icing on cake
"THANK GOD THERE'S FOOD," SAYS TESSA WHITE. Recently woken up from a deep sleep, she moves around with quick, jerky movements. "I am so fucking hungry."
"What was your last meal?" Raphael asks.
Glass dust clings to her hair. The shards twinkle in the pink lights. "Way too long ago. I think the last thing I ate were, like, two chicken nuggets. This place is like heaven."
They walk into the dining room. A silk tablecloth, patterned in floral pink, stretches across the monstrous oak table. About a dozen Dolls sit on either side. A lady with a violet wigs reaches for a glass of red wine. Another man skewers a piece of meat with his fork.
"These things are so cool," Tessa crouches next to one of the Dolls and pinches its cheeks. It's a woman with soft red curls, laughing behind a paper fan. "They even feel real too."
Vivre remains on the staircase, one hand on the railing. "You're not freaked out by anything?"
"Obviously. Time spent freak out means time wasted. If you're not attacking, you're defending which is the exact same thing as losing."
"If you're not predator," Raphael says. "You're prey."
"Exactly," Tessa throws a smirk over her shoulder.
Then, she shoves the Doll over. It falls the ground with a resounding thud, the fan falling out of its hand. She sits into the emptied seat and spreads her hands out in satisfaction. Raphael raises both of his eyebrows. Vivre enters the dining room to stand by him, arms folded in disapproval.
Vivre enters the dining room, arms folded in disapproval, and comes to stand by Raphael. Both of them watch Tessa as pulls over an entire platter of cake. It's round and covered in glossy pink frosting.
"I don't know I necessarily agree with her philosophy," Vivre mutters. "Kill or be killed isn't how the real world works."
"An argument could be made that we aren't in the real world anymore."
She shrugs. "I think it's a bad idea going around and eating everything we see no matter what world you live in."
"Hey, your name is Raphael, right?" Tessa calls. She holds up another fork, gold and shiny, up in the air. "There's room enough for two."
"Don't," Vivre starts, but Raphael is already moving forward. He sits at the edge of the table and plucks the fork out of Tessa's hand, slicing the cake into a neat little triangle. Instead of it eating himself, he offers it to Vivre. She shakes her head. "No, thank you."
"Are you not even a little hungry?" He coaxes.
"I am," Vivre admits. "But, come on, they've laid out a plethora of food for us. This is too suspicious."
"Imagine if we did manage to navigate our way to the exit," Raphael sets the fork back down on the platter. "Would you really want to leave on empty stomach, hungry, tired and weak?"
"Totally," Tessa agrees. "Poison or starve to death? I know which one I'd pick."
"It's a risk worth taking," Raphael adds. "I ate grapes. Tessa ate cake. And we both seem to be fine."
"Fine," Vivre drops her arms to her side. She doesn't know if she's giving up because she agrees with or if she's too tired to fight. "But I'm not going to eat the cake. I need something that gives me energy back.
"Like I said," Tessa whispers to Raphael. "Bo - ring."
Tessa's comments dig under her skin. When she and Lincoln were still a couple, Tessa used to do the same thing. Little, one or two word remarks about Vivre's looks or personality, usually under her breath.
Like always, Vivre doesn't call her out. Pretending not to have even heard her, Vivre takes an empty plate and skims the options.
The table has several mouth-watering entries. Vegetable soup, with bundles of hot steam rising from it. An entire roast pig. A basket of apples, each one perfectly ripe and red. Vivre decides for the safest option. Mashed potatoes, draped with warm gravy. She scoops some of them up and begins to the methodically chew through them.
The three of them chew in silence. Tessa, having polished off her cake, has started on a banana split. She consumes everything but the banana. Meanwhile, Raphael, despite his earlier urgings, barely eats anything.
Vivre's mood improves with each bite she takes. Her limbs feel lighter and it becomes easier to think. Now she's thirsty. Vivre pours herself some lemonade. It's saltier than it is sweet, but it pumps her full of energy. Full and clear-minded, she puts her plate down and looks around.
"I still need shoes," Vivre remembers.
Tessa snorts. "Shoes?"
"Vivre woke up without any," Raphael explains. He has the paper fan in his hand.
"Okay, I get that... but dude, come on," Tessa licks the blue frosting off her fingers. She motions to the room with the other hand. "What's taking you so long? We're literally surrounded by bitches with shoes."
"I don't want to take their shoes," Vivre says.
"Why not?"
"It feels too obvious."
"What's wrong with obvious?"
"Nothing, I guess," Heat creeps up Vivre's neck. Even to her, she sounds dumb. How can she explain what she's feeling? It's like when you're trying to solve a math problem and the solution is to easy. You know you're missing something, but you don't know how to find it. From the way that Raphael and Tessa are watching her, Vivre knows that they're getting annoyed. "Maybe we should go back to that other place, with the mannequins."
