Chapter 7 Reminiscing

• Harper’s [POV]
• After breakfast, I make my way into town.
• Charlotte offers a driver for me, but I decline.
• I could use the fresh air.
• Aurora is quaint, with small shops and a tiny local grocery store, which I wander into. While I explore, I catch residents smiling at me, and I smile back.
• The town is extremely welcoming.
• And it feels incredible to be away from him.
• I recall his words in my head and the more I ruminate on them, the angrier I become.
• “You can’t go anywhere without me it’s not safe.”
• “Many people don’t like you, Harper. It’s better if you don’t make friends around here.”
• “It’s better you don’t remember your past.”
• “I’m your only family, babe.”
• I shudder.
• And the worst part is I believed for so long.
• Waking up in the hospital, him standing over me with tears in his eyes. Him stroking my hair, pressing a kiss to my head.
• Telling the nurse I’m his girlfriend, and how we’ve been together for three years.
• Him crying as he fucks me, telling me how much he loves me and begging me to never leave him.
• Always insisting he goes everywhere with me.
• Reminding me to take my medicine.
• Oh.
• Which reminds me.
• I need to get those pills, which will hopefully stave off the headache that’s forming around my eyes.
• The clerk waves goodbye to me as I leave the market, a jar of local honey in tow.
• “There must be some mistake.”My lower lip trembles as fear build in my chest.
• I’m going to throw up.
• “There is no mistake, Miss Chapman. I apologize. That prescription doesn’t exist.”
• The pharmacist is empathetic but firm. “I’m not sure what you were taking you said it was for headaches?”
• I nod, horror creeping up my spine.
• “There’s nothing with that name. Nothing even relatively close.”
• “Okay,” I breathe.
• This is fine.
• The Beta pharmacist frowns. “If you have headaches, I could send a message to your doctor”
• “No.”
• “You said your boyfriend was filling these for you?” She returns to her computer, typing.
• “Yes. Um, ex-boyfriend.”
• Don’t cry don’t cry.
• “And what’s his name?”
• “Michael,” I whisper as acid forms in my gut. “Michael Hawkins.”
• Even saying his name makes me want to scream.
• “He’s not in the system. Do you know your doctor’s name?”
• She continues asking me questions, but I’m too absorbed in my panic to answer.
• What the hell was Michael giving me?
• Why don’t I know who my doctor was?
• Why did he hide my paperwork from me?
• “Was it just for headaches?” Her questions snap me out of my stupor.
• “That’s what he said they were for,” I whisper.
• She stares at me for a long time, a frown forming on her face.
• I can practically hear the words in her mind.
• Why were you letting someone else give you meds?
• Her judgmental face sickens me, and I blurt out a response before I can stop myself.
• “He was my caretaker after I had a car accident. He had all my medical records, history, everything.”
• “Well, if you have his information, I can contact”
• “No!” I snap, and she raises an eyebrow. “I can’t. It’s not he’s not safe.” I exhale slowly, biting my lip.
• Her frown grows, but she nods. “Aisle ten has headache medications, but if the symptoms get worse, I encourage you to go to a doctor. If you don’t know what he was giving you…well, it could be bad.”
• I swallow nervously. “I know,” I whisper.
• “And there’s no chance you could be in Heat?”
• Her words stun me. “I’m a Beta. My identity card saysBeta.”
• She read it, didn’t she?
• She shrugs. “It doesn’t hurt to ask.”
• I shake my head. “Yeah, thanks. I appreciate your help.”
• She mumbles something as I walk to aisle ten.
• As I grab a bottle of headache relief, a cheery “Hi!” sounds next to me.
• I turn to see a petite woman around my age with large brown doe eyes and blonde curly ringlets. She’s looking at me with wonder and a kind smile.
• Judging by her delicate features and soft floral scent, she’s an Omega.
• “Hi?” I’m puzzled by her greeting, but she doesn’t seem to notice.
• “How are you?” she breathes, her eyes bright with warmth.
• “Um, good. And you?”
• She lets out a choked laugh. “It’s so good to see you again.” She stands there, looking like she wants to pull me in for a hug.
• Michael said you’ve been here before.
• The silence turns awkward, and her smile slowly fades. “How long are you here for?”
• “Renee!” the pharmacist calls, and the Omega looks towards her, then back at me.
• “Sorry, I don’t,” I say, but the pharmacist interrupts again.
• “Renee? Your prescription is ready.”
• “Oh-okay,” she says, then looks back at me. “Well, call me while you’re here, okay? We can grab lunch and talk.”
• “Sure.”
• I don’t know your phone number.
• But she walks away before I can say anything.
• I buy the pills and then leave, shaken by the strange interactions.
• The rest of the town is lovely, but I can’t forget the look Renee gave me.
• She looked at me like I was an old friend.
• How long ago was my last trip here?