(BL)Alpha Made
Chapter 191: A way to numb the pain

Chapter 191: A way to numb the pain

Andrew shifted in his seat awkwardly, clearing his throat.

"Um, how far back would you like?" He asked carefully and May narrowed her gaze at him, before resting her elbow on the table, leaning against her hand and staring at him.

"Start after you got on a plane without telling us where you were going initially and then when you stopped responding to our messages." Andrew winced, but nodded.

"Well, after Mom passed," Andrew started, "I wasn’t really aware of it at the time, but I wasn’t...doing well." May nodded, not interrupting him. Not a snarky comment was made, which made Andrew feel uneasy. "I...kind of applied to a bunch of schools, trying to escape after I settled Mom’s apartment and decided I didn’t want to be in this country anymore. So, I changed my application process, especially after I was basically kicked out of Harvard for lack of attendance, and when Cambridge got back to me, I just got on the plane. I didn’t even have a full suitcase of clothes. I honestly don’t remember what happened to the rest." May did speak up then.

"You tried to give everything away, Andy. We have a few boxes of things that you tried to throw away downstairs. I knew you were grieving at the time, so I just took them when you weren’t looking. You were going to miss them when you had your head on straight." Andrew’s eyes widened at May’s words.

"I...what did you get?" He asked carefully and she stared at him.

"I even bought some of the stuff that you tried to sell." She told him and Andrew felt his eyes water.

"I was an idiot." He muttered and Maxwell squeezed his thigh. He knew he was going to speak but it was Ford who spoke up.

"You just had to say goodbye to your Mom far too soon, Andy. You were not an idiot, you were grieving. It’s okay." He had a soft, kind smile on his face and Andrew had to fight tears. He sniffed.

"Thank you." Andrew mumbled, and May nodded.

"So, Cambridge? What did you even study?" She asked.

"I studied environmental sciences. I actually really like it. I got to do dirty work, and got to meet people I never would have if I had been a medical doctor." Richard, who was in charge of him in his department, froze.

"You don’t have a medical license?" He asked and Maxwell stiffened.

"He’s working on it. It’ll be explained." Richard grew confused.

"How the hell does that make sense? He shouldn’t be in the department he is if he isn’t qualified, Max!" Andrew, who knew what both of them could get like, spoke up.

"I’m going back to school, and because I wrote a specific exam, I’m jumping back into the place I was at before. I should be graduating with my second degree in a few years at most." Richard glanced between Maxwell and Andrew before shaking his head.

"I should have waited." He muttered before sitting back.

"Um, anyway. I went to Cambridge. I...am not proud, but I went off the deep end. It wasn’t so much about it being a relief, but I was just trying...to feel anything." Andrew told them, not able to look up from the table. "I got an apartment, paid for through a scholarship that I wasn’t even aware of, and went on a bender. If anyone thought I was attractive, I slept with them. I don’t think I remember how long this went on, but eventually I got my degree and...I came back." Andrew exhaled. That time was still a blur and as much as he remembered most things, the nights blended into this giant, pulsing, colourful cloud where only a few people stood out. Everyone else just blended into the background.

"You were safe?" May asked and Andrew let out a cold laugh.

"I never want to be like my father. Of course I was safe." Maxwell’s grip on his hand tightened and Andrew gave it a squeeze back. He was a little bit worried about what Maxwell thought of him hearing that. It wasn’t as if Maxwell hadn’t slept with others, but he had a feeling it was a little bit different to what Andrew had done.

"Anyone?" Rose confirmed and Andrew nodded.

"Anyone. Man, woman, omega, beta, alpha. I didn’t really care." Andrew confirmed and Rose whistled.

"Holy. That’s pretty amazing. I never would have pegged you as that kind of a guy, but props, Andy. Glad to see that someone is following in my footsteps." She teased, and Richard grumbled.

"Shut up. I just have more important things to do than sleep with others. I have research that needs to get done." Rose rolled her eyes.

"Research isn’t going to keep you warm at night Ricky." Rose warned and he sniffed.

