The clerk pulled out the newspaper placed beside the register and muttered a "Tch" as he read the article. The story printed below was just as predictable as he'd expected. The news had already been making rounds on TV all day. People were buzzing about it, not just online but in every street corner. He didn't like that
Just then, a customer placed a few items on the counter-gum, bottled water, and a men's magazine. The clerk glanced over them and casually struck up a conversation.
"Total chaos, huh? All because of Chase Miller."
"Yeah, seems like it, the man replied shortly, sounding disinterested. As he scanned the items, the clerk launched into the rant he'd clearly been waiting to deliver.
"So many people got hurt, it's crazy. Honestly, people like him shouldn't even be invited to these events, right? They had to know something like this would happen. And Chase Miller not even a single word of apology. I mean, whose fault was all that? Doesn't it kinda seem like he enjoys watching the chaos he causes?"
"Well, I don't really follow celebrities."
The man lied smoothly. It wasr't entirely false he really didn't follow celebrities. More than anything, he just wanted to get this over with and go home. Thankfully, another customer had stepped up behind him and was now glaring at the clerk, forcing him to wrap it up.
The moment the clerk looked up, he froze.
The man was taller than expected, and even beneath his shirt, his chest was visibly defined with solid muscle. His face was higher than where the clerk had assumed it would be, and when their eyes met, he hesitated for a second,
The man casually packed his own things into the bag, gave a short farewell, and walked out. The clerk stared blankly at his retreating back. The customer behind him snapped
"What the hell took so long?"
"Did you see that guy's face?"
The next customer gave him a confused look, but the clerk kept staring in the direction the man had gone, mumbling to himself.
"He's definitely an Alpha, right?"
"Didn't smell any pheromones," the customer replied with a frown.
"He's that handsome of course he's an Alpha. And look at that body."
"Really? That back was impressive"
The second customer finally showed some interest, but by then, the man was long gone. Only then did the clerk snap out of it, scanning the items with a sigh. I hope he comes back again, he thought.
*
Like hell I'm going back to that store
Josh gritted his teeth as he weaved through traffic like a madman. Horns blared from every direction, and curses were shouted at him, but he ignored it all and slammed the gas even harder.
He was already thirty minutes late. Why the hell did that guy have to talk so much? What should've taken ten minutes dragged on because of all that useless chatter. And on top of that, of all the topics, it had to be Chase Miller-the one person Josh least wanted to hear about
He'd been hearing about Chase for days on end, to the point it was giving him migraines. No matter how hard he tried to avoid it, he couldn't. Wherever people gathered, they talked about him. His face was on soda cans from vending machines, on every news channel when the TV was on, on massive billboards advertising cologne on every highway.
There was just no escaping Chase Miller in this country.
Josh almost snapped and spat out a curse, but barely held it back, He'd once casually muttered something harsh, and later heard Pete repeat it like it was nothing it had horrified him. Ever since, he'd made a conscious effort not to let anything slip, even by accident. But today was testing his limits.
Thinking of Pete, he barely managed to rein it in until he finally got home-at which point he nearly shouted for joy.
"Pete!"
He bounded up the stairs three at a time. and burst into his apartment, calling his son's name the moment the door opened. Pete, who'd been sitting in the living room playing with the babysitter, turned his head and immediately yelled out.
"Daddy!"
"Pete!"
Josh scooped him up at once, showering kisses all over his face. His heart felt so full it was hard to even breathe. All the exhaustion of the day vanished in an instant.
Only after their joyful reunion five hours in the making-did Josh finally turn to the babysitter with Pete still in his arms.
"Thanks again for today."
"It's no trouble. Pete's so sweet, he's a breeze to watch."
The babysitter, a college student, worked part-time watching Pete when Josh was away. Looking down at the shorter, ordinary young man, Josh smiled warmly.
"You're always a big help. Exams coming
up soon, right? Make sure to let me know in advance if you can't come one day."