"Yeah, let's explore some more. Take your time," Tessa says sarcastically, in the middle of unwrapping a cupcake that has purple frosting and heart-shaped sprinkles. "Not like my boyfriend's life is on the line."
"Fine," Vivre snaps. "You stay here and shove your mouth full of sugar. I'm going to find my shoes by myself."
"Don't wander off too far," Raphael calls. "Make sure you keep us in your sight."
Vivre waves a hand to show that she's heard him.
"Don't hurry," Tessa mutters under her breath.
As Vivre hunts down a pair of shoes, Tessa White finishes her third cupcake. Her stomach feels like a bottomless hole. Not like that's a surprise. Not a surprise. She's always been a lover of food - fried chicken, fried Oreos, fries. Thanks to her metabolism, she never gets fat no matter what she eats. It always made her friends jealous. But Lincoln thought it was hilarious.
She misses Lincoln. Tessa still can't believe she's stuck in this hellhole with Vivre, out of all people. Although, she sneaks a glance at him from the corner of his, Raphael isn't too bad. He's looking into the distance, probably searching for Vivre.
"I know we've been kidnapped and I'm supposed be terrified," Tessa sighs, stretching his arms and bringing his attention back to her. "But that was one of the best meals I've had in my life."
Raphael smiles at her remark. "Was it a meal, or a string of desserts?"
"A dessert is still a meal."
"I suppose I can't quarrel with that."
I suppose. Quarrel. Lord, she loves the way Raphael talks. As fun as Lincoln is to hang out with, he doesn't really make for intellectual conversation. Raphael's different. Not only is he sexy as hell - she knows there's some definition beneath that fancy suit of his - he's funny and smart.
Tessa sucks on her fork. "Can you believe Vivre? It's hilarious how she can't bring herself low enough to grab some second-hand shoes."
"To be fair, she didn't wake up with a fancy dress like you," Raphael teases, his eyes lingering on her lips. "You're at a clear advantage."
"In more ways than one," Tessa says, only partially joking. Then, she nods at the fork on the platter. It still has the leftover piece of strawberry cake on it. "You've barely eaten anything. What's up?"
"I don't have much of an appetite," Raphael picks up the fork and offers it to her. "Would you care to have the last piece?"
Instead of responding, Tessa leans over and takes the cake into her lips. Tart, strawberry jam fills her mouth. Creamy and delicious. Raphael and her lock eyes for what feels like the longest minute in the entire world. Tessa's whole body flushes with anticipation. She's never had this reaction with anyone, not even with Lincoln.
And then Raphael's eyes flicker away. The moment is broken. Tessa glances over her shoulder. It's Vivre. Of course it's Vivre. And she's wearing a pair of clunky boots that are probably way too big for her.
"Can you operate in those?" Raphael asks skeptically.
"Kind of," Vivre holds up her skirt so the two of them can get a better look. The boots are brown, heavy, frayed at the edges and go up half of her calf. "Still, they're better than nothing, right?"
"Aesthetically, no," He says, then smiles. "But from a practical standpoint, I suppose they'll do."
"Well, practical is all I care about." She drops the hem. "Maybe I'll find a better pair later."
"I can't watch any longer," Tessa decides. Feeling charitable, she pulls off her own pair of pale flats. "We have the same foot size, right? Take mine."
Vivre looks slightly alarmed. "If we're the same foot size, the boots won't fit you either."
"I'm not going to wear the dumb boots. I'm doing what you should have done," Tessa holds our her flats. "Stop being stubborn and take these."
"Okay," Vivre reluctantly takes Tessa's shoes. "Thank you. But I still think -"
"You're welcome," Tessa interrupts. She really doesn't want to hear another one of Vivre's stuck-up, lame-ass lectures again. Throwing Raphael a teasing smile, she takes a slow purposeful look around the room. "Now, if you don't mind me, I'm going to go shoe shopping."
Tessa spots a Doll in the kitchen that fits her style. Her dress, a draping blue gown with lots of cleavage, is something she would have picked out for herself. The Doll is leaning over, putting a pie on the oven. She can sense Raphael and Vivre watching her as she crawls under the doll's dress to take a sneak peek of her shoes.
They're gorgeous. Tall, slim, and the appearance of being carved out of blue gemstones, they're made to be on Tessa's feet. Then, Tessa's gaze draws upwards and she notices something really weird. The Doll's stockings are torn. There are scratch marks on her thighs. What the heck? Why would somebody do this to a Doll?
Shivers creep down Tessa's spine. But she remembers her strategy - if you're not predatory, you're prey - and steals the shoes. She crawls out from underneath the stress, now equipped with a beautiful pair of heels. Raphael and Vivre are watching her.
"There," Tessa says. "Easy."
I'll posting update dates on my Wattpad profile in case anybody wants to know when the chapter will be coming out.