Page 5 of Dreaming of His Omega
My fantasy counterpart’s life had gone up and up since I moved them to Vale Valley. Mine was, if possible, even worse. I accepted a copywriting job with a start-up and moved cross-country to the west coast. It wasn’t my first big move; I found I could never stay in one place for long, which was part of why writing held so much appeal. My new job was supposed to have a three-month trial period for me at headquarters, then I could work remotely. It sounded too good to be true… and it was; a month later, they were done. I got a generous cut as they folded, but stretching it was getting hard. I needed a break. Fast. If nothing else, I was able to find a coffee shop set-up even sweeter than free drinks and wi-fi at Cambry’s.
By law the shop had to throw out all their food after they closed, even if it was perfectly good. Food they were selling at 10:59 went in the trash at 11:00. A stupid law, in my opinion, but I was grateful for it. Because it meant that Ruby, and a couple of the other closers who knew my situation, gave it to me if I was there. Sometimes it was even still warm from the oven. It wasn’t always the healthiest food, but I’m sure a donut for dinner was better than skipping it. I was loaded up with food every few days and could stretch it until Ruby was closing again. Some days, I ate like a king. Ruby also always made sure to throw in extra coffee for me. If a bag of coffee grinds ripped open, she even gave it to me! We had a shared coffee maker at the house, but each were responsible for our own food, coffee included, so it was nice to be able to make my own sometimes.
With a goodnight to Ruby, I hurried out into the chilly spring rain. Itwasraining hard. I was grateful she thought to put my treats in a plastic bag. I hurried along the street, thoughts whirling with what Traviel and Elarian would need for their upcoming baby.
Lucky them. Married to the love of their life, with a baby on the way. Meanwhile, I was single with no prospects. They lived in my dream house. I shared a crappy house with six other people, barely scraping together rent. They had a thriving gardening business, and I was eating food the café was going to throw away.
A car drove by, splashing me with water. I cursed and jumped back, shielding my backpack. I glared after them with another curse. A bus rumbled toward me from the other direction, picking up speed as the light turned red.
Just then, a man stepped off the curb near me.
Right into the path of the bus!
Without thinking, I lunged forward and tackled him. We hit the ground and rolled. The bus roared by, missing us by inches, and dousing us as the wheels churned through a puddle.
I staggered to my feet, grabbed the man, and tugged him safely back to the sidewalk. We stood there, gasping for breath. He turned and looked at me, eyes wide. It was too dark and rainy to see him well, but his hair looked purple. He had a long, braided goatee, which looked purple as well.
“That bus would have hit me!” he gasped. “You saved my life!”
“It was nothing,” I said, with a shrug. Maybe he was rich and he’d give me a ton of money as thanks. Or maybe he was gay! He’d ask me out to dinner to thank me and we’d start dating and have a fun first-meeting story to share…
“I’m in a hurry,” he said, sounding somewhat frazzled. “But, I owe you one. Well, three technically.” He let out a booming laugh.
Well, that didn’t sound like money or a date. I bent and picked up the food bag I dropped, hoping nothing was too mashed. It was then I realized my backpack was missing.
“Where’s my—” I cried in alarm. “Oh no…” It was in the middle of the road. And it looked suspiciously flat. I checked quickly for cars, then rushed after it. I heard the contents rattling around as I carried it sadly to the sidewalk.
“What is that?” the man asked.
“Itwasmy laptop.” I swallowed hard, fighting back tears.
“Is it broken?”
For an answer, I gave the bag a shake. “I need to go,” I forced out, starting off toward home.
“Consider that one a freebie,” he called after me. “Oh, and be careful what you wish for, and all that!”
“Wait, what?” I called, turning in confusion. He was nowhere to be seen. “What the hell?”
Shaking my head, I pulled my backpack higher up on my shoulder and trudged home. My roommate Rory was there, puttering around the kitchen.
“Raining?” he chuckled.
“Yeah,” I muttered. I gently set my bag on the table. I sat down, staring at it. I wanted to cry. I couldn’t afford a new laptop. How could I even keep writing without one? I realized that if the hard drive was smashed, my books were gone. Forever. This time, I couldn’t stop a tear.
“Hey, you okay?” Rory asked.
“My backpack fell… a bus ran over it.”
He let out a small laugh. “A bus huh?”
“My laptop is…”
“Oh. Shit.” Rory wasn’t much for serious stuff, but he sat down at the table with me, with a rare concerned expression. “Shit, man.”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to even open it, but at least I had someone with me. I slowly unzipped my bag, braced myself, and reached in. My hand closed around part of my laptop and I pulled out… the entire thing. It looked undamaged.
“No way,” I breathed. “That’s impossible!”
