I smile and chuckle once at his joke, leaning into his touch for a moment before catching myself. If Phantom notices, then he doesn’t say anything, but he keeps his fingers in contact with my skin, settling to draw nonsense patterns on my shoulder. I look back to watch Cross, breathing a little easier somehow.
It’s not long before dinner’s ready, and Phantom pulls me to my feet from the couch, holding my hand as we cross to the table. I suck in a sharp breath as he pulls me into his lap, settling me across his knee as he waits for Cross to bring the plates of food to the table. One by one, the rest of the team joins us, Bones from his room, Siren from outside in the barn, and Joker from his room, chest bare and still toweling off his ginger hair.
“What’re we eating tonight?” Joker asks brightly as he throws himself down into his chair beside me and Phantom.
No one comments about my placement, though I do notice Bones’s stare lingering for a moment longer than it has in the past. I turn my attention to the plate Cross sets in front of me, swallowing hard as I realize how much food there is on it. Almost as much as what’s on the other’s plates.
“Chicken parm. Easy, but delicious,” Cross says, sitting at his place across from Joker with his own plate in hand.
Everyone starts eating, and I pick up my fork with a shaky hand. I eat slowly, my head ringing with alarm bells, the anxiety filling my stomach too much to allow me to take normal bites. I can’t eat all this. It’s too much. And it’s all carbs with barely any protein, and not a real vegetable in sight.
“Hey, baby doll. Take a breath for me, okay?” Phantom purrs in my ear, so low that the others don’t hear it and continue their conversation.
I match his slow inhale and exhale, eyes sliding closed for a moment as I breathe in his soothing scent.
“You’re doing so good. Let’s eat five more good bites and see how we feel, okay?” Phantom says in that same gentle, soothing tone.
I nod ever so slightly, following his lead. Thankfully, he doesn’t load up his fork like he has been up to this point, the little gesture making me blush. He eats at my pace, until we’ve taken five bites. The whole time, his free hand is on my thigh, his thumb brushing gently back and forth, a low purr rumbling from his chest.
“That’s a good girl. How’re ya doin’? Can you do three more for me?” Phantom asks.
I glance around and freeze as I accidentally meet Bones’s stare. There’s a heat to it that I can’t decipher, but it makes my spine curl inward. I feel so small around him, even when he held me after my nightmare. His commanding presence, his intense amber eyes. Even now, when he’s only got his mask lifted high enough to eat, there’s something so distant about him. Like a star that burns bright in the night sky, unreachable, unattainable no matter how much you stretch toward it.
“I…I can try,” I whisper back to Phantom, wrenching my eyes away from Bones and back down to my plate.
There’s still so much food left, over half the chicken cutlet and most of the spaghetti. But despite how full I feel, I force down three more bites. My eyes burn, anxiety buzzing in my brain. If I don’t finish this, I’m going to be in trouble. I can’t waste food. But if I eat all of this, then I’m not going to be able to fit into any of the clothes they just bought for me.
“That’s enough.”
I look up at the sound of Siren’s voice, tears in my eyes. Here it comes. The anger, the disappointment, the rage. I’ve messed up again, I know it.
“Are you full?” Siren asks, no inflection in their words.
“I’ll finish it. I can do it, I promise. I—”
“That’s not what I asked, cupcake,” Siren says, cutting across me.
I flinch back and hug my stomach even as Phantom sets his fork down and holds me close to his chest. I nod, trembling.
“Then you’re done. Joker, you still hungry?” Siren says, first to me, and then to the other omega.
“Always,” Joker says with a laugh.
I look up and realize that in the time it took me to take a dozen bites of food, Joker has almost licked all traces of food and sauce from his plate. He eagerly pulls my food toward him and digs in, no questions asked.
“I’m sorry, honey. I shouldn’t have put so much on your plate,” Cross interjects.
I look at him dumbfounded, unable to fully process what’s happening. They’re not mad?
“While you’re working on getting weight back on you, I’m only ever going to ask you to eat just beyond the point of feeling full. It would be extremely unhealthy to force you to eat big meals, as you’re more likely to throw it back up before you get the nutrients you need. You did incredibly well, Delilah. I’m proud of you for pushing through.”
I have to look down from Cross’s jade-green gaze, blinking away tears. I can’t remember the last time someone gave me genuine praise, and it’s sending my instincts into a tizzy. I want to do more, even if I know it’ll make me sick. Anything to get more kind words in his soft-spoken, warm voice. But I stay still, sitting with the pleasant little flips in my stomach while the others finish their portions.
Without thinking, I start to get up when everyone sets down their forks, ready to start the dishes. But Phantom growls playfully, pulling me back down and nuzzling my neck.
“Where d’ya think you’re going, little miss?” he says with a chuckle.
“We’ve got dishes tonight,” Joker says with a wink, piling his first plate on top of mine and Phantom’s before heading toward the kitchen with Siren.