Can he join?
Can he join?! He didn't even smoke!
Arthur was secretly flustered by the sudden attachment he felt. But, well...could you blame him? It was the first time he felt he had found a decent conversation partner. Someone who, despite thinking he was an asshole, didn't cast him away. Didn't even ridicule him when he was talking about his pathetic side.
He wanted to ask for that person's number, but...
Was talking for an hour giving him the right for that? Did he deserve it? The alpha, who had never acquired a number from a stranger by himself before, had no knowledge of the right social decorum in this kind of situation.
He just thought he should stick to this man until he had the courage to ask for further contact.
The man, on the other hand, looked at him weirdly. "Uhm...if no one's at the table, the bar will think we're running away without paying."
Oh, right...
"Then, I'll pay first," Arthur said, not even thinking about how eager he sounded. His eyes darted to the table and the empty glass of gin. "I'll...pay for you too. I promised you that drink, after all."
There was no response for a while. As seconds felt like minutes, Arthur couldn't bring himself to look at Gin. Did he sound desperate? He sounded desperate, didn't he? Homeschooling didn't teach him how to ask for someone's number. Did regular school teach that?
"Well, if you insist," Gin finally replied, chuckling quietly and probably a little baffled. He waved the stick between his fingers while walking away. "I'll see you outside, then."
"Okay!"
Arthur walked to the cashier with a wide smile he didn't even realize he had until he saw his reflection on the bar's shelf--and immediately filled with dread. Did he really wear that expression earlier--or worse, the whole time?! Grinning like an excited puppy?!
Arthur groaned audibly, startling the cashier lady, who had to watch him bury his face in his hands, lamenting.
'He must have thought I'm a pathetic, friendless loser, huh?' Arthur thought with a sigh as he gave his card to the cashier.
That was correct.
But, well...even if it was just pity, he still said he'd wait outside, right? Arthur bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from grinning again. Taking the receipt and the card from the cashier who was somehow smiling at him like a kindergarten teacher smiling at the children in their charge, Arthur headed to the door with light steps.
Steps that unfortunately had to be stopped by a vibration from his phone.
"Grandpa?" he frowned deeply, checking the time at the corner. It wasn't midnight yet, but like most elderly, it was past the old man's bedtime.
Immediately, he thought something bad had befallen his grandparents and rushed out of the door while taking the call. Was it an accident? Was that omega wife of Ashley cause trouble again?
"Grandpa? Did something happen?"
[Arty, it's me]
"Ash?"
Instead of his grandfather, Arthur heard his cousin's voice. Not only that, she sounded quite calm, so it didn't seem like there was any accident happening. But calling him with their grandfather's phone was weird.
"What happened to your phone?"
[Camilla threw it across the room]
"What the fuck?" Arthur almost yelled before realizing he was right in front of a commercial establishment. He lowered his volume and hissed at the phone. "She was there? What is she doing now?"
[...she took Sammy]
Arthur opened his mouth in bewilderment, doubting his hearing. Ashley had been in the process of a divorce from her wife, who was leaving her after getting caught cheating. They were supposed to separate last year, but the process got complicated when Camilla, the omega wife, got pregnant.
For the sake of the child, Ashley postponed the divorce, even thinking their marriage could be saved somehow. But, no--she declared she didn't want anything to do with the baby and left with another alpha. Not even the one she was cheating with.
At least the child was Ashley's, and they'd be able to get a clean divorce. But suddenly, in one of the trials, she demanded the baby's custody because she was the one who gave birth. It hadn't been finalized yet, and Ashley's lawyer had been arguing that Camilla only wanted to get money from child support instead of thinking about the baby's well-being. Still, because Camilla had another alpha to support her, it was a tough battle.
Still, how could she come and take the baby away after declaring she didn't want anything to do with the child?
Arthur swiped his hair back in frustration. "Wha--when?"
[Right after you're gone for your blind date, I reckon
Grandpa was asleep, and she forced her way through the nanny using custody and whatnot] Ashley said after taking a deep breath. She sounded calm, but Arthur could hear the slight tremble in her voice. "I went to her place as soon as Nanny called me, and..."
Arthur listened to his cousin's story, which only made him more and more frustrated. Basically, there were verbal fight, a lot of screaming that woke the baby up, and Camilla got so angry she snatched Ashley's phone and threw it to the wall.
