hand wraps around mine, and is given a soft tug. “Why don’t you come to my room?” Noah says. 

I nod and let him lead me down the same hallway.