Chapter 6: Meltdown

Braxton’s POV

As I walk towards the back door of Tristan’s house, I am hit with a smell of burnt food.  My brows scrunch up knowing that Addy is an amazing cook and I have never known her to burn anything.

 I open the back door quietly and walk down the short hallway to the kitchen in long strides.  I peep my head around and see Addy.

It looks like a flour bomb has gone off in the kitchen and there are burnt cookies and bowls of messed up looking batter on almost every surface of the kitchen countertops.

 I watch her quietly as she pours ingredients into the bowl. I scowl as I notice she is putting in a large amount of salt into the bowl.  She then lifts the oil and starts pouring it in when, I walk all the way into the room.

She still does not notice me, which she should have sensed me from the moment I walked in, so I know she is out of it now.

 I reach over and grab her hand and keep her from pouring more salt in the bowl.  She screams when she feels my hand on hers.

“Damn it Brax!  You scared the shit out of me.”

 I put the salt back down on the counter and walk around to her while she screams at me.

I smirk at her, “I was standing there for five minutes.  The fact you never even sensed me tells me how out of it you really were.”

“I am not out of it; I am just busy.” She huffs.

“Busy with trying to burn down the house?” I ask, as I pick up a burnt cookie. 

She rolls her eyes at me, and pushes me to the side while she starts mixing the batter she was working on when I walked in.  “ I am making grief baskets for the warriors families.  You know I always make baskets for their families, and for whatever reasons my stupid cookies keep coming out like crap.”

She takes her finger and dips it in the batter and puts it up to her mouth.  I become entranced as she licks the batter from her finger, and for a moment I can’t help but think how good it would feel if it was my dick she was licking instead of her finger. 

Oh, hell no, I can’t think like that, she’s my best friends sister.

I pull myself back out of my thoughts as I watch the scowl on her face, and she runs to the trashcan to spit it out.

I try to hold back my laugh as I watch her knowing good well, what she had done to the batter. She looks over at me and scowls at me and I can’t help but die into laughter more.  She stomps over pissed. 

“What the hell do you want Brax! I don’t have time to entertain you.  I have shit to do and I have to get it all done.  I still have to pack the baskets if I can ever get some damn cookies made and get these baskets to the families.  So please tell me how I can serve you, Alpha.”  She said with sarcasm dripping from her voice. 

Oh man she’s pissed. 

My smile fades and I look at her knowing it’s not anger but pain I see in her eyes. 

“Addy, you don’t have to make the baskets.”

“Yes, I do.  I always do.  I always make grief baskets for the warriors’ families.  My mom always did, and I have always done it since...since…we lost her” she mumbles the last part.

I watch as she shoves the bad batch aside and grabs another bowl to start a new batch.  I walk behind her and grab her arm as she reaches for the flour.  She doesn’t look back at me, and I continue to hold her wrist.

“What do you want Braxton?” she huffs.

“Addy, you can’t even focus.  You have destroyed...”I look around the kitchen at the disaster, “ I don’t know how many batches already and right now, the last thing you need to do is try to do for others.  You are grieving too Addy.”

“I am fine Braxton!  The families need their baskets and I need to make their cookies and I need too..”

“Addy stop and look at me” I command in a stern voice as I turn her around.

I hold her head in between my hands, and I look down at her.  “Addy, little moon, I know you are hurting. I can see…” before I can even finish she shoves me away from her and I see as tears pool in her eyes.

“I said I was fucking fine Braxton!” 

“I was fine when my mother died 5 years ago, and I am fine now. I am a big fucking girl, and I don’t need someone coddling me because my parents are dead!  They’re fucking dead!” she yells as tears start pouring down her face. 

I snatch her to me and hold her against my chest.  She tries pushing away from me, but I don’t let her.  She starts beating my chest with her fist and scream. 

“I need to get these baskets done.  Let go of me!”

“No.” I respond curtly.

“Braxton let me go” I hear in the middle of a sob.  “I have to be strong.  I have to hold it together.”

“No Addy. You don’t.  You don’t have to be strong all the time.” My heart is absolutely breaking as I feel her entire body start to shake with sobs. She is the strongest person I have ever known, but even the strongest weep.

“But I do, I have to be strong otherwise Tristan will be worried, and he won’t be able train like he needs to be Beta.  I have to be strong...”

Oh, my sweet Addy.  Even when she is completely breaking, she is thinking of everyone but herself.

I can feel Blaze pacing in my head, he is hurting for Addy too.  He has been just as protective of her as I always have been. 

“No Addy, you don’t.  Let me be strong for you.” That’s when I feel her entire body give out.  I hold her to my chest as I slowly sit us down on the kitchen floor.  I hold her in my arms and let her cry into my chest.

We sit like that for an hour.  She finally stops crying and just snuggles into my chest trying to calm herself. 

My heart feels so full with her in my arms, and I can’t help but feel like this is how it should be. I am pushing my nose down into hair taking big whiffs of her scent. 

Her scent has always been so amazing.  I feel her lean off my chest and look up at me.  I put my hands down over her cheeks, as I look down into her eyes.

“I’m sorry.” She mumbles

“Don’t be. I am glad I could be here for you.” I wipe the tears that are left on her cheek and get lost in her beautiful blue eyes.

I feel her breath fanning across my face and I lean my head down towards her as my lips ghost hers I hear the back door open, and we both quickly push away from each other. 

Tristan walks in and sees us on the floor in the middle of the destroyed kitchen.