The Promise

Chapter Sixteen

*TW * indepth talk about ED in this chapter

We entered the diner, Marko and Paul behind me as if they were sentries, ensuring the Princess didn't bolt. I swallowed as I followed David and Dwayne to a table in the restaurant's corner. David sat down first, then Dwayne on the opposite side. I slid into the booth beside David, Marko following. Paul pouted but sat beside Dwayne
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David handed me a sticky menu. The four guys each took a menu to peruse while my hands trembled as I forced myself to open it. All I could see were photographs of food. Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french fries, milkshakes, BLTs.

My brain revolted, screaming at me to get out of that diner. My stomach roiled at the thought of this food anywhere near my lips, even while my hunger lashed out, demanding to be fed.

Look at all those calories. You were doing so good. Don't let them touch your lips. Don't let them turn you fat! My thoughts were wild with the fear of food and self-deprecating. I didn't know how I would get out of this mess. But my thoughts were stifled by the appearance of the waitress.

"Drinks?" She snapped gum behind her red lips. "What drinks can I get for ya?"

"Water!" I blurted out, dropping the sticky menu. "I just want a water."

The other guys got soda. It hurt them to witness their mate in such turmoil and distress. A different distress than that which occurred on the Boardwalk. They could protect their mate from unwelcome advances - but they couldn't protect their mate from their own mind.

My enemy wasn't a tangible thing. It was a thought. A thought that bled into my actions. Telling me that the food was terrible. David attempted to push his abilities onto me, but it wouldn't work due to the intense fear flooding my body. Their abilities were dampened when it came to mates, but it was startling for it not to work.

Dwayne reached across the table with his massive hand. He grasped my left hand within his, providing comfort. I was seconds away from devolving into a full-blown panic attack at the thought of eating. Especially once I had seen the menu and mentally calculated the calories of each item.

"Look at me," Dwayne commanded, his voice as smooth and rich as velvet. Something about his tone had me turning and looking into Dwayne's honey-brown eyes. "Why are you panicking right now, princess?"

"Don't want -" I gasped, throat closing as I shook my head. I couldn't - wouldn't - articulate why I was spiraling in the middle of a diner. Especially not in front of guys that I hadn't known for a long time. Regardless of the safety they enveloped me in, nor the familiarity of their touch. Even my closest friends in Phoenix had no idea about how bad I was getting until I was put into the inpatient program.

"Food?" Paul asked, voice soft and serious. I looked at the wild-maned blonde man to see his mischievous look replaced by concern. I nodded, feeling Markos' hand rubbing circles into my back as a form of comfort.

"Let's look at the menu, kitten," David suggested, but I shook my head, eyes widening. The waitress came over with the drinks, still snapping gum.

"You want to order yet?" She demanded, tone sounding bored.

"No," Marko's cherubic face darkened as he bared his teeth at the waitress. She stepped back, feeling her instincts want to flee at the barely concealed predator beneath the surface.

"Give us a bit more time," Dwayne cooed at the waitress. She nodded, slinking back behind the counter. David's hand came behind my head, smacking Marko sharply. He yelped, but that dark look was gone.

"What about scrambled eggs?" Marko suggested, looking through his menu as I staunchly refused to open mine. "Dry toast?"

I stared at Marko for a moment, dumbfounded. These four men were more understanding than my own father. They were taking the time to find items on the menu that wouldn't send me into a complete meltdown. My father had pushed me to eat things on the menu that he knew I wouldn't eat, but these four seamlessly work together. Marko knew not to push, Dwayne wanted to discover why my meltdown, Paul guessed the issue, and David was the rock.