(GQ #12) The Confession

8. A Caring Accomplice

Sleep wasn't enough for Angelo anymore. His eyes never stayed closed for long, whatever long meant. The line between sleep and wake blurred, trapping him in an endless limbo. Did he go to training today? Was the Clipper Man waiting for him around the corner? Anything's possible at this point.

Strangely, this situation also brought him closer to dreams. He didn't know whether the conversations outside were real or fake. They were pleasant, though. Among the voices, he swore he heard his brother's laughter. Imagining laughing with him, with all of them, kept him somewhat sane through the dull aches, the hunger pangs, and the endless dark.

It could never be reality.

Maybe that was for the best. There was one conversation between Leon and Emil that he hoped he dreamt. At this point, it could've been hours or days ago.

Food might help clear things up. He lifted the box enough to take a peek at the kitchen floor. No one was there, but he thought he heard sniffling. Oh well. It's not like he trusted his grip on reality anymore.

"Gyaaaaah?!"

The sniffling turned into a shriek when Angelo slithered out of the box. While he still didn't know if he was awake or dreaming, that sounded like a bad sign. The laughter that followed, however, sounded so sweet that it almost didn't register as one.

"M-Muffinhead?" The voice spoke between snorts.

"Ahhh!" When Angelo turned over on his back, he found Roxie peering down at him from the space between the boxes and the wall. It's a good hiding spot, he had to admit.

"I found you!" She pointed triumphantly, a pom-pom-like ponytail bouncing on the top of her head. "I'm victorious! My name shall radiate with glory!"

As much as he adored Roxie, Angelo wanted nothing more than to crawl back into the box. Hiding for so long wore away his humanity, and he didn't feel like enough of a person to interact with anyone.

Her smile disappeared. "Are you okay? Did I scare you? Was I too loud?"

Not shouting did make his head hurt less, but it didn't matter much with the bright kitchen lights. Still, he shook his head.

"Good. Here!"

She extended a bare hand toward him. He took it with his glove, and she pulled him up. Together, they sat on the unopened boxes.

"May I see your hands?" she asked.

Angelo took off his gloves. A few remnants of blisters still remained, but otherwise, his hands had healed back to normal.

Roxie took one of his hands into her own to examine more closely. "Yaaay, no infections."

The tender touch of another hand nearly brought him to tears. She didn't know what kind of person he was or the terrible things he'd done.

One look at her stopped him from beating himself up any further.

Her eyes were red and somewhat puffy. He'd seen himself in the mirror enough to know she'd been crying. What could he do about it? He looked around for something to cheer her up. The open box caught his eye.

Angelo dug around in it. "Do you want some," he pulled out a packet and checked, "cookies?"

"Muffinhead, we're not supposed to eat those unless we're in zero gravity." She still found it in her to chide him playfully.

"Oh..." Even while hiding, he managed to mess something up. He put the packet back and sat back down.

Roxie spoke up before he could ask her any questions. "Roxie Safety Tip: If you're going to hide, let at least one person know what room you'll be in. Any room can be robbed of its oxygen if no one seems to be there. Luckily, you avoided a horrible fate!"