Creed of the Leviathan I

22 | E

We were already eating when she returned with the plate. It was still full, not one piece of food had been touched. She quietly put it on the kitchen counter, covering it with plastic wrap before she fixed herself a plate and joined us at the dining table. No one asked what happened because we already knew.

He had skipped quite a few meals since he had been back. The one excuse followed after the other to the point that even Tia had grown tired.

That night I, myself did not have much of an appetite and had not taken as much food as the others which is why I was finished before they were. As I rinsed off my plate the food Tia had wrapped caught my attention.

Every bone in my body was against the idea that had filled my mind. My heart raced at the thought of what I wanted to do but then I looked back at my tired family. Everyone had tried to help him- everyone but me. Without thinking about it once more I filled a glass with orange juice and took the plate from the table.

"What are you doing?" Tia called out.

"Taking his food to him." I softly answered.

"Mattia doesn't want to be bothered. You know how he is. he'll let me know if he wants to eat." She pleaded.

I took my lower lip between my teeth as my eyes found the ground, I was contemplating whether it was a good idea to go through with it.

"Nuelle. Just let him be." Marco breathed out.

"No." I shrugged carelessly whilst everyone looked at me like I was crazy.

"Let me-"

"No Tia." I interrupted her. "It is getting late and each one of you has other things to do in the morning, so I'm bringing him is food. If he doesn't want to eat it right away then I'll leave it on his nightstand. This way he wouldn't have to wake any of you up in the middle of the night."

I headed to his room despite the mumbling I heard behind me, but once I reached the door my feet came to an automatic stop. A large sign that read 'closed' hung on the door handle, signaling any visitors that it was not the right time.

I gently knocked on the door and soon after Dimitri's voice flowed through it, saying that he did not want to be disturbed. I ignored his remark and once again knocked before pulling the handle down.

"I'm coming in." I announced, hoping to give him time to realize who it was.

I pushed the door further open with my side before my eyes wandered to Dimitri who was slightly laying up in his bed. An annoyed expression was stuck to his face, but I was prepared for worse so I tried my best not to let it bother me.

After softly clearing my throat I finally managed to voice the words that seemed to be stuck down it. "I brought you your dinner." For a moment I feared that I had spoken only loud enough for myself to hear.

Dimitri groaned, giving me a look that made it clear that he wanted to kill me. Right there and then.

"I'm not hungry. Didn't Tia tell you that? Didn't you read the damn sign on the door?" He asked, slightly yelling.

"Then I'll leave it on your nightstand."

"You can take that damn food back into the kitchen and make sure to pay attention to the fucking sign, Emmanuelle." He stated through gritted teeth, furiously. Hearing him say my name in pure rage almost made me drop the food and run out of the room, but I did not.

My eyes fell closed as I took a deep breath, channeling my inner courage.

"No. I'm leaving it on your nightstand. If you want to eat then it's already here. Then there's no need to ask the others to-"

"Emmanuelle!"

I flinched involuntarily, my heart beating in my throat as the sound of his voice reached my ears. He yelled so loudly that I could hear Tia's voice on the other side of the room asking if everything was alright. Soon after she had poked her head through the slightly open door, telling me to leave Dimitri be. I refused to move until the glass of juice I was holding in one hand fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

I was so focused on Tia that I had not even noticed that he had thrown a pillow my way. By the time I felt the fluffy object hit my stomach I had lost my grip on the glass and dropped it. I also spilled some of the food, but luckily I had a better hold onto the plate then I did on the glass.

Tia let out a shocked gasp before she rushed into the room. She had me step back as she lowered herself to see if the glass had cut me.

"Get out!" Dimitri kept yelling over and over again not caring about what was going on.

His hysterical behavior demanded the attention of everyone in the house and not more than seconds later the whole Mulaney household had gathered in his room, making him even more furious than he already was.

"Okay, let's- Tia take Nuelle out, I'll take care of this." Marco said in a surprisingly calm tone.

Marissa and Anthony were standing near the door, their eyes following us as we walked out of the room. Tia took the plate out of my hands as she led me to the kitchen. She had me sit on one of the chairs and quickly inspected my legs after she placed the plate on the counter.

"I'm sorry." I muttered.

Her eyes met mine as she puffed her cheeks and blew out the air. "I know, but you know how Mattia can be. He needs time."

"And you need to rest. You can't wake up two, three times a night. It's not good for you."

"I can take care of myself." a small smile spread across her face.

My mouth had already parted to reply when Marco had stormed into the room. "Didn't we tell you not to go?" He scolded like a father that was scolding his child. That is what I felt like- a child.

"I was just trying to help."

"Don't. Don't try. It's hard enough to deal with him when's normal, the last thing we need is for him to be in an even worse mood."

"It's okay-" Tia tried to calm him down.

"No, it's not," I interrupted her, gaining their gazes and that of the others that were only now joining us. "It's been five days and it is getting harder everyday. You guys are already sacrificing so much. And no, Tia- just, don't tell me that you will take care of it. You need to take care of your health too. Do you want to keep dealing with the situation as it is or do you want this to become easier, because God knows for how long this will be going on."

"Oh, and you think you can fix this, Nuelle?" Marco said in a loud tone, his right arm extended in the direction of Dimitri's room.

"Can you?" I softly asked.

Marco's arm fell alongside his body. "I'm trying." He breathed out right before he turned on his heel and walked out of the room with his right hand rubbing the back of his head.

He looked tired, defeated but for an entirely different reason than Dimitri's own. Marissa and Anthony walked out of the room as well, leaving Tia and myself behind. After Tia was satisfied with the inspection she had done on my leg, she stood up from the chair across from me.

"What are you trying to do, Nuelle?"

"I'm trying to help."

She smiled as she lifted my chin up. "I know, but sometimes to help- is to let things play out on their own."

I gulped. What could I say to this other than 'perhaps you're right?', because it sure as hell was starting to feel like she was. I pushed myself up by the table, slowly putting down my foot to see if I would be able to stand on it.

"Go to your room. Forget about today, but remember what I just said."