Page 59 of Ravenous

Was this an ambush? His pulse quickened and he began to sweat, his dread rising. Maybe all that negativity was right, maybe he shouldn’t have eaten breakfast because bad things were happening. Very bad things.

“Hey, Ollie.” Rain shuffled away, giving him some space. “Remember when I told you Tommy was visiting today? I guess we were all going to the mall.” He was trying to retain some levity but his voice was forced, strained, and every few seconds he flicked his gaze above Ollie’s head, to Tommy.

A full-body shiver rippled through Ollie as he began to panic. Unable to speak, he opened and closed his mouth like a fish, gasping with a rough squeak when Tommy reached out again, clasping Ollie’s arm this time. His eyes clouded the moment he realized the limb-to-cloth ratio, and he pulled away as if he’d been burned. “Ollie, what are you doing to yourself? Stop losing weight!” The words were raw and scared.

“Is there a problem here?” Finn seemed to materialize out of thin air and Ollie jumped, the tenuous hold on his panic shattering to pieces.

He couldn’t take this. Not Rain’s unease, Finn’s confusion, or Tommy’s shocked fear, which was now engraved in Ollie’s mind. And Tommy wasn’t just going to walk away from this, he was going to tell everyone - his parents, Biz, Sophie, and they would all come down on him with shackling concern, holding him down while Finn watched from his front-row seat.

And that was the most humiliating. He and Finn had been doing this secret tango ofwe both know Ollie has food issues but we’re not going to talk about itand Ollie was hoping to come back from the edge without making too big of a deal about things. But this surprise encounter was going to tear away their uneasy peace treaty, and maybe even the relationship itself. Ollie had too much to lose and it was being stripped away right in front of him.

Suddenly, his mind went strangely clear. He needed to leave. Right now.

“I-I’m sorry,” he stammered as he darted off, using all his strength to run as fast as he could, ignoring the stares of the other shoppers, how Finn called out after him, and focusing on how light he was, how fast.

But still not fast enough to outrun disaster.

16

FINN

“Ollie!”Finncalledoutin distress, watching his boyfriend disappear into the depths of the mall.

“I’ll get him,” declared the tall man in jeans and a football jersey. He had Ollie’s curls and some similar facial features but his eyes were a different color.

“Wait.” Finn put an arm out, stopping him. “Are you his brother?”

“Yeah, Tommy.” He looked back and forth between Finn and where Ollie had vanished. “And that’s Rain.” He jerked a thumb at the petite androgynous man standing a foot away; Finn could have sworn that those gray eyes looked him over with hunger. “You’re his new boyfriend. I saw you online. We should go get Ollie-”

“Give him some space.” Finn had seen the mixture of fear and shame on Ollie’s face and knew that he needed time before he could face his family again.

Tommy gave Finn his own once-over. “How old are you?”

“Old enough to care about your brother,” Finn shot back before softening his voice. “Deeply.”

“Then how could you let it get to this?” Tommy ran both hands through his hair, clearly distraught; thankfully, the store was mostly empty so they didn’t attract any attention.

“We only started dating a few months ago,” Finn told him. “I thought he was naturally thin until I realized…that he has an eating disorder.” It was difficult to say it out loud but as soon as the words left Finn’s lips, he felt less burdened. “When was the last time you saw him?”

“Christmas. He moved, pulled away from the family because my mom and dad were getting worried about him. He still calls and texts but he won’t visit in person. And now I know why. Biz was right, hedoeshave an eating disorder.” Tommy let out a breath, putting his hands in his pockets, then taking them out, fidgety and upset. Rain was a silent sentinel beside him, just watching. “He’s lost so much weight.”

“It must be scary to see the change after all this time.” Finn sympathized with them. “To those of us who saw him every day it was less noticeable, and he hid it well until recently.”

“We have to help him,” Tommy swallowed, straightening up. “Areyouhelping him?”

“I’m trying to. In any way I can.” It was more than words; it was a vow.

Tommy gave him another long look. Combined with his bulk it would’ve been intimidating, but Finn could tell that this was coming from a place of concern and compassion so he matched it, meeting his gaze, unwavering. After a few seconds, Tommy nodded, slowly.

“Good.” He tossed a curl behind his ear, echoing Ollie’s mannerisms. “I’m going to get the family together to talk to him-”

“Like an intervention?” Finn shook his head. While it was a good thing that the Clarks cared, Finn inherently understood that Ollie needed a calm, gentle place to talk about what was wrong, somewhere he’d feel safe.

“Do you think he’d be okay with that?” Rain spoke for the first time in Finn’s presence, his words light, lilting, yet trying to make a point.

“Ihaveto tell Mom and Dad,” Tommy responded before Finn had a chance to grab onto Rain’s question. “Maybe if he sees how worried we all are then he’ll listen to reason.”

“Tommy?” Finn stopped, making sure he had the man’s attention. “Can you give Ollie a little time before you talk to them about this? I want to get him to see that he has a problem and start treatment but if he’s pushed too hard, he’ll go offline.” Finn waved at the mall beyond the shoe store’s doors. “Just like he did a few minutes ago.”

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