Page 105 of Ravenous

Stunned into silence, Finn strained his ears and eventually heard the soft footsteps of someone padding toward them. Although Ollie had called for him, it was still a shock to see Rain turn the corner, hair up, barefoot, and clad in a white bathrobe as if he lived here; if he didn’t, then he’d certainly made himself quite at home. The entire scenario gave Finn déjà vu, and he blinked as a memory emerged from the longest day’s blur.

“But I have a quick question. Why do you have pictures of Rain?”

“Oh!” slipped out of him, embarrassingly loudly, but it certainly summed everything up.

“Sorry, Mason,” Rain sighed, standing so close to him that there was no doubt in anyone’s mind. “But you didn’t close the door all the way and she went looking for you.”

Proving Rain’s words, Mouse wiggled free from Ollie’s hold and scampered to Mason, who didn’t acknowledge her at all until she took out her claws and climbed him. Making significant eye contact with Rain, he huffed, pulled the kitten off the bottom of his shirt, and placed her on his shoulder. After kneading a few times, she settled down, her eyes falling shut.

“I guess Mason’s taken in two strays, huh?” Ollie didn’t seem mad, upset, or even surprised. Meanwhile, Finn had to lock his jaw so his mouth wouldn’t hang open because he had so many questions. Questions and concerns.

Mason and Rain? They must’ve met at The Pointe, but when? Although Finn drove the shuttle bus he was still around and he’d never seen them talk to each other. Did Mason eventalkto Rain? And did Rain know that Mason was an alien who took photos of him? Did he care? And did Mason know that Rain had worked his way through most of the staff in under three months? Didhecare?

Also, how in the fuck did Mason have enough game to land someone like Rain? His personality was a bug, not a feature. Was it the house? Finn might say yes but there was something in Rain’s eyes that made him think it might be more than that.

“I needed a place to stay and Mason kindly offered me a room.” Rain shrugged in a very Mason-like way, as if that was all there was to it, but everyone, including the cat, knew that was crap.

“Sure…” Ollie raised an eyebrow at him and then turned his attention to Mason, who remained silent, his back rigid, in either anger or defeat. “So, Rain’s here, you have an apartment in the basement, and you got the cutest kitten ever? What the hell, Mason? You said I couldn’t have any pets!”

“Then get a cat, you don’t live here anymore.” Mason’s tone had returned to its normal irritated timbre and Finn couldn’t help himself, he laughed.

Ollie shook his head at him, placed his hand on his hips, and issued an order.

“I want to see the apartment.”

Breathing hard through his nose, Mason stalked to the basement door and opened it. Mouse remained adorably perched, moving with him, and Finn grabbed his phone, taking a quick photo. Mason’s glare was pure hypocrisy and Finn enjoyed his little revenge all the way downstairs.

“Okay, now I understand why I never saw you. This isnice." Striding out into the living room, Ollie spun, taking in the space.

“Happy now?” Mason groused and Finn didn’t miss the way Rain hovered beside him.

“I guess.” Moving to the kitchen, Ollie ran his hand along the stainless-steel appliances and winked at Finn. “You need windows in here though. Can I see the bedroom?”

“No.” Mason’s tone implied that he was done with all of this. Pulling the kitten from his shoulder - which turned out to be an arduous task as she held on for dear life, meowing in protest - he plopped her into Rain’s hands and then strode to the darkroom, closing the door behind him.

“I’m going to need details. Lots and lots of details.” Ollie pounced on Rain like the paparazzi as soon as Mason vanished.

Eyeing Ollie up and down, Rain gave him a smirk. “Then I need some information in return. I heard from Angelo who heard from Dylan who heard from Marci who heard from Liam that you two are engaged?” He counted off everyone on his fingers and held four of them up to his face, raising an eyebrow. “Inquiring minds want to know.”

They hadn’t been hiding it, Ollie just wanted time and space to settle back into life before making a public announcement; however, when asked, Finn couldn’t help but gush.

“Yes, it’s true! He’s going to make an honest man out of me.” Grabbing Ollie’s hand, Finn showed off the silver band that had meant so much to him, on someone who meant even more. “It’s my mother’s ring.”

“That’s so pretty!” Rain gasped, studying it. “Congratulations!” His genuine smile had a hint of longing in it, and Finn empathized, more than familiar with that feeling. Before Ollie had come into his life, he’d been certain that love wasn’t in the cards for him. Yet fate had worked overtime to bring him his soulmate, someone who complimented him, who completed him, and he couldn’t be more grateful.

“Thank you!” he beamed, wrapping an arm around Ollie. “We are officially a permanent thing.”

Rain burst out laughing but Ollie looked up at Finn with wide adoring eyes that held the future,theirfuture. “Yeah. We are.”

OLLIE

“Okay lovelies, there’s one question left and then I have to skedaddle.”

It was amazing how quickly Ollie’s life had become normal. That is if normal was going to day treatment, working at a quirky wedding hall, and running a still-popular online identity that now focused on eating disorders. He’d settled in, adapting to Finn’s townhouse like he’d been there for years, and had established a healthy routine. Some days were better than others but he knew that he’d improve over time, especially when he could lean on Finn instead of running his worries out on the pavement alone.

He wasn’t going to lie, he missed running, feeling like a gazelle leaping through the plains and savoring the endorphin rush that blasted through him after, but his foot ached whenever it rained and he knew that going out there could stir up old coping patterns. He’d find new ways to exercise once he was cleared for it; Liam had already reserved a hike with him and Ollie found himself looking forward to it, exercising not for aesthetics or control, but for fun.

Ollie looked at the tablet to his right, which held his notes, acting like a teleprompter. “The final ask is from TheNeptooneNoon and they want to know when I’ll be fully recovered.” Taking a beat, he let his followers think about it for a moment before speaking. “That’s difficult to say. First, I don’t want to put a time limit on my healing because that would create pressure and anxiety, which I’m trying to avoid. Second, it’s important to work on the issues that created the disorder in the first place,likeanxiety, a toxic environment, control, etcetera, so that you can fully recover. Third, an eating disorder can be lifelong or you can heal from it and there are a lot of factors at play in that, but if you work on what you can work on? You’re at least trying to get better, and that’s the direction you want to go in. I think of recovery in percentages, and the percentage will go higher the longer I work on myself. But one thing I’ve learned? Progression isn’t linear. It’s a series of ups and downs that hopefully go more up than down. I’m not going to say it’s easy, because it’s not. But…”

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