Chapter 63


    ~Tia~


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    It’s cold. I feel the bed on my left and right, but the bed is empty. I guess that’s where the cold is from. I


    don’t think I can ever get used to being in a bed alone again. The body heat that I get from the twins is


    beyondforting.


    I stretch and hop in the shower to get ready for the day. I’m actually going to go dress shopping today.


    Mom is at the clinic this morning. She said she would take an early shift so she could have the


    afternoon avable for me. Lynn is going to go shopping with us. I’m beyond excited to spend this time


    with the girls and have this experience with my mom.


    I throw some exercise clothes on so I can hop into a training session this morning. I really have enjoyed


    training with others again. Surprisingly enough, I haven’t lost much skill over the years. I guess the bit


    of solo training I’ve been doing has kept me going.


    When I reach the training area, I start to stretch, waiting for training to start. I made sure to go to the


    second training. My mates don’t run the training. I really don’t want to have to deal with that. There is


    no way I could train properly with my mates watching over me. The minute anyone was to touch me,


    they would end up having to run from my mates. It just isn’t worth the headache.


    Training starts with a 10-mile run. I stay ahead of the group, able toplete the run in amazing time.


    Once everyone gets back from the run, we are paired off for sparing. “Hey there. Nice to see you.”


    Damn, Neal is my sparring partner. I guess the only thing to do is take it in stride.


    “Hey, Neal. How are you?” Neal smirks at me.


    “I’m okay for now. We’ll see how I am once this sparring is over.” We start to spar, and I have to say


    that Neal isn’t bad. He didn’t treat me with soft hands, and I appreciate that. We went back and forth,


    knocking each other down again and again.


    I grab my water and towel once training ends. “Damn, kid, you’re tough.” Iugh and drink my water.


    “How is it that no one knows this? I’d imagine you may even be tougher than your sisters.” I cap my


    water and wipe my head with my towel.


    “I don’t know about that. They were trained by our father. He is the head warrior so I’m sure they have


    skills I couldn’t even imagine.” Neal looks at me as if I’m growing a second head.


    “I don’t know where you get that from, but whatever. All I know is that it was a job to keep us with you,


    and I’ve been training for a long time.” Neal and I start to walk back to the packhouse. We walk into the


    dining room, where I grab some fruit. “I guess I’ll see youter.”


    I head upstairs to shower and change. I’m ready to get this shopping started. I throw on a pair of ck


    jeans and a dark blue button-up shirt. I slip on ck ballet slippers and grab my purse. When I get


    downstairs, Lynn and mom are waiting for me. The twins gave me a card and told me to go crazy. I


    know I won’t go crazy, but I agreed to make them happy.


    “My beautiful daughter.” Mom grabs me and gives me a big hug. Lynn wraps her arms around the both


    of us, and weugh. We walk out to the waiting SUV, and I’m shocked at what I see. Neal is holding the


    door open for us, and there is another warrior in the driver’s seat.


    “Ladies! I will be your escort this afternoon. Let’s head out and get you guys in dresses.” Mom heads


    into the SUV first, patting Neal on his arm. Lynn gives him a smirk as she gets inside. I’m thest


    person in the car. Now I may be crazy, but I swear that Neal touched me as I got into the car. Not a ‘let


    me help you up’ type of touch, but a touch along my back, almost a caress. I shake it off and chalk it up


    to my paranoia.


    We head to a za with a few different stores, one being a specialty shop. It’s filled with amazing


    dresses, and I’m excited to see what they have. We walk into the shop, and Neal takes up post at the


    door. We walk around the racks, picking out different dresses and having fun.


    I take a few dresses into the dressing room to try on. The first is cute but doesn’t fit the best. The


    second is a bit too long, and I don’t think I’d have time to alter it. I put on the third dress, and I’m


    stunned. “This is it! This is it!”


    “Let me see it.”


    “Come out and show us.” I step out of the dressing room to show mom and Lynn the dress. The minute


    they see me, their eyes light up. Mom has tears in her eyes, and Lynn’s smile is so big. I stand in front


    of the mirror, fixing the material and straightening creases. I found a midnight blue floor-length A-Line,


    princess dress. It is sleeveless with one shoulder and has a slit on the right that goes past the knees.


    Mom walks up behind me.


    “It’s perfect. You look so beautiful.” Lynn stands next to me and grabs my hand.


    “All essories and your shoes need to be silver. That would be perfect.”


    “Let’s get her some choices while she changes.” Mom and Lynn head to find my essories while I go


    back to the dressing room. I unzip the dress and let it drop. I step out of it and ce it back on the


    hanger. I hear the handle of the dressing room door and figure it’s my mom. The door opens, and I turn


    to see Neal slipping into the room.


    “What the fu-” Neal ces his hand over my mouth.


    “Shhhh. I just wanted to talk to you.” He slowly removes his hand from my mouth. I quickly grab my


    shirt and throw it over me while turning my body around. I fumble with the buttons, trying to cover my


    body.


    “You wanted to talk to me?! So your solution is toe into the dressing room? What are you


    thinking?” I turn, having buttoned my shirt.


    “I was thinking that this ceremony is a mistake and we both know it.” The ceremony is a mistake? What


    am I missing?


    “What the hell are you talking about?”


    “Look….your….your sister told me everything and I feel the same.”


    “What?” Neal steps toward me and reaches for me. I quickly step back, but the dressing room isn’t big.


    I really had nowhere to go to escape Neal. I back into the wall, and Neal traps me there. He reaches


    out and runs his hand down my face. I flinch at his touch, and he genuinely looks surprised.


    “I know you have feelings for me. You don’t have to settle. You don’t have to go through with the


    ceremony. I think we have something here.” Where did thise from? How could a few conversations


    be seen as an active interest?


    “I don’t know what you were told, but I’m not interested in you like that. I only want my mates, the


    twins.” Neal’s hand stills, and he looks me in the eye. We stare at each other for a while, and I wait for


    him to step away and out of the room. I was waiting for nothing because that wasn’t what would


    happen. Neal leans down, and his face gets closer to mine. I have nowhere to move to and no real way


    to avoid what seems to be about to happen. I prepare myself to knee him in the groin so I can escape. I


    will only get one try, so I have to make it count.


    Neal gets so close that I can feel his breath on my face. I close my eyes and snap my knee back and


    forward. I hear a thump, hear a groan, and hear a thud. I open an eye to see Neal on the ground,


    holding his groin, face scrunched up in pain. I push him aside, and he falls on his back. I grab my pants


    and run out of the dressing room, right into a wall that wasn’t there before. I fall on my a*s and look up


    into the angry eyes of my mates.