Page 32 of His Gentle Omega
“Who’s here?” Glancing over my shoulder at the window, I tried to judge what time it was by the light peeking in from the not quite closed curtain. The sun was still up, but it was summer, so it was probably later than I thought it was.
“Uncle Asher,” Lucas sat up, brushing his wayward bangs out of his face. He needed a haircut. And clothes. He definitely needed more clothes. We needed a shit ton of stuff, and my mental list seemed to grow longer each time I opened my eyesand allowed myself to think past the here and now. We needed so many things, and all of it cost money I didn’t have.
Just breathe, Shay, my tiger whispered,just breathe.
I nearly snorted at his wise advice, considering breathing had been at the top of highly difficult things for me to do the last few days. Though now that I was taking stock, I did feel better than I had. Not great, or even ninety percent, but a hell of a lot better than I had felt earlier today. Maybe I would be on my feet sooner rather than later, and we could get out of Bennett’s hair.
The thought of leaving the adorable omega made my chest ache, and it had nothing to do with needing another breathing treatment. Bennett’s presence made me feel…safe…calm…like I could handle anything coming down the pipe and make it out on the other side.
“Uncle Asher is still here?”
“He left and came back a little while ago. The babies were cranky, so they took them home. And I think Uncle Asher had been crying before they left.” He patted my face, his finger tracing a line down my cheek. “Were you crying too, Daddy? Your face is all streaky.”
“Yeah, baby, I was crying.” There was no shame in it, and I refused to raise my son to believe there was, even if he was analpha. My dad had always shown us all his emotions, his tears, his happiness and his sadness. And if anyone had a right to cry, it sure as shit was me.
“Are you sad, Daddy?” The quiet question tugged at my soul.
“A little. But I hadn’t seen your Uncle Asher in a long time, so there were just a lot of feelings.”
Lucas nodded, his lips pursed, and he had his thinking face on. “Uncle Asher said he was sorry for yelling at you.”
“That’s good. Did he scare you?”
Lucas shook his head, “A little. I didn’t like him yelling at you. It reminded me of Papa Edward.”
Well, fuck a damn duck, if that didn’t hit me in the gut hard. “I know you don’t know this, but your Uncle Asher is nothing like your Papa Edward. Daddy and Uncle Asher have a bunch of stuff we need to talk about, but I promise to not do it in front of you.”
“’Cus you’re gonna yell?”
“We might. I don’t know. Uncle Asher might. It’s grown-up stuff, okay?”
Bennett’s dark head appeared in the doorway, and he gave me an apologetic half-smile. “Just came to see if you were up. Soup’s ready and you should try to eat something.”
Nodding, I told him, “I can actually kind of smell it. Which is a pleasant change after the last few days.”
“It’s an improvement for sure.” He looked happy at this small turn of events. “Do you need help?”
I sat up slowly, having learned my lesson about the perils of moving too quickly, but things only tilted a wee bit and then righted themselves. My vision seemed sharper around the edges, colors clearer, and my brain felt less foggy. When I commented on it, Bennet said that meant my oxygen levels were getting better.
“Sure you’re not a doctor?” Rummaging in my duffel, I pulled out a wrinkled but somewhat clean T-shirt. It would at least cover the bruises over my ribs. Not that Asher hadn’t already seen them all.
“I’ll wash your clothes after dinner. I’m going to put a load in the washer. I already have Lucas’s dirty things.”
“That’s very kind of you.” He shrugged, a rosy blush coloring his cheeks, and I followed him and Lucas down the short hallwayat a snail’s pace. I would never take a good set of lungs for granted again. Huffing and sweating by the time we made it to the multi-colored living room, I gratefully sank down onto the cushion of one end of the sofa. Asher sat on the opposite end, and he looked me over with a critical eye.
“Stop doctoring me from over there,” I grumbled, wiping the slight sheen of moisture from my brow. Lucas was setting the dining table with dinnerware under Bennett’s quiet guidance.
Asher shrugged, though he wasn’t apologetic. “I am a doctor, it’s what I do. Even if you’re way bigger than my usual patients.”
“Where’s your mate and babies?”
Asher tilted his head in the direction of the large picture window. “That’s our house across the street.”
Following his gaze, I saw a gigantic monstrosity of a Victorian style house. This was the first time I had been coherent enough to notice the surrounding neighborhood. Bennett–and Asher–lived at the end of what appeared to be a quiet cul-de-sac.
“Tristan has an ear infection, so we took them home while you were sleeping. They needed naps after the trip. We all needed naps, actually. Gabe–my mate–will bring them over in a little bit. I’m going to text Gabe to bring my bag with him. I want to listen to your lungs.”
Rolling my eyes, I shook my head at him. “My lungs are better than they were.”
