Alex tore the blueberry bagel into small pieces and placed one in Ginger's hand. The redhead sat there, staring at the bread.
"Ginger, you need to eat or you'll get sick," Alex remarked, picking up a slice of bread and placing it on Ginger's lips. Ginger moved his hand to his side and turned away. Alex groaned gently and slowly expelled his pheromones. "Please eat for me," Alex urged. "I'm worried about you," he said. Several seconds elapsed. Alex was ready to give up and go when Ginger reached up and grabbed a slice of bread. He swallowed the bagel chunk.
***cough cough cough*** Ginger turned away, covered his mouth with his hand, and coughed hard.
"You've got to chew your food, silly," Alex suggested, lightly patting Ginger on his back.
Tears brimmed Ginger's hazel eyes. The remains of the bagel slipped from his hand and landed on the bed. "Hey, don't cry," Alex said, reaching out his hand to caress Ginger's cheek.
***slap**
Alex retracted his hand and glanced down at it, puzzled. It stung and reddened from the impact. He lifted his gaze to Ginger, who had rolled onto his side, and closed his eyes.
"Did he just slap my hand?" Alex asked himself. Alex glanced down at the redhead and said, "That was a bad boy move," "I like you anyway," he said. Alex rose from the small bed and headed towards the hospital door. He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Ginger curled up in a ball and the thin sheet wrapped tightly around him. The remains of the bagel had disappeared.
***In the afternoon***
Ginger approached the hospital washroom mirror. His robe was partially undone and unfastened. His lengthy fingers traced the contours of his stomach and abs.
"Am I that skinny?" he wondered.
"Yes, you are," said one version of himself.
"Don't listen to that dork; you're fine as you are," said another version of himself. Ginger's two sides fought constantly in his thoughts. A headache began.
"Shut up!" Ginger shouted in his head. He sank on the tiled floor, clutching his head. Everything went pitch black.
***That evening***
Ginger woke to find a clear breathing mask covering his nose and mouth. Disoriented, he raised a hand to remove it. Before he could remove the mask, a hand grasped his hand. Ginger blinked several times to clear his vision. Alex's and Ginger's parents' worried faces came into view. The doctor entered the room and stepped up beside them.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Dr. Lee said. Ginger glanced at them, puzzled. "You had us worried," he said. Alex stepped up to Ginger's bed and sat down.
"If this is because of something I said, I'm sorry," the blonde said.
Dr. Lee walked over and put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "This isn't your fault," he said. The doctor shifted his gaze to Ginger's parents, who nodded.
"I know that you should've been told sooner, but our son has a respiratory illness," Lance said. "The tiniest things can trigger his attacks," Ginger's mother explained. "Mostly if he's anxious or stressed," she said. Alex recalled the day he and Ginger first met.
"Can weather changes also cause it?" Alex asked.
"Yes," Dr. Lee said, nodding his head.
"Doesn't he take medications for that?" Alex asked.
"Yes, but he still has attacks," Irene explained. "They've gotten worse since the breakup," she said.
Everyone left the hospital room except Alex, who decided to stay. He sat back down on the bed beside Ginger. "Ginger, if what I said earlier caused your attack, I'm sorry," he said. "I never knew about your illness," he admitted. Ginger lowered his eyes and fiddled with the sheet. He lifted his eyes and frowned. Alex's gray eyes became serious. "Ginger, you might not believe in love or be afraid to trust people, but I'm telling you the truth," Alex said. "I care about you and miss your smile," he said.
Ginger shed a single tear. It was followed by another tear, then another, until a flood of tears gushed.
"Please don't cry," Alex urged as he grabbed a tissue and handed it to Ginger. "It makes your pretty eyes look red," he observed. Ginger blinked many times before wiping his eyes and cheeks. He lowered his gaze once again. "Are you mad at me, Ginger?" Alex inquired. Ginger reacted with a shake of his head. "Then why are you refusing to look at me directly?" he inquired. Ginger raised his gaze and nibbled his lower lip.
"I'm disgusting," Ginger stated, looking away.
Ginger hadn't spoken in days, so when Alex heard those words, his heart broke. He faced the redhead and furrowed his brows.
"Ginger, you're not disgusting," he said sternly.
Yes, I am; even you said so," the redhead objected.
"Ginger, I never said those words," Alex said. "I only said that you needed to eat more and eat slowly," he said.
"You don't need to lie to me," Ginger said. "I'm skinny, sickly, and mostly an omega," he said. "Nobody wants an omega in this world," he said.
Alex sighed loudly. "I am not lying to you," he said. "You are a beautiful and talented person," he said. "This world needs you," Alex stated. Ginger shook his head.
"That's not true," Ginger said coldly. "The world rejected me," he said.
"You've had bad things happen, but this world hasn't rejected you," Alex said.
"My dream of being an artist is gone," Ginger stated. "You don't consider that a rejection?" he asked.
"No, I see that as a devious trick of an ex trying to control everything," Alex stated.
Ginger clenched and unclenched his fists. "Then tell me who'd want me as their omega and why," he demanded.
"Your parents, for one, because you're their cherished son," Alex answered.
"They have to love me; they're family," Ginger said. "My sponsor is gone because of me," he said. "I'm not worthy of anyone's love," he added.
"That's not true," Alex said. "You're worthy of love," he said.
"Yeah?" Ginger scoffed. "Then tell me the name of one alpha who'd love me the way I am," he said. Alex took Ginger's hands and said, "I would," with sincerity in his voice. "Since the day we met, I knew that I had found my soulmate," he said.