A Rogue For Four Alphas

Chapter Fifty Six

Deciding that I need to keep myself busy in an effort to stop thinking about the men, I decide to make lasagna for Lisa and Lily on my next night off. Lisa's surprised when I tell her that I'm cooking, since I did so very little of it when we lived together.

I don't know why I decided to make something Alpha Harry and Alpha Erik taught me to make. I'm filled with memories as I prepare the ingredients, and at one point, I'm almost tempted to call them when I have a question about assembly. I must get something wrong, because it doesn't look the same as theirs; I should've taken notes.

Lily helps me make a salad, and when the lasagna's out of the oven, I heat a loaf of garlic bread. I'm just about to take the bread out of the oven when there's a knock on our door

.

"Can you get that?" I call to Lily.

My sister looks through the peephole, then throws open the door. "Hi -what's the matter?"

Her abrupt change of tone alerts me, and I look over to find Lily in our entryway, tears streaming down her face

"What's wrong?" I ask, rushing over.

"I broke up with Vincnet," she says, crying more than actually speaking.

My arms go around her and I rub her back. I always thought I'd be thrilled if the two of them broke up, but it hurts my heart to see Jade so upset.

Lily closes the door and I steer Lisa over to the couch. "What happened?"

I retrieve a box of tissues from the bathroom and set it next to Lisa, pulling one out for her. After wiping her eyes and blowing her nose, she says,

"He threw away my clothes!"

"What?" Lily perches behind me on the arm of the couch and both of us stare at Lisa in disbelief.

"I have more clothes than him, and when I couldn't fit everything on my side of the closet, I hung a few dresses on his side, next to his suit jackets. There was plenty of space there. It was about a week ago I did this, and tonight, when I went looking for my pink sundress, it was gone."

As she tells us her story, her tone changes from sadness to irritation, and rightfully so.

"I went to ask him if he knew where they were - he was in the den playing video games, as he usually is - and he told me he got rid of them. They didn't belong on his side of the closet, so he threw them away."

"What the fuck?" Lily says, her mouth falling open. I'm not really surprised, though this does reach a new low level of pettiness for that asshole.

"There was more too," Lisa says. "So many little things, but this was absolutely the final straw."

"So what'd you do?" I ask, wanting to hear that she destroyed some of his things, but I know that's not my friend's style.

"I told him we were through, and he just nodded. He didn't even stop playing his game." At this, she starts sobbing again.

"You did the right thing," I tell her, rubbing her back. "He didn't deserve you "I'm so pissed at him, but I keep wondering what I did to make him treat me that way. Maybe he wanted me to break up with him."

"You didn't do anything wrong," I say in my most soothing tone. "Remember how he wouldn't even give you space when you stayed the night? Most guys give their girlfriends a drawer or something. It wasn't you; it was him, one hundred percent."

"I should've seen the signs-" she says, looking up, her nose twitching. "Umm, is something burning?"

I sniff the air. "Oh, shit! The bread!" The garlic loaf is a deep charcoal color when I pull it from the oven. "Ugh, this is ruined. I'm sorry."

Lisa and my sister have both followed me into the kitchen. "It's okay," Lisa says. "Is this lasagna? It looks delicious."

"I hope it's okay,” I say, tipping the bread straight into the trash.

"Did you make this?" she asks. "I mean, I can see from the mess in your kitchen that it didn't come ready made, but wow-when did you learn to make lasagna?"

"I learned from the guys I was staying with. A couple of them were really good cooks."

"I didn't think I was going to have an appetite, but this looks really good."

We sit down to eat, and I'm glad to see Lisa digging in. I don't want her crying over that asshole anymore.

"Do you want to move in with us?" As soon as the words leave my mouth, I realize I should've talked with Lily first, but Lily starts nodding in agreement when she hears my question.

Lisa's eyes go wide. When she swallows what she'd been chewing, she says, "I was in such a rage when I broke up with him, I didn't even give it thought

Do you have enough room here? I could move in with my parents, though that would feel like an admission that I've failed at life."

"We'll make room," Lily says, sounding excited at the prospect of Lisa joining us

And you can hang your clothes wherever you'd like," I say.

We continue with our meal-which turns out to taste pretty good, minus the bread - and I work at keeping Lisa spirits up while also reaffirming her decision to leave Vincnet. When we're almost finished, she turns the conversation onto me. "Are you still seeing those guys you were staying with?"