[I feel like it might get dangerous, so we decided to return for now. The lawyer said it's unlikely that the court would grant her custody, so...I'll get Sammy back if I just wait...]
Arthur almost cursed outloud. "What do you mean you'll just wait? Just--"
[She said she'd make it harder in the trial if I pushed through]
"That fucking omega!"
Scratch that. There was no way he could listen to this without cursing. Ashley sounded so tired, which was understandable since she was supposed to be in a conference on the other side of the city when the nanny called. The fighting, the cheating, and the ongoing battle for alimony and custody kept on wearing her down.
But even in that state, she took care of her baby as much as she could, and still went out of her way to take care of Arthur as well. That was why Arthur felt more and more like a burden. He couldn't help financially, and he knew too little of the world to be able to give sound advice. The only thing he could think of was...well, stopped being a burden.
But this one...he had a bad feeling about this one. Arthur knew the 'place' Camilla lived in wasn't a permanent residence, not even an officetel. It was a motel, which meant the omega could disappear easily. Just from how tired Ashley sounded, Arthur could easily see that Camilla wanted to wear his cousin down so that Ashley would agree to her demand more easily.
Who's to say she wouldn't disappear again just to stress out Ashley more?
"Listen--it's going to be too late if you wait. Just take the child first before the omega runs off again," Arthur insisted. He didn't bother to hide his frustration, making sure Ashley could catch the urgency in his voice.
He was already a useless bum in that house, so he wanted to at least prevent something worse from happening. Ashley was indeed tired, but there should be some adrenaline left running through her at that moment--Arthur wanted her to take advantage of that and made another move.
"And if she's as agitated as you told me, who knows what she might do to your baby," Arthur urged her again.
Thankfully, mentioning her child's well-being worked like a charm.
[...yeah, you're right] alert returned to Ashley's voice. [I should move now]
Arthur curled his fist tight and nodded. "Alright, I'll follow--"
[No, it'll be better if you stay away. Too many alpha there would just look bad, like...as if we're cornering her or something]
Arthur frowned. Wasn't that what they were trying to do?
[Also...] Ashley added cautiously. [You know how it is when she gets distressed]
"Ah..."
Arthur gritted his teeth. Camilla was one of the people who couldn't wear scent blockers. It was hard for Arthur when the couple was fighting because the smell...the pheromone influenced by negative feelings always came out sharper, harsher, like a rotten fruit in the summer haze.
That was why Arthur could never help. He couldn't even stay in the same house when it happened. Sometimes, when the scent persisted for days, he either had to lay a mattress in the annex or seek refuge at Allen's house.
Just remembering it made him gag. His failed date's perfume felt like child's play compared to the storm of a manipulative omega using their distress as a weapon.
"Yeah, you're right..." Arthur said with a clenched jaw. "Sorry for not being useful."
[That's not the case, Arty] Ashley said gently, which only exacerbated Arthur's frustration. [Grandma will come with me, and I ask some of my beta friends for help, so don't worry]
"What about Grandpa?"
[He'll be waiting in the car with Allen while we confront her]
Arthur pursed his lips. "So...there's no one at home?"
[Yeah] Ashley sighed. [It smells so much of her pheromone--Nanny said she was throwing a tantrum and everything while taking Sammy--so it's better for you to stay out for tonight. The baby would probably cry a lot because of the commotion too if we got her back, so...]
"I see..."
[Sorry, Arty. I'll talk to you later]
Arthur stared at his phone screen, the faint beeping sound adding to his frustration. His helplessness. He couldn't help, despite receiving so much help already. Even the reason Ashley called him wasn't to ask for help; she just wanted to tell Arthur that he should be away because Arthur wouldn't be able to stand the scent at the house.
A burden, as always.
"Fuck!"
Against his best judgement, without looking around, Arthur cursed out loud. It halted the movement of a group trying to enter the bar. Three men--two betas and an alpha--who seemed to be drunk already. They stopped and looked at him, grabbed his shoulder, and turned him around to face them.
"What did you say, punk?"
Arthur blinked in confusion, too deep in his own thought to realize what happened. For all he knew, he was just talking to himself. His confused frown, however, flamed the drunkards even more. Before he knew it, the drunk alpha already swung a fist toward him, and someone grabbed his collar to yank him back.