The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate Chapter 47

I could hear Tristan calling after me, his long strides echoing in the hospital corridor as he tried to catch up.

"Athena!" His voice carried that commanding tone he used when he expected people to listen.

I didn't stop. I kept walking, faster now, my heels clicking against the polished floor. The fluorescent lights above felt too bright, too harsh, making everything look stark and ugly.

"Wait up!" I felt his hand grab my arm, spinning me around to face him.

My face was burning with anger, my whole body trembling with rage I could barely contain. When I turned to look at him, I saw him flinch at whatever expression was on my face.

"What is it?" I snapped, my voice sharp enough to cut glass.

For a moment, he looked genuinely shocked that I'd screamed at him. Then he quickly masked his surprise, slipping back into that calm, controlled demeanor he always wore when things got difficult.

"Why won't you tell me what's going on?" he asked, his voice carefully measured.

I folded my arms across my chest, trying to hold myself together when every instinct was screaming at me to explode.

"At least you know I don't want to talk about it. So just go back inside and help poor, pitiful Seraphine."

I turned and started walking away again, desperate to get out of this hospital before I said something I'd regret. The antiseptic smell was making me sick, and I could still hear Seraphine's poisonous words echoing in my head.

"You still haven't grown up. You're twenty eight Athena, you need to have been grown." Tristan called after me.

The words hit me like a slap across the face. I kept walking, but my steps faltered. I didn't want to stop, I should just leave. For myself, so I won't break down.

"But you still keep acting like a child," he continued, his voice getting harder, more frustrated. "Running and hiding like you always do instead of dealing with your problems."

I stopped so abruptly that a nurse had to swerve around me. My heart was beating against my chest so fast I thought it might explode. The blood rushing in my ears was so loud I could barely think straight.

How dare he? How dare he say that to me right now?

I turned around slowly, feeling something cold and dangerous settling in my stomach. "Did you just say that to me?"

My voice came out low and deadly quiet, but I could see him realize he'd crossed a line. His face changed, the anger melting into something that looked like regret.

"Ath... I didn't mean..." He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, a gesture I'd seen a thousand times when he was trying to take back words he'd already spoken.

"No, you meant it," I said, my voice getting louder despite the fact that we were in a public place. "You meant every word."

This is what he really thinks of me. After everything we've been through, after all the progress I've made, he still sees me as the same broken girl who ran away five years ago.

"I know I ran away," I continued, taking a step closer to him. "But don't you dare stand there and act like you had nothing to do with it."

His mouth opened like he was going to protest, but I wasn't finished. Five years of buried resentment was clawing its way to the surface, and I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to.

"Yes, I ran away five years ago," I said, my voice echoing off the hospital walls. "And yes, I ran away from Daxon too late, after he'd already destroyed me. Yes, I always run away when things get hard. Yes, I act like a child. Thank you so much for pointing out all my flaws."

"That's not what I meant...." Tristan started, but I cut him off.

"Isn't it?" I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Because it sounded pretty clear to me. Poor little Athena, still the same immature girl she's always been. Still running from her problems instead of facing them like a grown woman."

"What? Athena, that's not...."

"No, you're right," I interrupted again, backing away from him. "I am exactly what you said I am. I'm a coward who runs when things get difficult. So congratulations, you figured me out."

Tristan stepped toward me, his hands raised like he was approaching a wild animal. "You're twisting my words. I was frustrated because you won't talk to me about what's bothering you."

"Why should I talk to you?" I shot back. "So you can tell me I'm being childish? So you can remind me what a disappointment I am?"

"You're not a disappointment...."

"Really?" I laughed bitterly. "Because five minutes ago you were listing all the ways I haven't changed since I was eighteen. Running away, acting like a child, hiding from my problems. Did I miss anything?"

I know I was exaggerating, but I wanted him to know how much his words hurt.

The hurt in my chest was so intense it felt like something was physically tearing inside me.

This was Tristan – the person I trusted more than anyone, the man I'd been falling in love with all over again – and he was throwing my worst moments back in my face.

This is why I can't let myself love him. Because eventually, he'll always see me as the broken girl who needs to be fixed, not as an equal worthy of respect.

"I was angry," Tristan said, his voice softer now. "I said things I didn't mean because I was frustrated that you won't talk to me."

"Because I won't talk to you?" I stared at him in disbelief. "You think calling me childish and immature will make me open up to you?"

"I think you shutting me out and refusing to communicate is childish," he said, and immediately I could see he regretted the words.

"There it is again," I said, my voice deadly calm now. "Your real opinion of me."

"That's not what I think of you," he said desperately. "You know that's not what I think of you." I know he was fraustrated, Good. Because I was too.

"Do I?" I asked. "Because from where I'm standing, it sounds like you still see me as Orion's little sister who needs to be protected from herself. The girl who makes bad decisions and runs away when consequences catch up with her."

"You're putting words in my mouth...."

"I'm repeating the words that came out of your mouth!" I exploded. "You called me childish! You said I run and hide like I always do! Those were your words, not mine!"

I've been such an idiot. Thinking he could see me as anything other than a burden, a responsibility he inherited when my parents died.

I need to get out of here before this gets any worse. Before we say things we can never take back.

I turned and started walking toward the exit again, but this time Tristan didn't follow me. Maybe he finally understood that I needed space, or maybe he was just tired of dealing with his childish, immature sister.

"Athena," he called after me, but his voice was resigned now, not demanding.

"Don't," I said without turning around. "Just don't. I need time to think about everything you just said to me."

I walked out of that hospital feeling like something fundamental had been broken between us.