Conflicted

Rory

"Oh shit." Trevor's startled voice filled the room right before the sound of him dropping the broom drifted into my ear.

A stinging and peppered sensation gathered in my eyes but before I could massage it further, Trevor was cupping my face and tilting my head up.

My heart flew into my throat just as he gently pulled my stinging eye open and carefully blew air into it.

I remained frozen in place, mind temporarily shutting down as he continued. He massaged my eyelid with his thumb and each time my eye closed on reflex, he gently pried it open again until the stinging sensation was completely gone.

I stepped away from him once I was able to keep my two eyes open, blinking in surprise and confusion because of the insanely close proximity we had just shared.

I awkwardly cleared my throat and glanced around and when he took a step forward, I held a hand out and shook my head.

"Don't come closer please." I blurted out before I could stop myself.

He blinked once, and then he held his hands up.

"Oh, no. I just wanted to confirm you were alright since it's my fault something got into your eyes." He explained with his hands still up and then I instantly felt dumb.

He had previously stood so close to me, which could definitely be taken out of context should someone have walked in.

I didn't want to hurt Raven unknowingly, so I didn't want to get involved in any sort of drama with her mate. I

I awkwardly cleared my throat and bent down to pick up the broom and then I nodded my head slowly.

"You were just helping me in the first place." I finally responded, and then I offered him a small, polite smile.

"Thank you."

He snorted and waved a hand in my direction. "Aw come on, there's no need to thank me." He assured me and after blurting out a quick response, I was quick to flee from his presence.

Once alone in my room, I flopped over the bed and berated myself for overreacting and jumping into conclusions.

The alpha had only been concerned about me, and I had acted that way, which had been flat out rude.

"Not everyone wants to get into your pants, Rory." I said the word aloud so i can start believing it as soon as possible. Because of my past experiences with alphas, it was already a reflex thing for me to be wary of them wanting to get into my pants, because that's how it had been way before I became legal.

Trevor is different, and also mated with a lovely daughter. Don't act weird around him next time.

~~~

It has been easy to forget about that little encounter with Trevor.

I had thought he'd be mad at me and not be nice to me or worse, ask Raya to throw me out because of what my action insinuated that dsy.

But none of that thankfully happened.

Instead, it was the complete opposite that happened.

I was currently rocking a child for him to fall asleep. He had cried after getting dropped off because today was his first time. He had stopped crying already but I wanted him to fall asleep so when he wakes up, he'd be hungry and be in a better mood.

The rest of the kids were playing with themselves and I kept monitoring them every now and then.

Trevor, who I hadn't notice approaching, was suddenly in front of me. I stared at him in confusion, blinking a couple of times.

I knew he was working from home today, like he does every Thursday, but I didn't understand what he was currently doing in here.

Raya wasn't home, she took Mel to the hospital for a shot because she has a little fever.

Unexpectedly, Trevor brushed a strand of hair from my forehead and my mouth fell open in confusion right before I abruptly took a step back.

I cleared my throat, unsure of what to make of this.

"Do you need anything?" I ended up asking after a few moments.

It's been a week since that encounter by the window, and since then, things had been as pleasant as it was supposed to be between us. Of course, we aren't overly close because I wasn't friends with him, I was friends with his wife and mate.

"You're so great with kids." He ended up blurting out and I blinked once before awkwardly chuckling.

"Oh, that. Thank you." I breathed out as I walked off to lay down the child who had finally fallen asleep.

I began to clear up some of the kids toys and when I glanced back at the doorway, I realized that he was still present. He noticed the confused look on my face and cocked his head sideways.

"Don't you need a break? I believe you can use one for a cup of juice or something." He called out and i smiled wearily as I rose to my feet with arms of toys.

"Unfortunately, i can't afford that right now. But it's okay, their parents will be coming to pick them up in a few hours." I explained.

He looked like he wanted to say something else but decided against it.

Once he left, my mind went back to the face that he brushed my hair off my forehead. I didn't know why he did that, but it left a sinking feeling in my stomach.

I felt extremely weary, because it was clear that whatever it is that he's playing at wasn't gonna end well before it even starts.

~~~

Later that night, I was cleaning up the kitchen after dinner when Trevor arrived and offered to assist me, which I declined because I've never seen him help Raya in the kitchen before.

He kept insisting, and I kept declining.

Raya is currently reading to Mel, and I dreaded that I was currently alone with Trevor.

I desperately wished that he'd leave me alone and go back to only exchanging a dee words with me like he did the first few days after he returned from his trip.

Despise me declining his help, he still remained in the doorway, engaging me in a light conversation, one which I didn't have a choice but to respond to, since I was currently living under his roof.

Once I was finally done in the kitchen, I was about to leave when he suddenly blocked my way, eyes darkening as it raked over me.

Oh gods.

"Can you please let me pass?" I kept my voice low on purpose to not alert Raya.

Trevor however, shook his head in response, making my mouth drop open in disbelief.