"Of course, Josh. I'll try not to miss any days. See you next time, Pete."
After saying goodbye and giving Pete's hand a gentle shake, the babysitter left. Josh paid him and was finally alone with his son. As always, Pete immediately clambered onto his shoulders, and Josh started preparing dinner with the bay riding piggyback.
"Wah, aeng, baaah!"
Pete wiggled his hips and made unintelligible noises. Probably a theme song from a cartoon he liked. Of course, that was just a guess.
Josh kissed his pudgy calf with a "smooch" and moved around the small kitchen like second nature. He grilled a simple steak, made a potato salad, and finished it off with some green beans.
"No beans"
The moment he saw the green stuff, Pete complained from his high chair. Josh, slicing the meat into bite-sized pieces, replied gently.
"Beans are friends with potatoes. They want to go into Pete's tummy together so they can be happy. They're friends, right? You don't like being apart from Jason, do you?"
Jason was the stuffed puppy Pete adored.
It was a fairly reasonable argument-but Pete wasn't backing down this time.
"No beans."
That stubborn little pout made someone flash through Josh's mind. A cold, grown-up face someone who looked a bit like Pete. Josh froze for a moment. But the person in front of him wasn't that man. It was Pete. And that man was neither cute nor sweet like Pete. The way Pete stared down at the beans with a disappointed little frown was too heartbreakingly adorable to resist..
In the end, Josh gave Pete a kiss on the crown of his head and tossed the beans Into the blender, grinding them down until not a trace was left. Holding up the empty. plate triumphantly, he declared,
"The enemy has been defeated!"
"Wawawawal"
Pete kicked his legs excitedly in the chair.
Josh kissed his cheek with a loud "mwah" and started feeding him dinner. Pete's mouth was quickly smeared with food.
Josh pulled out the handkerchief he
always carried and gently wiped him clean, watching him fondly. Just seeing those tiny hands struggling to use the fork made his heart want to burst.
Holding his child in his arms, Josh walked slowly around the living room, waiting for Pete to fall asleep. Once the boy was finally tucked into bed, he gave the house a quick clean, took a shower, and then pulled out a beer as the last task of the day
Hoo
A satisfied sigh slipped from his lips. His life wasn't luxurious by any means, but he had no complaints. Just the thought of Pete growing up and leaving home for college brought tears to his eyes though that day was still far off. He downed the can, then headed to bed.
When the ominous ring of the phone echoed through the dark room, Josh had been in a deep, dreamless sleep.
"Yeah, hello... Emma?"
Still half-asleep, he answered the call, only to freeze at the sound of his younger sister sobbing. He quickly glanced at the clock on the bedside table and did the time-zone math. It was 8 a.m. on the West Coast.
[Oh, Josh, oh God, what do I do...]
"What's going on? Did something happen?"
He pressed urgently. Between sobs, Emma managed a response.
[Mom collapsed... she's at the hospital..]
"What? Emma, stop crying and talk to me.
What happened?"
Josh's voice sharpened instinctively. He could hear his sister's crying clearly on the other end. Shaking off the last traces of sleep with a violent shake of his head, he pushed her again, more firmly.
"Stop crying and tell me. So she's in the ER
right now?"
[Y-yeah... huh...]
Emma broke down again. She was usually so composed-it wasn't often he saw her like this. Josh's stomach churned, but there was nothing he could do. He hated the fact that he couldn't run to her and reassure her in person. All he could do was be patient and wait.
After what felt like forever, Emma finally
managed to calm herself enough to speak,
stammering out an explanation. In short, their mother's chronic condition had worsened, and she was now in the emergency room. She also mentioned that, due to repeated hospitalizations, their savings had run dry.
Once she'd finished, Josh asked more gently, "Did you check with the insurance?"
[They said the last one was the final claim... I'll still go later, just in case. I told my job I needed the day off. I'm going to see if the bank will give me a loan, but... I don't know.] Emma ended with a shaky breath.
