Ramé [tom holland]

|| 0.2 - Midnight Snacks ||

_  S E V E N T E E N  _
years later

THE SOUND OF SOMEONE OPENING HER LARGE bedroom's door causes Scarlett to stir awake. She faces the opposite wall in the position she slept in, so she couldn't see whoever had entered. Immediately, she tenses, imagining possible outcomes; a habit that had been wired into her head at an eminently young age.

She feels the presence of who-or-whatever getting closer. Their soft footsteps lightly pad on the dark oakwood flooring. She slowly slides her hand under her pillow, reaching for her miniature knife and waited for the footsteps to become muted by the shag carpet that surrounded her bed. When a warm hand gently places itself on her shoulder, she whirls around in nanoseconds, holding the knife at the intruder's throat. However, her killer demeanor completely melts away as she register the friendly face of Teddy, her little brother. The knife falls from her palm, onto the bed.

"Bloody hell, Theodore!" she exhales. "You seriously almost got your throat slit."

A light chuckle escapes his lips. "Sorry, I guess I should've known better than to sneak up on you while you were sleeping."

The word simply reminds Scarlett of her exhaustion as the adrenaline pumping in her veins starts to wear off. Her eyes scan her room, before moving to the window, noticing the night blue sky lit up with numerous stars.

"Christ." she curses under her breath. "What time is it? What the hell are you doing in here?"

"Somewhere around midnight," Teddy shrugs.

"That didn't answer my question as to why you came in my room and nearly got shanked." Even in the dark, she could see her little brother's cheeks dust over a light pink shade. He flashes a shy smile and fiddles with his fingers.

"Well, It's your birthday, Scar, so... Happy birthday!" Teddy whisper-shouts with a grin, extending his arms wide. The sight makes Scarlett smile. She's always loved her brother more than anything in the world, more than she even loved herself, but hearing Teddy's happy birthday wishes made her think back to all her past birthdays which weren't really all that memorable.

The last birthday she can remember being happy was about twelve years ago on her seventh birthday. Teddy was merely one year old, almost two. Their parents were gone, off handling business, so it was just her, Teddy, and their nanny, Delilah, who had gotten up at the crack of dawn to make Scarlett a huge birthday breakfast. They spent the day with movies, tons of junk food, and hours in the pool. It was the best birthday she's ever had. Mostly because her parents weren't there.

Teddy noticed his older sister's reluctance at the mention of her special day and knew the cogs in her head were turning as the past birthday memories flooded her mind. An idea popped into his head that he was sure to cheer her up.

"Hey," Teddy mumbles, gaining her attention.
"I think I saw some left over pizza in the fridge."

A smile creeps onto Scarlett's face. "And Deli just bought a new jar of Nutella."

That's all it took for her to jump up from her warm bed, slinging an arm around Teddy's neck, and quietly trekking to the kitchen.

"I heard Mum and Danny talking about a surprise for you today." Theodore announces, putting air quotes around the word surprise. His older sister scoffs and rolls her eyes.

"Probably another lethal weapon. As if I don't have enough of those." Her brother laughs at her snarky comment as he pulls out a couple pepperoni slices from the refrigerator. Scarlett busies herself by opening the pantry, a content smile adorning her features when she spots the new family size Nutella jar, just as promised. The two siblings grab a spoon and pop their pizza slices in the oven. Usually, they would just eat it cold at such a late hour but today, they decided to do it the right way.

Nutella and pepperoni pizza has always been Scarlett's go-to comfort food. Whether for fulfilling a sweet and salty craving during her menstrual cycle, when she's feeling down, or when she wants a late night or early morning snack. So when she turned her younger brother onto the strange combination, it became their go-to food, their sibling bondage. When one needed advice from the other, when one wanted to cheer the other up, or when one can't sleep so they wake up the other. This odd, seemingly gross, combo has been the bane of their sister-brother relationship.

The lazy shuffling of dragging slippers across the floor echoed from down the hall, causing the pair to be on high alert, thinking their mother has busted them. But that panic quickly vanishes as the small frame of Delilah, clad in her nightgown and robe, steps into the light. She eyes the siblings with a knowing smile as she watches the two scoop a dollop of the hazelnut spread onto the tip of their steaming pizza slices.

"Nutella pizza, as I suspected," The woman yawns. "You know you two are going to drive yourself to an early grave if you keep eating this junk."

"Maybe..." Scarlett mutters under her breath.

Teddy cuts in, finishing her sentence, "...if the mafia doesn't get to us first."

Delilah gives them a tight-lipped, sad smile. It was a dark-humored joke but that didn't make it any less true. Junk food is the least of your worries if you grew up the way they did. Live the life they do. Delilah shakes her head dismissal.

"Oh, enough of that. Today is a special day." The woman rounds the oversized kitchen island to wrap her arms tightly around the younger woman.

"Nineteen," Delilah sighs nostalgically. Teddy and Scarlett share a look, knowing their nanny will soon start ranting about the good old days. "I remember those days. I had so much fun. Especially at the parties."

The two siblings laugh with their nanny, whom has been more of a mother to them than their biological mother. They spend the next hour or so simply talking and laughing. Delilah watches and teases both Teddy and Scarlett for eating such a strange combination of food. Then, when the pizza was gone, she orders them both to head back to bed, claiming, "growing bodies need their rest". Which, Scarlett was quick to remind her that she was an adult and didn't need to be told when to go to bed. However, she was instantly silenced when Delilah gave her the look and she rushes upstairs to her room.

She doesn't fall to sleep yet though, finding it quite difficult after eating all that sugar. She waits for the crash while lying in bed, thinking of the day to come, and of the grievances it was sure to cause.

Her nineteenth birthday. The one that, unbeknownst to her, would change her life.

Forever.