Chapter 20 Amalie We dragged out our lunch as long as we could . I had slowly sipped on my soup . Cal and Mark went from inhaling their food to taking small , precise bites . Rose , my sweet Rose , happily snacked on her food . She talked the whole time . Rose told me all about the two weeks she had spent with the twins . She told me about spending days in the office with one or both of the twins . Rose colored as they worked on pack business . Rose promised that she had a whole stack of pictures for me . She gushed about how she didn't have to cover the entire paper before she was able to move onto the next picture . Rose told me about the new colors she had received . She said it had so many colors , over a million . She told me about going to the park . Of how James , Sam , and Nick played with her when they went to the park . James and Nick would play with her on the equipment when one of them would take her . Sam watched a few feet away and was always there if she needed when he would take her to the park . She talked about how they had all become uncles to her . Rose talked excitedly about her new uncles . She told me about Dr William and Michael Reed , Mathew's older brother . Rose told me how Uncle Mike let her sit on his lap and he wheeled her around with him in his wheelchair . I had mixed feelings about that . Mathew had told my parents to keep me imprisoned in my home for seven years . How could I be sure that Michael wasn't working the same angle . Actually , how could I be sure that Dr. William wasn't working with Mathew and would get me locked up . " Stop , " Calyx ordered . My attention snapped to him . " What ? " I asked in confusion . " You are thinking way to hard about something and went very deep into your mind . Mark took Rose to the park after she became worried about you , " Cal stated . " I didn't get to say goodbye , " I said with a frown , finally noticing that my Rosebud was missing . Goddess , how out of it had I been ? " She tried to say goodbye . You tuned her out and wouldn't respond . Mark took her before she realized that your breathing was off , " he explained gently . I took a few deep breaths to regulate my breathing . I hadn't realized that I was having a panic attack . " Now , care to explain what that was all about ? " Cal asked . I knew it wasn't an empty request . He wanted to know what set me spiraling . " How do I know if your uncles won't hurt me or do what your dad did ? " I asked , ripping off the bandaid , so to speak . " They could be working with your father and my parents ! " " I promise you , Uncle Will and Mike only want to help . No one but our father and your parents were part of keeping you locked up . We are stilling digging into the reason why . I was not able to get straight answers from your parents . And Mellisa , goddess she was so conceited , only cared about herself and what her friends would think , " Cal assured me . I could see that he was angry at what happened with my parents . I actually laughed at the last part. It wasn't a happy or merry laugh . It was a biter laugh , one that was full of frustration and hurt . " Of course , she only cared about herself . She's the golden child , " I scoffed . " Well , that golden child is rotting in the pack cells with her parents who spoiled her , " Cal smirked dangerously . " Good , she deserves it along with my parents , " I growled . Beren was in full support of the three of them being locked up . " Will you be okay with still being examined and talking to William ? " Calyx asked , concern lacing his question . " I think so . Just promise me that you will stay the whole time , " I said . I could do this . Meeting with Dr. Will would be easy , even if he had been mated to Mathew's brother . I vaguely remembered Michael . He was a great warrior from what I remembered . Michael use to sneak us snacks when we were running through the pack house . I had spent a lot of time running around the pack house with Calyx and Markus . Anything to keep me away from my parents ' house . James would often join us . Sam watched us as he sat down , always working on schoolwork or reading a book . Nick had tried to keep up with us , but he had been five years younger than we were . When I was younger , it never crossed my mind that I was best friends with my future leaders . They had just been my friends . Markus had literally dragged me into his friend group . Calyx had refused to let me leave . James just rolled with it , being Markus's best friend already . Sam hadn't protested as no one else had . And little Nicholas had just wanted to belong with the big kids as he was one day going to be the Delta . " You're getting lost in thought again , " Calyx stated as he gently squeezed my shoulder . " Sorry , " I apologized , snapping out of my memories . " You don't have to apologize . What were you thinking about ? " Cal asked . " A lot of stuff from when we were younger , " I sighed . " When you get out of here , we can sit and talk all you want about the good memories and focus on making new ones , " he assured me . " Careful , that sounded awfully emotional and sappy , " I joked with a smile , " it might ruin your image . " " I will gladly ruin my image if it makes you smile , " he stated , a smile gracing his own lips . In CrushReel's ongoing romance novel, "All the Wrong Reasons," the protagonist, Andrea, faces a pivotal choice: either write a sex column or risk losing her job due to her lack of experience in that area. Determined to succeed, Andrea embarks on a journey to explore this unfamiliar territory. 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