[Josh, I really thought... I thought she was going to die. Her hands were so cold, and
she wasn't responding when I called her.
She was barely breathing, I was so huhh, huhhh...]
"Emma. Emma."
Josh raised his voice a little to get through
to her, cutting in before she could spiral again.
"It's okay. Calm down. She's going to be
okay, right?"
[Yeah. The worst part's over.]
Emma's voice was still trembling, but it
was obvious she was trying her best to
pull herself together. He could only imagine how scared she must've been, all by herself. He wanted to fly to her side immediately. But before that, he had something else to take care of.
"What did the doctor say? Is she going to be discharged soon?"
[No, they said she has to stay a few days. They need to run some more tests...]
Emma's voice came much softer now, more grounded.
[What do we do, Josh?]
"Don't worry."
Josh said it firmly.
"I'll take care of it, somehow. You've done great. Did you get any sleep?"
No, she whispered weakly. The fatigue in her voice now seeped through the receiver. Josh purposely kept his tone strong.
"You need to rest now, okay? I'll call you later."
Emma exhaled a deep sigh, her voice utterly drained.
[...Yeah. I'm gonna sleep for a bit. Josh, I'm counting on you.]
"Don't worry and go lie down. Drive safe, okay?"
After saying goodbye and hanging up, silence suddenly filled the room like ice. Sitting in the dark, Josh mentally replayed the conversation to process it. The situation was clear.
He needed money.
"Fuck."
He grabbed his head and let out a long sigh. But there was no time to sit there stunned. Josh quickly calculated how much cash he had on hand. The result only made him want to swear more.
He was trying to roughly estimate how much they'd need when he heard Pete crying softly in the other room. He rushed to his feet and hurried over.
"Daddy, Daddy..."
Pete burst into tears the moment he saw him. Josh quickly scooped him up from bed. Sometimes, Pete would wake up in the middle of the night like this, crying. He clung tightly to Josh's chest with his little arms, seeking warmth and comfort..
"It's okay, Pete. Everything's okay."
Josh gently rocked him around the room, whispering comfort until the boy's sniffling quieted and his breaths grew deep and steady. Josh kissed Pete's head softly.
His son's warmth always calmed him. Josh buried his face in Pete's neck and inhaled deeply, hoping the boy's familiar scent would soothe the anxiety twisting in his chest. Eventually, he ended up staying up all night, sitting on the couch with Pete in his arms.
*
Good morning, Rose."
Josh knocked and stepped into the office. Rose, who'd been filing her nails at her desk, jumped a little in surprise then smiled brightly.
"Hey, Josh. Looking handsome as always."
He smiled politely at the familiar compliment. He didn't feel so great this morning he'd left Pete asleep at home.
Pete's probably going to cry the moment he wakes up and sees I'm not there.
It happened every day, but that didn't make it easier. He wished he could be there with him until he was a little older, but reality
wouldn't allow it. Worse, today was the babysitter's day off. He'd had to leave Pete with Mrs. Roberts from next door before the boy even woke up and the guilt weighed heavy on his heart.
Her pension was her only income, and she adored Pete like the grandchild she rarely got to see. Sometimes she baked him
cookies or bought him toys. Josh was grateful, but he couldn't leave a child with an elderly woman for too long. He had to finish his business and get back quickly.
When he glanced toward Mark's office, Rose stood with a faintly flushed expression.
"Boss isn't in yet. You're early. Want some coffee?"
Josh smiled to hide his disappointment.
"Thanks."
"Just give me a sec!"
Rose dashed off to the break room, clearly in high spirits. Left alone, sitting on the office couch in the silence, Josh felt a
rising wave of unease. He glanced around idly until his gaze landed on the newspaper on the table. His eyes landed,
meaninglessly, on the face plastered across the front page - just as Rose returned and spoke.
"That's the prosecutor in the Davis case. Isn't he handsome?"