Page 88 of Ravenous

“Do you want to be coddled? Or learn how to stand on your own two feet?” she continued, staring hard at him. Most of the other patients disliked her, choosing one of the other three therapists available, but Ollie found her endearing. She reminded him of the trainers who spurred him on in his endless cardio workouts.

“It isn’t coddling tosometimesbe nice,” Ollie teased because even those trainers said“good job”at the end of their videos.

“Okay.” Putting her tablet away, she took off her glasses and Ollie wondered if he should duck and cover, his heart almost stopping when she granted him a small reserved grin. “You started shaky but you’ve made excellent progress. Your latest blood tests came back with much better numbers, and I hear your lanugo is vanishing?”

Shocked by her rare praise, it took Ollie a few seconds to register that she’d asked him a question.

“Oh, um. Yeah.” He’d noticed the distinct lack of downy hair on his body that morning. It must’ve been slowly receding with his weight gain. “I can’t help it though. I still worry that something bad’s going to happen.”

“Along with ninety percent of the world.” Her tone stayed less harsh. “Oliver, problemswillarise but you don’t prepare for them by restricting food or overexercising, you do it through...?”

“My support system,” Ollie answered. She was programming him but that was the whole point. Out with the old, in with the new.

“Good, you get a gold star.” She said it in just the right way, making Ollie chuckle. “And that support system needs to be both familyandfriends.”

“Because if something bad happens, it can’t happen to everyone at once!” Ollie theorized.

“I was thinking more along the lines of not having all your eggs in one basket but let’s turn this into a new exercise. Noifsorwhat-ifs.” She picked up the tablet again, going right back to drill sergeant, all niceties gone, but Ollie felt like he’d just gotten a good grade and that the gold star might be a little bit real.

“I’ll add that one to my list,” Ollie told her, right below attempting to love himself more, eliminating negative thoughts, believing that he was safe, and relearning his relationship with food. Sometimes, it felt like he was lifting four plates right out of the gate, but he needed to encourage himself; it took him a long time to train his body and he couldn’t expect to do it all overnight, or even in the short amount of time he’d been at the clinic. “And I’ll put patience at the top.”

However, Ollie couldn’t find any patience once visiting hours started. Keeping his promises, Finn visited every afternoon except for the day that Joe was released from the hospital, where he’d made a full and careful recovery.

Honoring the vows he made by his uncle’s bedside, Finn had found a wonderful retirement community close by; the same one Gloria, Owen’s ex-mother-in-law, lived in and raved about. And even though he’d been busy visiting Joe, packing up some of the cabin, setting up his uncle’s new home, and working at The Pointe, Finn always made time to stop at the clinic. He never complained, although he looked tired until Joe had settled in, and he even kept some of the makeover things, losing the almost-beard and going back to his five-o’clock shadow; however, he trimmed it as Ollie had, and despite the summer heat, he wore his vampire sweater at least once a week.

But the best part was that Finn had kept his word about therapy, finding someone to help sort out his past and give him the ability to see behind the curtain of his loneliness, and Ollie could see the difference already. Finn’s gait was stronger, his face more open, and his energy, which had always been welcoming, practically shone like a beacon. Ollie had certainly heard the comments, and he’d been congratulated a few times by fellow patients and several of the nurses.

Finn wasn’t the only one visiting Ollie and cheering him on; his family stopped by several times a week, their relief palpable as Ollie began to heal, causing him to sort through his guilt in therapy, where he swore that he’d never put the people he loved through this again. Rain had tagged along once or twice, eyeballing a few of the staff but strangely staying put. His coworkers continued to constantly surprise him, Dylan and Marci showing up the most, lending support and gossip. Marci still thanked Ollie over and over for Rain, because he always wanted to work, never missed a day, and covered any extra shifts offered, but she also cursed Ollie for“making Finn attractive now”which she found even more annoying. And while Liam was starting school and helping care for Michael, he still came by almost as much as Ollie’s parents, with and without Owen, his presence and knowledge invaluable to Ollie, for Liam had been in a similar situation less than a year ago and his success inspired Ollie in ways that he couldn’t describe. He’d gotten lucky not just with his family, his soulmate, and his job, but also with his best friend.

A soft unobtrusive bell sounded as the clock hit five and the doors to the visitor’s lounge opened. It was a welcoming bright room full of windows, with couches and chairs curled around short tables in hubs, spaced apart to provide privacy. Ollie could talk with his visitors in there or on the grounds; however, the bedrooms were off-limits. Peering around the corner to the entrance, Ollie eagerly searched for Finn but a head of bright-orange hair greeted him instead.

Biz had given him space when he’d first been admitted and truthfully, it had helped. In the beginning, his thoughts and emotions had been too scattered, but now that he’d worked his way through the trifecta of him, his sister, and Finn, facing all the gross unspeakable thoughts he’d been avoiding, he realized that Finn and Biz’s relationship wasn’t in the same neighborhood, or even the same universe, as his and Finn’s; otherwise, they would still be together.

The first time she'd visited, the first time Ollie had seen her since the intervention, she’d started with an apology, even though she had nothing to apologize for. Seeing how much she’d been affected by the situation had made Ollie feel awful for pulling away and hurting himself even further, and they’d ended up spending two hours huddled in the corner, crying and hugging.

This visit started with more hugging and then they drifted toward the back corner, where four turquoise chairs sat around a table as boring as his boot, but it was the cluster farthest from the others, right under a window with a view of the lawn and the hills beyond, and it had somehow become Ollie’s territory.

“I have news.” Despite enormous four-inch platforms and a tiny pentagram dress, Biz sat daintily, crossing her legs and clasping her hands in excitement. “I’m seeing someone.”

“Well, he must’ve passed some rigorous testing for you to be telling me about him. Is it one ofmyexes?” Ollie raised an eyebrow, winking at her as she scoffed.

“Too soon. And nope, I’m pretty sure it’s not your ex,” she stated with certainty.

“It’s never too soon andhowdo you know?” he smirked, delighted that they were back to teasing each other like this. “You don’t have a database of everyone I’ve dated.”

“I do.” Tapping her temple with a pointy blood-red fingernail, she met his smirk with her own. “And I know that there’s no women listed.”

She had him there and Ollie shrugged, defeated. “When you’re right you’re right. Women are for worship, not for dating, and-” He froze, mouth open as comprehension finally slapped him. “Wait, oh my god, you got yourself a goddess?” At her nod, he launched over the table, wrapping his arms around her. “Congrats, Biz!”

“It’s still very new but she’s amazing and once you get sprung from here, we should all go out to…” Because he was still holding her, Ollie could feel her tense up and he knew why. She was about to saygo out to eat. Or see a movie, which everyone knew came with popcorn. Or do one of a million social things that included food. But he didn’t want people tiptoeing around him. Being able to share meals with friends and family was part of his healing process and a stage he slightly feared but also looked forward to.

“Yes, we’ll plan to go out!” Sitting back, he moved his chair close to hers. “I’m fixing things, Bizmark. When I leave here we’re gonna double date. You pick the restaurant.”

“Okay.” She tilted her head, studying him. “Howareyou doing, Ollie?”

He gave in to the sigh. “I’ve been here what, about two months? And it’s still hard. Just when I think I’ve peeled everything back, I find more underneath. But I’m learning a lot, and I feel not, like,better, but stronger.”

“Good. You look like you’re on the way to better though.” She gave him a sharp affirmative nod and then smirked again. “Is it true? Has Finn been here every day?”

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