Reversal of Fortune [malexmale]

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Wow, that fucking blows. And here I thought my life sucked."

I said nothing, simply glanced warily at Theo, who sat on the edge of my bed, peeling an orange and popping the slices in his mouth. He sat with one leg folded over the other, tight black leather pants slipping a bit so you could see his hip bones, and a black sleeveless turtleneck, and of course, big huge boots to add to his height.

"I guess that makes you my grandfather, though, in a weird twisted kind of way," Theo offered with a shrug, "Which, by the way, ew, cuz you stuck your finger--"

"I know," I deadpanned, "Besides, I'm not literally related. I just... I can't help, but feel that way. I'm sterile, so I can't actually have children of my own."

"Which I think is also stupid," Theo added, making me stare at him in annoyance, "What? You're gay, aren't you? So it's not like you could have kids anyway, unless you hooked up with a fae or let some female wander around with your baby juice. Either way it's not happening, though, since you're with Yiuwa. I mean, you guys are still what? Married, right?"

"I don't want to think about that right now," I muttered, "Besides, you're in here to tell me how things are on the war front, not my personal life." Theo rolled his eyes as he tossed the last bit of orange peel in the garbage, popping a slice in his mouth.

"For the record, you're the one who started ranting about Yiuwa, not me. And second, nothing's changed on the war front. War is war. People are dying, the Shifter is on a rampage, Uriel's still in a coma, Michael's off looking for a wing repair group in fucking Finland. And oh, don't you have a therapist to talk to?" He asked flatly. I stared at him.

I wasn't very open to talking to Joxeia about things personally just yet. I'd told him very basic, surface-level details about what had happened to me. And of course, he wasn't stupid. He knew there was more, so much more, especially when he'd shown up after his first visit and Yiuwa and I weren't speaking to one another. I just wasn't ready to tell him what Yiuwa had done, what I had done, what had been done to me.

And to make matters worse, the nightmares and flashbacks were kicking in. I woke up at night in a cold sweat, panicked and fevered that my rescue had been a hallucination. My food turned to maggots and rot in front of me and I was puking more than I was eating. I wasn't doing well at gaining back all the weight I had lost. And there were times when a servant would walk in to clean or tend the machinery and I would mistake them for one of the torturers. Not that I attacked them, but apparently some of the shit I said to them scared the shit out of them and they refused to come back.

So yeah. Shit was just peachy.

"Fine, don't answer me," Theo huffed, getting to his feet, "But don't use me as a replacement for a professional. Trust me, that shit doesn't work." I sighed, reaching up to rub at my temples, wondering why I thought I could talk to Theo anyway.

"Thanks for the update," I muttered. Theo shrugged, then looked up when the door opened and Adonis came in with a cart of food. But just the smell of it made my stomach churn and I stared at it warily out the corner of my eye as Adonis wheeled it over and gave the hoods on each tray a tap.

"Liquid diet only," he said, "And doc says eat up. You're losing weight and honestly starting to look like a skeleton."

"Thanks," I deadpanned. Adonis shrugged. I shook my head as Theo went around so he could put his arms around Adonis's waist, giving him a squeeze.

"Oh, and you have another visitor," Adonis said, putting his hands over Theo's, "Guy named Simon." I tried not to sigh in relief. Now there was someone I could talk to. I said nothing as Theo gave Adonis a whack on the buttcheek, to which Adonis responded by shoving him toward the door and nipping at his shoulder. They left the room in quiet laughter.