Claimed by My Bully Alpha Chapter 293

Aurora’s P.O.V

I wasn’t expecting the door to creak so loudly when I pushed it open, but then again, I hadn’t exactly intended on sneaking into Caleb’s room. It was just that I had the code—he gave it to me weeks ago with that half-smile of his, like it was no big deal—and tonight, for whatever reason, I needed to see him.

Maybe it was the way the day had unraveled, heavy in parts, light in others, or maybe it was the look on Mia’s face when Shane said what none of us ever thought he’d say. Either way, my feet had carried me down the hallway, and my hand punched in the digits before my brain had fully caught up. The door clicked open, and I stepped inside with a soft,

"Hey—Caleb?"

I barely got the words out before I saw him. Standing with his back toward me, the dim overhead light casting gold on his skin, still damp from the shower, and only a towel wrapped low around his hips. My heart did this weird little flutter—annoying, really—and I looked away so fast I probably looked like a malfunctioning robot.

“Oh my God—I didn’t know you were—should I come back? I didn’t mean to barge in while you were…” I trailed off, still facing the wall like it had the answer to all my awkwardness.

He chuckled, of course he did, that deep, lazy sound of his that always made it worse. “Aurora,” he said in that warm, teasing tone, “you’ve seen me shirtless a dozen times. Hell, you’ve seen me naked, we both have. A towel is not gonna scare you.”

I groaned, hiding my face with one hand. “That is so not the same thing, and you know it.” But my cheeks were already burning, betraying me as always. I could practically feel the heat radiating off my skin as I turned around—carefully, trying to look anywhere but at the V-line peeking above the towel.

He was rummaging through his closet, pulling out a gray t-shirt and a pair of cotton shorts like it was just another Tuesday night.

“Relax, I’m decent. Well, I will be in a second,” he added with a wink I pretended not to see. He tossed the clothes on his bed and stepped back into the bathroom for a moment, and I used the time to sit down, crossing my legs on the edge of his mattress like I belonged there. Which, I suppose, I kind of did.

Caleb’s room was familiar now. The earthy scent of his cologne, the crumpled hoodie by the foot of the bed, the faint buzzing from the fish tank on his dresser. It felt… safe. Even when my heart was galloping like an idiot.

He came back out in the shorts, towel now slung around his neck, hair still dripping slightly at the ends. He plopped down beside me with a soft thud, his thigh brushing mine just enough to send my nerves into chaos. “Alright,” he said, nudging me lightly, “what’s up? You okay? You look like you’ve got something on your mind. Or did you just come over to catch a glimpse of me in my towel?”

“God, shut up,” I muttered, elbowing him with a laugh that came out far too breathless. But then I exhaled, letting the moment settle between us before I spoke again. “No, I… I actually wanted to tell you something. It’s been kind of a weird day.”

He leaned in slightly, blue eyes softening the way they always did when he was listening. “Tell me.”

“So,” I began, playing with a loose thread on my sleeve, “Shane… he apologized to Mia. Tonight. In front of me. Right there in the cafeteria.”

Caleb blinked. “Seriously? Shane as in—Shane Shane? Mr. 'I-don't-do-apologize-even-if-the-world-is-burning’ Shane?”

“Yup,” I said, nodding slowly. “That Shane.”

He whistled under his breath, brows raised. “Well, it was about damn time, don’t you think? He needed to do that after all the shit he put Mia through.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe guilt finally caught up to him. Or maybe he realized that he could no longer run from his problems. Mia was pretty much ready to throw fists at him a couple days ago, remember?”

Caleb laughed, and I smiled, softer now. “But yeah. He said he was sorry. Really sorry. And Mia… she kind of froze. She didn’t know what to say, so she looked at me, and she just—she asked me to sit with her. Like she didn’t want to face it alone. So I did. I stayed.”

Caleb’s hand brushed mine lightly, his thumb grazing over my knuckles before he looked at me again.

“You did good,” he murmured. “That was the right thing. She needed you.”

I nodded, swallowing the lump that suddenly formed in my throat. “Yeah, but it just made me think, you know? How many of us are walking around holding onto things? Guilt. Pain. Silence. All it takes is one moment to break it open. One person willing to say, ‘I’m sorry.’ One friend is willing to stay.”

He was quiet for a second, his eyes searching mine in a way that made my chest tighten. “Aurora,” he said gently, “are you okay? Like, really okay?”

I smiled, but it was the kind that trembled a little at the corners. “I don’t know. I think I am. I think I will be. It’s just… a lot, sometimes.”

“Yeah,” he said, his voice softer now, almost a whisper. “It is.”

And without thinking, I leaned into him. Not much. Just enough to let my shoulder rest against his. He didn’t move, didn’t flinch, just sat there beside me like a solid wall against the noise in my head, his arm coming around to wrap around my waist.

“So tell me. What happened?”