Forget Me Not (Book 3 of Acceptance Series)

My sister and I looked at each other before we looked at her with equal blank looks on our faces. Both of us did not know how to answer her question without spilling everything out because we knew that it wouldn't be safe for her to know, especially since we hadn't been able to talk to our parents about what had happened.

Serenity frowned and furrowed her brows while she cocked her head to the side. Pain and sadness filled her eyes while she studied us, and a look of understanding flashed across her face as if she figured out why we wouldn't tell her what happened. "You aren't going to tell me, are you?"

Melody and I smiled sadly and shook our heads in unison. My sister didn't say a word, and I had a feeling that she wanted me to tell her what was going on, and I bit back a tired sigh and mentally nodded.

"I don't think it is a good idea for you to know, Seren," I said and tucked my head closer to my chest, "at least for right now. Hell, we don't even know what had happened and why I ended up in the hospital."

My sister bit back a small snort and held back an eye roll. She didn't say a word and shifted on her feet, trying to get comfortable and ignoring the look that I sent her way before I looked at my mate.

"But that doesn't mean why I couldn't see you," Serenity said with furrowed brows. She frowned and cocked her head while she stared at me. Pain and sadness filled her eyes while she did so, turning her eyes a darker blue. "Do you not want to be my friend?" she asked, her voice becoming barely above a whisper.

My heart became filled with pain and guilt, and I couldn't help but cringe. Pain and longing filled my body, for I hated that I hadn't been able to be with her for those past couple of days, but I wanted to make sure that I was fully healed, even if I was still weak.

Pain flashed through her eyes, and a look of sadness washed over her face. "Oh," she said and tucked her head closer to her chest. She cleared her throat and shifted on my bed, and she licked her lips. "Oh, ok. Th-"

"I still want to be your friend, Seren," I said, interrupting her with a small laugh in my voice. "My silence wasn't because I didn't want to be your friend. I still want to be your friend, and I hope that you will still consider me your friend even with my silence. I am sorry that I made you think I didn't want to be it."

I tucked my head closer to my chest while I gave her a small smile, and she hesitated before she offered me a small smile back. "Please, forgive me, Serenity," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. "I did not mean to make you feel like I do not want to be your friend."

Serenity hesitated and offered me a tight smile. She cleared her throat and looked down, licking her lips before she looked at me with pain and sadness filling her eyes. "So you are ok with me being your friend?"

"Yes," I said and nodded in confirmation. I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat, growing serious. "I still want to be your friend and will make sure that you are protected and have a good time here."

'And you will want to be her boyfriend as soon as you can,' Melody said and mentally winked, and I held back an eye roll and pressed my lips into a thin line, not saying a word to her.

Serenity furrowed her brows and slowly nodded. She bit the inside of her lip and looked down before she looked at me. "Why were you cringing?" she asked and cocked her head while she studied me. "Did you think of something disgusting?"

I bit back a small laugh and nodded before I grew serious before I cleared my throat and licked my lips. "Somewhat," I said before I shrugged and grimaced. "I was hating myself for making you feel pain and sadness when I didn't mean to."

My mate hesitated before she slowly nodded, not saying a word. There was a look of doubt that flashed through her eyes while she stared at me, trying to see if there was something in my eyes that made sure I was telling her the truth.

I cleared my throat and shifted in my seat. "Anyway, the main reason why you weren't allowed to be in my hospital room to make sure that I was safe and sound was because you aren't family. Yes, you are a friend of mine, but only family were allowed to visit me in the hospital room. Doctor's orders." I shrugged and grimaced. "Mom agreed, so no one else was allowed in the room with me."

'Are we seriously going down that route?' Mel asked and mentally raised an eyebrow in question while she glanced at me from the corner of her eyes. 'I mean, your Beta and Gamma were allowed to visit you.'

'And technically they are considered family,' I said. 'Yes, we are not related by blood to them, but they are still our family members.'

'But Serenity is your mate, TJ,' Mel pointed out. 'Technically she is family.'

'But she doesn't know that she is my mate,' I replied. 'I will gladly take my asswhooping when she finds out that she could have visited me in the hospital room because she was my mate and was allowed by my side that day.'

Mel had a coughing fit to cover a laugh, and Serenity frowned and looked between the two of us with a confused look on her face as if she had no idea why Melody was coughing out of nowhere. "Sorry, sorry," Mel said after her coughing fit, grabbing her side and grimacing. She coughed again before she cleared her throat and shifted on the desk. "I swallowed some spit, and it went down the wrong pipe." 'I hate you.'

Serenity slowly nodded and bit the inside of her lip. She didn't acknowledge the coughing fit, much to my relief and cocked her head while she studied me further. "Were there any exceptions to the rules?" she asked and raised an eyebrow in question, changing the subject back at hand. "Like friends or something like that?" she asked.

"My godfather," I said and shrugged with a small grimace on my face. "His name is Aenes, and he came to visit me in the hospital room. You might have seen him around the community because he does like to visit us sometimes for whatever reason. He's old and is creepy looking." I shrugged with a small smile on my face. 'I know.'

'I'm gonna tell Aenes that you called him creepy looking,' she said and held back an eye roll while she pressed her lips into a thin line to keep herself from laughing. 'What do you think he will have to say about that?'

'He'll laugh and nod with a smirk on his face,' I said and glanced at her from the corner of my eye before I looked at Serenity, waiting for her to say something else. 'I have already told him that he was creepy before, so he knows what I think.'

Serenity furrowed her brows and bit the inside of her lip. She didn't say a word before she cleared her throat and shifted on my bed, looking down at her feet.

Finally, she sighed and moved a hand through her with a small grimace on her face. "So, I wasn't allowed to see you, period? Huh?" She raised an eyebrow in question while she stared at me with sad eyes that I wished I would never have to see on her face ever again.

I bit back a small smile before I shook my head, and my heart broke and became willed with even more sadness and pain. "Unfortunately not, so I hope that you will forgive me because you weren't able to see me in the hospital room and us keeping you in the dark about what had happened to us before that."

Serenity hesitated before she slowly nodded and offered me a tight smile. "It's fine," she said and cleared her throat while she shifted on the edge of the bed, tucking her head closer to her chest. "I am just happy that you are alive and well."

I bit back a small laugh and slowly nodded. "So am I, Seren," I said with a small smile on my face while I tucked my head closer to my chest while I stared at her with pain and sadness in my eyes. "So am I."