Let Me Find Your Omega - Ashe Moon Page 0,59

my eyes.

If only I could read my own fortune. My mind was being pulled in two directions, and I wished I could just enter the spectral realm and find an answer to my problems, something that would guide me in making the right choice.

I loved what I did so much. It was the result of my past hard work, years of dedication, and study. But what about my future? I’d never known any other possibilities for a future until now. It seemed impossible to give up my past for something different…

When I couldn’t hold my breath any longer, I lifted my head out of the water and climbed from the tub. I took my towel off the rack, dried off, and went back inside to make myself a cup of tea. My eye was suddenly pulled to a flash of color amongst my shelves of plants that hadn’t been there just an hour before, and I froze in my tracks.

I stared, my mind turning. My heart began to race.

What I saw was a sign, not from the spectral realm but in the real world. And suddenly, I knew what I had to do.

16 Markos

“Sir? Hello?”

I jolted out of my thoughts. Shit, I’d gotten distracted again.

“Sorry,” I said, blinking at the man waiting at the counter. “What’ll your order be?”

Afterward, Jillian came over and asked if I was alright. “Ivan and I could take over for a couple of days if you want,” she said quietly.

“No, no, no. Jillian, I’m fine. It wouldn’t do me much good to sit at home all day.” I hid how I was feeling behind a smile. “I’m fine, really. Anyway, you’re the one who should be taking a break.”

She laughed. “Just let us know if you need anything, alright, Markos?”

I nodded and then turned to greet another customer who’d just come up to the counter. Avoiding distraction had always been a problem for me, but now it was even worse. I couldn’t stop thinking about Kole, even though I knew how bad it was for me to dwell on it. The reality was that I’d let myself get too invested in something that I’d known wasn’t going to go anywhere. It was my damn fault.

So, what was there to do from here?

The silver lining was that Kole had shown me I was still able to experience love. But once again, I had no interest in trying to find someone else. I wanted to be with Kole, and nobody else. Maybe that was immature of me, but I didn’t care. I knew that no one else would be worth my energy—after all, I knew how to be single. I was good at it.

At the end of the day, I quietly cleaned up the café, avoiding the usual banter I had with Ivan and Jillian to marinate in my thoughts. They both left me alone, and I was appreciative of it. It wasn’t that I was in a bad mood, but I just didn’t have the energy to pretend that I wasn’t an emotional mess. Focusing on my tasks and sorting through my thoughts was the best way I could deal with this. It’d gotten me through the breakup with Lianne, and I knew that they both would be there for me if I needed to turn to them.

The worst part about this was that I’d felt like I’d failed Elise somehow. Kole was still her teacher, but I’d latched on to a fantasy that he could maybe become her second father. It was a stupid, stupid thing to think, but they got along so well, and it seemed like he and I were so good together…

I ducked my head down as I mopped the floor, not wanting Ivan or Jillian to see I was tearing up.

Dammit.

My head flashed with dozens of memories all at once. Meeting Kole for the first time. The happiness I’d felt at seeing his delight at my tea presents. How hard I’d laughed after what he’d done at the parent meeting. The first time we’d kissed…

I wiped my face on my forearm and continued mopping.

“Markos, we’re gonna head upstairs,” Ivan said. “Everything’s finished and closed up. Uh… you good, man? You’ve been mopping that spot for a good thirty minutes.”

I looked over, and I knew my eyes were probably bloodshot and my nose was running. “Yeah! Great. Thanks. I’ll see you two at home. My turn to cook?”

“You sure? I can handle it if you want—”

“Hell no, you’re not gonna take my