Chapter 88: He Is My Bernard

Chapter eighty-eight: He Is My Bernard

Elena

I hadn't slept well at all last night, I tossed and turned, my mind filled with images of Bernard. Our argument replayed over and over again in my mind like a broken record. My emotions had been all over the place since I had left Jack and Alisha yesterday. My fight with Bernard was affecting me more than I had anticipated. Even though my wolf was slowly fading into the background, she missed her mate and so did I.

The distance and the time had been my idea but now I believe I had jumped the gun just a little bit. This was my first real relationship and I am still trying to navigate through it but I felt like I was failing. I had no one to teach me how I was supposed to be a mate and a Luna.

"Elena?" Veronica called from the kitchen and I left the napkin dispenser as I walked to the small opening that connected the kitchen and the cafe.

"Yes, Veronica."

"Go home." She ordered.

"Whatever that was going on in your head won't be sorted out here. Go and sort your problem out with your mate."

I could have denied it but Veronica is always an attentive one. Nothing ever got past her.

"How did you know?" She gave me a knowing smile.

"You have the same moppy face you had the last time you were fighting with him. It wasn't too hard to take a guess."

"We got into a fight." I started.

"It was a big fight by the standard at least. I just don't know how we got here, Veronica. It is like we are living on this roller coaster where we are happy for one second and the next, we are on the opposite sides or fighting to keep our love alive."

"Oh sweetheart, love is complicated and everyone's story is different. Your story with Bernard isn't an easy one, you have to deal with a lot from the very beginning of your relationship and no one has made it easy. You lived your life as a rogue and only now are you learning what it means to be in this world as an adult. Bernard is also trying to find balance with you in his life as well."

"It just feels so draining half the time. Why can't we just be happy for more than a millisecond at a time? If it is not Helen, it is Elizabeth or even Nicholas. I am just tired of all these."

She moved away from the opening and made her way to the main cafe. She opened her arms to me and enveloped me in a warm embrace. As soon as her arms came around me, I released all the emotions I had been holding on. It was still before the morning rush so no one was in the cafe. I didn't need to worry about snooping eyes, I cried all my eyes out, stepped out of her embrace, and wiped the stray tears away from my eyes. My chest felt a little lighter after the cry but my heart still aches.

"Relationships have ups and downs and it is never easy having to navigate through them but the good news is that you will navigate through them. You only need to have faith in the love you share because that is what will carry you over the hurdles you will face and there will be many hurdles."

"Thank you, Veronica."

"Don't thank me, l am just passing on old people's wisdom to the younger generation and I also want to see you and Bernard survive. This Pack deserves a strong rooted Alpha and Luna." She chuckled.

"Now get your bags and go speak with your mate. There is no time like the present and life is so unpredictable. Go sort out everything you need to sort out, work will be here for you tomorrow."

I wanted to protest because I felt like I needed to stay through my whole shift but also knew that I needed to sort out my relationship and right now, my relationship beat out work. I nodded and hugged Veronica one more time. I made my way to the backroom and collected my things. I knew what I needed to do and I am going to fix this.

I walked out of the backroom and waved to Veronica one more time before I walked out and made my way to the bus stop. It was in a moment like this I wished I had a phone so I could contact Bernard and tell him not to go to work just yet. It was just a few minutes past eight in the morning and I knew he always goes to work by nine o'clock in the morning. I had just an hour to make it from the town to his house. Luckily, the bus was waiting for me when I arrived at the bus stop as I hopped in.

As I took my seat, I felt a few lingering eyes on me. I recognized some of them because they were gammas and others were from the Pack as well. I brushed off their gaze and focused on rehearsing what I was going to say. I had gotten used to the stares since I arrived in the Pack. I am a rogue who had somehow been allowed to take up residence in the Pack. A lot of people disagreed with Bernard's decision to keep me but that wasn't my concern. In time, they will learn who I am to them and hopefully, their point of view will change.

Surprisingly, the ride back to the Pack area was short which only heightened my nerves. We had left everything on such a bad note yesterday and I didn't know how he would react seeing me today. A large part of me believed that he would be elated and would want all the bickering to be behind us. But a small part of me believed that he was still a little heated from yesterday. He had tried to make amends and I had just brushed him off and walked away from him.

When the bus came to a stop, I started walking towards his house. With each step, as I drew closer and closer to his home, my nerves increased. It wasn't until I was at his front door did I suddenly felt the urge to run which was ridiculous.

This is Bernard we were talking about, it wasn't some random person on the street or some cruel evil mafia boss. He is my Bernard, the same Bernard who told me he loved me every three seconds. The same Bernard enjoyed cuddling with me more than paperwork. The same Bernard who had taken my heart and hadn't given it back since the day I met him. This is my Bernard.

After my little mental pep talk, I decided to reach for the knob and opened the door. I stepped into the foyer and looked around the ground floor.

"Bernard?" I called but I met silence.

"Bernard?" I called again and waited.

After a few moments, I saw him appear at the top of the stairs wearing nothing but khaki shorts. He looked good enough to eat but I needed to focus on the matter at hand.

"Hey," I said shyly and his eyes narrowed at me as he stared down at me from above.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work since it is so important to you?"

This wasn't the welcome I had been expecting from him. Maybe he was still as angry as I thought he would be.

"I wanted to talk to you about yesterday." I moved towards the bottom of the stairs.

"I didn't like how we left things, last night was torture for me. I just kept tossing and turning thinking about our fight." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Sorry to hear that." He muttered.

I didn't like how closed off and cold he was. His tone was expected but I hadn't thought he would behave like this. He is my Bernard but he wasn't acting like himself.

"Look, Bernard, I understand that you are probably still mad and that is why I am here to apologize. I don't want us to be on opposite ends, we are mates, we need to be working together not against each other."

"You made it clear that you needed some time to breathe and think. Now, it looks like I also need some time to cool off and think for myself. You aren't the person I thought you were, Elena." I took a few steps up so I could meet him at the top.

"What are you talking about, Bernard? We just had one little fight and suddenly your whole perception of my character had changed."

"Yes." He bit out.

I took the last few steps to meet him at the top of the staircase. It was like I was staring at a shell of the Bernard that I had known and loved. His eyes were void of any real emotions and he stood rigidly still.

"Bernard?" I tried to reach out and cup his cheek but he moved away from my touch. His actions hurt me because never had we ever been like this before.

"I have work I need to get through." He turned around and started walking in the direction of his room.

"You know the way out." I watched his retreating figure completely in shock.

How could this be happening right now? When I had recollected myself, I made my way downstairs. He was angry and I guess to a certain extent, he has the right to do so. I knew that it was mostly his anger talking, I would need to talk to him later when he had cooled off. He said he needed space and time and I would give him exactly that.

This is not going to break us, I am sure of it.