Our Hearts Collided (MxM)

Chapter 21

Vince's POV

If I hadn't been gripping the door frame, I was certain that I'd stumble over my own feet as I saw what was in Simon's hands.

"What are these?" His brown eyes narrowed into a pained expression as they traveled from the bottle to me. My stomach seemed to roll on its side, a faint wave of nausea as I feared what he'd do.

The bottle of suppressants Arthur had given me felt like a memory from forever ago that I had almost forgotten about it. In hindsight, throwing it in one of the drawers wasn't the safest option, and judging by Simon's face, I wanted to slap the past Vince for not tossing it out or leaving it to Chase to deal with. How could I have been as stupid to have left it around?

"Vince," he said, disappointment clear on his face. "We've been over this."

"I—I know," I managed to say, taking a step closer to him, hoping he wouldn't back away from me as he had done in the past. I couldn't bear the thought of him freaking out like before.

"I thought we were done with this."

I sucked in a breath before slowly releasing it. "We are—I...I can explain. Please."

His grip on the bottle tightened as he leaned against the vanity. "Well?"

Letting out a shaky breath, I took another step forward, and my hand was placed next to his on the counter. I didn't dare touch his hand, fearing it would only make matters worse, and I couldn't afford that, not with him looking at me like that. "I got them from Arthur, my father's—"

"His mate. I know," he said softly.

"When I went to his pack," I started. "We talked a lot about mates, the bond, and all of it."

Simon nodded, his expression still as grim as before. He let me continue, "at some point, we talked about you. About the things I had done, the ways I hurt you. At the time...at the time, I didn't know how you felt or how you were doing with Sam. I thought—I thought...."

My eyes were burning from remembering those moments alone, of the days I'd see him happy in the visions, laughing and smiling with Sam and his friends at the clinic or diner. I'd spent nights remembering those horrid memories of our past, reliving every moment only to wake up to a cold bed, knowing it had all been real and not some twisted nightmare.

"Vince?"

I blinked past the nearly formed tears to look up. "They weren't for me. They were never intended for me to take."

"But why take such a thing if—"

"It was for you." My eyes fell to the floor. "Arthur had given it to me to take, but I didn't want to go back to that. I just thought that if you really wanted to be with Sam—or anyone else— that you could—you could take this and not have to worry...about me, our wolves, and the bond. That you could truly be happy and move on from me and the past. I know now that things are different, but at the time, I couldn't bear the thought of you hurting more than you needed. I never planned to take it, but I held onto them and didn't know. Maybe, subconsciously, I kept them because I didn't think this was possible—you being here to stay, but it was never for me. You have to believe me."

"Vince—"

"I should've tossed it," I interjected. "I know I should have, but if you did want—"

"Vince, please. Just listen. I don't need this; I wouldn't even think about doing that to you," he said firmly. "I love you too much ever to do such a thing. And there's no way that—"

His following words faded as only one word stuck out to me, one that I never imagined hearing. Love. My wolf made a content hum, but this didn't feel real.