Page 79 of One Wild Omega

“I didn’t know! I felt the anger that night.Hardcoreanger. Maybe because it was the first time… maybe because I was already having a bad night before he came in. I don’t know. I didn’t mean to push so hard.” He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling terrible. “I’d forgotten about it being his birthday. Fuck. The story just keeps getting worse and worse. I’d give anything for a do-over.”

“If only those were real,” Bellamy said. “There’s a lot of things I’d change if given the chance.”

“Yeah.” Fitz fished the painting he’d noticed earlier out of the back of his truck and showed it to both of them. “In the meantime, I’d love an answer about this.”

“Ahhh, theRichardpaintings,” Raimy said with a grin.

“Does this or does this not look like me?” Fitz asked.

“Itisyou,” Raimy replied. “He used to paint you all the time. I’d bet there are moreRichardpaintings in here.”

“Why did he call themRichardpaintings?” Fitz asked.

“Well, for one—he didn’t know your real name,” Raimy answered. “And I’d imagine there’s a double meaning there, knowing Tanner.”

“You’d been a dick to him,” Bellamy said before chuckling. “So he made you a Dick.”

Fitz gazed down at his alter ego. “I guess I deserve that.”

“Yes, you do,” Raimy said before leaning a little closer and gazing at the painting again. “But now you need ade-dicking…”

Fitz eyed Raimy and frowned. “What?”

Chapter Eighteen

The following day…

The banging on the door woke Tanner from the cozy dream world he lingered in. Why people couldn’t let him sleep, he didn’t know. As he fully came to, the weight of his real life came crashing back down, sucking the very air from his lungs. Gazing at the alarm clock, he saw it was already afternoon. He’d practically slept the day away. Instead of opening the door, he rolled back over and pulled the covers over his head.

After a while, the banging stopped and his cell phone started. He silenced the ringing and dove under the covers again.

Finally, whoever it was got the message and stopped.

That is, until he heard his front door opening. Before he could get more than a few steps out of his bed, Raimy came bursting into his bedroom.

“My gods, Tan—you can’t scare me like that!”

Tanner didn’t answer. He didn’t have the energy to. He crawled back into his bed and pulled the covers back up.

Raimy wasn’t deterred. “I brought lunch.”

Tanner wasn’t in the mood for food. Or company. Or anything else, for that matter.

“I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I bought a little of everything. Whatever you don’t want, I can leave in the fridge so you can have something to eat later,” Raimy said, acting completely oblivious to Tanner’s foul mood.

Tanner could hear Raimy heading out to the kitchen. The rustling of the bag. The opening and closing of the fridge. It was all too loud. He wanted silence. And the sweet release of sleep.

“Why don’t you get out of bed and eat with me?”

Tanner brought his knees up and tucked the blanket tighter.

“Well, it’s out here, ready for you whenever you are. I’m going to eat and watch some TV.” Raimy walked back to the door. “I also brought my laptop and some work. I’m staying until you get your ass out of that bed.”

Tanner frowned and buried himself deeper. A little while later, an alarm went off on his phone. He didn’t even look at it, just swiped it away and turned the damned thing off. Raimy came in a few more times to check on him, but Tanner never replied.

Couldn’t reply. He was lost… adrift.

It went on like that for seven more days. Luckily, he was prepped for an emergency, in case of heat, and had a couple of protein bars and a few bottles of water in the bottom drawer of his nightstand. The only time Tanner crawled out of bed was to pee. Raimy tried to engage him the minute he was up, but Tanner had lost all desire to speak. To think. To do anything. He crawled back into bed and slept.

---