"If I staple it into a blanket, yes it will." Richard shot back and the two siblings started kicking each other under the table, even if they were both far into their 20’s, and 30’s.

"Ignore them. What happened after that?" May asked. Andrew glanced up at her before he turned his gaze back to the table.

"I was offered a few jobs in the area, but there was also a job at a company in the area. I applied, not sure if I would get it, and then, surprise, I got it. I worked there for...gosh, five years? It feels longer than that. I didn’t really...I didn’t date for a while after I came back. I felt like I got it out of my system. It wasn’t until a woman from my company started showing interest in me that I considered that I might have been ready to date again." Maxwell interrupted.

"She was who you dated after all that? Fuck, Andrew, I am so sorry." Maxwell was shaking, fury radiating off of him and May furrowed her brow.

"Why did Maxy just swear, Andy? What happened between you and this girl?" Andrew paled, swallowing as his heart began to race in his chest.

"W-Water." He mumbled and Maxwell shoved a glass into his hand. Andrew’s hand shook as he took a sip. He hadn’t reacted like this when he’d spoken about this before, but this was... "You probably know her." Andrew started, turning towards Richard. "Can I say her name, Maxy?" Andrew asked and Maxwell growled.

"No. Her name is Tracey Williams, she’s a medical doctor who has been kicked out of several companies and the only reason she was allowed to work in Andrew’s old company was because her aunt was on the board." Maxwell was seething, rage pouring out of his pores. Richard, who did recognise her name, gave Andrew a strange look.

"But she’s an omega with a severe complex. Everyone knows that." Andrew laughed harshly.

"Everyone but me. You know, Richard, everyone thought I was an alpha. I think she thought the same at first. We started going out, and went out for about 2 years. The biggest problem at the time was that we only ever met up at work after a certain point. We never went on dates outside of designated times, she’d never been to my apartment, I had never been to hers. She claimed it was because her dad wanted her to date an alpha. I trusted her."

"But things went sour." Rose said, seeing where some of it was going. Andrew shook his head, still unable to believe what had happened.

"She accused me of stealing data from her project but using her id to get into a secure area, and then selling it to a competitor." Maxwell shook his head.

"We’re the competitor, and at that time, Andrew had no clue who I was or what I did for work. We had known each other for nearly 8 months at that point and all he knew about me was that I went to work, met a lot of alphas, and that I could hold my drink." Maxwell shook his head. "If he had wanted to sell data, he could have just walked the 20 or so steps to my house. There was no way it was him." Everyone at the table was frowning.

"Of course it wasn’t him. What other reason did they give?" May asked and Andrew still had to laugh. It was ridiculous.

"That I was tall. They even accused me of being an alpha, when they did yearly screenings for that kind of thing. I will admit, the man in the image had my height, but that was about it." Andrew said and a low, dark sound from May had him looking up.

"That wench. You didn’t let her get away with this, did you? What else did the damn company do to you?" May asked and Andrew winced.

"They said that they were going to have to conduct an investigation into me, even though I had never been in that part of the building, we worked in completely different fields, and they were trusting her completely. She also lied and said that we hadn’t been dating for two years and basically called me a creep. Even my Boss, who I had expected to have my back, turned against me."

"They were out to ruin him. Chase him out of the industry." Maxwell snarled. "We’re already looking into it. Andrew just isn’t in the right place to be pursuing this kind of thing, otherwise we would have started getting aggressive with it. For now, we just have some legally threatening letters." Maxwell told them.

"There is something else." Ford said, staring at Andrew. "I can understand Maxy being this angry for you, but you’re as white as death, Andy. What happened?" Andrew pushed his glasses up, before he released Maxwell’s hand and thrust his elbows against the table and pressed the heel on his hands into his eyes. He knew he was going to cry. He couldn’t help it. He was more emotional now as an alpha then he had ever been as a beta, but this was also just a hard topic.

"She...she kidnapped me, and experimented on me. For a week. I was missing for a week."