“Bzzt” The doorbell rang. 

Sol had made his way to Carter’s place and was expecting to see Bo and Carter together, welcoming him in. Though Bo might do it reluctantly due to the tension created from before, he would still be there. He definitely was not expecting a disheveled Carter.

“What happened to you?” While Sol hadn’t known Carter long, he knew something was up. The beta was almost always in perfect condition, not a hair out of place. 

Disconcerted, Sol shifted on his feet, antsy to know what happened. 

“Bo’s gone home. We won’t be hanging out.” Carter quietly said.

“...why?” Bo didn’t usually cancel plans, so Sol was confused.

“He needed some space. Today was super stressful or something.” Carter leaned against the doorway.

“Oh. Well I don’t know what to do now.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. I would let you in, but I’m kinda busy with other stuff at the moment.” Crossing his arms, Carter stepped back into the threshold of his house. 

“What are you busy with? Maybe I can hel-” Sol was cut off by the slamming of the door in his face. 

“Wow.” He had never experienced that kind of rudeness from Carter before. Something was seriously wrong. The confident and stoic Carter being rude to someone? It was practically unheard of to Sol.

It was possible that Carter didn’t actually like him all that much. Sol would be honestly surprised about that though as Carter had always included him in the conversation whenever they talked as a group. When Sol thought about why that was, he came to the conclusion that it was probably only because Bo was around. Maybe that’s just how Carter is with people he’s not that close to. 

Then again, what if he just hated Sol? 

Sol let his brain run freely with the possible connotations of that as he began to walk back home. It was such a shame that he had walked all that way to Carter’s house for nothing. 

His disappointment at not seeing Bo again fueled him to wander further than he would usually go. Sol really just wanted something to do.

Finding a quaint little bookshop with a cute character drawn on the front of the store, Sol immediately knew that he had to go inside. There was no cashier at the till and that meant he could freely roam without having to talk to anyone. It also meant that he was able to openly read the books without having to worry about buying them. 

After he had documented that there was no one else in the store, he looked around to see that the shelves were filled to the brim with books and there were piles of books strewn across the floor, clearly not put away after being read. Cautiously walking over the carefully constructed towers of books, he found himself in a corner of the store that looked suitably comfortable with a cozy chair and lamp beside it. 

Sitting down and snuggling into the chair, Sol found that he let out a long sigh that he didn’t know he had in him. He would have to choose what book to read of course, but for now he felt too tired to get up. After everything that had happened in the day, Sol was completely unprepared when he had to deal with Carter giving him attitude. 

It wasn’t until some time later that he heard a soft voice speak to him. 

“Aren’t you going to read something?” A little old lady appeared behind a pile of books.

“Yes, in a minute, sorry. I just had to rest for a bit.” Sol gave the lady a smile and made to stand up. 

“Well if you’re feeling tired, I have a pot of tea boiling and I won’t be able to drink it all by myself.” The lady offered her hand to help Sol get up. 

“Tea sounds lovely, thanks.” Taking her hand, he noted the scent of fresh lemons wafting off her which reminded him of his own grandmother who was also an alpha.

“So, what’s going on” When Sol didn’t respond due to not feeling too confident about telling a stranger his personal problems, the old lady responded with “I’m old now honey, I’ve had a lot of things happen in my life. Too much, in fact. But it’s not about me. I’m sure I’ll be able to listen or give good advice if you want it.”

“Well-” And Sol found himself confessing all his problems to the kind stranger that reminded him of his own grandmother. He didn’t stop until he finished telling her all about the nitty gritty details of his day. It was probably too much, but he had no one else to talk to. 

He left the bookstore that day feeling relieved and grateful.