I had paced around my room for the past hour, pinching my fingers and taking deep breaths. Once in a while I would glance at the large door, a door I would eventually have to go through.
When I gathered enough courage and silenced the little voice in my head screaming at me to get back on my bed, my slender finger grabbed the lock and turned it. I took one quick breath before stepping out. My bare toes curled at the unusual coldness of the floor.
I stared at the path ahead of me with so much certainty. I needed to do this. I didn't come out of the room to get food or receive fresh air. I came out looking for him..yes, that him. The very him that I dare not look into his eyes and I'm supposed to avoid at all costs.
In my defense, I have a very good reason. Precisely a request, a request he'd have to be foolish to refuse.
I didn't need to go through the stress of going through a flight of stairs, after the fire my room had been moved to the second floor so I only needed to walk a few meters before I was in front of Ermanno's room.
With everything that had been happening, I'd never really had a good look at this floor, it was very dark and gave me chills. The only thing I liked about this house were the staircase that reminded me of my childhood fairytale.
I knocked twice on his room door but heard nothing.
Maybe he had gone out.
The possibility of that weren't high. I had sat by my window hours before coming out just staring into the big compound. No car had come in, neither had any gone out.
I knocked once again and when I heard nothing, I concluded he wasn't in his room.
I had just walked a few steps away from his door when I heard his voice. It was faint but it sounded pissed. I followed the voice to a large black door with the symbol of a silver lion at the very top.
He occasionally switched from English to his mother tongue and it seemed he was conversing with someone, presumably over the phone.
I moved a step closer to the door and gently placed my ear on it. Whoever he was talking to, he was clearly pissed off with. It would be best to turn back now, I'd hate for him to transfer the aggression on me.
No!
I stood on business. Whatever he was going to do to me with the transferred aggression couldn't be worse than what he'd already done.
I waited a few more minutes till I was certain he had ended the call before knocking. He was quiet at first, knowing his state of mind, considering whether to let me in.
"Come in." his sonorous voice boomed. The voice made me shudder but I wouldn't show it. As I stepped into the fairly large study, I could feel him studying my expressions, searching my face for the look of defeat.
"Molina," he gestured at me to come further into the study and leave the door I clung to.
"I have a request." I ignored his gestures and stood as I was. "You must know Rachel, you mentioned her some weeks ago. She's my friend and she must be looking for me.." I trailed off, looking for a way to put the part that came next. He was quiet, studying me, waiting patiently for what I would say next.
His face was expressionless, that made it hard for me to know whether he was going to approve or disapprove. I took a deep breath, hating the way his fog grey eyes stared deep into the inner, most hidden compartments of my soul.
"I.. I want to call Rachel - just to let her know I'm okay. She must be worried sick, she must've contacted the police. I've lost track of how long I've been here but she's been counting the days I've been gone. I just need to speak to her, Please."
I finished making my request and was so tempted to look down at my feet but I didn't. I stared into his evil dark eyes begging the callous monster to have some empathy.
Instead of answering, he lowered his gaze and pulled open a drawer and shoved around a little bit before pulling out my phone.
My heart skipped a beat as I saw it in his hand. Was he about to give me? I pinched myself, reminding myself not to expect so much. There was no way he'll grant my request without expecting anything in return.
"As you can see Mercedes, I have your phone right here. But what do I get if I give you what you want?"
There it was. I fucking called it. Bullshit!
Is he really being serious right now..
To be honest, I wasn't even surprised. I expected it.
“What do you want?" My heart beat violently as I asked the costly question. Of course I wasn't going to do anything sexual for him but there was nothing stopping him from overpowering me. It was just the two of us in this house and I couldn't run to anywhere.
He dropped my phone on the table in front of him and pulled his hands closer to his face, interlocking them.
“I know you have refused to eat, so I want you to cook. Cook something nice for both of us.”
What the actual -
I should cook??
Cook for him?!
He stared at me with that look on his face. A look daring me to say something.
“What-”
“That wasn't a request.” he looked more stern. He wasn't requesting, he was commanding.
“I'm not hungry.” I murmured, loud enough for the ears to catch.
“I don't care, you're going to cook. Serve me, and then serve yourself.”
My fist curled into balls and I bit my lips. I was tempted to scream ‘HELL NO' and then run to my room and lock it. But then I thought of Rachel, I'll finally hear her voice again.
It was worth it.
I swallowed my pride for the hundredth time in this house, one would think I had none.
“What do you want to eat?”
He smirked, looking victorious like he always did when I succumbed.
“What can you prepare?”
****
Fucking cheese tortellini. Of the the fucking thing to choose. He chose cheese tortellini. Does he know how long it takes to prepare?!
What happened to hummus? Or porridge? Or noodles?
If he was so hungry, he could've just eaten out.
He just wanted to stress me. Fuck him!
What's even worse is I had to make everything from scratch, including the dough.
I packed my hair into a messy bun before getting to work and because I tried my best to be extra fast I was done in less than two hours.
I smiled smugly to myself as I stared at Ermanno's portion separated from mine. I had made sure to add an unreasonable amount of pepper to his fillings. Any pepper I could find in the kitchen, from the black to the white, to chili pepper, bell peppers, jalapenos, Carolina reapers, scotch and even chili sauce.
I giggled silently imagining how his eyes would turn red in pain.
But this wasn't enough. I had to do something more.
I had never been this petty but then again I had never had my freedom wrongfully snatched from me.
I stared at his food for a few minutes before spotting a box of gelatin powder. It was disgusting, unflavored and just perfect. I sprinkled a little into his food and rubbed my hand on my shirt before loading his food into a tray, purposely not including any water.
I wonder how much he'll like my cooking.
________________________________
Alright guys.
The twenty sixth chapter of GATM
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