Page 134 of Full Body Hit, Part 1

The thing around Auston’s stomach clenched down painfully. “Oh.”

He stared at Chase’s face, a frown still dipping his eyebrows even though he’d dozed off.

Auston hobbled out of the room, heart so loud it filled his head with static.

Auston wasn’t prone to guilt. He said and did what he meant, lived by his morals. He could be a dick, sure, but only to people who deserved it.

Or so he thought.

He made it to the kitchen, taking his phone out of his pocket and leaning on the counter. There were no messages from Charlie despite the fact that Auston had texted him earlier in the evening. It was late, though—Charlie was probably asleep.

Auston swallowed, the back of his throat tasting like bile.

You’ve built something…a legacy. That was what Charlie had said, and Auston agreed. He’d worked fucking hard for two decades in order to make something of himself. To be part of a team.

And yet there he was, throwing an extended tantrum because it was coming to an end for him but not for others.

What the fuck had the kid ever done to him, really? So what if he didn’t get upset easily. That wasn’t exactly an excuse for Auston to use him as his punching bag.

“Fuck,” he muttered, running his hand down his face. It was pathetic, how he’d been acting all these months. That Sammy had been reticent to leave Chase with him despite not having another option.

Be gentle with him. It was a goddamn joke that Auston, at thirty-seven years of age, had to be told not to fuck with someone in the midst of a concussion.

He checked his phone again. No messages from Charlie. He opened their thread, scrolling through it unseeingly.

What would his baby say if he knew the truth? Charlie was dealing with a shitty coworker who might as well have been Auston, if he thought about it. He felt nothing but anger and disgust towards whatever fucking Alpha that dude was, picking on someone like Charlie, but wasn’t he doing something similar?

Auston’s sister would fucking laugh at the fact that he was so emotionally stunted that he needed some sort of guilt-ridden apology to figure this shit out.

He sighed, leaning away from the counter, ignoring the way his hip twinged. There was no point in thinking about it more. He needed to go to sleep.

Hopefully, he’d be a better man the next day.

***

There was a voice memo from Charlie waiting for Auston when he woke up.

“Hey,” Charlie whispered. “Sorry, my screen is cracked. No texting. Can’t use my phone much.”

Auston’s rib cage expanded, letting him take a deep breath. It was stupid to think Charlie had somehow figured out what an asshole Auston was and dumped him.

He sent a voice message back. “No worries, baby. You up for talking on the phone today?”

Another message pinged a few seconds later. “Phone won’t be up to that today. Call you when I can?”

“Whenever you want. Got a few days off.”

“Miss you, Daddy. Gonna suck not texting.”

“Miss you too, baby. I’m here when you want me.”

Charlie hearted the message.

Auston smiled. Okay. He could face the day now.

He groaned as he sat up, hip stiff and aching. Goddamn fucking body failing him every few months. He swallowed a couple of pain pills—over-the-counter stuff, he generally tried to stay away from the addictive shit—and got up.

He put the coffee pot on and made his way to the guest room, knocking on the door.