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“I don’t want to eat.”
“Did you dump it down the privy?” That was the only way Felix could think of to dispose of it so fast. “If you’re stressed and that’s fucking with your appetite, you don’t have to hide it from me.”
“Yes, I dumped it down the privy, okay?” Rainier said with a faint edge to his voice. “I don’t feel like eating. I’d rather go to bed, hold you, and sleep.”
Felix wasn’t even sure what to say for a moment. Why the fuck would he just dump his food? Did he think Felix wouldn’t notice?
“Rainier, we can do what you want, but the physician is coming, and I do need to run back to Pierced Pretties and tell Tab what I’m doing so he doesn’t think you kidnapped me or something silly. They’re closed anyway since they’re renovating.”
Rainier rubbed his eyes. “All right. I’d love for you to stay, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to. You’ve got your own life, and I don’t know what you expect to do. It would be nice to go to the house, but I don’t want to yank you from your life either. It’s not fair.”
“I want to make sure you’re okay.”
Rainier curled up under his blanket. “You can’t fix me.”
“Can I at least try to help you, or should I just walk away and pretend nothing is happening like everyone else is? It seems like Natalie is the only one who did anything and cared enough to try and do something.”
“I don’t want to be a bother.”
Felix came to kneel by the couch. “You’re not a bother. I care about you, and I want to make sure you’re alright.”
Chapter Nineteen
He didn’t deserve Felix.
Rainier couldn’t give him a straight answer, and even with the physician right there because Felix had brought him, he didn’t know what to say after he’d been checked over. The physician tsked over his cold hands and said no one should have a bluish tint to their fingernails.
Rainier didn’t have symptoms that pointed to wasting disease of the stomach or any other serious illnesses in that area like food intolerances, so once the physician sat, he asked another question.
“Are you throwing up like Addy?”
“No.”
“You’re awfully thin.”
Lies. Rainier felt as big as a horse with the physician staring at him. “I don’t eat much. I don’t have stomach pains or anything wrong with me like that, so you can stop wondering.”
“Er, why don’t you eat? Do you feel stressed because that’s the only thing I can think of?”
Rainier shrugged. How was he supposed to explain everything?
“I think the fix is quite simple. You have to eat frequent meals. I’d say a small one every two or three hours is best so you have a steady stream of nutritious food. I’d add in things with fat like oils and nuts, and overtime, you’ll gain weight. I’ll give you herbs for appetite and something to calm you so you can eat again.”
Dear Elira, no. Rainier could barely face dinner lately. He didn’t even care that he’d tossed his plate down the privy, although he felt guilt for trying to fool Felix. Couldn’t he just go without food ever again?
“Prince Rainier?”
“What?”
“I can tell the kitchen to make you frequent meals,” said the physician. “If there’s something particular you’d like-”
“I won’t be here. I’m going somewhere with Felix.”
“I don’t think you should travel or do any kind of physical activity,” said the physician. “No sex, no riding, and no training. In fact, I think you need to stay in bed or remain sitting at least. Your pulse isn’t good, and your extremities are cold. Your hair is dull, and even though it’s not cold in here, you’ve got a blanket. You’re not in a condition to be doing anything, and if your appetite is poor, you should have said something a long time ago because that’s easier to remedy before it gets too bad. I can’t believe your Mother said nothing and let you get to this point.”
“I’m only going somewhere so I can rest and…it’s-I need a change of scenery. Felix is going to stay with me.”
The physician fiddled with a little booklet and his quill. “Fine. While you’re there, you need to eat frequent meals and rest to try to get your weight up. If there are no other underlying problems, the answer is food. If you stay like this, it’ll affect your heart and other organs. I’ve studied the effects of famine and starvation on people. The body can deal with a lot in some ways, but after a while, there’s a point where it can’t take anymore.”
